The Great Egret, a wading bird with snow white plumage, draws attention with its striking silhouette outlined against surrounding greenery.

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With its pointed beak at the ready as a weapon, the Belted Kingfisher examines the surface of the water, on the lookout for a good meal.  It can often be seen sitting at a waterside perch along the edge of the channels.

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The female is more colourful than the male, having a rust-coloured band on her belly.

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When it detects a fish, this skilled fisher folds back its wings and makes a steep dive towards its prey.

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By foraging through the mud of riverbanks with the help of its slim beak, the Lesser Yellowlegs captures crustaceans, worms, and insects that make up its diet.

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With its two black bands in contrast to the white plumage of its chest, the Killdeer cannot be mistaken for any other shorebird.

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The Common Tern, whose pointed wings and forked tail resemble those of swallows, spends a good part of the day diving into the water to catch fish.

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A tern with dark plumage, the Black Tern, feeds by dipping down quickly and capturing its prey on the surface of the water, instead of diving under.

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Impressive by its size and the jet-black colour of its wings, the Great Black-Backed Gull is usually solitary, unlike the Ring-Billed Gull, a more gregarious bird.

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Double-crested Cormorants are standing near gulls on a concrete island that serves as an ice-breaker.

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Gulls tend to group together outside the colony in their rest and feeding area.

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In the Lake Saint-Pierre region, birdwatchers can see a number of rare species and rather unusual “visitors“.

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The Osprey grasps fish with the help of its legs that end in talons, and barbed pads on the sole of its feet.The barbs help it hold onto very slippery preys.

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In July, ducklings swim near their mother, in a single file.

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Towards the end of summer, ducks try to gather. They are more vulnerable due to the loss of many feathers through moulting. During this period, their plumage changes into what is known as eclipse plumage, in order to be less visible and blend into their environment.

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With its proud bright red patches on its wings, the Red-Winged Blackbird fiercely defends its territory.

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The male American Goldfinch brightens the landscape with its striking sun yellow plumage.

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Bank Swallows nest in colonies. They dig burrows in the sand of riverbanks, and build their nests deep inside the burrows. A large colony of these birds can be found in a bank located upriver from Île de Grâce.

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This Common Moorhen’s nest, built with cattail leaves, floats on the water a bit like those of the Black Terns nesting nearby.

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