Halifax & St Margaret's Bay · Canada · Reef · Sand slope
Birchy Head
Three routes from one beach, including a ledge at 27 m (90 ft)
Birchy Head is a small, secluded shore site just down the road from Fox Point beach on St. Margaret's Bay. A reef gives way to sand that keeps dropping into deep water, so the same entry suits a shallow Open Water dive, a ledge dive near 27 m (90 ft) or a deep technical plan.
0Where it is and how deep
44.6119° N, 64.0589° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
From the rocky beach the site offers three directions: straight out to depth, left for a shallower dive, or right along a ledge that easily reaches 27 m (90 ft). The reef itself only extends to about 14 to 17 m (45 to 55 ft); beyond it the bottom is sand, which continues down to 70 m (230 ft).
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows Halifax & St Margaret's Bay: Late August and September bring the warmest water and the odd seahorse; winter, free of rain runoff, brings clear water.
Know before you go
- A current can run at the surface, on the bottom or both, sometimes in opposite directions; plan the dive around it.
Dive videos
Birchy Head! awesome site in Nova Scotia · Abyss hunter on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep does Birchy Head go?+
The reef ends at about 14 to 17 m (45 to 55 ft), the ledge on the right reaches 27 m (90 ft), and the sand beyond keeps dropping to 70 m (230 ft) for technical divers.
Sources
- Birchy Head Dive Site — East Coast Scuba
More dive sites in Halifax & St Margaret's Bay
Wall
An Atlantic wolffish living under a concrete slab at 18 m (60 ft)
Reef
A sheltered cove where Open Water students train
Muck & macro
Nudibranchs and hermit crabs between a pier and a breakwater
A training block on a 330-degree bearing from the beach
Wall
Large lobsters and old bottles along the Black Rock Beach wall
Sand slope
Old bottles on the bottom of the Northwest Arm
Similar dives elsewhere
Rock fissures near the end of the Tjørnuvík jetty
Dogfish in numbers over sand cut by finger gullies
Four small reefs around a lagoon, canyon terrain, mild current
Reef
Akinohama
Izu Ōshima · Japan
Endemic Japanese pygmy seahorses off a lava-jetty shore entry