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Avian Diversity at Owls Head Provincial Park

A photo gallery of bird species recorded through e-bird

As a 268-hectare coastal landscape on the Atlantic Flyway, Owls Head Provincial Park is an important habitat for native bird species and a refuge for migratory birds.

The coastal headland supports a variety of habitats, including a beach, estuaries, bogs, and salt marshes. Last summer, CPAWS NS and a team of biodiversity experts set out “to identify bird species across these habitats and document the ecological significance of this unique region.”

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Species Spotlight: Broom Crowberry

“Vegetation on the bedrock ridges of Owls Head [Provincial Park] is dominated by a shrub called Broom Crowberry (Corema Conradii),” explain biologists Caitlin Porter and Dr. Jeremey Lundholm. Broom Crowberry (Corema c­onradii) is a flowering heathland plant that is “endemic to eastern North America, meaning it can be found nowhere else in the world.” (Porter and Lundholm).

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Year in Review

In spite of a year that has been challenging in so many ways, our volunteers have repeatedly contributed their time and their talents. We would like to extend our deepest thanks to each of those wonderful groups and individuals. While we can’t share each and every action, we wouldn’t be here without the passion and persistence of our supporters. Please keep reading to see just how far we’ve come.

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Ecological Life Support

Broom Crowberry (Corema conradii) Pistillate flowers by Green Optics Photography
Why we need to preserve this biodiverse coastal headland

This article has since been republished with permission in the January edition of the Eastern Shore Cooperator.

Biodiversity (a contraction of “biological diversity”) comprises all life on Earth. Greater species diversity supports healthier ecosystems and even improved human health.

“We are in the midst of both climate and biological diversity (extinction) emergencies, wherein we are at or beyond planetary thresholds for being able to recover. Such intact ecosystems as Owls Head are our ecological life-support systems. We need them in order to survive as a species, as do the other species with which we share this land, many of which are endangered1.”

Dr. Karen Beazley

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“Back at Owls Head”

Photo courtesy of CPAWS NS

Statement from Canadian Parks And Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Nova Scotia Chapter

This summer, CPAWS-NS has visited Owls Head numerous times. Accompanied by a range of biodiversity experts, we have been completing a series of surveys to record the rich natural diversity of this coastal headland. 

Our team has identified over 75 species of birds that occur here, undertaking surveys from the land and on the water. Later this month, we’ll be out again with our snorkels, studying eelgrass beds in the area. 

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The Delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve

By Caitlin Grady of CPAWS NS

Originally published here

A lot has happened since the CBC investigative report by Michael Gorman uncovered the secret delisting of Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve by the Nova Scotia government. This backroom deal to turn a park into a golf course development has drawn huge public condemnation, and rightly so.

Here’s what we know so far:

2017 – Negotiations begin behind-closed-doors to delist Owls Head Provincial Park Reserve and remove the site from the Nova Scotia ‘Our Parks and Protected Areas Plan’. 

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