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)

The upper Percival River

 

In 2025, I had two great visits to the upper Percival River. Both trips were by kayak (SW14) and departed from the end of Mill Road (McKies Shore). The paddle distance to the narrow upper Percival creek is about 4 km. If Bay Road were drivable, it would be possible to put in at the Bay Road bridge corner and access the upper Percival via the Bay Rd Creek (2 km less to the upper Percival than Mill Rd).

My tracks to the upper Percival from Mill Rd

On July 12, my destination was the new INT property that lies between the east shore of the Percival River and Bay Road. The new INT lot covers 53 hectares and includes extensive pristine wetlands and mixed forests. The only stop I made on my way upriver was at the NCC Inverness property for some wetland/creek monitoring and to check for the Seaside Dragonlet dragonfly. It didn’t take long to spot multiple Seaside Dragonlets, and that would be repeated at the other three locations that I went ashore on the upper Percival River on that day. 

Seaside Dragonlet

Seaside Dragonlets mating

At the INT property, I went ashore for a walk at both the NW and SW corners. Most of the upper Percival is a large wetland area, with creeks, channels, and scattered pools (pannes or vernal pools). Some care needs to be taken to navigate around these and avoid dead ends, etc. On this trip, I stayed in the marsh area and did not venture into the forest – maybe next year. Also, on a high-water day, I would like to see how far you can paddle up the north branch of Percival Creek – Portage Lake (Hwy 2) would be the end destination!

On October 20th, I paddled to the upper Percival with INT staff (Lance and Cassandra) to check out a lot for possible acquisition (Lot 797944). This lot is on the west side of the Percival main branch and was reached via the west creek. We went ashore within 200m of the first beaver dam. On the upper west creek, there are at least a dozen more beaver dams/ponds. It’s much easier to hop over beaver dams with a canoe, so I’ll have to think of bringing the Hiawatha canoe to the upper Percival someday… 

Marsh eyed Brown

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