Magdalen Islands & Prince Edward Island: Sand Dunes and Seabirds

Magdalen Islands & Prince Edward Island: Sand Dunes and Seabirds Cost: C$2995 2008 Departure Jun 16 - 26 2009  Departure Mon. June 15 - Thurs. June 25 Tour Leader Tony Beck Tony is a professional naturalist, wildlife photographer and teacher who has travelled extensively in North and Central America. He is a caring tour leader who shares his contagious enthusiasm and well-honed skills with his tours participants. Tony has lead previous Quest tours to Hawaii, Costa Rica and Eastern and Western Canada. Staff Member Pamela Berton Pamela has been a member of Quest Nature Tours' sales team for over ten years, and has been involved in Nature Tourism for over twenty years. She is Quest's expert sales consultant in Canadian and International Land Tours. In fact, she has been a participant on many of them including, most recently, India and East Africa. She is able to offer valuable insights for tour participants.          Our tour of Prince Edward Island and the Magdalen Islands is designed to compare the natural history, culture and the rich and varied seafaring history of these two Gulf of St. Lawrence islands. Itinerary (Breakfast - B, Lunch - L, Dinner - D) Day 1 Arrive Charlottetown / Brackley Beach Our leader, Tony Beck, will meet us at noon at the Charlottetown airport. We will drive from there to Brackley Beach and a charming country inn, the Shaw’s Hotel, our home for the next three nights. After we have checked in, and time permitting, we will stroll down a shady lane to the beach and explore our surroundings. After dinner we will have a brief orientation meeting to prepare for our trip. o/n Shaw’s Hotel, Prince Edward Island (L, D) Days 2 - 3 Prince Edward Island We will spend the next two days enjoying a leisurely tour of the back roads of P.E.I. The beautiful red beaches of P.E.I., of course, will be a focal point but there are numerous woodlots and marshes for us to explore. In the Acadian mixed forest we’ll look for Beech, Yellow Birch, White Pine and Hemlock. Marram grass is well established on the barrier dunes and allows other plants to take hold, such as Fragrant Bay Berry, Wild Rose, St. Lawrence Aster and Goldenrod. In the woodlots we will look for wood warblers, flycatchers and thrushes. Some of the beaches are home to the rare and endangered Piping Plover. Caspian and Common Terns are plentiful among the Great Cormorants loafing on the rocks. We’ll also keep a weather eye seaward for Northern Gannets. We’ll visit Brudenell River Provincial Park and Brookvale Provincial Park and the Auburn Demonstration Woodlot. This woodlot and others were developed to provide examples of properly managed forest resources. A wide variety of forest conditions may be viewed by following the walking trails in the area. o/n Shaw’s Hotel, Prince Edward Island (B, L, D) Day 4 Ferry from P.E.I. to Magdalen Islands Today we will drive to Souris to catch the ferry to Cap-aux-Meules, on the Magdalen Islands. On the way, we’ll watch for Black-legged Kittiwakes, Gannets, Puffins and storm petrels and possibly observe Minke and Fin Whales. O/n Motel des Iles (B, L, D) Day 5 Explore the Archipelago We’ll begin our explorations of this remote Canadian paradise by walking and driving around the islands of the archipelago, with its many scenic sites. We’ll visit the highest point in the archipelago, Butte de Vent, at an elevation of 168m, surrounded by wind-swept woodlands containing Black Spruce and Jack Pine. Here we’ll look for Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, warblers and three species of thrushes. This island also has some excellent examples of dune ecology with much of the sand covered by Beach Grass. Many different seabirds nest on the archipelago so we will be going to places such as Ile aux Goelands on the south-east corner of the island to look for terns and gulls on the long dunes, and for Sora Rails and Sharp-tailed Sparrows in the nearby marshy fields. o/n Motel des Iles (B, L, D) Day 6 Ile du Havre-Aubert / Ile du Cap-aux-Meules Our explorations will continue with a visit to Ile du Havre-Aubert, a heavily forested island with a varied landscape that will give us many panoramic views of the area. In the Black Spruce forests we’ll be on the lookout for Boreal Chickadees, Tennessee and Blackpoll Warblers, Fox Sparrows, Grey-cheeked Thrushes and, we hope, nesting Merlins. We’ll also visit L’Etang du Ouest where we will likely see both species of cormorants, Black-legged Kittiwakes and many others. The sand dunes are also the nesting territories of the endangered Piping Plover, which are scattered around but difficult to spot. We will also return to Cap-aux-Meules where we will explore the cliff scenery and the massive, elephant-shaped rock of Parc Gros Cap. o/n Motel des Iles (B, L, D) Day 7 Grosse Ile / Pointe-de-L’Est We plan to spend an extraordinary day in Pointe-de-L’Est National Wildlife Reserve as we walk along interpretive trails and explore the fragile ecosystem on this unique reserve. We’ll visit dunes, lagoons, moors, salt meadows, marshes and saltwater ponds where a wonderful variety of maritime flora and fauna have carved their niches. Several species of endangered plants grow here, such as the Woody Hudsonia and Broom Crowberry. The Piping Plover, an endangered bird species, nests on the dunes of Plage de la Grand Echouerie. The stunted dune forest, in which Balsam Fir, White Spruce, Labrador Tea, Sweet Gale and Sheep Laurel grow, not only stabilizes the shifting dunes but also provides perfect nesting habitat for Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated and Savannah Sparrows and many others. We’ll also walk into the fixed dune area where Bog Laurel and Carnivorous Pitcher Plants grow, the Northern Harrier patrols, and Cowberry, Common Bearberry and Common Juniper, with their medicinal qualities, are an integral part of the heath habitat. O/n Motel des Iles (B, L, D) Day 8 Havre-aux-Maisons / Grande Entrée A number of activities have been planned for today including a visit to the mudflats of La Petite Baie, and the two tiny islands of Ile Rouge and Ile aux Cochons, where we’ll observe many species of birds jostling for space. We’ll also go to old smokehouses and the boat building shop in the tiny fishing port of Pointe-Basse. The island of Grande-Entree, with its red sandstone, clay and volcanic rocks and many cliffs, caves and grottoes, is very flat with abundant alder thickets and stunted spruce and fir forests. Here we’ll be on the lookout for Grass Pink Orchids and Sundews. o/n Motel des Iles (B, L, D) Day 9 Ile d’Entrée Today we will visit the unique English-speaking enclave of Ile d’Entrée where the cliffs are the highest and sheerest of any in the islands of the archipelago. We’ll take time for some cliff walking and look carefully for whales, which are often seen from these vantage points. o/n Motel des Iles (B, L, D) Day 10 Wed Charlottetown We’ll leave the Magdalen Islands on the ferry that is scheduled to arrive in Souris, PEI at 1:00pm. We will then drive to Charlottetown. The rest of the day is free time. Tony will arrange a time for our farewell dinner this evening. o/n Best Western Hotel, Charlottetown (B, L, D) Day 11 Departure Day Tony, will drive you to the airport in time for your flights home. (B) Tour Itinerary Day 1 Arrive Charlottetown / Brackley Beach Day 2-3 PEI Day 4 Ferry from PEI - Magdalen Islands Day 5 Explore the Archipelago Day 6 Ile du Havre - Aubert Day 7 Gross Ile / Point - de - L'est Day 8 Havre - aux - Maisons / Grande Entre Day 9 Ile d'Entree Day 10 Return Ferry to PEI Day 11 Departure day Tour Information Leader:   Tony Beck Length: 11 Days Limit: 8 Participants Departing: Charlottetown, PEI Cost: C$2995 Deposit: C$ 500, per person Note: To increase your enjoyment of this trip, we limit our maximum number of participants to 8. This means extra comfort for you as we travel, for there will be ample room in the 15-passenger van for luggage and personal belongings.   2008 Departure June 16 - 26 2009 Departure Mon. June 15 - Thurs. June 25