Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
A large intertidal marsh is situated along the south shore of the estuary and covers more than 24 km of shoreline. The width of the intertidal zone varies with the tides, from a minimum of 2 km to a maximum width of 4.5 km. Most the site is regularly flooded but there is a dyke that protects cultivated fields from higher tides and salt water. These fields and the nearby islands are not within the boundaries of the site. The intertidal zone contains abundant algae and other marine life, whereas the marshes contain several spartina species.
The Falaise aux Goélands/Pointe de L’Est cliff site supports globally significant concentrations of both kittiwakes and cormorants. In total, 24,561 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes, representing approximately 4% of the North American population or 9% of the estimated western Atlantic population, were recorded at the cliffs; 1,061 of these pairs were at Pointe de L’Est. In 1963, 125 Great Cormorants (roughly 1% of the estimated North American population) were detected breeding at Falaise aux Goélands. Current numbers are not known for this cliff. They were formally present at Pointe de L’Est, but have not bred there since 1940, when 92 individuals were recorded.
Common Murres and Northern Gannets have been documented at this site since 1937. In 1940, 220 Common Murre were counted but none, however, have been recorded since. In 1994, 200 pairs of Northern Gannets were recorded by the Canadian Wildlife Service at Falaise aux Goélands. A similar number of 250 pairs were surveyed in 1937, suggesting a fairly stable population. Three Atlantic Puffins were recorded in 1963. Also, the area is frequented year-round by Bald Eagles. In 1995, seven were counted and in 1997 a pair was nesting in a bog nearby.
Out on the sea, large rafts of Common Eiders winter within view of these cliffs. When eider numbers from here and Anticosti’s south side are added together, totals reach between 20,000 and 50,000.
Conservation responses/actions for key biodiversity
The birds that nest and frequent the waters adjacent to the cliffs are vulnerable to oil spills, because large numbers of ships travel the St. Lawrence Gulf. Many ships illegally discharge used oil and others spill large amounts inadvertently. Such oil spills can have a catastrophic on marine wildlife including waterbirds.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Falaise aux Goélands and pointe de l’Est (Canada). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/falaise-aux-goélands-and-pointe-de-l’est-iba-canada on 23/12/2024.
