Freeland Creek, Frederick Cove, PEI

 

Where Freeland Creek flows into the Conway Narrows

I have paddled and sailed by Frederick Cove several times but never went up Freeland Creek. Freeland Creek is a small creek/wetland that empties into the Conway Narrows at Frederick Cove. The navigable length is short, but exploring all the side creeks/inlets (4) makes for a 6 km paddle. There isn’t much farming along the Conway Narrows coastline, but Freeland Creek is an exception – farming fields border the whole creek.

Track, Freeland Creek, 6.5km

On arriving at Federick Cove, I went to the office of Howard’s Cove Shellfish to get permission to launch my kayak. The office lady had no issues as long as I parked outside the ramp area. The creek was a pleasant paddle with a fair amount of bird life. It may be due to the high amount of aquaculture on the stream. The creek also has some American Eel traps – popular on the north shore inland creeks and rivers.

The launch at Howad's Shellfish, Frederick Shore Rd (or Smith Rd)

The usual birds I see on top of oyster cages are cormorants and gulls, but in Freeland Creek it was a flock of Greater Yellowlegs! I had never seen so many G. Yellowlegs hanging around together. The Belted Kingfisher, Song Sparrow, GB Heron, and the American Black Duck were other bird sightings. 

See my iNaturalist postings for the day – HERE.

Greater Yellowlegs on oyster cages

Frederick Cove is an easy location to start a kayak paddle to explore Freeland Creek, the Conway sandhills, or both!

Trout River, a branch of the Bideford River, PEI

There is more than one Trout River in PEI. This Trout River that I paddled/explored on September 15 is a branch of the Bideford River that flows into Malpeque Bay. The beach at Green Park (near Port Hill) is perfect to put-in/out. Green Park is a free day-use provincial park that accommodates camping (mostly RVs & campers). 

Track, 9km, Trout/Bideford River

I paddled up the Trout River on this outing and explored six side creeks and marsh inlets. Almost the whole length of the Trout River is bordered by farming fields. There is some aquaculture at the mouth of the river across from Green Park. The lower sections of the river feel relatively natural since there are no housing developments. On the way back, I paddled up the Bideford River as far as Griggs Creek before going ashore. Luckily, I was there at high tide. Griggs Creek has a narrow entrance to get inside the sandy estuary.

WD12 kayak on the Trout River (Bideford)

There wasn’t an abundance of nature to capture for iNaturalist. Still, I did get the usual suspects – Kingfisher, Bald Eagle, G. Blue Heron, G. Yellowlegs, Savannah Sparrow, etc.

Greater Yellowlegs

Savannah Sparrow

See my iNaturalist postings for the day – HERE.

The next outing on the Trout/Bideford River will focus on the upper sections of the river (e.g. up to Tyne Valley).

American Black Duck

Duck Creek salt-water marsh, Percival River, PEI

 

Duck Creek is a salt-water marsh on the western shore of the Percival River. Duck Creek is across the river from McKies Shore (end of Mill Road). From McKies Shore, it’s only 1 km to access the mouth of Duck Creek. You can access Duck Creek without crossing the Percival River by launching at the ramp in Alaska. From Alaska, the creek’s sand-spit estuary is 2 km along the western shore. Both paddle outings I made to Duck Creek in the summer of 2023 were from Alaska. The first paddle on August 13 was with my 17ft Merganser kayak. The 17ft Merganser kayak doesn’t do well in narrow winding creeks – so I did not get too far up Duck Creek that day. 

Tracks, Duck Creek

Duck Creek estuary & salt marsh

I had been to Duck Creek many times before, but this summer, on the September 4th outing, I managed to explore the salt marsh all the way to the first beaver dam in my 12ft Wood Duck kayak. The Duck Creek wetland is isolated from any development and looks pristine. The lower south side of the marsh is Public Lands, but unfortunately, the north side and the upper marsh are still in private hands. 

Public Lands near Duck Creek

There was great scenery on both outings, and I also captured a few nature images with my Lumix FZ300 camera. The nature sightings of the day were all posted to iNaturalist. 

iNaturalist for August 13, click HERE.

iNaturalist for September 4, click HERE.

Lower Duck Creek & marsh

Beaver dam, end of the road!

A next trip to explore more of the Duck Creek salt-water marsh could include an attempt to paddle up the upper creek’s north stream. Also, it would be fun to try and jump the beaver dam and go further west!

A trio of Greater Yellowlegs