The Bowdoin Scientific Station is the biological field station of Bowdoin College of Brunswick, Maine. The station, located on Kent Island, New Brunswick, Canada, was established in 1935 as a research facility and sanctuary for nesting seabirds. Visitors may take a two-hour ferry from Black's Harbour, New Brunswick, to the village of North Head, Grand Manan Island. Other islands in the Grand Manan Archipelago and elsewhere in the Bay of Fundy are easily accessible. Summer weather cond itions at Kent Island have been recorded nearly continuously since 1937.
Fog occurs during about one-third of summer days.
Because of the cool, moist climate of the Bay of Fundy, the flora and fauna of the Bowdoin Scientific Station are characterized by a high proportion of boreal species typically restricted to more northern latitudes. The northern half of Kent Island is covered by a forest of white and red spruce, balsam fir, and white birch , with mountain ash colonizing disturbed areas. The understory is dominated by spinulose wood-fern and whorled aster. The southern half of the island is treeless, with old fields, a small freshwater stream, a marsh, and shrub habitats. More than 270 terrestrial plant species have been identified at Kent Island.