Bird surveys prior to wildlife habitat restoration at five sites in the Lake Saint-Pierre shoreline – Berthierville-Maskinongé Area (summer 2017)

Introduction

Lake Saint-Pierre and its floodplain, which is the most extensive in Quebec, are a key component of the St. Lawrence ecosystem. With more than 280 migratory and resident bird species and 78 fish species, the lake offers an exceptional natural environment, which has received international recognition for its rich biodiversity (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and RAMSAR site).

Agricultural activities have been carried out on the fertile floodplain of Lake Saint-Pierre for several centuries. Beginning in the second half of the 20th century, perennial crops were gradually replaced by annual crops, even in the lake’s 2-year floodplain (Dauphin and Jobin, 2016). Agricultural practices associated with annual cropping have resulted in degradation of natural habitats and reduced the amount of habitat available for many wildlife species (Latendresse et al., 2008; Rioux et al., 2009). Grassland birds (Bobolink, Eastern Meadowlark, etc.), whose populations are in decline (NABCI, 2012), and waterfowl are among the species that have been adversely affected by the disappearance of wet meadows and the conversion of perennial crops to annual crops.

With the aim of balancing agricultural activities and wildlife protection, an approach has been developed for restoring wildlife habitats on the shoreline of Lake Saint-Pierre (Groupe de travail « Intendance en milieu agricole : culture du littoral au lac Saint-Pierre », 2010). This approach involves stream maintenance (bank reshaping, planting, etc.) and conversion of annual crops back to perennial crops or natural grasslands. To this end, various enhancements will be implemented in 2017-2018 in the Berthierville and Maskinongé areas to help restore the ecological functions of Lake Saint-Pierre.

Bird surveys were conducted in the summer of 2017 in order to obtain a picture of the avifauna present in a wildlife habitat enhancement area (agricultural field) and along four watercourses prior to the restoration and enhancement work. The surveys provide baseline data that can be used to evaluate the potential benefits of the enhancements for the birds.

This approach is part of the project to restore the Lake Saint-Pierre shoreline, which is being carried out jointly by the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the Quebec Department of Forests, Wildlife and Parks (MFFP), as part of the 2016–2021 programming for the St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP).

Summary of the methodology

Location and description of bird survey sites

The bird surveys were carried out in the northwestern part of the Lake Saint-Pierre floodplain, specifically in a wildlife habitat enhancement area (Segment 5) and along four watercourses: De Biais Creek, Marais de la Presqu’île, Chenal du Nord and Fossé de la Baie (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Locations of bird survey sites

Long description

Map showing Berthierville, Maskinongé and St.Lawrence River with many islands. The five sites that were surveyed are indicated.

Segment 5

Segment 5, a wildlife habitat enhancement area located in the municipality of Maskinongé (Maskinongé regional county municipality, RCM), belongs to Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and is part of a large wetland complex known as the Saint-Barthélemy staging area. A strip of privately owned land is located in the middle of Segment 5 (MERN, 2017). The land owned by DUC covers a total area of 49 ha. Although agricultural land dominates the landscape (Figure 2), there are also some natural habitats such as treed and shrubby swamps, wet meadows and the Rivière du Bois-Blanc, which runs along the western boundary of the property. In 2017, DUC bought back the agricultural leases in the area, which halted farming activities. Restoration work in Segment 5 began in the fall of 2017 and was set to continue during the winter of 2018. During the bird surveys conducted in June, 30% to 70% of the total area of Segment 5 was still under water, an unusual situation for that time of the year.

Figure 2. Land use (2014) in Segment 5

 (Source: ECCC and MDDELCC, 2017)

Long description

Map showing colors on Segment 5 and its surroundings. The color code indicates the land use on and around the site in 2014 and includes the following categories: farmland (undetermined use), uncultivated farmland, annual cropland, perrenial cropland, open water, old field, marsh, swamp, human-modified environment, forested area and wet meadow.

Watercourses

The four watercourses selected for the bird surveys are located in a landscape dominated by farmland and other human-modified habitats (Figure 3). Two of the watercourses are located in the Îles de Berthier area and the other two in the municipality of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier in the D’Autray RCM. Restoration of the four watercourses, originally planned for 2017, has been postponed to 2018–2019.

Figure 3. Land use (2014) around the surveyed watercourses

(Source: ECCC and MDDELCC, 2017)

Long description

Map showing the four watercourses and colors on the surroundings. The color code indicates the land use around the sites in 2014 and includes the following categories: farmland (undetermined use), uncultivated farmland, annual cropland, perrenial cropland, open water, old field, marsh, swamp, human-modified environment, forested area and wet meadow.

De Biais Creek

This approximately 1-km-long creek is located in the municipality of Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola. It originates in a marsh and drains several farm properties before emptying into Chenal des Épouffettes, a channel that runs between Île Saint-Ignace and Île Dupas. Its banks are bordered by annual and perennial crops and by the town of Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola. In June when the surveys were conducted, a strip of untilled, non-vegetated land of variable width was present in nearly all of the fields. This land had been covered by the spring floods and was still too wet to be tilled when farmers completed their seeding. The vegetated riparian strip along the watercourse is fairly narrow, but nonetheless has appreciable structural heterogeneity.

Marais de la Presqu’île

The 2-km-long Marais de la Presqu’île watercourse, which is located in the municipality of La Visitation-de-l’Île-Dupas, drains the farmland in the southwestern part of Île Dupas (annual and perennial crops) and empties into Chenal aux Castors, a channel between Île Dupas and Île aux Castors. In the section northeast of Route 158, the watercourse widens, offering a variety of habitats suitable for wildlife, such as marshes and treed swamps. A strip of untilled, non-vegetated land was present on both sides of this watercourse in June, because the flood waters had receded fairly recently.

Chenal du Nord

Chenal du Nord, 1.1-km-long, is located in the municipality of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier. This watercourse drains farmland (annual and perennial crops) and empties into the channel (also called Chenal du Nord) between Île aux Castors and the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. A sparsely vegetated narrow riparian strip is present on both sides of the watercourse, which has a 350-m stretch of marsh near the point where it empties into the Grand (large) Chenal du Nord. A short section located farther west appears to have been filled in.

Fossé de la Baie

Fossé de la Baie, 3.7-km-long (portion under study), is located in the municipality of Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier. It drains farmland planted with annual and, to a lesser extent, perennial crops. The riparian strip along this watercourse has less tree cover than the other three watercourses; it is dominated by herbaceous plants and shrubs. The watercourse nonetheless has several wider sections bordered with marshes and it has a treed swamp at its northeastern tip. A 0.6-km section near the source of the watercourse was filled in at some point; surveys were not carried out along that stretch. Because the ground near the watercourse was still too wet to support the weight of farm machinery during the seeding period, there was a strip of non-vegetated and untilled land on both sides of the watercourse.

Bird survey methods

The first phase of the work involved determining whether any species at risk frequented the sites under study. The presence of such species would have made it necessary to use survey methods adapted to species at risk or, if not already done, to make adjustments to the planned restoration work taking this information into account. Data from the Centre de données sur le patrimoine naturel du Québec (CDPNQ, 2017) were used for this purpose. Since no species at risk were found in the CDPNQ database, the work was planned without making any special adjustments in that regard.

The methods chosen for the bird surveys were designed to detect the majority of species present at the sites and also obtain relative abundance data for some of the species. When necessary (Segment 5), a random sampling technique was used.

Birds feeding in flight (e.g., swallows) or flying within the habitat or over it were counted, whereas birds merely flying over the habitat without using it (e.g., vultures or gulls high in the air) were not retained when the data were compiled.

Segment 5

The point count survey method was chosen for Segment 5 in Maskinongé. Although specifically designed for songbirds, this method can be used to detect and count many other species as well (by sight or sound), particularly in open habitat with few visual obstructions, such as Segment 5.

Two techniques were combined, specifically Unlimited Distance Point Counts (UDPC, also known as IPA) and fixed-radius counts. Combining these two techniques makes it possible to obtain more information about the birds that use the habitat surveyed. The fixed-radius technique can be used to compare a given species’ abundance in different types of habitat (i.e., distance of detection may differ) and to compare the abundance of different species. The fixed radius was set to 75 m (the distance at which the songs of most species can be heard) and the point count duration to 20 minutes. UDPC data are used to complement the fixed-radius count results in order to present an overall picture of the bird species occurring during the breeding season in the habitats studied. To increase the probability of detection, each point count location was to be visited twice, at least seven days apart, during the month of June 2017.

For each individual detected, the observer was required to record the bird’s position in relation to the 75-m radius (whether located within or outside of the radius), its position relative to the enhancement area (within or outside of it or in the privately owned land in the middle of the enhancement area), the bird’s sex (if possible), the type of detection (visual [individual, nest, family group] or auditory [call, song]) and the habitat used. Only the behaviour most indicative of breeding was recorded for a given individual. Therefore, when a bird uttered both a call and a song during the 20-minute point count period, only the song, a territorial behaviour, was recorded. If this same individual was observed on a nest or accompanied by young, this is the information that was recorded because it enabled confirmation of breeding. When two or more birds were heard or seen simultaneously, they were treated as different individuals. The same is true in cases where detections were so far apart they could not involve a single individual. When in doubt, the observer was to treat the detection as a single bird.

During data compilation, the following convention was used: a bird seen or heard calling (male or female) = 0.5 pair; a singing male, a nest or a family = 1 pair. In the case of locations visited twice, the highest value for a given species was retained (better indicator of the carrying capacity of the environment).

A single observer performed the counts. In total, 21 point counts were carried out between sunrise and 10:00 a.m., the time of day when songbirds are most active.

The point count locations were selected by computer. A hexagonal grid with a 75-m radius was superimposed on the map to visualize the survey sample for the selection of count locations.

Watercourses

The transect method was chosen for the bird survey along the four watercourses. This involved counting all birds detected by walking slowly (2–3 km/h) along one side of the watercourse and recording all the birds seen or heard nearby as well as in adjacent habitats. All individuals detected on either bank were to be recorded (Deschênes et al., 1999; Jobin et al., 2001).

The observer was required to note the location of each bird detected in relation to the watercourse (open water, bank, vegetated riparian strip or adjacent habitat), its sex (if possible) and the type of detection (visual [individual, nest, family group] or auditory [call, song]). Only the behaviour most indicative of breeding was recorded for a given individual, under the logic described in the Segment 5 methods. When a bird was detected in the vegetated riparian strip, the observer was to note the plant composition, specifically whether it was dominated by trees, shrubs, herbaceous vegetation or a combination thereof. When a bird was recorded in the adjacent habitat, the observer was to specify the bird’s position, that is, whether it was located within the first 25 m from the watercourse (immediately adjacent habitat) or farther than 25 m away (distant adjacent habitat); the type of habitat being used at the time was also recorded (Deschênes et al., 2003).

The sites were visited twice, more than seven days apart, during the month of June 2017. The surveys were carried out between sunrise and 9:00 a.m. under ideal conditions (clear to partly cloudy skies, no rainfall, and no wind to light wind).

During data compilation, detections of individuals were converted to numbers of pairs, in keeping with the convention described in the section on Segment 5.

Summary of the main results and conclusion

Segment 5

The surveys in Segment 5 were carried out under passable weather conditions at a time when most of the site was covered with water; therefore, only one visit of the entire site could be completed. Because of the exceptional flooding, a number of species that forage in aquatic and wetland environments, namely the Canada Goose, the Mallard, the Ring-billed Gull, the Great Blue Heron, the Great Egret, the Black Tern, the Tree Swallow, the Bald Eagle (designated vulnerable in Quebec) and the Turkey Vulture, were observed there, sometimes in very large numbers. On the other hand, the floods probably had an adverse effect on some ground-feeding and ground-nesting bird species, including the Song Sparrow and the Killdeer. The Horned Lark and the Vesper Sparrow, two species that nest on the ground and are known to breed in the region (AONQ, 2017), were not found at the site.

The site has an extensive network of watercourses and drainage ditches, but without flooding they would not attract large numbers of certain species like those that visited the flooded agricultural fields in 2017. Outside the flooded areas, where there was more vegetation (herbaceous riparian strips, farm hedgerows, swamps), five generalist species, the Song Sparrow, the Red-winged Blackbird, the European Starling, the Yellow Warbler and the Common Grackle (Maisonneuve et al., 1996; Gagnon Lupien, 2013), were the most abundant in these relatively low-diversity habitats. In the course of a “normal” year, i.e., one during which the watercourses do not overflow their banks and the crops reach a certain height by June, these five species would probably have been as or more abundant, while species attracted by higher water levels would have made up a very small proportion of the total. Swamps represent the habitat type with the greatest diversity of birds, with 16 species recorded there.

In short, the restoration of Segment 5 will create new habitats that are highly likely to increase overall avian diversity on the site. However, from year to year, flood dynamics will affect the abundance and even the presence of many species, especially those attracted to water and those that nest on or near the ground.

Watercourses

The watercourse surveys were carried out under ideal weather conditions at a time when water levels were high but the watercourses did not overflow the banks except in a very few places. The Song Sparrow, the Red-winged Blackbird, the Yellow Warbler and the Common Grackle were among the most abundant species along the four watercourses. In the Îles de Berthier area, the largest numbers of species and of pairs per kilometre of shoreline were generally recorded within the vegetated riparian strips. That difference was smaller for the watercourses in the Sainte-Geneviève-de-Berthier area, where the riparian strips were often devoid of vegetation.

Overall, Chenal du Nord, located in an intensive-agriculture area, was the watercourse with the lowest number of species in total (22) and the lowest number of pairs per kilometre of shoreline (35). The watercourses with the greatest species richness were (in descending order) Fossé de la Baie (30), Marais de la Presqu’île (28) and De Biais Creek (25). Each of those three watercourses was frequented by more than 50 pairs per kilometre of shoreline. However, at Fossé de la Baie, the count would be fewer than 20 pairs per kilometre if the Mallard and the Canada Goose, two species attracted by the high water levels, were excluded.

The watercourses with larger numbers of species and higher pair densities were generally those characterized by denser vegetation and greater structural diversity of habitats. It will be interesting to measure the impact of the restoration on avian species richness and abundance along these four watercourses in the coming years.

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Prepared by

Alexandre Nicole et Diane Dauphin
Canadian Wildlife Service
Québec Region
Environment and Climate Change Canada

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