Sightings for Saturday September 22nd

Chateauguay, Île St-Bernard refuge faunique Marguerite-D'Youville: Red-Bellied woodpecker (Pic à ventre roux), Eastern Screech owl (Petit-duc maculé), American kestrel (Crécerelle d'Amérique), White-crowned & White-throated sparrows (Bruants à couronne blanche et à gorge Blanche), Killdeer & Semipalmated plovers (Pluviers kildir et semipalmé), Greater & Lesser yellowlegs (Grand et Petit Chevaliers), Semipamated sandpipers & Dunlin (Bécasseaux semipalmé et variable) - Monique Groulx
Black-backedwoodpecker (Pic à dos noir) - Eve-Lyne Samson

Montreal, Mount Royal park (7h45 à 9h30): Lincoln’s sparrow (Bruant de Lincoln), Warblers – Common yellowthroat, Black-throated blue, Black-throated green, Nashville, Blackpoll, Tennesee, Magnolia (Parulines masquée (2), bleue (1), à gorge noire (5), à joues grises (3), rayée (1), obscure (1), à tête cendrée (2), Winter wren (Troglodyte mignon)
Mount Royal Cemetary: (9h30 à 10h30) White-crowned sparrow (Bruant à couronne blanche), White-throated sparrows (Bruants à gorge blanche), Wilson’s warbler (Paruline à calotte noire), Coopers hawk (Épervier de Cooper) - Diane Demers

Bird Protection Quebec field trip

Oka:
Good morning everyone, Saturday's trip to Oka Park was highlighted (or more precisely unhighlighted) by an almost total absence of passerines. Granted, we spent several hours on the beach and the boardwalk at La Grande Baie, but not having a single warbler or sparrow on our list was an extreme surprise. The warm (mid 20's C) temperatures and moderate southwest breezes seemed to keep migration at a standstill.Nevertheless 14 birders enjoyed enjoyed the last day of summer basking in the bright sunshine.

The beach produced the best birds of the trip with a ruddy turnstone, two black-bellied plovers and 4 sanderlings who caused some ID problems because ofthe backlighting and behavior that was not the usual "let's play tag with the waves" habit so often associated with this species. Ducks were numerous off the beach and in fair numbers in the marsh at La Grande Baie. The numbers listed below are underestimated as many were at long range or being viewed from a constantly listing floating boarwalk and not identified. The vast majority as expected were mallards.

Also spotted were some non-avian species in late summer plumage on the unofficial nude beach section of the park. M-E G. wanted to try for a closer look to make positive identifications but the rest of the group could not be persuaded as there were probably no lifers involved.

Our slim list of 34 species included:

200 Canada Geese, 6 Wood Ducks12+, Gadwall12+, American Wigeon 6, American Black Ducks 500+, Mallrds 2, Blue-winged Teal 3, Northern Shovelers 40, Ring-necked Ducks 2, Pied-billed Grebes 10, Great Blue Herons 2, Great Egrets 6, Turkey Vultures 1, Cooper's Hawk 2, Common Moorhens 2, Black-bellied Plovers 6, Killdeer 7, Lesser Yellowlegs 1, Ruddy Turnstone 4, Sanderlings 2, Semipalmated Sandpipers 1, Pectoral Sandpiper 20+, Ring-billed gulls 1, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Caspian Tern 1, Common Tern 1, Belted Kingfisher 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker, 4 Blue jays 12+, American Crows 12, Black-capped Chickadees 1, American Robin 6, American Goldfinches

Thanks to everyone who came out for an enjoyable time

Wayne Grubert