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Close to 90% of the species recorded along the St. Lawrence in Quebec were observed in the natural provinces upstream of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. There was little difference between spring, summer and fall in this respect, although the greatest number of species is generally recorded in fall. Despite the harshness of winter, close to half of the species seen along the St. Lawrence, many of which were accidental, were recorded in winter.
Between spring and fall, an exceptionally large number of species (roughly 70% of the St. Lawrence's avifauna) are seen on the Magdalen Islands, given these islands' small size and isolation.
The absence of records for close to half of the species on the Lower North Shore and Anticosti Island does not reflect the actual situation. Although this is a huge area, it is very sparsely inhabited and is only visited occasionally by birdwatchers, mainly in summer. It is probably for these reasons that no single species was recorded in all 15 natural regions during each of the four seasons.
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Species recorded year-round in at least 10 natural regions or in summer in the 15 natural regions along the St. Lawrence (the most common species according to Gauthier and Aubry (1996) and Cyr and Larivée (1996) are in italics)
|
| Species |
Season |
Number of regions frequented |
Gauthier and Aubry |
Cyr and Larivée |
| Summer |
Year-round |
(30 species) |
(10 species) |
| American Crow |
4 |
15 |
11 |
x |
x |
| Herring Gull |
4 |
15 |
11 |
 |
x |
| Great Black-backed Gull |
4 |
15 |
11 |
|
|
| Common Raven |
4 |
15 |
11 |
|
|
| Red-breasted Merganser |
4 |
15 |
11 |
|
|
| Red-breasted Nuthatch |
4 |
15 |
11 |
|
|
| White-throated Sparrow |
4 |
15 |
10 |
x |
|
| Common Eider |
4 |
15 |
10 |
|
|
| European Starling |
4 |
15 |
10 |
|
x |
| House Sparrow |
4 |
15 |
10 |
|
x |
| Song Sparrow |
4 |
15 |
9 |
x |
x |
| American Black Duck |
4 |
15 |
9 |
|
x |
| American Robin |
4 |
15 |
9 |
x |
x |
| Common Loon |
4 |
15 |
9 |
|
|
| Horned Lark |
4 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
| Ring-billed Gull |
4 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
| Black-legged Kittiwake |
4 |
15 |
8 |
|
|
| Black Scoter |
4 |
15 |
7 |
|
|
| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
4 |
15 |
7 |
x |
|
| Northern Pintail |
4 |
15 |
5 |
|
|
| Double-crested Cormorant |
4 |
15 |
5 |
|
|
| Merlin |
4 |
15 |
5 |
|
|
| Osprey |
4 |
15 |
4 |
|
|
| Northern Harrier |
4 |
15 |
4 |
|
|
| Hermit Thrush |
4 |
15 |
4 |
x |
|
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
4 |
15 |
4 |
x |
|
| Common Snipe |
4 |
15 |
3 |
|
|
| Swamp Sparrow |
4 |
15 |
3 |
|
|
| Savannah Sparrow |
4 |
15 |
2 |
|
|
| Killdeer |
4 |
15 |
2 |
|
|
| Lincoln's Sparrow |
4 |
15 |
1 |
|
|
| White-winged Crossbill |
4 |
14 |
10 |
|
|
| Common Merganser |
4 |
14 |
10 |
|
|
| Evening Grosbeak |
4 |
14 |
10 |
|
|
| Dark-eyed Junco |
4 |
14 |
10 |
x |
|
| Gray Jay |
4 |
14 |
10 |
|
|
| Pine Siskin |
4 |
14 |
10 |
|
|
| Mourning Dove |
4 |
14 |
10 |
|
|
| Oldsquaw |
4 |
13 |
12 |
|
|
| Boreal Chickadee |
4 |
13 |
11 |
|
|
| Black-capped Chickadee |
4 |
13 |
10 |
x |
x |
| Bald Eagle |
4 |
13 |
10 |
|
|
| Pine Grosbeak |
4 |
12 |
11 |
|
|
| Least Sandpiper |
3 |
15 |
0 |
|
|
| Spotted Sandpiper |
3 |
15 |
0 |
x |
|
| Greater Yellowlegs |
3 |
15 |
0 |
|
|
| Swainson's Thrush |
3 |
15 |
0 |
x |
|
| Tree Swallow |
3 |
15 |
0 |
x |
|
| Yellow-bellied Flycatcher |
3 |
15 |
0 |
|
|
| Wilson's Warbler |
3 |
15 |
0 |
|
|
| Nashville Warbler |
3 |
15 |
0 |
x |
|
| Yellow Warbler |
3 |
15 |
0 |
|
|
| Blackpoll Warbler |
3 |
15 |
0 |
|
|
| Other common species according to Gauthier and Aubry (1996) and Cyr and Larivée (1996) |
| Red-winged Blackbird |
4 |
14 |
9 |
x |
x |
| Common Grackle |
4 |
14 |
9 |
x |
x |
| Cedar Waxwing |
4 |
14 |
8 |
x |
|
| Belted Kingfisher |
4 |
14 |
5 |
x |
|
| Chipping Sparrow |
4 |
14 |
4 |
x |
|
| Winter Wren |
4 |
14 |
3 |
x |
|
| Common Yellowthroat |
4 |
14 |
2 |
x |
|
| Purple Finch |
4 |
13 |
9 |
x |
|
| Northern Flicker |
4 |
13 |
7 |
x |
|
| Barn Swallow |
3 |
14 |
0 |
x |
|
| Alder Flycatcher |
3 |
14 |
0 |
x |
|
| Magnolia Warbler |
3 |
14 |
0 |
x |
|
| American Redstart |
3 |
14 |
0 |
x |
|
| Ovenbird |
3 |
13 |
0 |
x |
|
| Red-eyed Vireo |
3 |
12 |
0 |
x |
|
| Veery |
3 |
11 |
0 |
x |
|
| Least Flycatcher |
3 |
11 |
0 |
x |
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The White-throated Sparrow is the most widely distributed species along the St. Lawrence, with records in 390 squares (100 km²). The American Robin and American Crow were also recorded in over two thirds of the squares where sightings were compiled. In contrast, 25 species, none of which breeds along the river, were only recorded in a single square.
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The 25 most widely distributed species along the St. Lawrence
|
| Species |
Number of
100 km²-squares
|
Percentage of the 568 squares
with birds recorded |
| White-throated Sparrow |
390 |
68,7 |
| American Robin |
385 |
67,8 |
| American Crow |
381 |
67,1 |
| Herring Gull |
375 |
66,0 |
| Tree Swallow |
364 |
64,1 |
| Great Black-backed Gull |
352 |
62,0 |
| Northern Flicker |
343 |
60,4 |
| Spotted Sandpiper |
341 |
60,0 |
| Song Sparrow |
341 |
60,0 |
| American Black Duck |
339 |
59,7 |
| Savannah Sparrow |
337 |
59,3 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
325 |
57,2 |
| Common Yellowthroat |
322 |
56,7 |
| European Starling |
319 |
56,2 |
| Double-crested Cormorant |
317 |
55,8 |
| American Redstart |
314 |
55,3 |
| Common Grackle |
313 |
55,1 |
| Cedar Waxwing |
312 |
54,9 |
| Ring-billed Gull |
311 |
54,8 |
| Red-winged Blackbird |
311 |
54,8 |
| American Goldfinch |
309 |
54,4 |
| Barn Swallow |
305 |
53,7 |
| Purple Finch |
305 |
53,7 |
| Killdeer |
300 |
52,8 |
| Chipping Sparrow |
300 |
52,8 |
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The 25 species only recorded in a single square along the St. Lawrence
|
| Yellow-nosed Albatross |
| American Wood Ibis |
| Bean Goose |
| Eurasian Coot |
| Common Ringed Plover |
| Eurasian Curlew |
| Bar-tailed Godwit |
| Rufous-necked Stint |
| Sharp-tailed Sandpiper |
| Yellow-legged Gull |
| Gull-billed Tern |
| Sooty Tern |
| White-winged Tern |
| Black Skimmer |
| Marbled Murrelet |
| White-winged Dove |
| Acadian Flycatcher |
| Tropical Kingbird |
| Steller's Jay |
| Eurasian Jackdaw |
| Yellow-green Vireo |
| Black-throated Gray Warbler |
| Cerulean Warbler |
| Black-headed Grosbeak |
| Green-tailed Towhee |
Jean-Luc DesGranges and Benoît Jobin
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