Hen is named after Hen Island, which lies just offshore from the site. The site faces to the west, and the intertidal zone is a mixture of very muddy patches in between islands of granite ledges and boulders. Ascophyllum dominates the surface, and many of the plants have massive holdfasts, which suggest the plants are quite old. Mussels not only dominate the mud flats below the granite ledges, but also are found in low spots on the ledges.

Picture above : The point of land with spruce on the left side is Buckle Island. Hen Island is out of view to the left. The exposed pink granite in the middle of the photograph was scoured clean of Ascophyllum during the winter of 2003-2004. Just beyond the exposed ledge is the 8 m clearing, which is dominated by Fucus and appears more yellow green than the surrounding Ascophyllum. Photo taken 6 May 2004.