La Mauricie National Park of Canada

A Place Birds Can Call Home

White-Winged Crossbill
© Parks Canada/Jacques Pleau

To date, close to 180 bird species have been observed in the park: these include 81 confirmed nesting species and some 30 other species which in all probability do nest in the park. The type of avian communities to be found is determined to a large extent by the forest cover and the drainage system.

The softwood forests provide a home for the ruby-crowned kinglet, the Tennessee, Nashville and Magnolia warblers, the hermit thrush, the evening grosbeak and the dark-eyed junco. Where the species of trees are more varied, we may find the ruffed grouse, the blue jay, the black-capped chickadee, the purple finch and a number of species of thrush and warblers. The most frequently sighted species in the hardwood forests are the ovenbird, the black-throated blue warbler, the veery, the red-eyed vireo, the Eastern wood-pewee and the yellow-bellied sapsucker. Although there are 12 species of raptors in the park, only the osprey and the broad-winged hawk are commonly observed. However, the call of the barred owl and the great horned owl are frequently heard at night.

Some 34 species depend on the aquatic environment for their survival. Among these, the most common nesting species are the common goldeneye, the common merganser, the American black duck, the ring-necked duck and the common loon. The latter, a spectacular bird characteristic of wilderness, is the park symbol.

1. Commission internationale des noms français des oiseaux, Noms français des oiseaux du monde, Éditions Multimondes, Sainte-Foy, 1993, 452 p.

• The Bedrock of an Ancient Mountain Chain
• Where the Southern and Northern Forests Meet
• Typical and Varied Wildlife
• A Place Birds Can Call Home
• A Land of Lakes and Brooks