Canada Geese Fly over Long Hill

A group of Canada geese fly over Long Hill in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Geese are just one type of waterfowl that uses the salt marsh, and are pursued there by hunters during hunting season.  Most of the  geese in these flocks which can number in the thousands fly north to their breeding grounds in spring, or south to warmer climes in fall, using their sojourn in the marsh to feed on eel grass (zostera maritima). A smaller group stays year round breeding locally and managing to survive throughout the winter.  This overwintering group has been increasing in recent years as the size of the main migrating flock decreases.  Cole Harbour salt marsh being largely protected from rampant development, thanks to its inclusion in the Cole Harbour-Lawrencetown Coastal Heritage Park, remains a key stopover for important flocks of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds.