Field Trip Report - Westmount Summit - May 13

Happy Mothers Day everyone. A cool morning on Westmount Summit this morning. Clear and sunny conditions provided an excellent panoramicview from the lookout for everyone to start the day. Throughout themorning various BPQ members popped in and out of the field trip,resulting in an overall total of 25 birders.

A small group of us also headed off to Mount Royal Cemetery late in the morning to wrap up the trip.The buzz word of the morning was certainly "quiet". It has been avery long time since I have been on a field trip where there were so few bird sounds in the air. Persistence did pay off though. A Black-throated Green Warbler kicked off the morning, visible below the lookout and, thanks to Chuck, everyone was able to get a great view of one of the Eastern Screech Owls taking in the morning sun in hisfavourite tree trunk. The rest of the birds really had to be searched out with the group circling the park several times throughout the morning.

The morning was complete with a total of 42 species, with a tentativebut probable 43rd species that several of us thought to have been a Yellow-throated Vireo. That would be a lifer for many in the group,but our view of it was brief. The bird was seen at the western end of the park. I personally would have preferred a much longer view ofthe bird but all the field marks seemed to fit.Other highlights included a Coopers Hawk sitting over our heads whilewe were scouring the trees for warblers! (might explain why therewere none where we were looking);

8 species of warblers; a Broad-winged Hawk, Eastern Bluebirds and a Gray Catbird, each at the cemetery; and a Pileated Woodpecker. So, here is the species list for the morning. I will indicate (MRC) beside those species seen at the cemetery.

Turkey Vulture, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk (MRC), Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, E. Screech Owl, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher (MRC), Blue-headed Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird (MRC), Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird (MRC), European Starling, Northern Parula, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow (MRC), White-throated Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak (MRC), Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird (MRC), American Goldfinch.

Thank you to all who turned out.

Sheldon