Cap Tourmente count reaches 66,500 Greater Snow Geese

The latest federal monitoring count recorded 66,500 Greater Snow Geese at Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area on October 15, as the autumn migration continued along the St. Lawrence River.

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s monitoring page, updated October 15, shows the local count rising from 49,300 on October 13 to 56,400 on October 14 and 66,500 on October 15. The site’s highest listed count in 2025 was 48,300.

A migration snapshot

The Cap Tourmente figure is a count at one stopover site, not the size of the entire population. The department estimates the global Greater Snow Goose population at roughly 515,000 birds.

The wildlife area, about 50 kilometres northeast of Québec City, is an important feeding stop during spring and fall migration. The federal guidance says geese are often easiest to see at high tide, when birds move closer to observation areas; conditions and counts can change quickly.

Illustrative image: Photo by Adrien / Unsplash. Cropped and resized. The photograph shows snow geese but is not presented as the October 15 federal count.