Birding in Grand Manan: A Hidden Gem for Nature Lovers

Birding in Grand Manan: A Wild and Wonderful Escape into the Feathery Unknown

If you’re the kind of person who finds peace in a pair of binoculars and excitement in the flap of wings, then let me tell you—Grand Manan is your dream come true. Nestled in the Bay of Fundy, just off the coast of Maine (yep, it’s a Canadian island with U.S. neighbors), this place is small in size but absolutely enormous in birding potential.

Let’s start from the top—literally. Your Grand Manan adventure begins with a 90-minute ferry ride from Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick. And birders, listen up: the ferry is your first birding hotspot. As you glide across the ocean, keep an eye out for great shearwaters, sooty shearwaters, manx shearwaters, razorbills, Atlantic puffins, and common murres. It’s a full-on seabird safari. Northern gannets dive like missiles all around the boat, and if you’re lucky, you’ll spot porpoises or even a whale or two. Yes, this is just the start.

First Stop: North Head

Once you dock in North Head, gulls are your welcoming committee—herring gulls mostly, but don’t be surprised if a great black-backed gull or something rarer joins the party. From here, birding spots pop up like chickadees in spring.

Swallowtail Light: Birding and Drama

This cliffside lighthouse is as photogenic as it is productive. On the right day—with the wind and tide on your side—you’ll catch gannets plunging into the surf and shearwaters gliding close. Harbor and gray seals often lounge in the waves, and minke whales might roll just below the cliff. Once, I even saw a humpback breach not 50 meters out. Wild.

Castalia Marsh: Sparrow Central

Castalia Marsh is one of those magical spots where the ordinary becomes extraordinary. It’s famous for rare sightings, but even the usual suspects shine here. Savannah sparrows hop around like they own the place, and Nelson’s sparrows sing like they’re auditioning for a musical. Wimbrels, dowitchers, semi-palmated sandpipers—they all drop in. It’s busy, it’s birdy, it’s bliss.

Secret Mudflats at Woodard Cove

Don’t let the industrial buildings fool you—take WC Breakwater Road and keep left until you hit a hidden patch of wetland heaven. At low tide, shorebirds like to crowd the flats. The freshwater pond nearby often hosts ducks with ducklings in tow, and sometimes even a great egret struts through like it’s on a runway.

Island-Hopping: Whitehead Island

Take the 30-minute ferry from Ingalls Head to Whitehead Island (it’s free!), and you’ll find another world. This place feels wilder—like time paused and nature took over. Head to the lighthouse over cobblestone paths, through salt marshes, and get ready for a full chorus of common yellowthroats, song sparrows, and savannah sparrows. In late summer, it’s all about the whimbrels.

Anchorage Provincial Park: Bunnies and Birds

This campground is the chill-out zone for birders. The mile-long beach is lovely, and there are two ponds—Long Pond and Great Pond—where herons, gulls, and ducks hang out like regulars at a local café. The Bagley Trail winds through mossy, lichen-draped forest filled with warblers, thrushes, and chickadees. And yes, feral bunnies hop around like it's Wonderland.

Red Point Beach: Magnetite and Magic

Here’s a tip: bring a magnet. No joke—Red Point Beach is rich in magnetic sand, and it's a geology lesson and birding trip rolled into one. Warblers flit through the bushes, goldfinches bounce around like popcorn, and the easy trail over the cliffs to Anchorage is loaded with feathered distractions.

Southwest Head and Hay Point: Cliffside Spectacle

Southwest Head is where you’ll feel the full force of Grand Manan’s rugged magic. Standing at the edge of 300-foot cliffs while watching black guillemots down below and red crossbills fly above—this is the stuff of birding dreams. The trail to Hay Point winds through boreal forest and opens up new surprises every few steps: warblers, vireos, flycatchers. Don’t get too close to the edge—those views are intoxicating, and so is the drop.

Dark Harbor: Moody, Mysterious, and Full of Dulse

Yes, the weather here is often gloomy. That’s exactly why I love it. Fog makes everything feel secret. This is where they harvest dulse, that salty seaweed snack, and the harbor feels frozen in time. Bird-wise? I’ve heard whimbrels call across the lagoon, and the dark mood only makes their eerie cry more beautiful.

Long Eddy Point ("The Whistle")

Finish your birding trip at the Long Eddy Point Light Station—affectionately known as “the whistle.” Here, the tide creates a swirling eddy that’s basically an all-you-can-eat buffet for marine life and seabirds. Gannets dive, porpoises play, and the bird song from the surrounding woods rounds it all out. Redstarts, cuckoos, warblers—they’re the background music to one heck of a sunset.

One Last Look Through the Binoculars

Birding Grand Manan isn’t about checking species off a list (though your list will grow). It’s about slow mornings, dramatic coastlines, sea air, and surprise encounters—like finding a black-billed cuckoo in a foggy wood or watching puffins while sipping coffee on the ferry. Whether you’re a casual birder or a full-on life-lister, Grand Manan delivers. Binoculars ready? You might just fall in love—feathers, fog, ferry and all.