Sparroworks

This is a very strange "park" but really worth a visit at certain times of the year. A small river runs north from the TransCanada highway just east of Cap-St-Jacques to empty into the lake on the north shore in a sheltered bay with the Cap St-Jacques park to the west and millionaire houses to the east. The inland portion is long and narrow with protected mostly wooded land beside the stream and a road paralleling it. Because of the vegetation, access is limited to this portion, but slow drivers and cyclists will be able to see many interesting birds in season as they pass through.

The main part of the park for the wildlifer, and especially the birder, is the part on the lakeshore where there is plenty of parking and plenty more summertime family groups who are more interested in eating and running about than appreciating their surroundings (a shame, but we have to live with it). For most of the year, the thing here is to launch your canoe and paddle about the shoreline. At the southern end of the bay are extensive reed beds that hold Herons all year and attract flocks of ducks in spring and fall migration, especially early morning and at sunset. Osprey are often seen overhead and in a good mosquito hatch you will even stand a good chance here, well as good as anywhere these days, of seeing Nighthawks.

 Long-billed Dowitchers at l'Anse-à-l'Orme

Along the more forested parts of the shoreline you can creep up on woodland birds who generally ignore floating objects and allow you to get close - it's a very successful technique.

This site really comes into its own, however, from around mid-August when the water levels on the lake/river usually fall and expose very extensive sandy and muddy foreshore that bring in good numbers of shorebirds that are well worth visiting. With care you can walk out on the mud-flats and scan from reasonably close to the birds with a scope.