Musquodoboit River and Harbour

Musquodoboit River, NS (Photo Haley MacDonald/NCC)

Musquodoboit is a tidal inlet, largely enclosed by a barrier sand beach and many forested islands. This area’s diverse coastal habitats support thousands of migratory birds year-round, including 8,000 Canada geese during spring migration, more than 3,000 green-winged teals in the fall and over 2,000 American black ducks over the winter. Endangered piping plovers nest and breed on Martinique Beach near Musquodoboit Harbour, one of the most popular beaches and the longest sandy beach in Nova Scotia.

The Musquodoboit Harbour boasts a complex system of coastal islands, salt marshes, mudflats, barrier beaches, bogs, barrens and coastal forest. Within the harbour, the Musquodoboit islands contain a variety of habitats, including old-growth coastal spruce forests, small ponds, heath barrens and sand dunes. In particular, Bayers Island's coastal forest of spruce and balsam fir are ideal for bird species, such as osprey, bald eagle and great blue heron, while its surrounding mudflats and eel-grass beds support vast numbers of staging waterfowl.

Flowing into Musquodoboit Harbour is the Musquodoboit River — one of the most ecologically rich rivers in central Nova Scotia thanks to the minerals and fertile soil in its headwater and middle regions. The river's intact floodplains feature a rare combination of black cherry and red oak trees. The area also provides important habitat for several species of at-risk turtles, freshwater clams and migratory birds.

Nearby lies the 1,925-hectare Musquodoboit Harbour Outer Estuary, which was designated a Ramsar Site in 1987. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty signed by 155 countries enlisted in a global effort to ensure the conservation of world-class wetlands. The Musquodoboit Harbour Outer Estuary is also recognized as an Important Bird Area of international importance. Its proximity to NCC’s nature reserves and other conservation areas allows for critical ecological connectivity.

With your help, we’ll be able to conserve even more precious habitat in Musquodoboit River and Harbour.