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