Every year during fall, thousands of snow geese cross from Victoriaville region in Quebec, Canada. They take a break (to rest and eat) nearby Victoriaville on the open fields and water bodies. One of the most prominent place to see them is Reservoir Beaudet. During our visit in October, we drove to Victoriaville all the way from Montreal.
The drive itself being beautiful with fall leaves adoring bright orange blanket all over. It was treat before we witnessed the show of snow geese. When we reached, initially there were very few birds around 8:30 -9 am as one of us mentioned to have seen flocks of greater snow geese in the farms near to the reservoir but we did see a Common Loon coming out and going in the water.
Along the lake there’s a visitor’s centre, washrooms , drinking water and picnic tables. Additionally there were slides where kids could spend some time, and a small trail to take a nice walk in beautiful surrounding around.
Soon, snow geese started to arrive at the lake in huge numbers. Within a short span of time, the lake was filled with snow geese making their prominent honking sounds. We quickly took out our cameras and started taking pictures. After being at the lake we decided to follow the trail for a walk and also to see if we encounter other birds. We were able to able to spot Blue jay, American goldfinch, black capped chickadee, downy woodpecker, double crested cormorant, white breasted nuthatch, American robin, common redpoll, pine siskin to name a few. After returning to the lake we tried to see if we could spot some other birds in between the flocks, and we found Canada goose, ring necked duck, common golden eye, hooded merganser, common merganser, ross’s goose to name a few. As the day advanced, lot more people had gathered at the lake and the lake was all white. I had never experienced something even close to this ever. If you’re around Montreal during the month of mid to late October, this place is a must visit. Happy Traveling!!!
Enjoy the beautiful panoramic view of Snow Geese migration by clicking the above link.
