County Is Island of Islands

O U R   N A T U R A L   H E R I T A G E

COUNTY IS ISLAND OF ISLANDS

Thursday, April 02, 2009

On a clear day, the lighthouse appears as a white speck on the distant horizon. Quite remarkable considering it is more than 19 km away. Behind it, a 400 hectare island. Few realize that Main Duck Island  is as much a part of Prince Edward County as are the islands that lie within a stone’s throw of the County’s shoreline. A close look at its geomorphology and some of its wildlife and it’s almost as though one had taken a large chunk of Prince Edward County and gently lowered it into Lake Ontario. It has the same limestone cliffs, pebble beaches, soils, ironwoods, hickories, sumacs, prickly ash, wildflowers, and bird life. Distance, though, has not allowed it to escape poison ivy and the invasive dog strangling vine – they are there, too.

For such a relatively small island it has amassed an amazing collection of stories and history, a history which, unfortunately, is slowly being forgotten and falling into decay. The island was once owned by the colourful Claude Cole – he was reportedly born on Big Island, and is buried at Glenwood Cemetery. From 1941 to 1959, the island was owned by John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State, under Eisenhower.  A fireplace is all that remains of the small cottage where he once spent his holidays. There is a history of many lighthouse keepers and of a commercial fishing village,  rum running tales, and the day in 1984 when Queen Elizabeth enjoyed a private picnic there. Today, except for pleasure boaters, the island is silent. No one lives there anymore, the agricultural fields covered in swallowwort and milkweed, the once vibrant roadways barely passable to hikers, and the buildings deserted and boarded up.  From the air, Main Duck Island is part of a chain of islands, stretching from  Stoney and the Galloo Islands on the American side, to Main Duck and its neighbour Yorkshire Island, and closer to the County, the False Ducks, encompassing Swetman and Timber Islands. Timber Island was the last stronghold in Ontario of the majestic Bald Eagle, before it declined in the late 1940s.

Prince Edward County has several islands around the perimeter of its shoreline. In fact, Prince Edward County itself is an island, man made through the construction of the Murray Canal in  1889,  and tethered to the mainland now by its three bridges at Carrying Place, Rossmore and Deseronto.  Visible from the Skyway Bridge is Forester’s Island – not really part of the County, but interesting in that it once was the site of an impressive four story orphanage. We wonder about the origin of a few of their names, such as Snake Island and Cow Island near Belleville, and Bald Island in Wellers Bay. Another near Trenton, Makatewis Island had a much less flattering name on earlier maps.

Some like Main Duck Island, have hosted famous people. Crooner Bing Crosby once hunted pheasants on Nicholson Island, offshore from Huyck’s Point. Author Farley Mowat, in 1939, discovered Lake Ontario’s first breeding colony of cormorants on the shoals of Scotch Bonnet, a small island less than a hectare in size, even at low water. Scotch Bonnet is nothing more than several tiers of flat limestone rock, containing the remains of a stone lighthouse which for 20 years, has refused to surrender to time.

Each island has its own unique population of animals. Some have become established, and others have not. There are no squirrels on Main Duck Island, but a beaver somehow managed to swim the 19 km there and build a lodge a few years ago. And the huge water snakes there have become legendary. Nicholson Island witnessed the first ever attempt in the County, albeit unsuccessful, at introducing the wild turkey, at least 25 years before the successful introduction at Beaver Meadow. However, all islands on the County’s south shore have birds, as these are often the first land forms that  birds see when migrating north across the lake in the spring. Both Nicholson and Main Duck Islands, for example, often see phenomenal populations of spring migrants as they exploit the food sources before continuing their journey.

How many islands in the sun are there? Well, if  you count them all, and don’t forget the islands of Grape, Fox, Goose, Waupoos, Sawguin and others with similarly  interesting names, there are probably more than 30, give or take a few, considering that some like Green Island  in Prince Edward Bay, pop up and then disappear at the whims of the weather.

This is the third in a series of columns by Terry Sprague on the natural heritage of Prince Edward County, sponsored by the Prince Edward Stewardship Council. For more information, check out their website at http://www.ontariostewardship.org .