| This is a provincial park well worth visiting with a range of habitats from river/lakeside to mountain with a mix of forested and open areas plus extensive marshlands/swamp.
The park lies on the north shore of Lac des deux montagnes near the confluence of the Ouataouais and Sty. Lawrence rivers to the west of Montreal. To reach it take highway 13 or 15 north to the 640, then head west towards St Eustache. The 640 takes you right into the park. Better yet is to follow autoroute 40 (the Trans Canada Highway), turn off at Hudson and take the ferry over the lake in summer or the ice-bridge in winter. This ferry is quite an experience - nothing fancy, just a large flat barge towed by a small motorboat that races in towards the shore and "slingshots" the ferry at the landing stage while it hurriedly cats off its lines and gats out of the way - fortunately, they are good at this and never miss (yet).
The park has about 30km of trail in all, providing great opportunities for birdwatchers and hikers. There are 3 main trails in the park. The 5.5 km Le Calvaire d'Oka, a historic trail across the hwy from the beach which climbs the parks prominent mountain. Le Sommet is a 7.5km multi-use trail (hiking, biking, and skiing) also on the mountain which offers a fair bit of up and downs. Lastly, L'Erabliere, another loop trail, is 1.5 km in length starting just off the highway in the middle of the park. As a birder you should make a point of taking the Sentier ecologique de la Grande Baie, a nature trail just above the Grande Baie where many of the parks 187 species of birds have been recorded and where many of the parks birds nest. There is a boardwalk leading into the marsh as well as an observation tower. This trail is a 3 km loop and is an easy walk.
The park is especially good for ducks and shorebirds along the edge of the river/lake and for hawks over the mountain.
The "official" checklist for the park is as follows :
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
American Black Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Greater Scaup
Black Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Gray Partridge
Ruffed Grouse
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Moorhen
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Upland Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Common Snipe
American Woodcock
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Tern
Black Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Northern Shrike
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Mourning Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Snow Bunting
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
White-winged Crossbill
Common Redpoll
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
House Sparrow
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