Sackville Waterfowl Park

Coordinates: Lat 45.905666°N, Long 64.367182°W

Sackville-Waterfowl-Park

Description: A mostly man-made wetland with an extensive trail and boardwalk network that is an amazing place to observe waterfowl and other marshland wildlife in “downtown” Sackville. It is also directly adjacent to one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the province, the vast Tantramar wetlands complex.

Nature Notes: This has several times been referred to as one of the best places in North America (by no less than National Geographic!) to observe and photograph wild waterfowl, given the diversity that occur here. Over the years, many regionally rare species have also been seen here or have even nested here, likely due to its proximity to one of the richest wetlands in the entire region. Some of the rare nesters here have included Ruddy Duck, Virginia Rail, Gadwall, American Wigeon and Northern Shoveler ducks.

Image of American Wigeon duck by Denis Doucet

 

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There are over 50 Amazing Places in the Fundy Biosphere Region.

 

Prosser Ridge Lookout

Coordinates: Lat 45.845710°N, Long 64.892519°W

Prosser-Ridge-Lookout Description and directions: A prominent, well-known look-off along the Dobson Trail, situated about 5 km south of the intersection of the Dobson Trail and route 910 at Berryton.

Nature Notes: This site offers a great view of Prosser Brook and the surrounding area, as well as the new Kent Hills wind farm.

Image by Marc Leger

Links: NB Trail- Dobson Trail description
Dobson Trail website

 

Explore the Region

There are over 50 Amazing Places in the Fundy Biosphere Region.

 

New Horton Hawk Watch Site

Coordinates: Lat 45.688901°N, Long 64.710875°W

New-Horton-Hawk-Watch Description: The unassuming little parking lot at the New Horton Church offers an AMAZING VIEW of the surrounding area atop the New Horton Ridge. This is where naturalists have been observing hawk and sea duck migration in March and April for over a decade.

Nature Notes: This site offers a superb, yet not well-known view of New Horton Ridge, as well as the New Horton Marsh section of Shepody NWA and much of the surrounding area, including a really nice view of the uppermost northern side of the Bay of Fundy. This is also a great migration watch site in March and April, where one can observe migrating hawks, eagles, sea ducks, cormorants and more.

Image of migrating Broad-winged Hawk by Denis Doucet

 

Explore the Region

There are over 50 Amazing Places in the Fundy Biosphere Region.

 

Point Wolfe River Estuary

Coordinates: Lat. 45.546346°N, Long. 65.019552°W

Point-Wolfe-Estuary Description: One of the main river estuaries and focal areas of the park.

Nature Notes: Many trail heads are found here, including the Goose River Trail (which accesses the Fundy Footpath), as well as the Rat Tail, Coppermine, Marven Lake, Coastal and Shiphaven trails. One of the park’s main campsites and a covered bridge reminiscent of those from a bygone era in the region are here as well. Point Wolfe is one the principal sites where Peregrine Falcons (one of the FBR’s Amazing Species) were reintroduced into the wild after a long absence, mostly during the 1980s, through a hack box release program. Peregrine Falcons had disappeared from much of eastern North America during the middle decades of the twentieth century, due to bioaccumulation of the pesticide DDT in their body tissues. This made the birds ill and rendered their eggs brittle-shelled, fragile and often unviable and populations of this species and many other raptors were decimated. Since 1987, Peregrine Falcons have been coming back and are now nesting “unaided” around the Bay. There are currently more than a dozen pairs nesting in the region. Peregrine Falcons are often said to be the fastest birds on Earth, sometimes reaching speeds in excess of 300 km/hr in a stoop (dive) while hunting! You can learn more about this amazing bird, as well as the fascinating geological and human history of this and other parts of Fundy National Park by visiting the Parks Canada Fundy National Park web pages at:

Links: Parks Canada/Fundy

Image by Brian Townsend/Parks Canada

 

Explore the Region

There are over 50 Amazing Places in the Fundy Biosphere Region.

 

Mary's Point

Coordinates: Lat 45.725467°N, Long 64.670401°W

Marys-Point

Description: A sandy beach with tremendous mud flats that are exposed at low tide. The middle and distal end of the beach are backed by a series of rocky, treed islands that are alternately connected and then cut off at low and high tides. The entire beach is attached to a rocky point, largely composed of fine-grained sandstone that was once quarried extensively as a building stone.

Nature Notes: This extraordinary place is part of the Shepody National Wildlife Area and part of a larger Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve for the Semipalmated Sandpiper, a small, arctic-nesting shorebird. This reserve is managed by Environment Canada and is part of a network of sites found in the Upper Bay of Fundy and on their wintering grounds in northern South America (Suriname and Guyana). As mentioned in greater detail in the story of Johnson’s Mills, up to 85% of the world population of this species stopover in the Bay during their yearly migration in July-August to ‘re-fuel’ before making their way to northern South America to spend the winter. Visitors should take the same precautions as at Johnson's Mills and avoid visiting the beaches during the migration season so as not to disturb the shorebirds. The interpretive centre at Mary's Point is an excellent resource for visitors who wish to learn more about the birds and the area.

This site also has an interesting geological story that ties into the Carboniferous period, similarly to Cape Enrage. Further down the beach, there are large sedimentary, fine grained sandstone rock formations that are rich in fossils, including fossilized tree trunks and understory horsetail-type, plant fossils known as Calamites; the fine-grained sandstone was once quarried as building stones. Some of this attractive sandstone was exported as building stone and made its way into the United States; it can be found in structures at the Bethesda Terrace and Central Park in New York!

Veins of coal-like Albertite are also found in between some of the layers of sandstone that form the rocky shoreline on the series of islands that are cut off during high tide. It is the same mineral found at Albert Mines inland and up the coast. The first distillation of kerosene by Abraham Gesner was attained by using this mineral. Gesner was NB’s first provincial geologist and the inventor of kerosene.

Links: Environment Canada

 

Explore the Region

There are over 50 Amazing Places in the Fundy Biosphere Region.

 

  1. Marven Lake
  2. Martin Head
  3. Long Beach
  4. Little Salmon River

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