Exploring the southwest shore

My husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed our exploration of the southwest shore of Prince Edward Island this autumn. One of our recent excursions took us to Howard’s Cove, a natural cove which is now a boat basin. In the many areas of exposed shoreline on the island, boat basins have been built to offer protection to fishers, their boats and gear. At Howard’s Cove, the natural protection afforded by the little cove was developed into a boat basin for the area.

There is a tiny light, not quite a house,

which overlooks the cove where three feathered sentinels were on watch that day. 

Nearby, weathering of the red sandstone cliffs along the shoreline have resulted in a sea stack which is a sentinel of the earthy kind, albeit a slowly disappearing one.

A trail runs across the western edge of the shoreline from the lighthouse and we followed as far as muddy conditions would allow. Lobster pots look to have found a winter home along the trail. We will return! Such a shoreline trek is among my favourites.

We drove further along the shore until near Miminegash, we heard a pond full of Canada Geese above the radio in the car with closed windows. They called us to stop for a look and listen.

In Miminegash, another boat basin is positioned along the shoreline, this one has a damaged run into the basin. 

It was busy in the basin so we proceeded further along the coast, looking for access to the beach. We drove down Shore Rd and weren’t disappointed as the road ended at the shoreline and our little table once again came in handy.

Our lunch of beef stew as we sat by the stream that crossed the beach was delicious! As we ate, five shorebirds entertained us with their antics as they fed along the water’s edge. 

The three Semipalmated Plovers were easy to identify but the other two, not so much. Surely those five have headed south by now!

My husband and I headed in opposite directions to explore the beach after lunch. The erosion on this beach is dramatic, as two layers of red earth erode at different rates. It may have something to do with the amount of water which flows over the embankment. 

And don’t those bird houses stand out?

Waterfalls are a rarity on the island and a trickle down a bank is an unusual sight especially with faces shaped by the water.

Off-shore, I saw a black bird I thought was a cormorant bobbing around in the water. Looking at the photos later, it was obviously a non breeding Common Loon, a first for me.

While we were walking, a crab boat came from the west and we watched with interest as the fishermen checked their pots. In the photo below, you can see one of the men measuring the crab to ensure they don’t take undersize animals.

The final photo is my favourite of the day. Every now and then, moments of beauty align and, if you are really fortunate, there will be a bird in the frame.

  

Along the coast to West Point

It looks wild and untamed, an area of beach on Prince Edward Island left to nature. We’d headed to the southwest coast of the island to Brae Harbour and driven along the coastline from the small community over a dirt road. We passed a few off-grid cottages and eventually arrived at a place where we’d need an off-road vehicle to go further.

This is an exposed area of coastline along the Northumberland Strait. A sand bar off shore breaks the waves and the water looks like it is boiling. 

Sandy red sea rushes to shore. However, there aren’t any sand dunes along this shoreline. Trees, shrubs and other vegetation border the beach while driftwood in abundance shows how many trees have been claimed by the onslaught.

This area of coastline is without a village or even a cottage. It is a part of the island coastline we have rarely seen, without cliffs or dunes either. A cottage here would be risky, without a border between it and the sea.

During a walk along this beach, we crossed one familiar island feature, a brook crossing the beach, a small one we could easily jump over. Walking east, one could see homes or cottages kilometres away along the shoreline. One cannot imagine the same in this area.

We returned to the main road and continued on to West Point. This area has been settled and like so many areas of the island, has a boat basin along the shoreline to offer protection to fishers, their boats and gear. 

There wasn’t much activity in the basin this time of year as fishing season was winding down. The ubiquitous sentinels of the sea, the cormorants, had one lone bird on duty that day, 

while along the breakwater side of the basin, others of the species commune with gulls and enjoy the autumn sun. 

Damage in the basin walls allows one to look west towards the West Point Lighthouse, one that stands out among lighthouses on the island for its black and white striping. This area has received much damage over the last number of years and revetments along the shoreline and lighthouse are strategically placed so as to reduce the same in the future.

We had our favourite lunch of the autumn thus far, sheltered from the on-shore breeze at a picnic table at the park there. While we ate our delicious chicken stew, we watched the robins nearby 

and listened to the chickadees, our most vocal woodland bird of autumn, as they flitted among the trees around us. We watched with interest at what we thought initially to be a crow but later identified as a Turkey Vulture, an unusual bird for the island. It was a thrill to watch it circle the area for its food, animals which are already dead, such a road kill.

We walked through the park and along the shoreline after lunch before we headed home. Another great day exploring the island! 

Another day at the beach

We hadn’t been to Northport in a few years but it is a place we like to visit. On a beautiful autumn day, with a cooling breeze, we headed west to walk the beach and have a picnic.

Northport is in western Prince Edward Island on the north coast. It is predominantly a fishing area, but as is common on PEI, farming is part of life in the area as well. 

We walked on the beach and explored this part of west Prince County which didn’t experience the same fury of Fiona as did the east coast of the island. However, there was wind damage to some trees along the shoreline but this area, inside a sandbar, didn’t appear to have the storm surge like more exposed places.

There is always interesting driftwood along this shoreline, large trees which have come to rest on the beach where they are weathered by sun and sea.

Further along, another tree is determined to live in spite of its precarious position hanging across the beach. It continues to grow and the trunks are beginning to grow vertically from their horizontal positions.

The roots spread into the bank, providing enough nutrients to keep the tree alive.

From the point, you can see the oyster beds in the bay which the Double-crested Cormorants use as perches.

Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, near a cottage on the bay, gulls enjoyed lobster shells left for them to share. A Great Black-backed Gull, called out, while the darker young Iceland Gull picked the shells. Herring Gulls appeared to be enjoying the shells too. 

We stopped by the wharf where four men were fishing with a rod and reel, landing small fish for supper. 

There was a lot of activity in the boat basin as well. 

Off shore, on a sand bar stands the old lighthouse, now privately owned.

Since it was windy, we drove further along the coast to find a sheltered spot to have lunch. We decided on the yard in front of Christ Church, nestled among the trees. After a quinoa salad and hot tea, we explored the area, visiting the cemetery which has been in use since 1850.

Some of the evergreens surrounding the cemetery were covered in vines which were dressed in their autumn colour. A path through the trees led to the Kildare Capes, an area we will explore further another day.  

After lunch, we headed further up the coast, but that’s another story.