Chief Sark's Natural Area, Conway Narrows

 

The Chief Jack Sark Memorial Natural Area is now an Island Nature Trust property. The boundary has not been made public yet, but it is located in the area of Rocky Point and includes a significant shoreline. I have been on this shore before, but this fall (October 14), I made a special outing to check out the area in more detail. The closest boat launch for the Rocky Point area would be Milligan's Wharf. I don't necessarily like to launch from commercial wharves if I have other options. If you don't mind adding a bit of paddling to get into the Conway Narrows, the end of Wharf Road (off Brooks Rd) is a great option. The Wharf Road shore launch is also a great put-in if you are looking at exploring the Brooks River and/or the Southwest Creek.

Chief Sark's NA, Conway Narrows

The day was near perfect for a kayak paddle – not too hot and perfectly calm waters! Except, it turned out that the water levels (tides) were a bit low, but I still managed okay. My first shore stop to explore the Chief Sark NA was in the Conway Narrows just east of the Brooks River mouth. I had a great walk on the shore, taking pictures of the calm shoreline scenery and the erratic boulders/rocks. I did peek into the shore forest, but I left that for another year, when I have the boundary lines.

Chief Sark's NA shoreline

my Shearwater 14ft kayak

As I approached Rocky Point, I was able to capture pictures of two mature Bald Eagles perched there. It's always great to see – even though they are pretty common nowadays in western PEI. After Rocky Point, I paddled NE to see if I could find a channel with deeper water. I ran out of water to paddle, so I walked a bit further, but I couldn't find any deeper water. If I had walked another 300m, I would probably have found the eastern Hardy Channel, but I wasn't about to drag or carry my kayak for 500m.

Bald Eagles (Rocky Point)

Common Glasswort

There was enough deep water near shore to paddle as far as the large marsh near Josephine Shore. I went ashore for lunch and then explored the northern part of the marsh. I would have liked to go further (i.e., Peter Creek), but it was time to head home. The return paddle was okay, but there were close calls in some areas due to low water levels. You just need to follow the white buoys that the locals have installed.

Eel net (Conway Narrows)

Large marsh near Josephine Shore

Hardy's Channel, Conway Narrows

 

Black Huckleberry patch on the sandhills

Track follows channel markers (4.3 km from Milligan's Wharf)

In late September 2025, three young Sperm whales beached themselves on the north shore's sand dunes in the area of Hardy's Channel (Conway Narrows). By September 30, all three whales had died and were left on the shore of the sand hills (Gulf side). The precise location wasn't given, but from the description and photos, I had a pretty good idea of the possible locations. On October 12, I paddled to Hardy's Channel from the Brooks River launch point (end of Wharf Rd). There was a slight breeze, but not enough to be a serious issue. On the way, I made a stop on the sandhills and went for a nature walk. I did come across large patches of Bearberries, Broom Crowberries, and colourful Huckleberries. 

Bearberries

Starry False Solomon Seal

 
Afterwards, I continued SE in Hardy's Channel in search of the whales. When I got to the Hardy's Channel opening (to the Gulf), I first went ashore on the north side looking for the beached whales. There were no signs of them on the north side, but with my binoculars, I spotted them on the other side of the channel opening. After a short paddle across the channel, I went ashore and made my way to the whale site. The only other life close to the site was seagulls (i.e. no eagles or vultures). The whales were still relatively intact but quite flattened by their great weight on land. There was a strong smell, but not an extreme one (yet). After taking some photos, I headed back to the kayak and paddled back to the Brooks River launch in one stretch (5 km). The tide was low, so I had to stay in the channel all the way back (i.e. no shortcuts).

Three Sperm whales (all dead by Sep 30)

Looking pretty sad on land

Hardy's Channel opening to Gulf

Belmont/Lot16 east shore, Malpeque Bay

On a breezy day (August 20, 2024), I went to Belmont Provincial Park with the Wood Duck 12 kayak. I thought that with a SW wind, it would be sheltered a bit on the east side of Lot 16. But the wind was more southerly, so both sides of the Belmont point had a strong breeze.

Belmont track, WD12 kayak (4 km)

When I started, I went to the west side of the point to check out the conditions. It was fun, but I wasn’t going too far in that direction. I went ashore for a few red cliff photos. Returning to the east side, I paddled 1 km and went ashore for a walk. I walked on shore across the large wetland as far as the salt-water pond/inlet. On Google Earth, there appear to be three or four round depressions in the wetland (probably artificial, DUC?). The salt-water inlet has a narrow entrance to Malpeque Bay. The entrance is wide enough that a kayak could paddle in at high tides. The pond inlet is 500m x 250m in size.

Belmont marshes, east side

East marshes with large inlet/creek in the background

Next time, I would want to paddle all the way to McLaurins Cove and check out the sand spit and the three salt-water ponds/inlets.  See below for a 2025 outing from Miscouche Wharf.

Mouth of east inlet/creek

Least Sandpiper (vulnerable in PEI)

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September 9, 2025 outing from Miscouche Wharf

Miscouche to Gull Point, SW17 kayak

On a very calm September day (September 9, 2025), I set out from the Miscouche Wharf to explore the Belmont east shore, north of Mary Fraser Island. On the way out, I made no shore stops until I got to Gull Point. I was surprised at how much the McLaurins' sand spit extends into Malpeque Bay. The sand spit is definitely a gathering spot for birds. I posted the following to iNaturalist – Caspian Tern, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper (large flock), Northern Pintail, and Hudsonian Godwit (not IDed yet).

McLaurins' sand spit

Semipalmated Sandpiper (iNat, not IDed yet)

After a walk and a break at Gull Point, I started the paddle back. On the return paddle, I made a shore stop at the large marsh just below McLaurins Cove. It must be a really low wetland; it's about the only piece of shore land not converted to farming. I did look for the new Seaside Dragonlets, but none were found. I also made a brief stop at Fraser Island before returning to Miscouche Wharf. It was another great outing and day on this part of Malpeque Bay!

Oyster River, a Foxley River tributary

 

In July, I made a trip to Gordon’s Wharf with my SW17 kayak. I wanted to expand my exploration of the Foxley/Trout River system. For today, the destination was the Oyster River, which flows into the Foxley River on the west side (just over 1 km south of Gordon’s Wharf). The Foxley River has a big oyster aquaculture industry, and this usually means lots of boat traffic at Gordon’s Wharf and the river – but not today. The oyster diseases (MSX & dermo) discovered over the last couple of years are having a significant impact on oyster farming activities. There’s oyster aquaculture on the Oyster River as well, and nothing was moving.

Oyster River (Foxley River trib)

I hadn’t paddled the short Oyster side river before, since its shoreline is mostly developed (farming, homes, cottages, roads, etc). I paddled both branches of the river as far as Route 12. I was pretty surprised to find a variety of birds – especially Belted Kingfishers. The other bird sightings that I got to post on iNaturalist were Bald Eagle, N Flicker, GB Heron, G Yellowlegs and some species of ducks.

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

After I was done with the Oyster River, I paddled to Cascumpec Bay (Hardy Pt) for a walk on the shore with the large erratic and marshes. On my way there, I stopped and had a pleasant conversation with a tonging oysterman in the bay between McNally’s Pt and Hardy Pt. On my Cascumpec shore walk, I got pics of the new PEI dragonfly (Seaside Dragonlet). For the summer of 2025, I identified and posted Seaside Dragonlets in the three large bays of mid-Prince County (Egmont, Cascumpec, and Malpeque bays).

Bald Eagle

Northern Flicker

Sea gull on large Foxley River erratic

Seaside Dragonlet (Cascumpec Bay)

Tonging for oysters (small bay across Gordon's Wharf)

Lower Haldimand River & Estuary, Abrams Village

 

This summer, I decided to explore the lower Haldimand River and estuary. The estuary includes large saltwater marshes, a long sand spit and a deep-water inlet all the way to Cimetiere Road. Unfortunately (from a nature point of view), there’s some infrastructure in the estuary – the Route 11 bridge, seafood processing plant, industrial wharf, and a few residential homes/cottages.

Haldimand River estuary

A good place to launch is the new boat ramp at the NW end of the Route 11 bridge. On this paddle (WD12 kayak), I first went to check out the sand dune and explore the marsh in the NW corner of the estuary. I looked for Seaside Dragonlet, but none were found here. But, I did find a relatively rare PEI insect inside a Bindweed flower – a Striped Collops (only three posted on iNat for PEI).

Estuary sand spit

Abrams Village wharf under reconstruction

Afterwards, I went under the bridge and ashore to explore the large wetland just south of the bridge on the western shore of the river. One of the first thing I found along the shore were Ribbed Mussels. Apparently, these ribbed mussels can be toxic if collected at low tide. The second natural sighting I made in the marsh was of Seaside Dragonlets. The third observation was a considerable patch of Poison Ivy in front of the small tree stand by the river’s shoreline. It was interesting to see that some Seaside Dragonlets were spending time (e.g. resting) in the Poison Ivy patch.

Seaside Dragonlet on Poison Ivy

Large Poison Ivy patch

A complete visit of the Haldimand estuary would include more exploration in the dune area and paddling the inlet as far as Matt’s shore. A paddle along the inlet would encompass both the shoreline and the sandbar areas. 

Striped Collops (rarely seen in PEI)

Atlantic Ribbed Mussel

Governor's Island, Hillsborough Bay

 

This spring, I was invited to join NCC on its yearly monitoring visit to Governor's Island (GI). I have always wanted to visit GI, but it's a risky paddle to the island in the middle of Hillsborough Bay. The shortest distance to GI would be from the end of Crown Point Road (5 km).

Governor's Island

Our ride to GI was in a small PEI government boat, which departed from the boat ramp at the North River bridge (next to Cow's Ice Cream). From the North River bridge, it's 16 km to GI. Due to headwinds and choppy waters in the early morning hours of June 10, it took close to an hour to reach the GI shore. I was barely warm enough, and my fingers were starting to get cold. Once we arrived, the boat had to anchor in about 2 feet of water – too deep for my rubber boots. So, I took my boots off and waddled to shore in the freezing water. On shore, I dried my feet as best I could before putting my boots back on.

Landed on the north shore

North shore, view to the east

Our time on the island was only about one hour. The boat operator (an Arsenault) was worried about the winds and maybe the tides. But an hour was sufficient to quickly explore the complete north shore (approx. 1.2km). I first followed the NCC staff (Hannah and one intern) towards the west end. On the sandstone rocks near the west tip, I spotted a few Harbour Seals. Then, I made my way to the eastern tip with a few short walks inland to check out the flora, fauna, and views. The vegetation is mostly shrubs and grasses. There's a Cormorant colony on the island, and this has impacted many of the remaining trees on the island. Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons were also observed, but I don't know if they nest on the island.

Harbour Seal

Double-crested Cormorant

The return boat trip was much calmer and took only about 30 minutes. On another visit to GI, I would like to walk along the south shore and perhaps venture a bit inland. 

West end of the island	East end view (NCC staff on shore)

Double-crested Cormorant colony

Bald Eagle - near cormorant's nests