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INDIAN HEAD

A promontory jutting into Bay St. George, Indian Head is an ideal bird watcher's vantage point. From the precipitous cliff tops you may sight a bald eagle, osprey, cormorant, dovekie, seaduck, murre, crow, seagull, and maybe even a seal. At certain times of the year whales have been seen near the base of the cliffs. In season, bakeapples, blueberries and blackberries can be found. The beautiful, secluded pebble beaches behind the headland hold their secrets of past shipwrecks.

The best route to Indian Head is from Little Port Harmon, at the end of a pebble beach, southeast of Stephenville. Cross the ship channel by small boat and walk around the industrial settling ponds to the right. A trail ascends Indian Head through a stream gully. As you reach the top of the head, a different world comes into view.

Following the trail, toward the right, you traverse a mini-wilderness. The route takes you through tuckamore groves, around flashets, along clifftops, and to beautifully curved and secluded pebble beaches.

The pebbles of one beach hold a secret of their own. Sticking up at an angle from the sand are the mushroom-shaped steel bollards of a wrecked ship. Its origin is a mystery.

The clifftops are excellent vantage points from which to watch for birds, especially seabirds. Cormorants can be seen swimming, diving and then standing on the offshore rocks drying their outspread wings. Ospreys cruise these waters, constantly hunting for the fish that comprises most of their diet. Back inland, the mass of several nests can be seen , usually at the top of a dead tree.