Malbaie Salt Marsh
This is part of the Malbaie Salt Marsh which is a federally protected nature conservancy. The marsh is the largest natural lagoon in Quebec and is an important habitat for over 200 species of birds and 25 species of fish. It’s also an important location for migrating birds. This photo was taken at low tide and you can just see the sandbar in the background that separates the marsh from the ocean. At high tide there are gaps in the sandbar which allow the fresh and salt waters to mix.
200 species of birds? Oooooooohhh…
The sky is so wide.
Marshes are important and very, very undervalued habitats. Because people cannot live there, and cannot grow food in them, they were destroyed in my country to the point that now there is actually serious talk about renovating them, because the landscape cannot retain water now and it shows during last overly warm years.
I love the bleached wood. Beautiful picture.
I have to concur both Giliell and Charly. So many species and the snag is wonderful. The place looks like one of those places where birds are quite safe from landlubbing critters.
The light is also beautiful.
That is simply gorgeous and I agree with Ice Swimmer, the light is beautiful.
Marshes just burst with life, don’t they. And they are so mysterious, you can’t just walk freely into them, you hear the birds and the frogs and the sound of something entering water, but… you can’t get closer to see what’s going on. And I’m sure that’s part of the reason birds love it so much!
Charly
That’s really sad. And it just goes to show humans don’t need Genesis 1:26 to be destructive idiots.
Giliell,
The sky here always feels big. It’s one of the things I like best about this place.
*****
Charly,
Thanks. It’s a shame about the loss of your marshes. The destruction of natural habitats can be hard to undo.
*****
Ice Swimmer,
Thanks. The birds are quite safe here. It’s a popular spot for birding and the locals are serious about protecting the place.
*****
Nightjar,
Thanks.I know what you mean about wanting to get closer. I’ve stalked a heron here a few times, but he’s always too far out to get a good photo.
This photo is wonderful, I love salt marshes (or brackish water marshes) and voyager, what a great place. Wow. To see all that life! Really sad when people drain such places. I remember a man who had discovered a new species of frog and was super excited. When he went back to collect specimens for verification, the Army Corps of Engineers had come in and drained the area, wiping out the species. Marshes are important!
It looks bleak, and lonely, in a very peaceful way. Like where you go to enjoy bleakness and loneliness, only to discover it isn’t so bleak nor so lonely.
There’s salt marshes here, some under conservation protection. Rail Baltica recently went head-to-head with Natura 2000. I believe the salt marsh did win that fight, but it’s the local farmers who lost.
In North Dakota, I’m a long way from a salt marsh. However, freshwater marshes are just as much under assault.
People constantly want to grow a mono-culture crop on borderlands, that include freshwater marshes. In a dry year, when the marshes recede, it looks like you could have seeded and harvested more land to crop.When they do that, they get marginal crop, yet still believe that they got more crop than they did before. For one year at a time. Very short sighted.