* Click on the name of the bird for more info!
Last summer, the 12 of July to be precise, I went to the  « Réserve naturelle de Pointe-Yamachiche », a very popular place for observing birds in the province of Quebec. Located just 20 minutes from the city of Trois-Rivières, you can see more than 230 species of birds throughout the year. You can either take a 576 meters long footbridge, or you can take the trail that goes up to the Saint-Lawrence river so you can see shore birds.
I went there on a really beautiful day of summer, it was quite hot to be honest, but it was perfect for photographing birds. I saw many species, as the Common yellowthroat, the American robin and some Woodpeckers, but I will show you two species that I discovered that day, which are the following.
The first one is the Greater Yellowlegs,a shore bird (meaning that they frequent shallow water and ponds) that has a long beak and very bright yellow legs has it name says. This bird eats fish, insects and also some crustaceans. They nest in the Canadian boreal forest, so you can see them more frequently during their migration in spring and fall. They are easily scared - I can tell you - and when they are, they make little high-pitched sounds as an alarm.
It can run really fast in the water when it wants to catch an aquatic prey. Also, I was surprised when I saw this bird at first because it is quite bigger than the other one from its family (the Sandpipers); they are usually smaller, but the Greater Yellowlegs as way longer legs and it's body is more elongated. It is a really beautiful bird, with its white and dark spotted plumage, and more, it can make the same pose as the flamingo (but it is less exotic for sure)!
The second bird that I discovered that day was also a Sandpiper, and it’s a Semipalmated_sandpiper. This bird is really small compared to its cousin the Greater Yellowlegs, its length is about 15 to 18 cm. To find their food, they are gonna explore the shore by foraging the mud. By using this method, they can find little crustaceans and aquatic insects.
The nesting and breeding area of the Semipalmated sandpiper is in the north of Canada, near the Arctic. They can make incredibly long non-stop flights of 3000 to 4000 km during their migration, passing by the south of Canada, New England and the south of America. That's quite a lot for this little bird!
To conclude, I truly recommend this place if you want to take a break from the city and take a moment to connect with nature. You will see many species, not only birds, and the landscape at the end of the trail is really worthy.
I hope you enjoyed reading my article, see you next time in another article about the wonderful world of birds!
Mathis
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