Parc des Buck is a municipal park with several forested walking trails that are usable year-round. These trails lead to Quinn Lake (Lac à Quinn). The looped paths vary in length, but all are very easy to walk, even though there are a few small hills.
You may also decide to try along Patton Road, a side road through a forested area.
La Butte du Vent, at the summit of Cap-aux-Meules, offers an incredible view over the whole archipelago as well as providing ascending air currents for different raptor species during the fall migration.
As for the port in Cap-aux-Meules, it shelters winged creatures mostly during the winter.
Observation from the side of the road leading to the wharf, from Patton Road or on walks in Parc des Buck and on the Butte du Vent.
Many different species of woodpeckers have been sighted here, as well as most of the passerines, such as chickadees, nuthatches, kinglets, warblers and buntings. It is an excellent site for observing the Boreal Double-crested Cormorant (Aegolius funereus). The bird life along Patton Raod is basically the same as in the Parc des Buck, as they are close together and near the same forest cover.
Winter is the best season for birds in the port at Cap-aux-Meules. The ferry punches openings in the ice and stirs up the sea floor, creating ideal conditions for the observation of gulls such as Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus), Great Black-backed Gulls (Larus marinus), Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus) and Iceland Gulls (Larus glaucoides). An Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) was also spotted here in the winter of 2006.
Parc des Buck is at the end of Chemin de la Mine, in the heart of the village of Cap-aux-Meules, along Route 199, close to the Place des Îles Shopping Centre. Parking area provided.
Patton Road can be reached in several ways, depending on where you are starting from. From Fatima, follow Chemin du Grand-Ruisseau and Chemin de l'Église, which links Fatima to Étang-du-Nord. It is close to the La Vernière church. From this road, and Chemin Cormier, you can reach the road leading to the summit of the Butte du vent (Chemin Butte du Vent). Please note that Patton Road, Chemin de l'Église and Chemin Butte du vent are not open to vehicle traffic in winter.
Cultural landscape Circuit - In French
This site is part of a circuit that proposes a cultural journey through no less than 12 iconic landscapes chosen for their photogenic qualities as well as their heritage value. Interpretation modules and downloadable stories.
On this site, you can rely to the story of Nicolas Landry: The scent of wood