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 McNabs Island Provincial Park Reserve
About the Site: Contact the Waverley DNR office at 902-861-2560 or the Friends of McNabs Society at 902-434-2254 or visit the web site at http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/FOMIS/index.html
NOTE: If you can't get onto McNabs Island , McCormack Beach near Fisherman's Cove offers a view of the island and a boardwalk tour of the salt marsh developing behind the islands from sediment eroding from the drumlins.
Caution: The island supports a variety of fragile ecosystems and bird-nesting sites. It is important that people don't create new trails or campsites. To find out the best way to respect the island, contact the Friends of McNabs Society (902-434-2254) or the Parks Division of Natural Resources (902-662-3030).
Natural Features: McNab's is a series of wooded and eroding drumlins that feed the beaches and barrier spits. Inland the forested drumlin hills retain their elliptical shape. The ocean is eating away at the exposed Thrumcaps on the southern end and Thrumcap Shoal is all that remains of another victim of the sea. This cycle of eroding drumlins and building beaches continues down the coast in the Eastern Shore Beaches. McNabs, however, is the only significant island in this landscape. Its size and configuration supports a variety of coastal and inland habitats. There is the typical forest of white spruce and balsam fir that you might expect along the coast. The hill tops in the middle and at the northern end might be in another climate zone, so different is the forest. Here you find an Acadian forest of beech, birch and sugar maple with significant stands of red spruce bordering on old growth. The island is a birder's delight with migrating song birds, a heronry and nesting osprey and eagles.
Getting There: There are several informal ferry services to the island from Fisherman's Cove, in Eastern Passage, Purcell's Cove, and downtown Halifax. You can also take your own boat to the island which has a wharf and sheltered harbour on the northeast side and several sand beaches for small boats. The wharf is not maintained, so use at your own risk.
More Info: Images are courtesy of the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax, NS
Did You Know?: The osprey, the provincial bird of Nova Scotia, is a large, powerful raptor recognizable in flight by its white underside. Known as the fishing eagle, or fish hawk, because its main food is live fish, which it catches in a spectacular dive from up to 40 m. Each day, the osprey makes several patrols over the water in its territory. When it sees a fish, it hovers until the fish is in a suitable position. The performance that follows is worth seeing: the huge bird dives from the sky with its wings half closed and claws stretched forward, and disappears under the surface in a great spray of water, usually reappearing a few seconds later with a fish firmly clutched in its claws. Osprey most often nest in sturdy spruce or pine trees whose tops have broken off under the weight of snow or ice, providing a natural platform for the large nests of coarse sticks. In areas where large trees are lacking, the bird will sometimes nest on artificial structures such as power pylons and artificial nesting platforms (erected to keep the birds from electrocuting themselves.)
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