Il y a deux façons de se rendre à l’Île-Bonaventure où se trouve une des plus grandes colonies de Fous de Bassan: soit une traversée directe ou une croisière d’une heure qui fait le tour du Rocher Percé et de l’Île Bonaventure. Nous avons choisi l’option de la croisière car cela permettait de bien admirer les belles falaises qui entourent l’île ainsi que nous donner un premier aperçu des colonies d’oiseaux qui y nichent.
Le Rocher Percé est une structure imposante, mais son apparente solidité est trompeuse car il se désagrège tranquillement. Il n’est plus recommandé de se rendre à pied au pied du Rocher (ce qui peut se faire à marée basse) car les chutes de roches sont quotidiennes. L’Île Bonaventure fut habitée pendant quelques siècles principalement par des pêcheurs mais la vie y était rude et un dépeuplement a suivi son cours jusque dans les années 50. L’Île fut acheté par le Gouvernement du Québec en 1971 pour en faire une réserve naturelle et fut transformée en parc en 1985. Le parc a restauré quelques unes des habitations de ces habitants.
There are two ways to get to Bonaventure Island where there is one of the largest colonies of Northern Gannets: either a direct crossing or an hour-long cruise around the Rocher Percé and the Bonaventure Island. We chose the option of the cruise because it allowed us to admire the beautiful cliffs that surround the island and give us a first glimpse of the nesting bird colonies.
The Perce Rock is an imposing structure, but its apparent solidity is misleading because it is slowly breaking down. It is no longer recommended to walk to the foot of the Rock (which can be done at low tide) because rock falls are daily. Bonaventure Island was inhabited for a few centuries mainly by fishermen but life was rough and depopulation continued until the 1960s. The Island was purchased by the Quebec Government in 1971 to make it a nature reserve and was transformed into a park in 1985. The park restored some of the dwellings of these inhabitants.
Les falaises de Percé / The cliffs of Perce
Rocher Percé
Île-Bonaventure
[Auteur/Author: Suzanne & Pierre]
Les voyages de Suzanne & Pierre 
Erosion is sad to see but i found the close ups you got of the strata in the rock formations interesting and perhaps some of those layers explain the instability of the rocks.
Thanks Jacqui. The whole coast is subject to serious erosion and it isn’t getting any better. You are right that the type of rocks does explain the fast erosion. Glad you enjoyed this series.
Magnifique série. Quand je vois la photo où il y a tant d’oiseaux sur le Percé, je me dis que les amateurs de photo animalière doivent se régaler. Je regrette vraiment de n’avoir pu aller jusque là. Merci
Merci Marie. C’est effectivement un bel endroit pour les photographes animaliers. Dans quelques jours, nous présenterons les photos que nous avons pris de la colonie de Fous de Bassan dont on peut se rapprocher. C’est un endroit très magique.
Amazing bird colonies along the cliffs! Are they all one species or several? Your close-up of the ‘painted’ rock and tree line is artistically gorgeous!
Thanks Donna. Glad you liked this series. There are apparently about 218 species of birds visiting, migrating to, or living on the island. On the cliffs we saw seagulls, black guillemot, razorbill. The main attraction is the Northern Gannet; one of the largest accessible colonies in the world. We will have pictures of the Gannet a little later this week.
Oh my, how awesome! Looking forward to the Gannets! 🙂
Beautiful, I love the colours on the rocks,
Thanks Anabel. It was indeed quite an interesting place. Glad you enjoyed the cruise!
When I first heard about Percé I thought how wonderful it would be to get up close in a boat. I’m delighted to see that you’ve done exactly that and shared the photos!
I can imagine the noise of the birds as you get closer to the cliffs. From your photos, it looks like you had a beautiful day which makes your photos that much more spectacular.
Thanks Joanne. A cruise is actually the best way to appreciate the size of the Rock and yes the birds are quite noisy and smelly once you get close to the cliffs of the Island. The colony of Northern Gannet is quite impressive once you get onto the island. I don’t know if you have seen the post with the pictures of the birds; if not, it is worth having a look as they are magnificent birds.