About the Marsh

The Dufferin Marsh is a wetland that provides for a variety of natural features and functions. During major rainfall or spring melt it becomes inundated with water, protecting other areas from flooding. The water held in the Marsh is cleansed through biological processes and filtered into the ground, recharging the groundwater system.

The Dufferin Marsh contains a variety of plant communities, which support resident and migratory birds and animals. More than 50 species of birds have been observed in the wetland. The avian diversity is unusual and significant for a small wetland.

There are two bird species that have been sighted within the wetland that are provincially significant; the Cooper’s Hawk and the Loggerhead Shrike. The Red-bellied Woodpecker has also been spotted in the wetland and is regionally significant.

Within plant communities there are a few species of significance. Hill’s Pondweed is found in the pond areas and is nationally rare. Torrey's Manna Grass found in the wet riparian areas is rare regionally. A hawthorn species common to drier areas is also regionally rare.

No one could miss the frogs early in the summer as their calls echo down Main Street all night and day. Frogs and toads are numerous, representing eight of the possible ten species found in the area.

Chimneys of burrowing crayfish are common along the edges of the wetland. Chimney Crayfish are at the northern limit of their range in this wetland.

The Dufferin Marsh is part of a continuum of green space that extends from the Oak Ridges Moraine to Lake Simcoe.