Watshishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary, an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area of Canada, is located on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the Côte-Nord region, Minganie RCM, Quebec, Canada.[2]
| Watshishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
 Mouth of the Pontbriand River, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Belvédère de la Baie-Ponbriand,[1] roadside rest stop from Route 138 (The Whale Route) | |
 | |
| Nearest town | Natashquan |
| Coordinates | 50°15′0″N 62°28′50″W / 50.25000°N 62.48056°W |
| Website | https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/migratory-bird-sanctuaries/locations/watshishou.html |
Territory
editLocated approximately 40 kilometers west of Natashquan, this 10,673 hectare refuge extends over a little more than 23 kilometers along the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in the municipality of Baie-Johan-Beetz, and partly in Aguanish and the Mingan Archipelago National Park reserve.[3][4]
The Wastishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary[5] includes Pontbriand,[6] Jalobert[7] and Pashashibou bays, all islands, islets and emerging rocks in the area, as well as the offshore waters over a distance of several kilometers from the coast. In fact, the waters cover almost 90% of the refuge's surface area. Vegetation is limited to a few species of moss and lichens, because the terrestrial part of the refuge is mainly made up of rocky outcrops.[8][9]
Birds
editThe common eider is the most abundant, the double-crested cormorant is the second most commonly found species, the third most numerous species within this sanctuary is the herring gull.
- Somateria mollissima. — Eider à duvet. — (Common eider).
- Phalacrocorax auritus. — Cormoran à aigrettes. — (Double-crested cormorant).
- Larus argentatus. — Goéland argenté. — (Herring gull).
Bird species present in smaller numbers also benefit from this sanctuary:
- ''Sterna paradisaea. — Sterne arctique. — (Arctic tern).
- Sterna hirundo. — Sterne pierregarin. — (Common tern).
- Gavia stellata. — Plongeon catmarin. — (Red-throated loon).
- Gavia immer. — Plongeon huard. — (Common loon).
- Anas rubripes. — Canard noir. — (American black duck).
- Mergus serrator. — Harle huppé. — (Red-breasted merganser).
- Melanitta deglandi. — Macreuse à ailes blanches. — (White-winged scoter).
- Melanitta perspicillata. — Macreuse à front blanc ou Macreuse à lunettes. — (Surf scoter).
- Melanitta americana. — Macreuse à bec jaune. — (Black scoter).[8]
- Wastishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary
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![Pontbriand River,[6][5] rocky outcrop of the Canadian Shield](//up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Baie_Johan_Beetz_012.jpg/240px-Baie_Johan_Beetz_012.jpg)
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Mouth of the Pontbriand River, some 20 km east in Baie-Johan-Beetz (Municipality) -
Mouth of the Pontbriand River, in Pontbriand Bay, in Gulf of St. Lawrence -
![Pontbriand Bay[10] in Gulf of St. Lawrence](//up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d8/Baie_Johan_Beetz_021.jpg/240px-Baie_Johan_Beetz_021.jpg)
Pontbriand Bay[10] in Gulf of St. Lawrence
![Pontbriand River,[6][5] rocky outcrop of the Canadian Shield](/wiki/File:Baie_Johan_Beetz_012.jpg)
![Pontbriand Bay[10] in Gulf of St. Lawrence](/wiki/File:Baie_Johan_Beetz_021.jpg)
References
edit- ^ "Baie-Ponbriand lookout, rest area". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 31 March 1994. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
Belvédère de la Baie-Pontbriand
- ^ "IBA Site Listing: Watshishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Natasquan, Québec". IBA Canada. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
- ^ Nicholls, H.B. (April 1998). "Canadian east coast marine-protected areas". Ocean & Coastal Management. 39 (1–2): 87–96. Bibcode:1998OCM....39...87N. doi:10.1016/s0964-5691(98)00016-7. ISSN 0964-5691.
- ^ Rail, Jean-François (2021). "Eighteenth census of seabirds breeding in the sanctuaries of the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 2015". The Canadian Field-Naturalist. 135 (3): 221–233. doi:10.22621/cfn.v135i3.2675. ISSN 0008-3550.
- ^ a b "Watshishou - Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas of Canada - map" (PDF). IBA Birdlife. Cartographic production by Bird Studies Canada. March 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
The IBA Program is an international conservation initiative coordinated by Bird Life International
- ^ a b "Pontbriand River - toponymy". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 13 June 1997. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
It receives the waters of Lake Caron and flows into Pontbriand Bay, hence its name.
- ^ "Jalobert Bay - toponymy". Quebec Gouvernement (in French). Commission de Toponymy Quebec. 5 December 1968. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
Its name recalls the memory of Macé Jalobert, brother-in-law of Jacques Cartier, who accompanied the latter during his voyage of 1535-1536, as pilot and captain of the Petite Hermine.
- ^ a b "Watshishou migratory bird sanctuary". Government of Canada. Environment and natural resources. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
Double-crested cormorant, great black-backed gull, ring-billed gull, common tern, arctic tern, black guillemot, common loon, American black duck, red-breasted merganser, white-winged scoter, surf scoter, black scoter, semipalmated sandpiper and ruddy turnstone
- ^ "Migratory bird sanctuaries across Canada - Quebec". Gouvernement of Canada. Environment and natural resources. 3 April 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
The Watshishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary, located in Minganie, on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was established in 1925 to protect seabird colonies in this important nesting area.
- ^ "Pontbriand Bay - Toponymy". Gouvernement of Quebec (in French). Commission Toponymy Quebec. 5 December 1968. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
Recalls the memory of Claude de Pontbriand, son of the lord of Montcevelles and cupbearer of the Dauphin, member of Jacques Cartier's crew during his second voyage to Canada, in 1535
External links
edit- Watshishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary at Government of Canada website