Watshishou Migratory Bird Sanctuary | |
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![]() Mouth of the Pontbriand River,
Gulf of St. Lawrence, Belvédère de la Baie-Ponbriand,
[1] roadside rest stop from
Route 138 (The Whale Route) | |
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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 |
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]
Located 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]
The 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.
Bird species present in smaller numbers also benefit from this sanctuary:
Belvédère de la Baie-Pontbriand
The IBA Program is an international conservation initiative coordinated by Bird Life International
It receives the waters of Lake Caron and flows into Pontbriand Bay, hence its name.
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.
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
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.
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