Hartlen Point and rare birds - securing access for birders for good
angeladawn...@gmail.com
Happy Friday,
Take this for discussion where you like but I think as a resident of 14 years living 2 KM from Hartlen Point and a lady who uses the Eastern Shore all the way to Three Fathom Harbour on a regular basis I have some good weigh in.
The Hartlen Point development will happen. Period. Birders may or may not get access. The feds do not care about birds.
The appeal of birding at Hartlen Point is access, roadside bias, visibility. As well as a large Willow tree that borders on a swampy area.
I do not think this is entirely unique but a lovely expanse of habitat I hope we continue to have access to. I am devastated.
You may know that there are access problems to Silver Sands currently, and that HRM owns 10 acres of beach that you could walk to from Hartlen if you didn’t mind walking through a tidal channel.
Many people who have properties on Murray Road also walk through Hartlen Point and Silver Sands to quietly bird. I have met many of them and they have a wealth of birding knowledge, they don’t bother with eBird or the NSBS but they know a lot about nesting behavior and many other things.
If you frequent Viewpoint and Realtor.ca and the HRM mapping tool as I do, you will see many private parcels of land are on the market that abut Silver Sands from Murray Road.
As well rare birds turn up in all our neighbourhoods throughout Eastern Passage and Cow Bay.
Is it not time to try to secure a proper piece of access for birders? As the crow flies, the headland is much larger than a golf course.
Personally I don’t enjoy walking through golfers to get to Jimmie’s Lane.
When I birded in New England I visited a lot of lovely sanctuaries.
Instead of crying for what we are losing (and believe me it’s devastating me after 20 years of walking Hartlen and purchasing a home close by) we should strive toward what we can have.
I am happy to engage government from my area if that is helpful.
You can reach me at angeladawn...@gmail.com
I attended a NSNT AGM a few years ago when Ian McLaren said it was time to protect some land at Hartlen. He was dismissed as a cranky old man.
Loved Ian. Word.
Let’s make some noise and something good in his spirit.
Peace not war,
Angela
angeladawn...@gmail.com
Forgot a very important piece of information.
There are many hectares of federal land between Murray Road and Hartlen Point that were not designated for anything last time I checked.
Maybe working with the Nature Conservancy and the feds may be the way to go to secure a bird sanctuary?
ang