A Point Pleasant Park Gallery

Despite many disturbances, and in spite of the large numbers of people ( in excess of 1.4 million visits a year), bicycles, and dogs that frequent the park, it is still home to a large and diverse community of plants and animals typical of boreal fores ts in eastern Canada.

The Point Pleasant Park Management Plan identifies nine principal habitats found within the park including Benthic/Intertidal; Open Water; Boulder & Cobble Shoreline; Freshwater Pond; Bog, Barren/Heath; Mixed Forest (Red Spruce, Balsam Fir, Red & White Pine, Red Maple, and White Birch), Coastal Forest (White Spruce); and Cultural Imposed.

The Nova Scotia Bird Society has recorded 153 species of birds in the Park including 39 species know to have nested there. A half dozen or more species of mammals have recently been recorded there including an introduced Coatimundi (Nasua nasua). Four species of amphibians, and five species of reptiles are found in the park and at least twenty species of fish have been recorded in the waters around the Park.

There are a very large number of invertebrates found in the Park, only some of which have been identified and studied.

The following photo gallery pictures some of the more abundant animals found there. We plan to continue adding photos to the gallery and we invite anyone with photographs of animals taken there to submit them for inclusion. Click on any of the thumb nails to see a larger view of the animal.

Mammals

Red Squirrel: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Feeding on Red Spruce cones.	Racoon: Procyon lotor An adult sleeping in a den.

Birds

Black Duck: Anas rubripes Feeding on along the shore.	BlueJay: Cyanocitta cristata Feeding in a Red Spruce.	Downey Woodpecker: Picoides pubescens An adult feeds bark insects to a juvenile.
Robin: Turdus migratorius Feeding on ground invertebrates.	Black-capped Chickadee: Poecile atricapilla An active feeder on Red Spruce.	Red-breasted Nuthatch: Sitta canadensis An active feeder on insects on Red Spruce.
Double-crested Cormorant: Phalacrocorax auritis A resident throughout the year.	Mourning Dove: Zenaida macroura Becoming increasingly common.	Rock Dove: Columba liva A visitor from urban habitats.
Dark-eyed Junco: Junco hyemalis A ground-foraging sparrow.	An American Crow: Corvus brachyrynchos a common bird in the park and city.	ACommon Grackle: Quiscalus quiscula a summer breeder in the park.
One of a pair of Merlins: Falco columbarius apparently nesting in the Park.

Reptiles & Amphibians

Green Frog: Rana clamitans Found in ponds & bogs.	Redback Salamander: Plethedon cinereus Abundant under rocks & logs.	Northern Ringneck Snake: Diadophis punctatus Persists in undisturbed areas.
Easttern Painted Turtle: Chrysemys picta Introduced to the bog pond.

Insects

A Noctuid Moth: Apamaea ampulatrix Disguised on Red Spruce bark.	The Banded Purple: Limenitis arthemis A woodland butterfly.	A Mourning Cloak : Nymphalis antiopa They hibernate as adults and can be observed in the early spring and late fall.
Common Whitetail: Libellula lydia A female: found near bogs and ponds.	A male White-faced Meadowhawk Sympetrum obtrusum: common throughout the forest.	An (as yet) unidentified Damselfly common near ponds.
Spotted Bupestrid: Melanophila fulvogutatta A metallic woodboring beetle.	A Checkered Beetle Thanasimius dubius: avid predators of woodboring beetles.	The Rustic Borer: Xylotrechus undulatus A common borer on Red Spruce.
Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle: Tetropium fuscum An introduced woodboring beetle.	A Braconid Wasp: Atanycolus sp. Common in the Park they are parasites of woodboring insects.	Traces of Woodboring Beetles feeding on cambium beneath the bark.
Bark Beetles (Scolytidae) resin tubes: very common in the Park.	Horntail Wasps (Siricidae) burrows: Sawyer wasps are abundant.

Other Invertebrates

Black and Yellow Argiope: Argiope aurantica A large spider of wet meadows.

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