25 February 2026

Bearded Seal Lifer, Woodland Caribou—Newfoundland

Newfoundland, Canada

January 14-18, 2026

Okay, I admit it…this was a BIRDING trip (9 lifers). But I am just as interested in mammals and I did get one lifer…a wonderfully close and long view of a hauled out Bearded Seal in Holyrood Bay, South Arm. It allowed for long lingering looks and lots of video and photos. Love the “beard” of mollusk-sensing vibrissae (whiskers) that give this pinniped its unique look.

You can see video of my encounter with the Bearded Seal here:

https://youtu.be/wH0R-GKiL7w

Also in Holyrood Bay we saw two Humpback Whales feeding fairly close to shore (also shown in above video).

I’d always wanted to see Woodland Caribou as well. I’d seen the Alaska subspecies of caribou, as well as Reindeer in Norway, but never the Woodland. I am from Minnesota where they were a native species up until the 1930s.  I even talked to two old-timers in the 1980s who had actually seen them in the Sax-Zim Bog back in the 1920s.

So it was special to find a band of Woodland Caribou far off the St. Shott’s Road of the Avalon Peninsula on the treeless tundra. I tried to walk across the tundra to get closer, but the gound was very hummocky and wet…plus cold winds were blowing right in my face and the windchill was probably below zero F. No bull in this herd but still a semi-rewarding sighting for me.

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Post author

SparkyofSaxZim

Mark “Sparky” Stensaas is a naturalist,  publisher, wildlife photographer and YouTuber living in the North Woods of Minnesota. He is the author of six books on the natural history of the North Woods.

He founded the non-profit Friends of Sax-Zim Bog, and is now its executive director. This 300 square mile area is a nationally-known birding (and mammal-watching) area. Folks come from across the country and around the globe to see and photograph many boreal birds which are rarely seen elsewhere. In additionThe organization has preserved over 25,000 acres of pristine bog, built 4 boardwalks and runs a Welcome Center in the heart of the Bog. 

Sparky has been a birder and nature nut since the age of 14, and has been birding the North Woods since 1981 when he moved north to attend the University of Minnesota Duluth. 

Wildlife photography/video is Sparky’s passion and he spends many happy hours shooting photos and video of our northern critters. He is especially attracted to the Arctic/Far North with multiple trips to Churchill, Manitoba on Hudson Bay, Newfoundland, Alaska, Iceland, Norway and Svalbard.

Mammal highlights include seeing a Jaguarundi in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (1988), Canada Lynx in the Superior National Forest of Minnesota (2018?), Bearded Seal and Woodland Caribou in Newfoundland (2026), Beluga Whales close-up, and Polar Bear near Churchill (2025). In his “home-patch” of Northern Minnesota’s Sax-Zim Bog, Sparky has seen many Ermine, Pine Marten, Fisher, Moose, Timber Wolves, River Otter, Mink, Snowshoe Hare, and even Star-nosed Mole out in the open on two occasions!

The most fascinating mammal behavior I have witnessed would be American Badgers hunting prairie-dogs cooperatively with Coyotes in North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I have seen this on four occasions and have chronicled this in some of my Teddy Roosevelt NP YouTube videos.

Sparky, his wife, Bridget, and two sons, Birk and Bjorn make their home under the big pines in the Nemadji Valley of Carlton County, Minnesota.

Join Sparky on his birding/wildlife adventures via his YouTube channel (@SparkyStensaas). You can see his wildlife photos at www.sparkyphotos.com
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3 Comments

  • 25 February 2026
    Chad Johnson

    As my wife really wants to go to New Foundland, this post is right up my alley. Any idea how rare/common bearded seals are in New Foundland? Do newfie puppies greet you at the airport? (I think my wife thinks this and is the main reason she wants to go…) Also, love the user name. Was just in Sax-Zim last month!

    • 24 March 2026
      SparkyofSaxZim

      Sorry for the late reply Chad! I am new to this site and didn’t check here since I posted this. Very cool that you were in Sax-Zim recently…It was a pretty slow winter bird and mammalwise. Did you have any highlights?
      My bird guide Jared said that he sees about ONE Bearded Seal a year (or less). Pretty rare in the Avalon Peninsula where he guides most of the tiime. I imagine he’s in the field 100 days a year or more.
      Summer is when most folks visit Newfoundland…mainly to see Puffins, Gannets. Spring is the time to go for Iceberg watching. Winter is when the crazy birders go (like myself) and when I saw the Bearded Seal.
      The fishing villages are not as quaint as I suspected. Scenery is very cool though. Note that I was pretty much only on the Avalon Peninsula (plus Holyrood & Whiteway) and that is a small portion of the island. I would love to get up to L’Anse aux Meadows in the far NE to see the Viking village (archeology and reconstruction). St. Johns is a neat city.
      And I did not see a single Newfoundland puppie!! 🙁
      Good luck!

  • 23 March 2026
    Jon Hall

    Thanks Sparky! Glad you had such success. And great to see more birders posting about mammals. I hope you will encourage others to join and in return I promise to reign in the birding jokes … to try to reign in the birding jokes.

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