Summer Series of Birding 2008 - Trip #5 Report

Sunday, July 27

We could not have wished for a better day, weather-wise, today for the 5th trip in this year's Summer Series of Birding. 7 birders participated in the trip which took us along the eastern shore of the Richelieu River, exploring various birding spots in Sabrevois, Henryville, Clarenceville and Lacolle. The temperature was in themid-20s with mostly sunny skies and a cooling breeze.

It didn't take long to find the "Bird of the Day". At our first stop on 11th Avenue in Sabrevois, we expected to find a Belted Kingfisher. There has been one at this location each of the past few years we have visited the area. However, this year, one pair of Kingfishers obviously had a very productive birding season as we saw a total of no less than 7 Kingfishers at the same location; five at one time in the very same tree!

The same location also provided us with three species of shorebirds, including a surprisingly large number of Solitary Sandpipers, certainly not living up to their name. Our species count for the day was a very rewarding 55.
Here is the complete list. Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Osprey, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Moorhen, Killdeer, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird,Warbling Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Marsh Wren, American Robin, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, YellowWarbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, CommonGrackle, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow. - S. Harvey