The Pierre-Jacques Rivers, Egmont Bay

 

This summer, I finally went to explore the two Pierre-Jacques (PJ) Rivers of Egmont Bay. These two rivers flow into the NW part of Egmont Bay, about halfway between Brae Harbour and West Point. The mouths/estuaries of the two rivers are only 2 km apart but they are not related (i.e. they have separate watersheds). The Little PJ has a large estuary as it meets Egmont Bay (Wolfe Inlet and a 2 km sand spit). The Big PJ also has sand barrier banks and a rich salt-water marsh estuary as it comes into Egmont Bay. These unique estuaries should be good habitats for all kinds of sea creatures and birds.  

Pierre-Jacques Rivers (WD12, 10 km)

I didn’t necessarily pick the best day for a kayak trip. The weather was unsettled, and through the paddle, I got some strong winds and rain at times. I launched the WD12 kayak at the end of MacDonald Road (R176). MacDonald Road is a great spot to launch for exploring both rivers and the Glenwood sand spit. I paddled across Wolfe Inlet to the west exit going towards the mouth of the Big PJ River. There were many seagulls and shorebirds gathered on the sand banks at the mouth of the river. I got through the narrow channel into the Big PJ River and found that the water inside was very shallow. I circled a bit taking photos of the many birds in the water and came back out.

WD12 and iffy weather

Greater Yellowlegs

Before heading back to Wolfe Inlet, I went to explore the point to the west of the Big PJ River. Inland, behind that point is a good size salt-water marsh and a flock of Mallard ducks was present. After a shore walk, I headed back towards Wolfe Inlet in the wind and rain. I made a stop at the west end of the sand spit for a break and to decide if I should continue. The weather soon improved, so I decided to finish the planned route and try paddling up the Little PJ River. To my surprise, the Little PJ River isn’t as shallow and I was able to paddle over 1 km upriver. There’s no development on the river for 1.5 km, so it feels pretty isolated. For the short time on the river, I observed and photographed an Osprey, GB Heron, Cedar Waxwing, and a Kingfisher. See my iNaturalist page for the day – HERE.

Osprey

Great Blue Heron

Since the weather was holding, I paddled to the east end of the sand spit for a beach walk and a bite to eat. After lunch, I paddled straight back to MacDonald Road in worsening weather. It was just in time – once ashore and the kayak loaded, the wind got pretty strong and scary!

Kingfisher (typical pose; one of my favourites)

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Pics from my June 21, 2023 paddle trip up the Big Pierre-Jacques River - all the way to Glenwood Pond. I had lunch at the pond before paddling back to the launch at MacDonald Road. Great day!

Here's a link to the iNaturalist postings for the day. CLICK HERE.

	Track, 21Jun2023

Pics from my Sep 1, 2023 paddle trip up the Little Pierre-Jacques River - all the way to Hebron Road and back. Another great day on the PJ rivers, Wolfe Inlet, and the Glenwood sand spit!

Here's a link to the iNaturalist postings for the day. CLICK HERE.

Track, 01Sep2023

Crown Point - Alexandra, PEI

 

On the morning of August 22nd, I was taking Anne to the Charlottetown airport so I took the opportunity for a paddle at INT’s Crown Point property near Alexandra. The first thing after the airport (7am) was to find a Tim Horton for breakfast and coffee. Around 8am, I was at the end of Wharf Road, Alexandra – the recommended launch point for Crown Point. The tide was high, so launching and paddling away from shore was no problem.  Note: This launch point is high and dry as soon as the tide goes out, so make sure to bring the kayak cart.

Crown Point, INT (Merganser kayak, 10km)

The weather was pretty good but I was worried that later in the day the wind might come up, so I planned to go and explore the more exposed south shore first. I made a straight paddle to the east corner of the south shore (about 3 km) and went ashore for a walk. It’s a beautiful clean sandy beach for a walk with sandstone banks/cliffs and a thick conifer forest inland. At the top of one of those conifer trees, a Bald Eagle was keeping an eye on me. It wasn’t too disturbed and stayed in his perched for the entirety of my beach walk. On the return paddle, I made another stop at the SW point and did another walk on the south shore. Here the sandstone cliffs are more pronounced and due to erosion, there are nice formations and lots of pieces scattered on the shoreline. I did look for signs of fossils but didn’t make any discoveries!

South shore (SW point)

For continuing my return paddle, I had to go further from shore to find deeper paddling waters. The bonus is that a group of Harbour Seals came to check me out for a few minutes. Once they got bored, I decided that the tide might still be high enough to explore the bay that borders the north boundary of the Crown Point property. But, it wasn’t. I got in about halfway in a foot or less of water and then decided to turn around before getting stuck in the mud.

Bald Eagle

Harbour Seal

Other iNaturalist postings for the day are found HERE.

Overall, this was a great paddle in a very natural area and I will try to make other paddling trips here over the next few years but with a bit more planning around the tide cycle.

West shore	North shore
Semipalmated Plover	Spotted Sandpiper

Kildare River Estuary

 

PEI’s north shore sandhill barrier islands have a total length of 40 km. I can finally say that I have paddled/sailed the full extent of the sandhills from Malpeque Bay (Fish Island) to the Kildare River estuary. On August 3^rd, I was going to an INT evening event in Alberton, so I came earlier in the day with my kayak and did a paddle in the Kildare River estuary from the bridge on R12. What a great place to explore!

Kildare River estuary (7.5 km paddle)

After launching from the end of the R12 bridge, I headed east towards the sandhills. As I approached the sandhills, I noticed that the current was fairly strong – the tide was going out. At the sandhills, I made a left turn (north) and went as far as I could in the shallow waters of the estuary. I went ashore to explore and check out the beach on the gulf side. The sandhill is narrow at this location (150m) and easily walked. I noticed a few plant species to photograph for iNaturalist including a few nice shrubs of Smooth Gooseberries. Luckily, I had a container and collected a few cups for some delicious gooseberry jam. See my iNaturalist page for August 3, 2022 - HERE.

Smooth Gooseberry

Starry False Solomon's-Seal

After my shore visit, I paddled south along the sandhill for about 1 km. I would have liked to go further, but I was worried about getting back with the lowering tide conditions. Before starting to paddle back, I went ashore for another walk and a snack. At this spot, I noticed a few building structures on the sandhills (cottage, TBD). There’s no power or services here, and these buildings would be very exposed to storms (e.g. Dorian 2019, Fiona 2022). On my return to the R12 bridge, I decided to take the same route back. This route seems to be the marked channel used by boat traffic.  I would have liked to explore the SE side of the estuary but it would have been a paddling issue with the low tide.

Great Blue Heron

Bonaparte's Gull

On the return paddle, it was nice to see so many seagulls, herons, and shorebirds. The Kildare River estuary is definitely an area that needs more paddling and exploring in the future. Next year, time the outing better with higher tides, and don’t forget containers for the gooseberries!

The Kildare River estuary

Also, it would be interesting to paddle up the Kildare River towards Montrose. The river’s name seems to change to Montrose at some point. As well, there’s a large tributary to the east before Montrose (named the Huntley River on some maps). 

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Sep 10, 2023 paddle (17ft Merganser kayak).

For the iNaturalist posting of the day - Click HERE.

Track, 10Sep2023 (16 km)