Bird Protection Quebec's Field Trip Report - June 21st

A perfect first day of summer for Bird Protection Quebec's early morning solstice trip in southwestern Quebec. Sixteen birders were at the rendezvous point south of Ormstown at 5:30 a.m., a tremendous turnout for this early start time. We had scheduled this trip as a bit of an experiment, and it turned out to be a great success with 68 species of birds observed as we explored a number of roads in this bucolic area of field and forest. One of the highlights came early as we were driving along 3ème rang towards Gore Road when an Upland Sandpiper very co-operatively posed in full view. Gore Road failed to reveal any of its Golden-winged Warblers, but offered up a couple of Field Sparrows as well as lots of Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks. Grassland birds were generally abundant, and most of us had never heard as many Ovenbirds as we did on the roads in forested areas. On Jamieson, we enjoyed the Grasshopper Sparrows, singing from the stakes that have been placed in their field as part of the survey organized by Frédéric Bussière. Another highlight there was a Broad-winged Hawk in flight. We stopped birding at 12:30 (that's 7 hours of non-stopbirding!!!) and enjoyed lunch at the archaeological site on Leahy Road.

Thanks to everyone who came out on this special trip. It was great to see you all, including my friend Sandy Ayer from Calgary, who joined BPQ this year in advance of coming on the Pte. Pelee camping trip in May. This was his first day of birding in Quebec and, by the end of the day, he had a Quebec life list of 70 species, including a Sandhill Crane atDundee, thanks to excellent directions from Monique (merci beaucoup!) on the field trip.

Bird of the Day: Grasshopper Sparrow Temperature: ranging between 14 and 27 degrees Celsius. Weather: Sunny with some cloud All the best, Martin

Species (with total individuals observed): American Bittern 1, Great Blue Heron 1, Green Heron 4, Turkey Vulture 3, Sharp-shinned Hawk 1, Broad-winged Hawk 1, American Kestrel 3, Merlin 1, Killdeer 13, Upland Sandpiper 1, Wilson's Snipe 4, Ring-billed Gull 10, Rock Pigeon 5, Mourning Dove 13, Cuckoo sp 1, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1, Downy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 3, Eastern Wood-Pewee 6, Alder Flycatcher 3, Willow Flycatcher 1, Least Flycatcher 6, Eastern Phoebe 10, Great Crested Flycatcher 2, Eastern Kingbird 4, Warbling Vireo 5, Red-eyed Vireo 14, Blue Jay 6, Americam Crow 30, Tree Swallow 15, Barn Swallow 6, Black-capped Chickadee 6, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, House Wren 5, Eastern Bluebird 10, Veery 15, Wood Thrush 1, American Robin 15, Gray Catbird 2, Brown Thrasher 3, European Starling 40, Cedar Waxwing 12, Yellow Warbler 25, Chestnut-sided Warbler 2, Black-throated Green Warbler 2, Bay-breasted Warbler 1, Black-and-White Warbler 6, American Redstart 2, Ovenbird 33, Northern Waterthrush 1, Common Yellowthroat 30, Chipping Sparrow 10, Field Sparrow 3, Savannah Sparrow 10, Grasshopper Sparrow 4, Song Sparrow 25, White-throated Sparrow 5, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2, Bobolink 50, Red-winged Bobolink 100, Eastern Meadowlark 20, Common Grackle 4, Brown-headed Cowbird 4, Baltimore Oriole 4, Purple Finch 2, American Goldfinch 40, House Sparrow 20