Introduction

The Port Joli area of south-western Nova Scotia has been an important staging and wintering area for Canada Geese for hundreds of years. It supports some 30 percent of the roughly 10,000 overwintering Canada Geese in the Atlantic Provinces.

Because of hunting pressure, in 1915 the Province of Nova Scotia, in association with local residents and land owners, established Port Joli estuary as a provincial sanctuary. This was soon followed by the establishment of provincial sanctuaries at Port L’Hebert estuary and Sable River in 1919.

Port Hebert, Port Joli and Sable River were established as federal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (MBSs) in 1941. In response to requests from sportsmen in the area, Haley Lake was scheduled in 1976 as a closed hunting zone under Schedule A of the Migratory Birds Regulations. It was then converted to a Migratory Bird Sanctuary in 1980.

Taken together, these four sanctuaries encompass 990 hectares and provide an important and interlocking web of support for overwintering Canada Geese, American Black Ducks and other bird species that winter or visit there. They are managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) of Environment Canada.

Canada Geese at Haley Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Photo Credit: Andrew Macfarlane, Canadian Wildlife Service

Port Joli and Port L'Hebert normally remain ice free, providing waterfowl with an abundant food source. In severe winters however, Port Joli and Port L'Hebert do freeze over and Sable River becomes more important, providing the birds with open water and their principal food source, eel grass. Haley Lake, an inland lake, forms an important part of the chain. In the autumn it provides Canada Geese and American Black Ducks with fresh water and gravel as well as a place for preening and loafing during high tide when the feeding areas in the other sanctuaries are submerged.

Habitat

The long, parallel inlets of Port Joli, Port L'Hebert and Sable River were carved by water and glacial erosion that was channelled along bedrock fractures. The bedrock consists of Devonian granite, and early Paleozoic sandstones, greywackes, and slates of the Meguma Group.

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Port Joli Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Photo Credit: R.Newell	Port Hebert Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Photo Credit: R.Newell	Port Joli Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Photo Credit: Andrew Macfarlane, Canadian Wildlife Service

Within the long inlets a sheltered environment provides the conditions for the development of mudflats and small salt marshes. Port Joli, Port L'Hebert and Sable River include extensive areas of intertidal and sub-tidal mud flats, providing overwintering Canada Geese with large tracts of eelgrass.

Situated within the Atlantic Shore Ecoregion, Port Joli, Port Hebert and Sable River MBSs contain marine and brackish habitat at the head of long, narrow coastal bays. Haley Lake MBS protects a small freshwater lake situated in the uplands between Port L'Hebert and Sable River.

Human History

The earliest evidence of human use in the Port Joli area is provided by shell middens found along the shores of the larger coastal inlets. The middens are attributed to Mi'kmaq occupation dating to as early as 1200 years ago. These sites were primarily used for clam digging, although the middens also contain the remains of several other wildlife species, including moose, white-tailed deer, geese, and various shorebirds and ducks.

European settlement began sporadically in the 1600s, and the first formal settlement, Port Mouton, was established in 1784. A number of additional small fishing settlements were established shortly thereafter at Port Joli, Port L'Hebert, Sable River and Allendale.

Although the fishery is much reduced in size today, these small coastal fishing communities continue to survive. Lobster and several species of groundfish are still harvested off the south shore. The largest towns in the region are Shelburne, a fishing and regional service center, and Liverpool, a fishing and pulp mill town.

Migratory Bird Sanctuaries

North America's oldest waterfowl sanctuary at Last Mountain Lake in Saskatchewan was set aside by Parliament in 1887 to protect breeding grounds for "Wild Fowl." In 1916, Canada and the United States signed the Migratory Birds Convention which obliged both countries to preserve migratory birds and protect them from indiscriminate slaughter. Canada implemented the convention through the Migratory Birds Convention Act of 1917 under which Last Mountain Lake became an MBS.

There are presently 92 MBSs across Canada, totalling approximately 11.2 million hectares and they can be found in all provinces and territories except for Manitoba and the Yukon. They vary in size from the tiny 0.08-hectare Christie Islet in British Columbia to Queen Maud Gulf in Northwest Territories which is more than six million hectares or 69,800 square kilometers.

Regulations

Activities in Port Joli, Port Hebert, Sable River and Haley Lake MBSs are controlled by regulations set forth in the Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations. The sanctuary boundaries are posted with blue and white signs and feature a drawing of a loon which signifies the protected status of the area. Notices at the access points to the sanctuaries list those activities which are prohibited.

The Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations prohibit all disturbance, hunting, and collection of migratory birds and their eggs within the MBSs. Visitors must not carry firearms or allow their pets to run at large.

Management

Management includes periodic inspections, enforcement of hunting prohibitions and regulations, and the maintenance of signs.