Gunning Trail
Cape Jourimain National Wildlife AreaGallery
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Quick Facts
| Difficulty | easy |
| Trail Type | linear |
| Distance | 1.2 km one-way |
| Estimated Time | 45 mins return |
| Surface Type | grass |
| Elevation Change | 8 metres |
| Features | salt marsh, bridge |
| Trail Markers | signs |
| Scenery Rating | beautiful |
| Maintenance Rating | well maintained |
| Cell Reception | strong |
| Dog Friendly | On a leash |
| Fees | by donation |
From the Sign
The Lobster Cannery
No posts or crumpled foundation marks the spot of the Lobster Cannery that sat along this cliff, a hundred years ago. But there are a few clues: look closely and you will see the remains of an old rusted boiler, out on the beach, that once helped to cook the locally caught lobsters. An advertisement from Portland Packing, down in Maine, actually lists Cape Jourimain as one of their many Nova Scotia (!) canneries. And the family of Gladys Cook still hold an aging account book, on which are recorded week after week the boarding of young Acadian women who would come down the shore to find work in the cannery.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
This warbler has four yellow patches (crown, rump, sides) which clearly identify it in all plumage except that of the juvenile. Breeding plumage is much brighter in the male than in the female. The male's trilling song can be heard at all hours of the day in New Brunswick forests from May to July.
Bayberry
In winter, the diet of the Yellow-rumped Warblers shifts from insects to the bayberries plentiful in this area.
Map
Description
The Gunning Trail is a wide gravel path that starts at the interpretive centre. It first goes through a softwood forest with lots of interpretive signs. After passing the parking lot access, there is a lookout platform. Check out these close-up views of the Confederation Bridge before continuing on the trail. The trail then circles around the point under the first arch of the bridge.
Soon after the bridge, the trail enters the woods on more of a mowed path. There is one more viewpoint looking back at the bridge before the trail goes back into the woods and crosses the peninsula. The trail passes through a mostly spruce forest and comes out to a lookout platform that overlooks a brackish marsh (see From the Sign below). This pond is protected from the Strait by the peninsula and a long dune.
From the lookout platform, the trail returns the way it came.
Directions
Go past the Interpretive Centre, either by going through the interpretive centre if it is open, or by using the boardwalk to the left outside. Make sure you check out the observation tower on the side of the interpretive centre to get the lay of the land.
Step off the boardwalk in front of the interpretive centre and turn left. Follow the gravel path a short distance to a trail junction. Turn left at this trail junction. This is the start of the Gunning Trail.
You can also access the Gunning Trail from the parking lot. You will find a short access trail at the far end of the parking lot nearest the Confederation Bridge.
From the Sign
Brackish Marsh
The brackish marshes have made Jourimain uniquely attractive to an astonishing range of species, including some very rare and interesting plants. The shallow brackish water teem with larvae and bugs. Some of the insects are hunted in the water by sticklebacks, killifish and mummichogs and in the air by dragonflies, damselflies and swallows. The sedge and rushes, grasses and cattails surrounding the ponds create habitat for nesting birds, the Red-winged Blackbirds and Willets being the most conspicuous. Sharp-tailed Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows also nest here, as do American Wigeon, teal and Black Ducks.
Man-Made Marshes
Until construction of the roadbed in the 1960s, the Jourimain Islands had been separated by saltmarshes. The new road cut these saltmarshes in half, blocking the major tidal creeks which drained them. Those marshes cut off from tidal flooding became brackish.
For migrating ducks and shorebirds these have been very desrable changes resulting in a much greater diversity than we find on the saltmarshes.
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
This is the only Canadian songbird that nests in saltmarshes. The gray cap and hindneck, orange triangle on the side of the face, and blurry grayish streaking on the buffy breast distinguish this sparrow from similar species. The male's hissing song is delivered from high up on the grass stalk or while on the wing.
In summer, these sparrows eat insects, spiders, small crustaceans, snails and worms. In fall and winter they consume the seeds of grasses and weeds, as well as whatever small invertebrate animals they can find.
Short-billed Dowitcher
Dowitchers use their very long, straight bills to probe mud in shallow water with a characteristic 'sewing-machine' motion. The distinctive white rump and lower back make them easy to pick out when they fly in typical large formations with other species of shorebirds. Dowitchers forage in shallow water and on mudflats for a great variety of insects, mollusks, crustaceans and worms; they also eat seeds of pondweeds, rushes, grasses, and sedges.
Other Trails at Cape Jourimain
Trail Last Hiked: July 29, 2023.
Page Last Updated: February 24, 2024.