Wainfleet Wetlands

Once covered by a shallow, warm sea 300-450 million years ago, what is now the Wainfleet Wetlands Conservation Area was the site of a clay and limestone quarry from the late 19th century until the 1960s. Fossils of the plants and animals that lived in the Paleozoic sea can be seen in the exposed limestone of the Onondaga Formation, in the quarry walls and on rock tableland.

Purchased by the NPCA in 1978, today the quarries and clay pits have naturalized and are home for fish, birds, waterfowl, turtles, snakes and plants. Unique alvar communities of rock-loving plants also thrive in the shallow soils.

This Conservation Area is a natural area and helps fulfill the NPCA’s objective to further the conservation, restoration, development and management of natural resources, as it is managed to provide habitat for fish and wildlife and to preserve the geological significance of the site, while providing passive recreational and educational opportunities.

The site contains the best exposed fossil and viewing area of geological formation and fossils (ancient marine lifeforms) in the Niagara Peninsula, highlighting species that lived 380- 450 million years ago in the shallow warm saltwater sea of the Michigan Basin that covered the site. Tilobites, crinoids shellfish and corrals can be seen.

This important property is home to a variety of unique and significant habitats including: alvars, prairie, cliffs, provincially significant wetlands, upland forest, low shrub areas and open water and streams. It contains terrestrial and aquatic habitat, supporting waterfowl staging areas, and is home to a number of birds (passerine, raptors waterfowl), mammals, fish, turtles, snakes, frogs, toads, and salamanders. 

This wetland is unique as it attracts a large variety of bird species, with over 50 different confirmed sightings. Yellow Warblers are the most common, and wading and shorebirds are plentiful as are Great Blue Herons, Egrets, Gulls, Terns, and Sandpipers. Guests may also encounter Bald Eagles, Northern Pintails, Northern Shoveleers, Mallards, and more. 

Wainfleet Wetlands is a Bronze Plaque Award winner for quarry rehabilitation work with the Management of Abandoned Aggregate Properties Program, awarded for efforts to increase wetland development and habitat cover for improved diversity and function in the landscape.

For information on hunting at this site, please visit npca.ca/administration/hunting-application.