Grosse lie, is uninhabited. From Grosse lie, under conditions of excellent visibility, the The Site Guide famous Great Bird Rock can be seen. The ch- mate is chiefly characterizedby strongsteady breezes;winds being much more prevalent here than on the continent.The windlessdays of a summerare on averageless than ten. Air temp- Magdalen Islands, Provinceof Qu6bec, Canada eraturesare comfortable,rarely rising above eighty degrees.Nights are usuallycool. LocationGulf of St. Lawrence,roughly equidistant from Newfoundland, , Access has developeddramatically in the and Nova Scotia. last five years. The period of maximum tourist pressureextends from mid-July to mid-August Description The Magdalen Island (hereafter:M. Visitors should be advised that frustrattng Is.), lie in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and are travel delays may occur during this period part of Qu6becProvince. Seven of thesered Eastern Provincial Airways flies twice dmly sandstoneislands are connectedby a pair of from Charlottetown, P.E.I., to the M.Is., and narrowparallel strips of sanddunes. Enclosed flies to Charlottetown from Montr6al, Halifax, by the islandsand sandstrips are two largeand and Moncton. Advance reservations must be several small tidal lagoons. Elevationsrange made. From Souris, P.E.I., a ferry makesthe from no more than 35 feet on the sand dunes to five-hour crossingtwice daily (except Tues- no more than 550 feet on the highesthills of day). This ferry accommodates50 vehiclesand Havre-Aubert and Cap-aux-Meules.The dunes food trucksare givenpriority. The Coop6rat•ve are covered by the Beachgrass(Ammophila de TransportMaritime et A6rien's ship phes breviligulata); stuntedBlack Spruce and Jack weekly betweenMontr6ai and the M.Is. Cabins Pine thrive in favorable habitat. Extensive are available and cars can be transportedon Black Spruce forests are set againstpastures deck. Again, advance reservationsare ad- and abandonedlands invadedby alder bushes. visabie. Thirteenthousand people inhabit the M. Is. and Frenchis the predominantlanguage. English is AccommodationsApproximately a dozen motels spokenby the two thousandirthabitants of and hotelsoffer a rangeof accommodationson Grosselie and the fifty families living on Ile the islands.Six campinggrounds provide com- d'Entr6e, Brion Island, twelve miles north of plete facilitiesfrom Juneto September.

Vtewlooking south over Havre-aux-Basques. Foreground: pastures and Black Spruce forests of Cap-aux-Meulesisland Background:Havre-Aubert island. Photo/N.David

814 American Birds, August 1975 Birdwatching About 240 specieshave been re- on the M.Is. insure ready accessto the best cordedhere, primarily from June to September. birdingspots. Three features of the birdhfe on Relativelylittle is knownabout the islands' late the M.Is. will appealto the birdwatcherThe fall and winter birds. For birders arriving by landbird composition of theislands is different boat, pelagicswill likely be seenin the sur- from that found in continental eastern North roundingwaters, but not in high numbers. America.Witnessing the spectacularmigration Leach's Storm-Petrel and Greater Shearwater of thousandsof shorebirds,intensely feedmg are common. Sooty Shearwater,Wilson's beforetheir long flight southwill be of special Storm-Petrel,Sabine's Gull and Red Phalarope interest.Finally, a visit to the rarelyseen B•rd are only occasional.Excellent road conditions Rocks will be a most rewarding experience

MAGDALEN ISLANDS

0 2 4

Miles

Pointe

de I ' Est Grosse I

Pointe-aux-Loups Entree

•Shag Rock

Jovre-oux- Maisons Cap Meules

•11e d'Entr•e

Havre-Aubert

Volume29, Number4 815 Song Sparrow, Blue Jay and Black-capped Black-bellied Plover, American Golden Plover. Chickadee are very rarely seen. The most Shorebirds feed on the extensive tidal flats of commonbreeding species of the Black Spruce the lagoons.All speciescan be seenin Havre- forest are: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Boreal aux-Basques, between Cap-aux-Meules and Chickadee, American Robin, Hermit and Havre-Aubert islands. The northern half of the Swainson'sThrashes, Veery, Golden-crowned lagoondries up almostcompletely in summer. and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Tennessee, Extensive mud flats link this area with the Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll Warblers, deeper waters of the southern half. Several White-throated and Fox Sparrows. In sand speciesselect the northerngrassy areas as their dune country, Horned Larks and Savannah feeding grounds:the entire populationof the Sparrowsare everywhere.Predators are scarce. migrating Short-billed Dowitchers and Lesser Yellowlegs, thousandsof SemipalmatedSand- pipers, accompanied by many Least and White-rumped Sandpipers.Flocks of several speciesgather on the mud flats:Semipalmated, Black-bellied and golden plovers, and Red Knots are common,while Sanderlings,Ruddy Tumstones and Whimbrels are less numerous. The latter are often found in the dunes,feeding on wild berries.Greater Yellowlegs flock in the shallow waters bordering the mud flats. It is not uncommon to see more than one hundred HudsonianGodwits togetherthere. All these The Great Bird Rock. Photo/N. David. birds, with the exception of the Short-billed However, duringeach of the two summersthat Dowitcher and the LesserYellowlegs, can be studied on the inner Shore of Dune du Nord the author spent on the M.Is., summering SnowyOwls were often observedhunting over from the road leadingto Grossefie. A spotting scopeis absolutelynecessary to studythe water the sand dunesbetween Pointe-aux-Loupsand Grosse lie. They lived well on abundant birds. Going to the Bird Rocks is certainlythe meadow voles. Several speciesof water birds highlight of a visit to the M.Is. When ap- breedon the M.ls. The well namedShag Rock proachingthe vertical cliffs of the Great Bird holds a large colony of Great Cormorants. A Rock, one is overcomeby the feeling one is walk through the dunes and on the beach, in trespassingon private property. The rightful owners are of course thousands of Gannets and early June, will afford views of cormorants Black-legged Kittiwakes, and hundreds of flying overhead, their white flank patches Common and Thick-billed Murres, Razor- plainly visible. They often come to dry their wings on rocks visible from a public picnic billed Auks, and CommonPuffins. There, they area off the main road on the northeast side of nest on narrow ledges and the two Little Bird Havre-aux-Maisons.The Piping Plover is dis- Rocks, threequarters of a mile away, are en- tributed on all beaches, but difficult to locate. tirely occupiedby Gannets. Only during the best weather conditions is access to the Bird The Black Duck, Pintail, Green-wingedTeal, andGreater Scaup are the mostcommon breed- Rocks possible. The water surroundingBird ing ducks; Horned Grebes and Red-breasted Rocks is so shallow (especiallyat low tide), that an approachingboat may strike the rocky Mergansers nest in the marshes of Pointe-de-l'Estwhich is, however,rather inac- bottom if the sea is even minimally rough. cessible. Many small islands of the greater Therefore a perfectly windless day is neces- lagoons support colonies of Double-crested sary. When ideal conditionsprevail, a fisher- Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Common and man of GrosseIle can be hired to safely take Arctic Terns, Great Black-backedand Herring birding partiesto the Bird Rocks, or to magni- ficent Brion Island where Great Cormorants Gulls. With the advent of July, thousandsof and CommonPuffins are easily seenand where shorebirdsinvade the Magdalens. The most Leach's Storm-Petrel is also know to breed. abundant species in order of respective chronologicalpeak numbers are Short-billed RatingFall *** Winter?,Spring?, Summer ****. Dowitcher, Least Sandpiper, Red Knot, Whimbrel, Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Sanderling, White-rumped Sand- piper, Hudsonian Godwit, Semipalmated --Normand David, 1733 est Henri-Bourassa No. Plover, Ruddy Tumstone,Greater Yellowlegs, 214, Montr6al, Qu6bec, Canada.

816 American Birds, August 1975