It had snowed overnight and the aviary net was covered with snow, from top to bottom and from right to left. For a few hours, the look in the aviary was magical! And, it was very peaceful. March 20, 2013.
Birds in the Roger-Bider aviary, from 2013 to 2015
The story of the Ecomuseum Zoo. In 1981, Dr. John Roger Bider, professor at McGill University founded the St. Lawrence Valley Natural History Society (SHNVSL) in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, in the West Island of Montreal. The name Ecomuseum was also registered.
"Dr. Bider had a vision of a society in which every individual respects and protects the environment. In an effort to realize this dream, he opened the Ecomuseum in 1988 as the focal point of the SHNVSL's environmental education, research and conservation activities." He was the zoo's director from 1988 to 2005. In his retirement, he volunteers at the zoo with his wife Marjorie. Mr. John Roger Bider passed away on April 29, 2013. He was 80 years old.
In 2005, David Rodrigue he is appointed zoo Director. In 2006, with the management team, he put in place "the first five-year plan aimed at renewing, modernizing and developing all of the institution's infrastructures." In 2013, he launched the second phase for the 2013-2017," with a fundraising campaign. "A total of $6.2 million will be raised and reinvested during this period. More than 60% of the zoo's facilities will be upgraded."
From less than 10 in 2005, the zoo's team grew to more than 25 in 2013. In 2022, "the Ecomuseum Zoo is operated by a relatively small but dedicated team of 33 full-time, 21 part-time and 9 seasonal employees, for a total of 63."
In 2017, for the first time, the zoo welcomed 145,000 visitors. An increase of 45%. Despite the pandemic situation, nearly 160,000 visitors went to the Ecomuseum Zoo annually.
The Ecomuseum Zoo welcomes non-releasable animals. Its residents are injured, orphaned or born in human care, they don't have the abilities required to survive in their natural environment. The Ecomuseum zoo provides a safe and loving home for these animals. The zoo's mission is centered on environmental education, the conservation of wildlife and its natural habitats and the well-being of animals."
The Ecomuseum Zoo is a private not-for-profit charitable organization. It's also the only zoo exclusively dedicated to Quebec's wildlife. The Ecomuseum Zoo is accredited by the Canadian Accredited Aquariums and Zoos (Home - CAZA).* Zoo Ecomuseum
The zoo exists because of the great determination of Dr. John Roger Bider, a founding committee that he recruited, many volunteers since 1981 and thanks to Mr. David Rodrigue who has supervised the zoo for seventeen years.
My sincere thanks to Mr. David Rodrigue for all the information on the history of the Ecomuseum Zoo, from 1981 to today.
Here, my best photos taken inside the aviary, from 2013 to 2015.
The photos are grouped by species.
Top photo: October 10, 2013.
- Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens), Oie des neiges -
The snow goose (Anser caerulescens) is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose.
Snow geese breed north of the timberline in Greenland, Canada, Alaska, and the northeastern tip of Siberia, and spend winters in warm parts of North America from southwestern British Columbia through parts of the United States to Mexico. Snow goose populations increased dramatically in the 20th century. Snow goose - Wikipedia
The 2 bottom photos: August 7, 2015.
December 12, 2014 (3 photos).
May 1, 2015 (4 photos). These two wood ducks were not in the aviary. Like me that day,
they were visiting the turtle habitat. I find it interesting how they looked at each other in turn.
they were visiting the turtle habitat. I find it interesting how they looked at each other in turn.
- Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) or Carolina duck, Canard branchu -
The wood duck or Carolina duck (Aix sponsa) is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.
The adult male has stunning multicolored iridescent plumage and red eyes, with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. Wood duck - Wikipedia
May 29, 2015 (3 photos).
- Eurasian teal (Anas crecca) or Eurasian green-winged teal
Sarcelle d'hiver ou Sarcelle à ailes vertes d'Eurasie -
The Eurasian teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal.
Their head and upper neck is chestnut, with a wide and iridescent dark green patch of half-moon that starts immediately before the eye and arcs to the upper hindneck. The breast is buff with small round brown spots. Eurasian teal - Wikipedia
May 29, 2015 (2 photos).
- Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) or Canadian goose
Bernache du Canada ou Oie canadienne -
The Canada goose is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is occasionally found during migration across the Atlantic in northern Europe. It has been introduced to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands.
It is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. Canada goose - Wikipedia
June 19, 2015 (8 photos).
July 3, 2015. December 7, 2015
- Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) or wild duck, Canard colvert -
The mallard is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa.
The breeding male mallard have a glossy bottle-green head and a white collar that demarcates the head from the purple-tinged brown breast, grey-brown wings, and a pale grey belly. The rear of the male is black, with white-bordered dark tail feathers.
The bill of the male is a yellowish-orange tipped with black, with that of the female generally darker and ranging from black to mottled orange and brown. The female mallard is predominantly mottled, with each individual feather showing sharp contrast from buff to very dark brown, a coloration shared by most female dabbling ducks, and has buff cheeks, eyebrow, throat, and neck, with a darker crown and eye-stripe. Mallard - Wikipedia
The following two photos were taken on December 7, 2015
May 29, 2015. July 8, 2015 (8 photos).
- Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) Canard souchet -
The northern Shoveler is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central, the Caribbean, and northern South America. It is a rare vagrant to Australia. In North America, it breeds along the southern edge of Hudson Bay and west of this body of water, and as far south as the Great Lakes west to Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon.
This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding drake has an iridescent dark green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks.
The female is a drab mottled brown like other dabblers, with plumage much like a female mallard, but easily distinguished by the long broad bill, which is gray tinged with orange on cutting edge and lower mandible. Northern shoveler - Wikipedia
The following pictures with a female Northern Shoveler and her ducklings.
August 28, 2015 (7 photos)
October 5, 2015.
- Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) Tourterelle triste -
The mourning dove has a large range of nearly 11,000,000 km2 (4,200,000 sq mi). The species is resident throughout the Greater Antilles, most of Mexico, the Continental United States, southern Canada, and the Atlantic archipelago of Bermuda. [...] The species is a vagrant in northern Canada, Alaska, and South America.
Member of the dove family, Columbidae this bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Carolina turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds and a popular gamebird, with more than 20 million birds (up to 70 million in some years) shot annually in the U.S., both for sport and meat.
The plumage is generally light gray-brown and lighter and pinkish below. The wings have black spotting, and the outer tail feathers are white, contrasting with the black inners. Below the eye is a distinctive crescent-shaped area of dark feathers. The eyes are dark, with light skin surrounding them.
The bird is a strong flier, capable of speeds up to 88 km/h (55 mph). Mourning dove - Wikipedia
July 17, 2015. An immature Black-crowned Night-Heron, his plumage is grey-brown on their heads, wings, and backs, with numerous pale spots.
- Black-crowned Night-Heron or Black-capped Night-Heron
(Nycticorax nycticorax) Bihoreau gris -
The Black-crowned Night-Heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout much of the world, including Europe, Asia and North and South America.
Adults have a black crown and back, the rest of the body being white or gray, red eyes and short yellow legs. They have pale gray wings and white underparts. Two or three long white plumes, raised for greeting and courtship, extend from the back of the head. The two sexes are similar in appearance, although the males are slightly larger. [...] They are relatively stocky and have shorter bills, legs, and necks than their more familiar cousins, the egrets and "day" herons. Their resting posture is normally a bit stooped, but when hunting they extend their necks and look more like other wading birds.
Septembre 21, 2015.
October 5, 2015 for these two photos above and below.
November 2, 2015 (above). I photographed the next five photos on November 9, 2015.
December 7, 2015 (4 photos).
- Redhead (Aythya americana) Fuligule à tête rouge -
The redhead (Aythya americana) is a medium-sized diving duck. [...] It belongs to the genus Aythya. The redhead is a diving duck specially adapted to foraging underwater. Their legs are placed farther back on the body, which makes walking on land difficult, the webbing on their feet is larger than dabbling ducks and their bills are broader, to facilitate underwater foraging. In addition, pochards have a lobed hind toe.
During breeding season, adult males have a copper head and neck, with a black breast. The back and sides are grey, the belly is white and the rump and tail are a light black. Male bills are pale blue with a black tip and a thin ring separating the two colours. Non breeding males lose the copper colour and instead have brown heads.
Adult females, however, have a yellow to brown head and neck. The breast is brown, the belly is white and the rest of the body is a grey to brown. The female bills are slate with a dark tip that is separated by a blue ring. Females remain the same colour year round.
During breeding season, redheads are found across a wide range of North America, from as far north as Northern Canada to the Caribbean. These pochards then migrate south to winter in warmer climates. These areas include southern United States where breeding does not occur and extends to Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
December 7, 2015
- Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) Canard pilet -
The Northern Pintail is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America.
Both sexes have blue-grey bills and grey legs and feet. The drake is more striking, having a thin white stripe running from the back of its chocolate-coloured head down its neck to its mostly white undercarriage and he also has attractive grey, brown, and black patterning on its back and sides. The hen's plumage is more subtle and subdued, with drab brown feathers similar to those of other female dabbling ducks.
Thank you for watching!... Have a nice day 🙂!
