Wasaga Under Siege 2018

Piping Plovers 2018

About the Park

Autumn 2018

Wasaga’s Piping Plovers Active on Wintering Grounds

Worsley, also known as Little Cooper, was identified earlier this week on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.  It is easy to identify the Great Lakes Piping Plovers by their orange band, located high on their leg.  Worsley was hatched in a captive rearing centre in Michigan in 2012.  This past summer at Wasaga Beach he successfully reared four chicks, two of which have been positively identified on wintering grounds.   Ontario Great Lakes Piping Plovers have also been identified this year on Florida wintering grounds.

Nancy Island Historic Site’s 90th Birthday!

Nancy Island Historic Site was first opened to the public in 1928 and is recognized both nationally and provincially as an important heritage site.  Despite this, very few Canadians are aware that a significant naval engagement occurred here during the War of 1812 and that the charred remains of HMS Nancy represent one of the largest artifacts on display from this pivotal moment in Canadian history.

It was speculated over the years that the sunken hull of the Nancy aided in the formation of an island in the middle of the Nottawasaga River.  While exploring on July 1, 1911, C.H.J. Snider, a journalist and a marine historian from Toronto, found the location of the hull.  The remains of the hull were completely buried and it wasn’t until August 1924, when Dr. F. J. Conboy discovered a 24-pound American cannon ball close by that interest was renewed in the Nancy.

In 1926 the ‘Nancy Committee’ was formed by local and provincial government officials and marine enthusiasts.  These individuals would direct the care and management of HMS Nancy over the next three decades.  Highlights from the Nancy Committee’s initial work can be found the Friends of Nancy Island and Wasaga Beach Park’s blog…  http://nancyislandblog.wordpress.com