The pleasures of bird-watching
Here are some bird-watching sites where you can take a nature walk alone, with a friend or with family.
Tips from an expert
Bird-watching is the fastest-growing pastime activity among the population of North America, and Sherbrooke's citizens and visitors are no exception. We are fortunate to not have to drive miles and miles to partake in this pleasurable activity, as the city's territory offers a few sites that are ideal for bird-watching.
The tourist and recreational project ‘Cité des rivières', which highlights the St.Francis and Magog River shorelines, offers panoramas of the lac des Nations, a particularly nice place to go birding. You may spot a ring-necked duck or a hooded merganser, marvellous specimens to behold. The Mont-Bellevue Park is also home to several species, some of which are rather rare: the scarlet tanager, the rose-breasted grosbeak, the broad-winged hawk, and the indigo bunting, to name a few.
The Réal-D.-Carbonneau Marsh, located along the St.Francis River in the heart of Sherbrooke, is a bird-watcher's heaven, allowing glimpses of waders such as the striated heron and the great egret. Here you can also find the passeriformes, such as the American redstart, the willow flycatcher, and the American goldfinch. If you want to see a pileated woodpecker or an eastern screech owl, we recommend that you visit the Lucien-Blanchard Park.
The ideal location for spotting a barred owl is without doubt the Bois-Beckett Park. Two magnificent streams also run through the city, the St. Francis and the Magog Rivers, both lined by a bicycle trail from which you can enjoy what nature has best to offer. The great proximity of various natural habitats – water and woodlands – offers a world of opportunities to bird watchers. No matter what bird-watching site you choose, these feathery friends always display their most beautiful plumage
The boutique at the Maison de l'eau
Located at the parc Lucien-Blanchard, the boutique sells bird-feeders, books, binoculars and other accessories to help you better enjoy your excursions. The Maison de l'eau is open 7 days a week during the summer season, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Contributed by Michel Royer
Other references: La Société de loisir ornithologique de l'Estrie, 819 563-6603
