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).
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| 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.
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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.
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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.
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| Double-crested Cormorant colony |
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| Bald Eagle - near cormorant's nests |
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