Biodiversity Portrait of the St. Lawrence - Biological diversity: Birds

Birds
Birds of the St. Lawrence [Total species richness] [Geographical distribution] [Seasonal status] [Relative occurence of species] [Richness of accidental species] Breeding birds [Species richness] [Avifaunal regions] [Types of breeding birds] [Colony-nesting birds]	Priority species [Genetic diversity] [St. Lawrence species] [High conservation priority] [Rare bird species] [Population trends] Relational analyses [Relationships between bird species and terrestrial physiographic units]

Breeding birds:
species richness

A little over half of the species observed along the St. Lawrence go there to breed (see Table - Number of 100 km²-squares where breeding of the 213 St. Lawrence species was confirmed). To the 213 species that breed along the St. Lawrence can be added 60 species that also breed in Quebec but for which breeding has not been confirmed in the St. Lawrence system. The breeding birds with the widest distribution along the St. Lawrence are the American Robin, European Starling, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow and Bank Swallow. Other birds, like the Snow Goose and Thick-billed Murre (12 species in all), were only confirmed as breeders in a single square.

Close to 83% of the river's 213 breeding birds breed in the St. Lawrence Lowlands, while 63% breed along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Only 34 species breed in all six natural provinces of the St. Lawrence, while 39 species breed in a single province (of these 39 species, 25 are restricted to the St. Lawrence Lowlands province, with the 14 remaining species fairly well distributed among the remaining natural provinces).

Breeding species restricted to a single natural province

Species North American biome St. Lawrence
Lowlands Lauren-
tians Appa-
lachians Lower
North
Shore Anticosti
Island Magdalen
Island Total

Great Egret Deciduous forest x 1

Green Heron Northern and southern regions x 1

Snow Goose Tundra x 1

Redhead Northern and southern regions x 1

Lesser Scaup Northern and southern regions x 1

Ruddy Duck Northern and southern regions x 1

Cooper's Hawk Northern and southern regions x 1

Northern Goshawk Northern and southern regions x 1

Gray Partridge Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Little Gull Deciduous forest x 1

Black tern Northern and southern regions x 1

Black-billed Cuckoo Northern and southern regions x 1

Eastern Screech-Owl Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Red-headed Woodpecker Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern and southern regions x 1

Carolina Wren Deciduous forest x 1

Sedge Wren Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Loggerhead Shrike Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Yellow-throated Vireo Deciduous forest x 1

Northern Cardinal Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Field Sparrow Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

Grasshopper Sparrow Prairies and deciduous forest x 1

House Finch Northern and southern regions x 1

Red Crossbill Coniferous forest x 1

Northern Fulmar Continental and oceanic regions x 1

Le Conte's Sparrow Northern and southern regions x 1

Harlequin Duck Northern region x 1

Northern Parula Northern and southern regions x 1

Pine Grosbeak Northern region x 1

Caspian Tern Northern and southern regions x 1

American Pipit Northern region x 1

White-crowned Sparrow Northern region x 1

Bald Eagle Northern and southern regions x 1

Horned Grebe Northern and southern regions x 1

Greater Scaup Northern region x 1

Least Sandpiper Northern region x 1

Roseate Tern Continental and oceanic regions x 1

Thick-billed Murre Continental and oceanic regions x 1

Map of richness breading avifauna

Unlike the St. Lawrence avifauna as a whole, few squares contain enough confirmed breeders to come close to the level of breeding bird richness in the physiographic units where these squares are located (see maps of the richness of the breeding avifauna in physiographic units, in natural regions, and in natural provinces). The locations with the highest species richness, or hot spots (DesGranges and Tardif 1995), are the best birding spots in the St. Lawrence. They are heavily frequented by both birds and amateur ornithologists, because they contain vast, relatively unspoiled habitats, suitable for a wide variety of species to breed and also for birders to observe birds.

Richness of breeding avifauna in the 100 km²-squares (only the 3 richest squares of each natural regions are presented) (Insufficient breeding data in the region E4)

Square
No. Location Region Number
of species % of species of Global
rank*

Region Province River

1 Cap Tourmente C8 97 81,5 63,8 45,5 1

2 Sainte-Foy B2 83 54,2 47,2 39,0 2

3 Pointe-au-Père A3 78 58,6 51,7 36,6 3

4 Laval (north) B1 78 49,1 44,3 36,6 3

5 Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière A3 69 51,9 45,7 32,4 5

6 Îles de la Paix B1 69 43,4 39,2 32,4 5

7 Vaudreuil B1 67 42,1 38,1 31,5 7

8 Bois-des-Filion B1 67 42,1 38,1 31,5 7

9 Saint-Nicolas B2 63 41,2 35,8 29,6 12

10 Sainte-Brigitte-de-Laval C8 63 52,9 41,4 29,6 12

11 Beauport Bay B2 61 39,9 34,7 28,6 16

12 Chandler A4 59 44,0 39,1 27,7 17

13 Carleton A4 58 43,3 38,4 27,2 19

14 Rimouski A3 57 42,9 37,7 26,8 20

15 Saint-Fulgence D1 56 52,8 36,8 26,3 24

16 Saint-Fulgence (south) D1 53 50,0 34,9 24,9 29

17 Cap-aux-Meules IMA 51 53,1 53,1 23,9 34

18 Tadoussac D1 49 46,2 32,2 23,0 38

19 Grandes-Bergeronnes D7 48 46,6 31,6 22,5 40

20 Bon Désir D7 45 43,7 29,6 21,1 45

21 Baie-Comeau D8 45 45,5 29,6 21,1 45

22 Pointe-à-la-Croix (north) A4 44 32,8 29,1 20,7 48

23 Baie-Comeau (north) D8 44 44,4 28,9 20,7 48

24 Mingan E1 40 60,6 46,0 18,8 57

25 Pointe-Lebel D8 38 38,4 25,0 17,8 60

26 Sacré-Cœur (east) D7 34 33,0 22,4 16,0 74

27 Dune du Nord IMA 33 34,4 34,4 15,5 79

28 Pointe de l'Est IMA 32 33,3 33,3 15,0 87

29 Île aux Coudres C8 30 25,2 19,7 14,1 99

30 Port-Menier X4 30 37,0 37,0 14,1 99

31 Sept-Îles D10 28 33,7 18,4 13,1 113

32 Niapiskau Island (Mingan) E2 28 52,8 32,2 13,1 113

33 Baie-Trinité D10 27 32,5 17,8 12,7 118

34 Baie du Renard (south) X4 27 33,3 33,3 12,7 118

35 Îlets Caribou (west) D10 26 31,3 17,1 12,2 131

36 Sainte-Marie Islands (east) E3 20 60,6 23,0 9,4 184

37 Havre-Saint-Pierre E2 19 35,8 21,8 8,9 192

38 Betchouane E2 19 35,8 21,8 8,9 192

39 Sainte-Marie Islands (west) E3 19 57,6 21,8 8,9 192

40 Sainte-Claire Bay X4 19 23,5 23,5 8,9 192

41 Lake Calme X4 19 23,5 23,5 8,9 192

42 Matamec River E1 13 19,7 14,9 6,1 248

43 Étamamiou Island E3 13 39,4 14,9 6,1 248

44 Rivière-Saint-Jean E1 11 16,7 12,6 5,2 271

* Rank of the square's richness comparing to the 445 squares with confirmed breeding species

Jean-Luc DesGranges and Benoît Jobin

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