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 Industrial
Profile
The
Innu and Naskapi communities
Wildlife
and Nature Observation
Wildlife observation
The cliff-lined coast of the Duplessis tourist region and its legion
of islands offshore play host to many bird colonies, including the
razorbill, the Atlantic puffin, the black guillemot, and the murre.
The Île du Corossol Migratory Bird Sanctuary in the Sept-Îles
archipelago is the most diverse and populated bird sanctuary in the
Côte-Nord region. Further to the east in Basse-Côte-Nord,
the Sainte-Marie Islands near Harrington Harbour boast the largest
seabird population in the region and that is where the hit film Seducing
Doctor Lewis was shot. Nearby Brador Bay has one of the largest concentrations
of Atlantic puffins in Québec.
The bald eagle is a species that piques the interest and curiosity
of all, even those with little interest in birdwatching. Île
d’Anticosti is home to the largest concentration of this emblematic
bird of the U.S. in Québec, with 40% of the active nests. Because
it is only sparsely inhabited, the island is an attractive refuge
for this human-shy species. But the populations are fragile and the
bald eagle was added in September 2003 to the list of vulnerable species
kept by the Société de la faune et des parcs du Québec.
The osprey, a very opportunist bird of prey, feeds on common and abundant
shallow-water fish in the area. Unlike the bald eagle, the osprey
is less wary of humans and more brave in its behavior. Watching osprey
hunt down their prey along the coast of the north shore can be a fascinating
experience.
The common eider, known for its high quality down, is also plentiful.
Two subspecies of the common eider winter in the waters of the Gulf
of St. Lawrence, between the Mingan Archipelago and Anticosti Island.
The year-round presence of seaducks is one of the region’s distinctive
features. More than half of Québec’s salmon rivers are
found in the Duplessis region, including the Moisie (known as Mishta-Shipu
to the Innu), the Mingan, the “saw-cut” Aguanish, the
Natashquan, the Olomane, the Étamamiou, the Petit Mécatina,
and the Saint-Augustin. In Port-Cartier, Rivière aux Rochers
is home to an entirely new population of Atlantic salmon introduced
over the last 30 years. A dam built for logging purposes had restricted
the salmon to within one kilometer of the river mouth, but populations
have been fully reestablished through fish stocking and upriver elocation
using a trap catch. A visit to the trap catch and the interpretation
center is one you’re sure to remember.
The region’s large land mammals are dispersed widely throughout
the territory and are not always easy to observe. It takes patience
and determination, except in the Fermont sector where herds of northern
caribou migrate for the winter. A little patience brings quick rewards
on Anticosti, where nearly 120,000 white-tailed deer now roam.
Nature observation
Boreal forest covers most of the Duplessis region, mostly with coniferous
trees. From Pointe-aux-Anglais to Rivière Natashquan, vast
expanses of balsam fir and spruce forest line Route 138 and extend
into the backcountry. A number of large peatbogs also border the road,
mostly in the Havre-Saint-Pierre area.
Further east, countless reefs and tundracovered islets are scattered
along the jagged fringe of Basse-Côte-Nord. The closer you draw
to the shore, the more the backcountry boreal forest gives way to
stunted trees, then maritime tundra.
Île d’Anticosti and
the Mingan Archipelago feature highly diversified flora,
boasting over 400 species of vascular plants. Brother Marie-Victorin,
an internationally renowned botanist from Québec, was fascinated
by many of the species typical to the region, a number of which are
now on the list of rare, threatened, or vulnerable species.
The makeup of Anticosti’s plant cover has been strongly influenced
over the century by the intensive grazing of white-tailed deer. The
island is the only place where pure white spruce forests appear in
nature! The impact that the white-tailed deer’s intensive grazing
has had on the island’s vegetation can be clearly seen at the
fenced-in areas, known as exclosures, which range in size from just
a few dozen square kilometers (demonstration exclosures) to nearly
30 square kilometers.
The largest exclosures are currently open for
controlled hunting monitored by scientific researchers. The purpose
of the research is to determine the ideal density of white-tailed
deer in order to minimize the impact of grazing on the habitat and
ensure sufficient amounts of quality food for future populations.
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© Tourisme Côte-Nord 1999-2005 |
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