Mary's Point
| Mary's Point | |
|---|---|
Semipalmated sandpipers thrive at Mary's Point where they feed on dense concentrations of corphium, a shrimplike animal that lives in the mud.
|
|
| Coordinates | 45°44′N 64°45′W / 45.733°N 64.750°WCoordinates: 45°44′N 64°45′W / 45.733°N 64.750°W |
| Area | 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) |
| Designated | 24 May 1982 |
Mary's Point is a 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) wetland in Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is at the head of the Bay of Fundy, just outside the small community of Harvey and approximately 40 km (25 mi) south of Moncton. Designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 24, 1982, it is also part of the Fundy biosphere reserve established in 2007, which also contains the Shepody Bay wetland. It was also the first Canadian site in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve, as part of the Bay of Fundy Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve. It is within the Shepody Bay National Wildlife Area, which is administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
Mary's Point is an important staging area for shorebirds migrating from the Canadian subarctic to South America during the fall, supporting up to two million semipalmated sandpipers annually, or nearly 75% of the global population of this species, as well as millions of birds of other species.
Approximately 940 ha (2,300 acres) of the intertidal mudflats are under jurisdiction to the province of New Brunswick. Another 107 ha (260 acres) are owned by the Government of Canada, including the "most critical sites used by the large roosting flocks of shorebirds during high tide". The remaining portion, covering most of the salt marsh, is privately owned. The federal government has attempted to purchase the land, but has been spurned.
This open peninsula ranges in elevation from 2 m (6.6 ft) below sea level to 10 m (33 ft) above sea level, protruding into Shepody Bay. It is characterized by extensive intertidal mudflats, with gravel beaches bordering terrestrial habitats and shallow marine areas.
...
Wikipedia