- Bonaventure Island
Bonaventure Island (officially in French: île Bonaventure) is a Canadian island located km to mi|3.5|precision=1 off the southern coast of
Quebec 'sGaspé Peninsula , km to mi|5 southeast of the village of Percé. Roughly circular in shape, it has an area measuring km2 to mi2|4.16|precision=2.History
Bonaventure Island (Île Bonaventure), with Percé, was among the early seasonal fishing ports of
New France , associated with the lineage ofNicolas Denys . The island became a migratory bird sanctuary in 1919 due to the1916 Migratory Bird Convention between Canada and the United States. The province ofQuebec acquired ownership of the entire island in 1971 and grouped it together withPercé Rock into theParc national de l'Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé (Bonaventure Island and Percé Rock National Park) in 1985. One of the largest and most accessible bird sanctuaries in the world with more than 280,000 birds, Bonaventure Island is a majortourist destination with boat and island tours from May to October.The aircraft carrier HMCS "Bonaventure" was named after the island.
Historically,
Île Bizard , near Montreal and Laval, was called Île Bonaventure until 1723 until its name was changed after Jacques Bizard obtained the island as a fief (seigneurie).Birds
293 different species of birds have been recorded as visiting, migrating to, or living on Bonaventure island. The most common bird found on the island is the
Northern Gannet . The island is home to the largest colony of gannets in the world, with over 121,000 birds. [ [http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080616/CPVOYAGES/806070999/1016/CPVOYAGES Fous de Bassan : l'île Bonaventure, numéro 1 mondial] - Cyberpresse.cafr icon] Other populous colonies include theBlack-legged Kittiwake and theCommon Murre .Seagull s,Tern s,Black Guillemot s,auk s,Herring Gull s,Great Black-backed Gull s,Razorbill s,Leach's Storm-Petrel s,Great Cormorant s,Double-crested Cormorant s,Atlantic Puffin s,Boreal Chickadee s andBlackpoll Warbler s can also be observed on Bonaventure.References
External links
* [http://www.qc.ec.gc.ca/faune/faune/html/mbs_ile_bonaventure.html Environment Canada's Bonaventure Page]
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