Le réfuge faunique Marguerite-D'Youville

Across the river in Châteauguay is a wonderful park: Le réfuge faunique Marguerite-D'Youville. It sits on an island surrounded on two sides by the Châteauguay River where is flows into the St. Laurence River (the part of the island facing the St. Lawrence -faces the section which is Lac St-Louis). The island was once owned by the Grey Nuns. Some years ago I stayed at the convent (now a hotel) when the Montreal Recorder Society rented rooms for the weekend for a workshop. I've written about this park before
here and here



The nuthatches are amazingly tame - swooping down to feed from one's hand. They are wary of the chickadees and stay away until they see the coast is clear.



The chickadees take turns, perching on nearby branches watching for a moment to dash in. Sometimes they fill their mouths with more than one seed and then fly off to eat.



You can hear their wings as fly in and then off.

The park has different ecosystems: the forest, the swamp, fields - each with different aspects to enjoy.



We walked past the swamp just as the sun had set. The stillness was palpable - broken only occasionally by a splash in the water. Fish? An otter? The list of animals that live in the park is extensive.



As we left the park, a buck strolled out of the woods foraging for food. A delightful place to walk!!

Refuge Faunique Marguerite-D'Youville in December

We bundled up and set off for the Refuge faunique Marguerite-D'Youville on Île St-Bernard. It is a beautiful place to walk in any season. The ponds are freezing up. No more ducks swimming around.



There are lots of birds still here in the winter. Bird feeders attract many from nuthatches to chickadees to woodpeckers.



The nuthatches and chickadees will eat straight from your hand. The chickadees move very quickly - it's hard to catch them. on camera.



Once the birds knew the food was there, it became like a bird highway, one swooping in, taking a quick selection and the next ones coming in quick succession.



This cardinal watched warily as the little birds ate from my spouse's hand. When we through some seeds on the ground, it flew down under a tree and when it felt safe, it came out to eat.



We saw a number of deer. They seem to be comfortable around humans as long as we did not get too close or make any sudden moves.

We plan to go back once there is more snow.

Along the Path

Along the Path, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

At last a perfect winter day with the temperature up around -8 C with sun and a vibrant blue sky. I felt myself grow as I could walk without hunching into my coat. I walked with a friend, enjoying conversation, but also the silence. It was broken by the sound of a chickadee (you can hear a sample sound here). My friend's eagle eyes spotted it - I took a bit longer.



I think, it too, was enjoying the warmer weather. And soon it was joined by another little bird. So nice to stop and hear them call.



We walked along the marina, the slips for the boats just visible under the snow. Across the water we had views of Lachine. Walking on a winter day is a delight in weather like this.