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Purpose: Breeding and staging area for numerous ducks and for Canada Geese. Excellent rearing site for ducks.
Key Birds: Swamp Sparrow, Carolina Crake, Common Moorhen.
Key plants: River bulrush, reed phalaris, red ash.
Property
Status of site: MBS
Type of site: conservation, no public activities; seasonal conservation
Initial acquisition: 1951.
Year created: created as a staging area in 1969; converted to a sanctuary in 1982.
Site administered under:
- Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (1994, c.22; SOR/96-458 to 464 and SI/96-90 to 92, 30 October 1996).
- Canada Wildlife Act (R.S. (1985) c. W-9, sect. 1; 1994, c. 23, sect. 2(F); SOR/94-684, 7 November 1994; SI/95-42, 5 April 1995)
- Migratory Bird Sanctuary Regulations (C.R.C., c. 1036)
Landowner: Department of National Defence. Agreement: inter-ministerial
agreement for the creation of a Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
Surface area: 3,001.2 ha
Terrestrial: 1,724 ha
Aquatic: 1,277.2 ha
Location
Location: 46.12.00 N 72.40.00 W; near the town of Nicolet.
Municipality: Nicolet.
RCM: Nicolet-Yamaska
Topographic map 1:50 000: 31I/02
Cadastral map 1:20 000: 31I/02-200-0202.
Nautical chart: 1337
Tourist Region: Mauricie/Bois-Francs
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Common Goldeneyes in spring. Photo: Léo-Guy de Repentigny.
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This 2 835 ha site was acquired by the Department of National Defence in the
1950s. Since then it has been preserved in its original size and condition, with full protection from various types of disturbance. The Nicolet MBS serves as a
migratory stopover for ducks and for Canada Geese, and is an excellent site for rearing waterfowl broods.
Vegetation
There is a succession of habitats at the Sanctuary: an aquatic environment, a
marsh dominated by river bulrushes, a swamp, a forested area and some abandoned fields. The swamp and the wooded area are characterized by a
mix of species such as goldenrod, various grasses, bluejoint, reed phalaris and tufted vetch. The shrub stratum is composed of speckled alder and willow.
Birds
Migration
During the autumn migration, more than 8 000 dabbling ducks and 5 000 Common Goldeneyes, as well as numerous Canada Geese, use the
Sanctuary as a stopover.
Breeding
Ducks that breed at the site include the Wood Duck, the American Black
Duck, the Mallard, the Northern Pintail, the Northern Shoveler, the Gadwall, the American Wigeon, the Redhead and Ring-necked ducks, the Green-winged Teal, the Blue-winged Teal and the Ruddy Duck. The Killdeer,
the Spotted Sandpiper, the Common Snipe and Wilson's Phalarope are other distinctive species that can be seen in the marshes. Summer sightings of
Ring-Billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black Terns and American Bitterns have been reported.
The abandoned fields are home to an impressive variety of birds. The Swamp
Sparrow, the Carolina Crake, the Common Yellowthroat, the Cedar Waxwing, the Alder Flycatcher, and the Dark-eyed Junco are just a few of the species that frequent this habitat during the summer.
Mammals
Some familiar mammals live in the Sanctuary's various habitats, including
raccoons, muskrats, snowshoe hares, red squirrels and flying squirrels. Among the larger mammals, white-tailed deer can be seen.
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