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Site description (2001 baseline)
Mont-Gosford is part of the Appalachian Mountain range and is situated on the Quebec-Maine border. The town of Sherbrooke is approximately 70 kilometres to the west. The mountain itself straddles the border and reaches a maximum height of 1189 metres. The habitat on this mountain is forested, with the plant composition changing as the elevation increases. High mountaintop habitat is dominated by small, dense, stunted forests of Balsam Fir and spruce while lower elevations host Balsam Fir and White Birch. Secondary growth occurs on sites that have been selectively cut or clearcut.

Key biodiversity
Bicknell’s Thrush has one of the most restricted breeding ranges of any North American species, and is endemic to northeastern parts of the continent. This area of southeast Quebec is one of a few areas in Canada with large numbers of this nationally vulnerable species. Research conducted in the summers of 1997 and 1998 focused on this mountain (and Mont-Megantic) and identified suitable habitat that was available to the thrushes. At this site, the thrushes were found to nest above 775 metres in elevation, in cool, moist habitat with Balsam Fir dominating, a relatively greater density of trees, less herbaceous plant cover, greater moss cover, and more snags and dead trees, than were found on average within these mountains. White Birch and spruce habitat were used but were less favourable. Using remote sensing, approximately 2,000 hectares of Mont-Gosford was found to be suitable for Bicknell’s Thrushes. Point count and survey routes were then done on the ground to detect singing males. By extrapolating using suitable habitat and published breeding densities, a total of 1,749 to 3,449 territorial males were estimated to be in the study site. With females included, this population could be twice as high, making this a globally significant number of birds. Several sources of error, however, might have made this estimate too high. The Quebec population of this species has been estimated at 3,000 to 5,000 birds but, considering the estimates of this new study, this number is likely too low. The same may also be true for the global population estimate of 5,000 to 15,000 birds.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Massif du mont Gosford (Canada). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/massif-du-mont-gosford-iba-canada on 23/11/2024.