• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2001 baseline)
Hobhouse Inlet is located on the south coast of Devon Island, east of Maxwell Bay, in the eastern high Arctic region. To the east of the inlet is an anvil-shaped peninsula that is characterized by steep cliffs that exceed 460 metres in height. The cliff face contains numerous grassy ledges that seabirds use for nesting. The promontory is permanently ice-covered at its centre.

The offshore waters of Lancaster Sound and Barrow Strait are important foraging areas for seabirds, due to their high biological diversity and richness. Lancaster Sound also functions as a migration route for numerous Narwhals, white whales, Harp Seals and Ringed Seals. Polar bears are year-round inhabitants in the region, using the entire south coast of Devon Island as a maternity denning area.

Key biodiversity
The peninsula supports a large colony of Northern Fulmars, which nest along the cliff ledges from mid-April to early October. The fulmar colony covers the 10km cliff face and a provisional estimate of 75,000 pairs was made in the mid-1970s. It has been suggested that actual number likely lies between 10,000 and 100,000 pairs and more recently an estimate of 25,000 pairs has been cited by some, while others feel that the number may be nearer the upper end of this range. (No more recent surveys have been completed.) The presence of 25,000 pairs would represent about 2.4% of the estimated North American population of fulmars.

Other species that nest at this site include Glaucous Gulls, Thayers Gulls, and Black Guillemots.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Hobhouse Inlet (Canada). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/hobhouse-inlet-iba-canada on 07/12/2024.