Summer Series - Trip #8 report for August 19th

Trip #9, the last in the 4th annual Summer Series of Birding, is now in the books with 11 birders exploring the east shore of the Richelieu River starting at Sabrevois and continuing south to Noyan.

Several stops were made along the way exploring a wide variety ofhabitats. The phrase "just another ... (insert common bird name here)" was put to use again today, only this time for a species that Sharon hoped we would be able to find. Her target bird for the day was the Osprey but, by the time the day was complete, the phrase "just another Osprey" ended up being used much more frequently than any of us might have expected. In total we probably saw at least ten of the birds throughout the day.

We completed a day full of sunshine, clear sky, cool breezes and a temperature around 18 to 20 degrees, with a total of 61 species. Here is the complete list for the trip.

Wood Duck, Mallard, Blue winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, HoodedMerganser, Double-crested Cormorant, American Bittern, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Common Moorhen, Lesser Yellowlegs, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Marsh Wren, American Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow.

Thank you to all who attended and contributed to a fun day. I wouldalso like to thank everyone who participated throughout the summer series. I will have some statistical notes on the complete 4th Summer Series in the near future.

We look forward to the 2007-2008 BPQ Field Trip session gettingunderway next Saturday with a trip to Dundee, Quebec. I hope to seemany of you there.

Sheldon