Our van drives deep into the forest and more and more tree lichens pass before our eyes. No doubt: we are in the heart of chic-chocs, in the great spruce forests of Gaspésie.
Gilbert Delage is 500 km from his home. Despite the lack of sleep, the former mayor of Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs, the island’s commune, draws a smile. We are right in the habitat of the grouse. We have a good chance of bringing something back to the island.
Forests dominated by conifers such as spruce provide fertile ground for grouse life. Photo: Radio-Canada / Gilbert Bégin
We support Gilbert Delage and his team in this somewhat crazy project to reintroduce the spruce grouse to an island. A project he has been cultivating for three years. He has two weeks to catch about fifty grouse.
“It is the number of birds that we need if we want to ensure genetic diversity and guarantee the success of reintroduction. »
— A quote from Gilbert Delage
Pascal Pettigrew oversees captures. This biologist from the University of Quebec at Rimouski knows the bird’s habits well.
He slowly traverses the forest trails in search of a female, accompanied by her young.
“Our capture protocol is strict: you must capture a female and her young every time. We don’t want orphans. »
— A quote from Pascal Pettigrew
It’s the end of August and the sun has just come up. Fragments of the morning mist cling to lichen.
Suddenly the biologist stops his van. A female and her siblings feed at the side of the road 50 meters from us.
Pascal quickly pulls out a funny fishing rod with a rod attached to the end with a sling attached. He slowly moves towards the Moorhuhn.
Beginning of the mosaic of 4 elements. Skip the Mosaic?
Agrandir l’image All recordings are made using telescopic rods with slings attached at the ends Photo: Radio-Canada / Gilbert Bégin
Agrandir l’image Gilbert Delage spotted a grouse in a spruce forest in Chic-Chocs Wildlife Reserve Photo: Radio-Canada / Gilbert Bégin
Agrandir l’image A young grouse remains motionless in the hope of escaping its predator Photo: Radio-Canada / Gilbert Bégin
Agrandir l’image Pascal Pettigrew prepares to place a young grouse in a transport cage.Photo: Radio-Canada / Gilbert BéginEnd of the 4-element mosaic. Back to the beginning of the mosaic?
Gilbert explains the trapping technique to me: we rely on the camouflage instinct of the birds. If a grouse feels threatened, it will stop moving. It relies on its camouflage to evade predators. We use this moment to put the collar around his neck.
Gilbert Delage also counts on the help of Daniel Dussault, a former wildlife officer and resident of Île Verte.
During our conversation, Daniel and Pascal quickly mastered the female and her three youngsters. One by one, they carefully place the birds in a wooden box.
Gilbert adds a few larch branches. He’s a quiet bird. It supports transportation well.
A five-hour drive separates these birds from Île Verte.