Sightings for Friday February 29th

St-Clet, chemin Ste-Marie: Snowy Owl (Harfang des neiges) 12:45 - Johanne Lapierre

Sightings for Thursday February 28th

Hudson, along the train tracks (that are illegal to walk along) behind Finnegan's market: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) along the marsh around 4h30PM today. The bird then flew across the fields to the northwest – P. Bannon - http://pbase.com/pbannon

Montreal Botanical Gardens: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline) - Jean-Sébastien Guénette

Cap-d'Espoir, near Pointe du cap - Gyrfalcon (Faucon gerfaut) - Albini Couture

Sightings for Wednesday February 27th

At the border of Epiphany & St-Roch-de-l'Achigan, route 339: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) could be seen from chemin de la Ligne-Lapointe, please respect the private property of the street - Patrice Franche & Angèle Gosselin

Sherbrooke, lac des Nations: Lesser black-backed gull (Goéland brun), 2 Barrow’s goldeneye (Garrots d'Islande) - Renaud Baeta

Sightings for Tuesday February 26th

Hudson: It was overcast with light snow falling this morning and the conditions to seemed ideal for finding a Great gray owl (Chouette lapone). They were, and Don and I saw two just where Wayne said they would be, behind Finnegan's. They were busy looking for food. I hope they found something. - Barbara

Montreal, Henri-Bourassa & Ray-Lawson behind the Tim Horton: Northern mockingbird (Moqueur polyglotte) - André Provost
Montreal Botanical Gardens: European goldfinch (Chardonneret élégant), Cooper’s hawk (Épervier de Cooper) - Régis Fortin

Sightings for Monday February 25

Boucherville: Alain Goulet and I birded Parc des Îles-de-Boucherville this morning. No sign of Great Grey Owl (last seen yesterday apparently) but we did get a single Barred Owl (Chouette rayée), Northern Saw-whet Owl (Petite Nyctale) and Great Horned Owl (Grand-duc d'Amérique). We also had great views of an American Kestrel (Crécerelle d'Amérique) devouring a mouse.

Cheers, A. Plimer

Sightings for Sunday February 24th

Hatley: I saw a Gyrfalcon (gray form) (Faucon gerfaut) in a field standing over his prey - a black duck on Chemin Nord, Canton de Hatley. I was able to observe the falcon for acouple of minutes and take some photos. I returned later to take more photos of the remains of the dead duck and interesting traces in the snow. - Sheila MacLean

Repentigny, rue Des Gouverneurs: Great horned owl (Grand-duc d'Amérique) - Richard Prévost - photo

Mirabel, beside autoroute 50 between the 15 and exit 1 to the airport: Snowy owl (Harfang des neige) – Daniel Belleisle - photo

Lafontaine, Parc régional de la Rivière du Nord: Belted kingfisher (Martin pêcheur) - Serge Chevalier

Montreal Botanical Gardens: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline), Hoary redpoll (Sizerin blanchâtre) - Louis Messely

St-Hugues, Domaine Ramsay: Barred owl (Chouette rayée) - Roger Roy

Bouchervill, Parc des Îles de Boucherville: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) near the canal between the boat rental and the golf course. Also seen - Saw-whet owl (Petite Nyctale), American kestrel (Crécerelle d'Amérique), Herring gull (Goéland argenté) - Michel Bertrand

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report – February 23rd

Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Morgan Arboretum: 12 birders, 14 species. Around -8 C, but felt warmer in the sun.

Bird of the day: Northern Shrike, perched at the top of a tree in Pullin's Pasture. (click photo to enlarge - M. Swoboda)

Runner-up bird of the day: Young male Pine Grosbeak, eating underneath the sunflower feeder at the Conservation Centre. Noteworthy because it was the first time any of us had seen this species at a feeder. It was very tame (a characteristic of this species, I believe) and we were able to watch it from a short distance away. A beautiful peachy colour. We looked for a band, thinking it may have been the bird Le Nichoir had released, but it didn't have one.

Species: Downy Woodpecker 1, Hairy Woodpecker 5 *(one male was banded), Pileated Woodpecker 2Northern Shrike 1, American Crow 20, Common Raven 1, Black-capped Chickadee 30,White-breasted Nuthatch 6, Bohemian Waxwing 1, Waxwing sp. 3, Northern Carninal 2, Pine Grosbeak 4, Common Redpoll 3, American Goldfinch 2

Rather quiet birdwise. As usual, lots of friendly dogs.

Cheers, Betsy

Sightings for Saturday February 23rd

Mont St-Hilaire: Gyrfalcon (Faucon gerfaut), Peregrine falcon (Faucon pèlerin) - Daniel Ouellette

Montreal, parc nature du Bois-de-Liesse: Eastern screech owl (Petit duc maculé) bois francs sector in the direction of boul. Hyman - Michel Juteau - click photo to enlarge

Montreal Botanical Gardens: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline), European goldfinch (Chardonneret élégant), Hoary redpoll (Sizerin blanchâtre), Common redpoll (Sizerins flammés), 2 American robins (Merles d'Amérique) etc.

Laval, Bois Papineau: in it’s hole behind the police station - Eastern screech owl (Petit-duc maculé) dans son trou habituel, derrière le poste de police. Great horned owl on it’s nest (Grand-duc d'Amérique) sur son nid. Not far from the feeders - Barred owl (Chouette rayée), Common redpolls (Sizerins flammés), American tree sparrows (Bruants hudsoniens), House finch (Roselins familiers), 4 Pileated woodpeckers (Grands Pics) etc. - Michel Bertrand

Verdun, rue Leclair at the lookout: Lesser black-backed gull (2nd winter) (Goéland brun 2ème Hiver) - Diane Demers

Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, on the open water west of the rail bridge: 2 Common loons (Plongeons huards) – R. Gregson

Pointe du Lac: Northern hawk owl (Chouette épervière)

Ste-Foy, south east corner of autoroute 40 (Charest) & 540 (Duplessis): Great horned owl (Grand-Duc d'Amérique) - Stéphane Blais

Hudson: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone)
I played a hunch this afternoon after reading the report about a great gray owl at Parc Les Iles de Boucherville and decided to see if any were around my favourite spot for this species west of Finnegan's Market in Hudson. I should probably buy a lotto ticket tonight because I found two within 5 minutes of starting out. This was at 1:30 p.m. in bright sunlight so I may try again later, nearer dusk, to see if there is more activity. My past experience with these birds has been that they are much more active on cloudy overcast days and tend to stick closer to cover on bright days like today so finding two in the open was actually a bit of a surprise (although not a great one if they are hungry). Unfortunately I cannot add them to my "growling" (green owling) BGBY listbecause I drove in the car to my starting point! Did manage to add a couple ofravens to that list today however. - W. Grubert


Darlene and I, together with Mary Ellen Graham, decided to explore some of the spots in south-western Quebec this morning, looking for a number of species that had been reported over the last week or so. It turned out to be a very successful day.

Ste-Catherine: 100’s Common Mergansers (Grand harles), Black-backed Gulls(Goéland marin), Mallards (Canard colvert) and Common Goldeneye (Garrots à oeil d'or). Darlene's keen eye scoping the water between the shore and Heron Island found a Barrow's Goldeneye (Garrot d'Islande) in a small group of Commons.

Chateauguay, rue Higgins: in The feeders and trees were alive with activity here. Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers wereeverywhere, as well as numerous American Tree Sparrows(Bruants hudsonien), Black-capped Chickadees (Mésanges à tête noire), White-breasted Nuthatch (Sittelle à poitrine blanche) and Common Redpolls (Sizerins flammé). We were rewarded with an excellent view of the Red-bellied Woodpecker (Pic à ventre roux). We hoped to find a Tufted Titmouse (Mésanges bicolore) but were unable to see it, although we did hear it nearby on two different occasions.

Valleyfield, at the end of St-Jean-Baptiste Street: Our next stop was Hungry Bay. The target here was the King Eider (Eider À tête grise) which has been seen in the area off and on for several weeks, including a sighting yesterday by Sylvie Vanier. Upon arriving we met up with Monique from the Chateauguay Birding Club. We could not locate the bird. Monique decided to call Sylvie and check the location with her. She indicated that yesterday's sighting was actually across the canal from Hungry Bay, at the end of St. Jean-Baptiste Street in Valleyfield. We headed there, and although the glare of the sun on the water made viewing a challenge, Monique found one unique bird in the midst of hundreds of Common Mergansers. All four of us agreed that the field marks matched. She had found the King Eider, although we all would have liked to have had a better look.

Saint-Urbain-Premier, close to civic address #9 on Highway 205, south-east of Sainte-Martine: Snowy Owl (Harfang des neiges). Our species count for the day was 25. – S. Harvey

Sightings for Friday February 22nd

St-Lazare, in the pinery: American three-toed woodpecker (Pic à dos rayé)

Salaberry de Valleyfield at the end of St. Jean-Baptiste Street : King Eider (Eider À tête grise) Common goldeneye (Garrots à oeil d'or), Common merganser (Grand harle), Red-breasted merganser (Harle huppé) - Sylvie Vanier

Sightings for Thursday February 21st

Iles de Boucherville: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) - Serge Raymond - click photo to enlarge

Sightings for Wednesday February 20th

Montreal Botaical Gardens: European goldfinch (Chardonneret élégant) photo, Sharp-shinned hawk (Épervier brun), 24 Common redpolls (Sizerins flammé), 9 Goldfinch (Chardonnerets jaune), 21 Black-capped chickadees (Mésanges à tête noire), 4 Northern cardinals (Cardinals rouge), 3 American crows (Corneille d'Amérique), Downy woodpecker (Pic mineur), Hairy woodpecker (Pic chevelu) - Gilles Ethier et Monique Rouleau

Mirabel, rang Ste-Marie: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges), many Snow buntings (bruants des neiges) - Georges Néron photos

St-Vallier,
Chemin Azur: Snowy owl (Harfang des neige), 4 Gray partridge (Perdrix grise)
Montée de la Station: Northern shrike (Pie-grièche grise)
Chemin de Valléville: 35 Snow buntings (Bruant des neiges) - Marguerite Larouche

Sightings for Tuesday February 19th

Montreal, Île Notre-Dame: Townsend's Solitaire (Solitaire De Townsend) – P. Bannon

Sightings for Monday February 18th

Chateauguay, rue Flanagan: Cooper's hawk (Épervier de Cooper) – T. Long

Sightings for Sunday February 17th

St-Rock de l'Achigan, behind 710 ruisseau St-Jean: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) - Gilles Cyr

Montreal,
Mount-Royal Cemetary: Eastern screech owl (Petit-duc maculé) - Louise Ladouceur-Côté
Montreal Botanical Gardens, at the feeders by the First Nations Garden: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline), also seen Hoary and many Common redpolls (Sizerin blanchâtre et plusieurs Sizerins flammés), Cedar waxwings (Jaseurs d'Amérique) - Lucette d'Amours

Richelieu river (rivière Richelieu) between Chambly & Noyan winter Duck survey: Canada geese (Bernache du Canada) 2, Mallard (Canard colvert) 1071, Black duck (Canard noir) 175, Mallard X Black hybrid (Hybride colvert X noir) 3, Northern pintail (Canard pilet) 1, Ring-necked duck (Fuligule à collier) 1, Common goldeneye (Garrot à œil d'or) 125, Common merganser (Grand Harle) 541, Hooded merganser (Harle couronné) 26

Noyan region: Bald eagle (Pygargue à tête blanche) (adult), Eastern srceech owl (Petit-duc maculé), Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore), 6 Wild turkeys (Dindons sauvages) - Pierre Bannon & Sébastien Rioux

Cap-d'Espoir: King Eider (Eider À tête grise) - A. Couture

Sightings for Saturday February 16th

St-Clet & Ste-Justine area: 3 Snowy owls (Harfang des neiges), 2 Rough-legged hawks (buse pattue) – D. Belleisle - photos

Mirabel: 3 Snowy owls (Harfang des neiges) - rang Ste-Marie, rang St-Dominique, autoroute 50 near rang Ste-Marie.
rang Ste-Marie: Many Snow buntings (bruants des neiges) sear a grain silo - Roger Rousselles

Bedford-Philipsburg area,
Du rang St-Joseph: 2 Rough-legged hawks (Buses pattues)
route St-Charles & rang St-Henri intersection: Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore)
rang Larochelle: 6 Ravens (Grands corbeaux)
Also seen were: 11 Pine siskins (Tarins des pins) & 5 more Tufted titmouse (Mésanges bicolores)

St-Pierre-de-Véronne: Red-tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse)

Verdun: 2 Ravens (Grands corbeaux) - Diane Demers

Sightings for Friday February 15th

Verdun, sitting on the ice in front of the Douglas Hospital: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) perché sur la glace en face de l'hôpital Douglas. - Pierre Bannon

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report – February 16th

Hudson: Eight birders braved -22 temperatures and saw 16 species of birds this morning in snowy Hudson. Fortunately the sun shone and there was no wind so birding was fairly comfortable. We spent the morning walking and at one point a furry German Shepherd took over leading but was eventually chased home. It wasn't until late morning that we finally saw the two birds of the day - Bohemian waxwings and Pine grosbeaks. Both species were hungry so everyone got greatlooks at these winter visitors feeding on Buckthorn and cranberries. Thanks to everyone who came out and to Wayne for his help. click photo to enlarge

Barbara MacDuff

The following is the complete list: Great-blacked backed gull 3, Mourning dove 12, Downy woodpecker 2, Hairy woodpecker 3, Blue jay 10, American crow 12, Black-capped chickadee 20, Red-breasted nuthatch 1, White-breasted nuthatch 6, American robin 1. Bohemian waxwing 10, Northern cardinal 6, Pine grosbeak 7, Common redpoll 40, American goldfinch 2, House sparrow 2

Sightings for Thursday February 14th

Laval, Boisé Papineau. Great Horned owl (Grand-duc d'Amérique) - Monique Rouleau & Gilles Ethier

Saint-Hyacinthe, autoroute 20 on a lamp post just after the sign Saint-Hyacinthe nest 4 exits: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) - Lucie Laperle

Sightings for Wednesday February 13th

Montreal, Botanical Gardens: Carolina Wren (Troglodyte De Caroline) at the First Nations Gardens - J.-S. Guénette

Sightings for Tuesday February 12th

Saint-Pierre-de-Joliette, 680 chemin du village Saint-Pierre Nord: Northern hawk owl (Chouette épervière) also in the area Common redpolls (Sizerins flammé), 1 Hoary redpolls (Sizerin blanchâtre)

Terrebonne, chemin des Milles Îles between the bridges for rtes 25 & 125 (ponts de la 25 et de la route 125): 100+ Great black-backed gulls (Goélands marin), 100+ Herring gulls (Goélands argenté), xx Ring-billed gulls (Goélands à bec cerclé), 12 Glaucous gulls (Goélands bourgmestre), 1 Lesser black-backed gull (Goéland brun), 1 Iceland gull (Goéland arctique) - Gilles Ethier, Doreen Hugues

Châteauguay, rue Higgins: 5 species of woodpeckers (espèces de pics)- Downy, Hairy, Flicker, Red-bellied & Pileated (mineur, chevelu, flamboyant, à ventre roux et Grand Pic) - Pierre Bannon - photos

Sightings for Sunday February 10th

Châteauguay, rue Higgins: Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore), Northern flicker (Pic flamboyant), Song sparrow (Bruant chanteur), Pileated woodpecker (Grand Pic), Common redpolls (Sizerin flammé), Northern shrike (Pie-grièche grise) - Régis Fortin

St-Lazare,
chemin Cité-des-jeunes Northern goshawk (Autour des palombes), Rough-legged hawk (Buse pattue), 2 Red-tailed hawks (Buses à queue rousse)
montée Poirier: Pileated woodpecker (Grand Pic)

Ste-Marthe,
chemin Ste-Marie: Snowy owl (Harfang de neiges), American kestrel (Crécerelle d'Amérique)
Ste-chemin St-Guillaume: 1 Red-winged blackbird (Carouge à épaulettes) at a manure pile

Ste-Clet,
chemin Ste-Julie: Snowy owl (Harfang de neiges)
chemin Cité-des-Jeunes near montée Lanthier: Northern shrike (Pie-grièche grise)

also seen: 50 Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), 8 Horned larks (Alouettes hausse-col) - Don-Jean Léandri

Sightings for Saturday February 9th

Mirabel,

Rang Ste-Marie: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges), 100+ Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), 6 Gray partridge (Perdrix grises)

Rang St-Dominique : Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) - Chuck Kling - photos

St-Barthélemy, Montée Ouest: 2 Snowy owls (Harfang des neiges) - Richard Prévost - Photo

Châteauguay, rue Higgins: Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore), Northern flicker (Pic flamboyant), Song sparrow (Bruant chanteur) - Régis Fortin - click photo to

enlarge

Montreal, Botanical Gardens: Common redpoll (Sizerin flammé), Black-capped chickadees (Mésanges à tête noire), American goldfinch (Chardonneret jaune), Downy woodpeckers (Pics mineurs), American crows (Corneilles d'Amérique) - Ligia Paquin

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report - January 19th, 2008

Varennes, Vercheres and Boucherville

13 birders participated in today's cloudy and somewhat chillier than anticipated field trip. This was predominantly a driving trip taking us through the towns of Varennes, Vercheres and Boucherville.

There were several highlights throughout the day, including a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk on Montée du Lac in Varennes and a Red-tailed Hawk hanging out with a flock of Rock Pigeons on a Hydro tower on Chemin des Sucreries, seemingly getting along together just fine! A Glaucous Gull was seen by two of our birders along the waterfront in Vercheres.

A stop at Parc de la Frayere in Boucherville offered up a spectacular flock of 10 Pine Grosbeaks, a lifer for two members of the group. A final stop on rue de la Broquerie in Boucherville produced ananticipated European Goldfinch as well as a large flock of CommonRedpolls.

It was difficult to choose a single Bird of the Day, so the tie goes to the Pine Grosbeaks and the European Goldfinch, with honourable mention to the Glaucous Gull and Rough-legged Hawk.

We finished the day with a total of 28 species, slightly better than a two species to one birder ratio; very nice for a winter trip: Mallard, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Cooper's Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, American Kestrel, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, European Starling, Dark-eyed Junco, Snow Bunting, Northern Cardinal, Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, House Sparrow, European Goldfinch.

Thanks to all who turned out for a great day.

Sheldon

Sightings for Friday February 8th

Pointe de Yamachiche, Tranchée Pelletier: Northern hawk owl (Chouette épervière) - Serge St-Louis - click photo to enlarge

Verdun, across from the Douglas Hospital between 4 & 5pm: 10 Canada geese (Bernache du Canada), 45 Gadwall (Canard chipeau), 20 Black duck (Canard noir), 100 Mallards (Canard colvert), 1000 Common goldeneye (Garrot à œil d'or), 3 Barrow’s goldeneye (Garrot d'Islande), 7 Hooded mergansers (Harle couronné), 500 Common merganser (Grand Harle) - Pierre Bannon - Photos http://pbase.com/pbannon

Sightings for Wednesday February 6th

Cap-d'Espoir: King Eider (Eider À tête grise) - A. Couture

Sightings for Tuesday February 5th

Boucherville, 26 Jean-Cadieux at feeders: European Goldfinch (Chardonneret Élégant) - P. Casavant

Chateauguay, rue Flanagan: Cooper’s hawk (Épervier de Cooper) – T. Long

Sightings for Monday February 4th

Boucherville, 26 Jean-Cadieux at feeders: European Goldfinch (Chardonneret Élégant) - P. Casavant

Bird Cinema

Here is a link to videos of birds from all over the world http://www.birdcinema.com/index.php

Sightings for Sunday February 3rd

Châteauguay, rue Higgins: Red-bellied woodpecker (Pic à ventre roux)

Verdun, across form the Douglas Hospital: 1 Bald eagle (juv) (Pyguargue à tête blanche), 1 Barrows goldeneye (Garrot d'Islande), 300+ Common goldeneye (Garrot à oeil d'or), 12 Common mergansers (Grands harle), xx Mallards & Black ducks (Canards colvert et noir), xx Great black-backed & Herring gulls (Goélands marin, argenté) - Gilles Ethier

Verchères: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) autoroute 30 east exit Calixa-Lavallée

Varennes, Montée de la Butte aux Renards: Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), 3 Lapland longspurs (Bruants Lapon), Horned lark (Alouette Hausse-Col)
also seen in the area Sharp-shinned hawk (Épervier brun), Red-tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse), Rough-legged hawk (Buse pattue), American kestrel (Crécerelle d'Amérique) 19 species (espèces) - Doreen Hughes

Bird Protection Quebec "2007 Big Year of Birding Contest"

The Big Year of Birding 2007 final results can be seen at this link

Click on photo to see all photos submitted to the contest

Sightings for Friday February 1st

Chateauguay,
rue Flanagan: Cooper’s hawk (Épervier de Cooper) – T. Long
rue Higgins: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline), Northern flicker (Pic flamboyant) - Gilles Ethier

Bird Protection Quebec field trip cancelled

Regretfully........ for the first time in over twenty years, I have decided to CANCEL the field trip to the Mount Royal Cemetery for tomorrow......... Feb. 2nd. We will be hit with th 3rd major snow storm of the winter, predicted to leave upto 30 cm of precipitation. Parking would be very difficult in the area of the cemetery and knowing the efficiency of Outremont's workers.... there could be the possibilty of having to dig out your cars, at the end of our trip. In addition......... any plowing in the cemetery grounds, will just be starting, leaving us to slog along much of the route that I usually take. So enjoy your morning coffee and paper... ...and see you all soon ! - C. Kling

Sightings for Friday February 1st

Montreal: Red-tailed hawk (Buses à queue rousse) flying just about 6 stories high on St.Laurent Boul, right at the corner of Milton street. Beautiful markings underneath...the snow isn't grounding the bird! – A. Francis