Sightings for Monday March 31st

Gatineau, parc Brébeuf: Bonaparte’s gull (Mouette de Bonaparte) visable from the small lookout over the rivière des Outaouais - Raymond Belhumeur - click photo to enlarge

Sightings for Sunday March 30th

St-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Chambly basin: at the dock, Horned grebe (Grèbe esclavon) L'observation a eu lieu sur le quai - Robert Chartier

Île Bizard: Red-Tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse), Great gray owl (Chouette Lapone) - Chantal Fournier - Barred owl (Chouette rayée) - Hal Trachtenberg - click photo to enlarge

St-Stanislas-de-Kostka, Hungry Bay: Redhead (Fuligule à tête rouge), Greater scaup (Fuligule milouinan), Bufflehead (Petit Garrot), Common goldeneye (Garrot à oeil d'or), Hooded merganser (Harle couronné), 2 Common loons (Plongeons huards), Canada geese (Bernache du Canada), Red-necked grebe (Grèbe jougris)...disons certaine à 90% car j'ai dû monter le zoom à 60x tellement il était très loin...mais la silhouette ressemblait plus à un jougris qu'à un esclavon...mais à cette distance je peux me tromper. - Micheline Ouellet - White-winged scoter (Macreuse brune), Red-breasted & Common mergansers (Harle huppé et Grand Harle) - Régis Fortin

Verdun, behind the Natatorium: Canvasback (m) (Fuligule à dos blanc), Lesser & Greater scaup (Fuligules - Petit et milouinan), Mergansers – Hooded & Common (Harles - couronné, et Grand), Common goldeneye & Bufflehead (Garrot - à œil d’or et Petit), American wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard, Black ducks (Canards - d’Amérique, chipeau, colvert et noir) - Richard Guillet

Île des Soeurs: southern tip woods of Île des Soeurs a Barred Owl (Chouette rayée), Cooper’s hawk (Épervier de Cooper) (many other winter birds) Barred Owl was in tree that was covered in old vines along trail running parallel to the lake - Mike Henry

Noyan: 4th concession south of the 202 near the border: Tundra swan (Cygne Siffleur) chemin de la 4 ème concession au sud de la 202 près de la frontière.

Ste-Catherine: Red-breasted merganser (harle huppé) - S. Cardinal.

Montreal, Mount-Royal Cemetary: 2 Merlins (Faucons émerillons) photo , Red-tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse) photo, 2 Pileated woodpeckers (grands pics), Common redpolls (Sizerins flammés) - René Lortie

St-Blaise, marina St-Tropez: Red-necked grebe (Grèbe jougris)

St-Paul de l'Ile aux Noix,
marina Gosselin: 4 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés) - Daniel Ouellette
1ère rue: 2 Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore), 1 Killdeer (Pluvier kildir) - Don-Jean Léandri

Godmanchester, montée Smellie: 1 Golden eagle (Aigle royal), 1 Bald eagle (Pygargue à tête blanche), 1 Northern goshawk (Autour des Palombes), 2 Northern harriers (Busards St-Martin), 3 Red-tailed hawks (Buses à queue rousse), 1 Rough-legged hawk (Buse pattue), 2 Turkey vultures (Urubu à tête rouge) - Don-Jean Léandri

Sightings for Saturday March 29th

Chute-St-Philippe, lac Pierre: 9 Bald eagles (Pygargue à tête blanche), 4 Golden eagles (Aigles royaux), 1 Northern goshawk (Autour des palombes), 50 Ravens (Grands corbeaux), 2 Black ducks (Canrds noirs), 1 Common merganser (Grand harle), 1 Pine grosbeak (durbec de sapins)
lac-des-Écorces: 6 Red crossbills (bec-croisé des sapins), 1 Red-tailed hawk (Buses à queue rousse) - Marc-Antoine Montpetit accompagné de Gilles et Carmel

St-Blaise, 1ère Rue, près de la 53ième Avenue. 4 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés), Canada geese (Bernaches du Canada), Snow geese (Oies des neiges), Hooded mergansers (Harles couronnés), Common mergansers (Grands harles), 1 Song sparrow (Bruant chanteur) - (3 Lesser scaup (Petits fuligule), 1 Red-breasted merganser (Harle huppé), 2 Ring-necked ducks (Fuligules à collier) - photo - Gilles Ethier

Noyan: 5 Turkey vultures (Urubus à tête rouge), Snow geese (Oies des neiges), Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), Horned larks (Alouettes hausse col)

St-Jean: 1 Pied-billed grege (Grebe à bec bigarré), Mallard (Colverts) près de la
passerelle qui traverse le canal. Common goldeneye (Garrots à oeil d'or) - Michel Juteau

Chateauguay, refuge faunique Marguerite-d'Youville de l’Île Saint-Bernard: Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore), Song sparrows (Bruants chanteurs) - Georges Néron - Photos

Verdun: I went at the end or O'Reilly Street at Île des Soeurs to have a lookat what ever duck species there might be there. It was nice, not too cold as the spot was protected from the wind. Among the many Common Mergansers (Grands harles), and Common Goldeneyes (Garrots à oeil d'or) , 1 Hooded Merganser (Harles couronnés) was staying close to the ice edge and a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers (Harles huppés), were standing at a certain distance from the shore. Those two were the first I have seen this year in Montreal. Also interesting was a 3rd winter Iceland Gull (Goéland arctique) alternately standing on the ice and showing itself on brief flights. - Diane Demers

St-Stanislas-de-Kostka, Hungry Bay: Greater scaup (Fuligule milouinan), Common merganser (Grand Harle), Hooded merganser (Harle couronné), Common goldeneye (Garrot à oeil d'or), Bufflehead (Petit Garrot), Canada geese (Bernache du Canada), Northern harrier (Busard Saint-Martin) - photo -Régis Fortin

St-Hubert,
boulevard Clairevue: 8 Horned lark (Alouettes hausse-col), 12 Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), 1 Red-tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse), 2 Rough-legged hawks (Buse pattue), 1 Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges)
chemin du Canal: 1 Red-tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse)

St-Basile-le-Grand, Compost site: 3 Gray partridge (Perdrix grise), 200 Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), 25 Horned larks (Alouettes hausse col), 1 American kestrel (Crécerelle d'Amérique)

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix ,
Marina Gosselin: 1 Great blue heron (Grand-héron), Bufflehead (Petits garrot), Common goldeneye (Garrots à oeil d'or), Common merganser (Grands harle), 1 Great black-backed gull (Goéland marin), Hairy woodpecker (Pic chevelu)
99th avenue: Canada geese (Bernaches du Canada), 1 Hooded merganser (Harle couronné)

St-Jean, rue Fernet: 2 Eastern screech owls in a Wood duck nest box (Petits duc maculé) dans les nichoirs de canard branchu. Photo - Gilles Ethier

Beauce between St-Martin et St-Gédéon on the ice of rivière Chaudière: 8 Bald eagles one of which had a transmitter
Paulin Rodrigue et Nancy Jolin ont observé un groupe de 8 pygargues s'alimentant de la carcasse d'un cerf sur les glaces de la rivière Chaudière entre St-Martin et St-GédéonEn plus du nombre, ce qu'il y avait d'intéressant était qu'un pygargue avait un émetteur et des bagues et un autre bagues et numéro - Luc Tremblay - Photo

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report - March 29th

Île Perrot, Saturday, March 29, 2008

Clear, sunny, piercing wind birders, 36 speciesBirds of the Day: Barrow's Goldeneye, Bohemian Waxwings

Complete list: Canada Goose, American Black Duck, Mallard, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Merlin, Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Horned Lark, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, European Starling, Bohemian Waxwing, Cedar Waxwing, American Tree Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, House Finch, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow

Sightings for Friday March 28th

Gaspé
Rivière-au-Renard: Killdeer (Pluvier kildir), 2 Red-throated loons (Plongeons catmarins), 1 Northern gannet (Fou de Bassan)
Cap-des-Rosiers: 500 Common eiders (Eiders à duvet), 2 King eiders (M+F) (Eider à tête grise) - Diane Jalbert - Site COG : http://www.cogaspesie.org/

Saint-Blaise, 1st rue near 53 ave - 4 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés) 1ère Rue, près de la 53ième Avenue - Marcel Gauthier

Verdun: Just returned from the river and the Canvasbacks (Fuligules à dos blanc), were still there. They arefeeding with Common Goldeneyes (Garrots à oeil d'or) (100+ in the area), Greater Scaup (Fuligules milouinans), and a few Common Mergansers (Grands harles) directly behind the Natatorium. Also seen were 2 Gadwall (Canards chipeaux), foraging on the edge of the ice shelf.

Thanks for the post, Diane. – A. Plimer

Sightings for Thursday March 27th

Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue, Morgan Arboretum: Barred Owl (Chouette rayée) seen on the orange path, about 400 meters past the Pasture heading to the parking lot. - Hal Trachtenberg - click photo to enlarge

Montreal, Mount-Royal Cemetary: 6 Turkey vultures (Urubu à tête rouge) - Julie Tremblay

Verdun, the river between rue Leclair and the Natatorium, (a little east of the Douglas Hospital): Heron Island 17 Great blue herons at their nests (Grand hérons) étaient posés sur des nids. a pair of Canvasback (Fuligules à dos blanc), 70 Greater scaup (Fuligules milouinans), 4 Bufflehead (Petits garrots), 2 Northern pintail (Canards pilets), Double-creasted cormorant (Cormorans à aigrette), Common goldeneye (Garrots à oeil d'or), Common merganser (Grands harles), Gadwall (Canards chipeaux), American wigeon (Canards d'Amérique), Canada geese (Bernaches du Canada) - Diane Demers

Lasalle, 31st ave: 3 Turkey vultures (Urubu à tête rouge) - Yvon Roy

Vaudreuil-Dorion, intersection 540 & 20: 3 Turkey vultures (Urubu à tête rouge) - Michel Juteau

Sightings for Tuesday March 25th

Noyan, rue Sorel: 2 Greater white-fronted geese (Oies rieuses) with 5 000 Canada geese (Bernaches du Canada) - Yves Payette et des membres du COMIR

St-Blaise, 55th & 1st rue: 4 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés) - Micheline Ouellet

St-Timothée, montée Pilon: 1 Cooper’s hawk (Épervier de Cooper), 13 Red-tailed hawks (Buses à queue rousse), 1 Rough-legged hawk (Buse pattue), 1 Turkey vulture (Urubu à tête rouge), 1 Bald eagle (Pygargue à tête blanche), 1 Golden eagle (Aigle royal) - Pierre Bannon

Gaspésie, Cap-d'Espoir: 5 King eiders (Eiders à tête grise), 200 Common eiders (Eiders à duvet) - Albini Couture

Sightings for Monday March 24th

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, 55th Avenue - Tundra swan (Cygne siffleur) - many observers

Sightings for Sunday March 23rd

Laval: While at Bois Papineau I heard a loud racket from the area where the Great horned owl (Grand duc d'Amérique) is nesting and upon closer inspection found a rather upset Red Shouldered Hawk (I think, please correct me if wrong) near the nesting site. The Hawk flew a few faint attacks at the nest and after about 10 minutes disappeared to the West. Took a few pics while watching the show: GHO vs. Hawk - photos - M. Swoboda

Pointe Claire: Bald eagle (Pygargue à tête blanche) soaring low over the train tracks on the north side of highway 20 - Sue

Sightings for Saturday March 22nd

Montreal, Botalical Gardens: European goldfinch (Chardonneret elegant) - Denis Lauzon et des membres du COMIR

St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, rue Fernet: Bald eagle (Pygargue à tête blanche), Northern shrike (Pie-grièche grise), Eastern screech owl (Petit-duc maculé)

Saint-Blaise,
rue Dulude: Merlin (Faucon émerillon)
1re Rue: 4 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés)
rue Principale: Snow buntings (Bruants des neiges), Lapland longspur (Bruant lapon), Horned larks (Alouettes hausse-col)

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, marina Gosselin: 2 Bald eagles (Pygargues à tête blanche) - Sylvain Mathieu

Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, Hungry Bay: Common mergansers (Grands harles), Common goldeneye (garrots à oeil d'or), Greater scaup (Fuligules milouinans)

Godmanchester a montée Smellie near 1ère Concession: 2 Easten bluebirds (Merlebleus), American robins (Merles d'Amérique), Golden eagle (Aigle royal), 2 Turkey vultures (Urubus à tête rouge), Red-tailed hawks (Buse à queue rousse)

Noyan, south of route 202: 2 Bald eagles (Pygargues à tête blanche), 2 groups of Snow geese in flight - groupes (d'oie des neiges) en vol. - Daniel Ouellette

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report - March 22nd

Pierrefonds, Cap-St Jacques

Hello Everyone,Eleven brave (???) birders ignored the cold and wind of Saturday morning and attended the field trip at Cap St Jacques. What was planned as an early spring trip to see returning migrants turned out of to be more of a mid-winter experience with -8C temperatures and strong west winds leading to very low wind chill factors. In sheltered areas the sun did have some warmth in it. We did cut the trip a little short when it was realized conditions were not likely to improve.

The birds were few and far between with little sign of the rites of spring. Bird of the day was a merlin which made a close fly-by before settling in a distant tree. A lapland longspur keeping company with a horned lark along the park road was an unexpected surprise. And an unconcerned pileated woodpecker excavating holes large enough for him to crawl into while searching for carpenter ants(?) was a good sighting.

Our complete albeit meagre list of 13 species included: Common goldeneye - 8, Merlin - 1, Ring-billed gull - 2, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Pileated Woodpecker - 2, American Crow - 30, Horned lark - 1, Black-capped Chickadee - 20, White-breasted Nuthatch - 1, American Robin - 1, Lapland Longspur - 1, Red-winged Blackbird, - 1, House Sparrow - 4

Thanks to everyone who came out for a cold but thoroughly enjoyable walk with good company.

Wayne

P.S. Spring must arrive sooner or later!

Sightings for Friday March 21st

Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka: 6 Golden eagles (Aigles royaux) by our two valliant "hawkwatchers", Bob Barnhurst & Mabel McIntosh. - Pierre Bannon

Montreal Botalical Gardens: European goldfinch (Chardonneret elegant) - Norman Auger

Sightings for Thursday March 20th

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, marina Gosselin: 5 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés) - Marcel Gauthier

Sightings for Wednesday March 19th

Valleyfield, St-Timothée sector - boul. Cadieux: pair of Peregrine falcons (couple de Faucon pèlerin) près de la ligne électrique - Daniel Lebrun - click photo to enlarge

Sightings for Tuesday March 18th

Montreal: Peregrine falcon (Faucon Pélerin) à la tour de la bourse - Manon Roy
Île-Notre-Dame: Townsend's Solitaire (Solitaire De Townsend) - Daniel Sarrazin

Chatauguay, Île Saint-Bernard: at the 2nd feeder Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore) a la deuxieme mangeoire - Pierre Lamontagne - 12 Common goldeneyes (Garrots à oeil d'or), 1 Barrow’s goldeneye (Garrot d'Islande) on lac St-Louis were the only open water is near the Maritime Indicater. – Monique Groulx

Valleyfield, on one of the towers of the dam at pont Monseigneur Langlois: Peregrine Falcon (Faucon pèlerin) - Michel Juteau

Chambly, Fort Chambly, Redhead duck (Fuligule à tête rouge) - Rober Chartier

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, marina Gosselin: 5 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés) - Yves Payette & members of COMIR

Magog, where the Magog river empties into Lac Magog: 8 Canvas Back (Fuligules à dos blanc) 7(M)& 1(F), 48 Common goldeneye (Garrot à oeil d'or), 22 Common mergansers (Grand Harle), 14 Hooded mergansers (Harle couronnés), also in the area Rusty blackbird (Quiscal rouilleux), 4 Redwings (Carouge) - Renaud BAETA

Tadoussac, baie de Tadoussac: 111 Greater scaup (Fuligules milouinans), 60 Black ducks (Canards noirs), both Goldeneye species (Garrots des deux espèces), Purple sandpiper (Bécasseaux violets), Ring-billed gull – first of the season (Goéland à bec cerclé - premier de la saison) - Renaud Pintiaux

Alldressed or pepperoni

Got this off a bird forum that I check out. Thought I would share click photo to enlarge

I have to add this one I got of the Red-tailed Hawk this morning. The short story is, I saw 2 crows in the garden fighting over some table scraps Temple put out last night... So I ran to get the camera, and by the time I got them in the viewfinder, Mr. Cooper swooped in and stole their prey from them. He then retreated to a nearby tree to enjoy his slice of pizza! One songbird spared, courtesy of Papa John's. :)

You can visit his other great photos here

Sightings for Monday March 17th

Chatauguay, rue Higgins: Red-bellied woodpecker (Pic a ventre roux) - Pierre Lamontage - photos

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report - March 15th

Montreal Botanical Gardens

The temperature was cool, -5C, with cloudy skies and intermittent snow. 9 birders were able to find 114 birds of 17 species, the bird of the day being the sharp-shinned hawk which allowed everyone to have great looks for several minutes. The list as follows.

2 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 6 Herring Gull, 4 Rock Pigeon, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 2 Hairy Woodpecker, 12 American Crow, 35 Black-capped Chickadees, 1 Red-breasted Nuthatch, 4 White-breasted Woodpecker, 1 American Robin, 12 European Starling, 10 Cedar Waxwing, 5 Dark-eyed Junco, 7 Northern Cardinal, 1 Common Redpoll, 1 American goldfinch, 10 House Sparrow

An enjoyable trip.

David M.

Sightings for Sunday March 16th

Ayers Cliff, route 141: 2 Turkey vultures (Urubus à tête rouge) - Yvon Roy

St-Stanislas-de-Kostka, Hungry Bay, Common mergansers (grand harles), Common goldeneye (garrots à oeil d'or), 2 lesser scaup (petits fuligules), Bald eagle (pygargue à tête blanche) - Daniel Ouellette

Magog, rue Bernard: 8 Canvas Back (Fuligules à dos blanc) 7(M) & 1(F).
Rivière Magog: Greater white-fronted goose (Oie rieuse), Canada geese (Bernaches du Canada) - Benoît Turgeon

Chutes-St-Philippe, lac Pierre: 2 Golden eagles (aigles royaux), 9 Ravens (Grand corbeaux), 2 Bald eagles (Pygargue à tête blanche), 1 Rough-legged hawk (Buse pattue) - Marc-Antoine Montpetit

Sightings for Saturday March 15th

Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue, Morgan Arboretum: A flock of about 20-30 Cedar Waxwings (Jaseurs d'Amérique) - Hal Trachtenberg - click photo to enlarge

Verdun: 25 Greater scaup (Fuligules milouinans), American wigeon (Canard d'Amérique). A Peregrine Falcon (Faucon pèlerin) was eating a duck on the ice and the Great black-backed gulls (Goélands marins) were feasting on another duck nearby

Lachine: 25 Greater scaup (Fuligules milouinans), Ring-necked duck (Fuligule à collier), 2 Buffleheads (Petits Garrots) - Pierre Bannon - http://www.pbase.com/pbannon ...................................................

Magog, where the Magog river empties into Lac Magog: 7 Canvas Back (Fuligules à dos blanc) 6(M)& 1(F)

rue St-Patrice qui change pour Ch. de Venise une fois sortie de Magog. On prend la première traverse de chemin de fer (rue Bournival )qui sera nécessairement à droite puis on tourne à droite sur la rue Bernard. On parcourt environ un demi kilomètre.Il y a un petit parc privé à gauche. A cet endroit on a une vue sur la décharge de la rivière Magog dans le lac Magog. -Benoît Turgeon

St-Jean sur Richelieu to the border along the Richelieu river: 47 species (espèces) - 2 American wigeon (canards d'Amérique), 2 Bufflehead (petits garrots), 31 Ring-necked ducks (fuligules à collier), 6 Greater scaup (fuligules milouinans), 700+ Common goldeneye (garrots à oeil d'or), 112 Canada geese (bernaches du Canada), 208 red-winged blackbirds (Carouge à epaulettes), 31 Common grackles (quiscales bronzés), 2 Brown-headed cowbirds (vachers à tête brune), 1 Turkey vulture (urubu à tête rouge), 4 Song sparrows (bruants chanteurs), 5 Bald eagles (pygargues à tête blanche), 500+ Snow buntings (bruants des neiges), 245 Horned larks (alouettes hausse-col), Common redpolls (Sizerins flammés), Cedar waxwings (jaseurs d'Amérique), 1 Bohemian waxwing (jaseur boréal), House finch (roselins familier), 3 Tufted titmouse (mésanges bicolores) - Daniel Ouellette

Sightings for Thursday March 13th

Hemmingford: Pileated Woodpecker (Grand pic) Spotted this afternoon in my back yard, Hemmingford Village - Dan Mark

St-Clet: I saw a male Snowy Owl (Harfang des neiges) on the way into Montreal this morning. The bird was sitting on a TV antenna on a house at the west end of Rang Ste-Julie, northwest of St-Clet. No indication of what program the bird was watching - Lance Laviolette

Chambly, Chanbly basin in front of fort Chambly: Ring-necked duck, Northern pintail, many Common goldeneye, Black ducks, Common mergansers, 1 Canada goose, Ring-billed gulls (Fuligule à collier, Canard pilet, plusieurs Garrots à oeil d'or,Canards colverts, Canards noirs,Grands Harles,une Bernache du Canada,une dizaine de Goèlands à bec cerclé sur la glace) - Robert Chartier

St-Hubert, St-Hubert airport: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) (M)
Autoroute 30, between Boul. de Montarville & Autoroute 20: 2 Red-tailed hawks (Buses à queue rousse) - Jacques Héneault

Sightings for Wedensday March 12th

Hudson: One of the Great Gray Owls (Chouette lapone) remains west of Hudson in fields bordering Main Roadabout 1.5 to 2km west of Finnegan's Market. If you go to look watch out for thePolice. I was moved on by what appeared to be a twelve year old Police Officer who thought three cars in five minutes constituted a dangerous road. She even declined my offer to show her the owl in a scope. - Mark Dennis

Sightings for Tuesday March 11th

Laval, in a field on Saint-François: 4 Eastern bluebirds (Merlebleus de l'Est), 3(M)+ 1(F), American robin (Merle d'Amérique), Red-winged blackbird (Carouge à épaulettes), Brown-headed cowbird (Vacher à tête brune), Cedar waxwings (Jaseur d'Amérique) - Georges Lachaîne - Click photo to enlarge

Saint-Hubert, Route Verte: Turkey vulture (Urubu à tête rouge) - Raymond Belhumeur

Boucherville, Parc de la Frayère in front of boisé de la Saulaie at 6pm: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) - Claudette Archambault

Sightings for Monday March 10th

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, seen from the marina Gosselin - 5 Mute swans (Cygnes tuberculés) - Marcel Gauthier

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report – March 8th

Laval, Bois Papineau: cloudy , calm conditions... minus 4 degrees c EIGHTEEN SPECIES!... the woods wore a beautiful white coating on all branches, but were very quiet. BIRD(S) of the day: Great Horned on the same nest as last year. Her partner, tucked away , high up in a tall cedar just opposite the entry point of the path leading to the feeders. As for the feeders: THE MOST ACTIVE I HAD SEEN THEM , IN A VERY LONG TIME. (click photo to enlarge - M. Swoboda)

Other sightings: Mallard (2), Great Black-backed Gull (1), Ring-billed Gull (1), Mourning Dove (4), Downy Woodpecker (4), Hairy Woodpecker (2), Pileated Woodpecker (1), Am. Crow (4), B.C. Chickadee (15), White-breasted Nuthatch (3), Bohemian Waxwing (5).... at parking lot as we finished Cedar Waxwing (15) same tree..." " " " "Am.Tree Sparrow (30 + )... all over the feeder area !! N. Cardinal (4), House Finch (50 ++ ), Common Redpoll ( 30 + ), Am. Goldfinch ( 10 + )

**Today's owls were the 27th sightings of owls for me, so far this fall /winter season.

Chuck Kling www.pbase.com/hootpix

Sightings for Friday March 7th

Chateauguay, Red-winged blackbirds (Carouges à épaulettes) were singing when I got home from work today. A little optimistic I think, with all the snow we've gotten and another 30cm on it's way. T. Long

rue Higgins: 30 American robins (Merles d'Amérique), Red-winged blackbirds (Carouges à épaulettes), 25 Mourning doves (Tourterelles tristes), 25 American tree sparrows (Bruants hudsoniens), “singing” Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore) & Northern cardinal (Cardinal rouge) chantaient, Cooper’s hawk (Épervier de Cooper) Monique Groulx saw 2 Red-bellied woodpeckers (M) (Pics à ventre roux) - Pierre Bannon - click photo to enlarge

Sherbrooke, Lac des Nations: Lesser black-backed gull (Goéland brun), Iceland gull (Goland arctique), Glaucous gull (Goéland bourgmestre), Ring-billed gulls (Goéland à bec cerclé) 300+ - Renaud BAETA

Saint – Blaise, 53rd ave. & 1st rue observed around 1:20pm - Mute Swans (Cygnes tuberculés) - Denis Jutras

Sightings for Thursday March 6th

Tadoussac, baie de Tadoussac: 2 Black guillemots (Guillemots à miroir), 85 Greater scaup (Fuligules milouinans), 70 Black ducks (Canards noirs), 2 Mallards (Colverts), 5 Red-breasted mergansers (Harles huppés), 1 Common merganser (Grand Harle), 9 Barrow’s goldeneye (Garrots d'Islande),15 Common goldeneye (Garrots à oeil d'or) - Renaud Pintiaux

Dundee, Pointe Hopkins on chemin Enneigé Menant: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) - Denis Hamel

Sightings for Wednesday March 5th

Otterburn Park, parc du Ruisseau - enter by rue Mason: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline) - Catherine Gouillard

Sightings for Tuesday March 4th

Boucherville, Parc des Îles de Boucherville: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone)

Chateauguay, rue Higgins: 2 Red-winged blackbirds (Carouges à épaulettes) 25 Mourning doves (Tourterelles tristes) around 13h30, Bald eagle(sub-adult) (Pygargue à tête blanche)(sub-adulte) passed overhead. Birds heard singing Northern cardinal (Cardinal rouge), Tufted titmouse (Mésange bicolore) - Pierre Bannon - click photo to enlarge

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, rue St-Jean-Baptiste: King eider (Eider à tête grise) - Dominique Lavoie

Sightings for Monday March 3rd

Montreal Botanical Gardens: Carolina wren (Troglodyte de Caroline) at feeders near The First Nations Garden - Jean-Sébastien Guénette

Sightings for Sunday March 2nd

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

Saint-Pierre de Joliette, rang Petite-Noraie: Northern hawk owl (Chouette épervière) - many observers

Berthierville, Île du Milieu also known as "commune de Berthier": Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) about 2km form the parking lot - Stéphane Guimond

Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report – March 1st

Grenville: Today's trip in the Grenville area had been billed as an exploratory trip, the first in an occasional series of trips we will be having. It lived up to its name.

The snow was obviously a deterrent as far as number of participants was concerned. Including co-leaders Jacques Bouvier and Martin Bowman,, the trip began with 8 birders, but soon the road conditions led to 2 people deciding to return to Montreal post haste.

We had hoped to bird up chemin Scotch north of Grenville, but that plan had to be abandoned as the road had not been cleared of snow. The weather conditions certainly were challenging with heavy snow for much of the morning (though it finally cleared near noon). The temperature was around -6 degrees Celsius.

With the leaders plans scotched as it were by this lion of a March 1st, the trip began to live up to its name for real as Jacques and I set out on roads that we hadn't scouted north and east of Grenville in Argenteuil County. The departing two some certainly brought luck as is so often the case. Up till then only American Crows had been encountered. The next bird, which was missed by the co-leaders!, was an adult Bald Eagle in low flight over the 2 vehicles of the 4 remaining participants. Ultimately, this bird was chosen as Bird of the Day despite some real competition.
We took a concession road and found what we came later to realize was the only feeder station in Argenteuil County! No wonder there were birds there, including a textbook Hoary Redpoll that took the collective breath away. A little further along the same road, Jacques thought the habitat looked good, and so we stopped. Soon a bird was found hidden in a conifer and, with some difficulty, we were able to get an identifying look at an adult White-throated Sparrow.

Then came a long period of birdlessness in beautiful country. If only it had been a good year for winter finches!

We ended the trip by the Ottawa River, at first in Grenville and then in Hawkesbury. The river added 5 species for a respectable total of 19 species. The totals below are for Quebec birds unless otherwise noted.

Thanks so much to Jacques Bouvier for his superb birding and guiding and to everyone who came out to make something of a discouraging morning. It turned out to be a very good trip.

Merci beaucoup!

Species with totals: Canada Goose - 3 (in Ontario), Common Goldeneye - 1, Common Merganser - 3 (in Ontario), Bald Eagle - 1, Great Black-backed Gull - 1, American Herring Gull - 5, Rock Pigeon - 8, Mourning Dove - 1, Downy Woodpecker - 2, Hairy Woodpecker - 2, Black-capped Chickadee - 20, White-breasted Nuthatch - 1, Blue Jay - 17, American Crow - 4 (2 more in Ontario), Common Raven - 2, Common Redpoll - 6, Hoary Redpoll - 1, White-throated Sparrow - 1, Dark-eyed Junco 5

Martin

Sightings for Saturday March 1st

Hudson: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) was still present west of Hudson, viewable from Main Road 1.5km west of Finnegan's Market and hunting the fields between the road and railway. - Mark Dennis

Hatley: Gyrfalcon (Faucon gerfaut) 1km north of Hatley on chemin North or (Nord) - Denis Bergeron

Varennes, autoroute 30 exit chemin de la Baronnie: Snowy Owl (Harfang des neiges)

Verchères, autoroute 30 exit Montée Calixa-Lavallée: Snowy Owl (Harfang des neiges) - Michel Bertrand

Boucherville, Parc des Îles de Boucherville: Great gray owl (Chouette lapone) at the edge of the pinède des Moyens-Ducthe near the road to the golf course. There were several photographers and one had released a Vole that was caught to attract the Owl - Denis Hamel - (please do not bait owls to photograph them)