Summer Series of Birding 2009 - Trip #3 - Saturday, July 11

This week we'll stay on the island of Montreal and visit a place that BPQ tends to only visit in the dead of winter, that being the Montreal Botanical Gardens. This spot is easily accessible by either car or by public transportation. It will be a nice opportunity to not only look for bird life but to see the gardens in peak season rather than under cover of snow and below zero temperatures!

Date: Saturday, July 11, 2009
Time: 8 AM - Half day. Walking trip.
Meeting Spot: In front of the restaurant building, across from the main greenhouse exhibition entrance on the west side of the gardens, parallel to Pie IX Blvd.

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: The main entrance to the Gardens is located at the corner of Sherbrooke Street East and Pie-IX Blvd. in east end Montreal. There is plenty of FREE Parking on both sides of Pie-IX Blvd., north of Sherbrooke Street. Note that if you park in the Gardens parking lot, there is a fee. Acess to the Botanical Gardens is free, as long as we enter prior to 9 am, so our 8 am start time will not cause a problem. For those taking public transportation, Metro station Pie-IX will bring you out on the corner of Pie-IX Blvd. and Sherbrooke Street.

The entrance closest to our meeting spot is located on the west side of Gardens, on Pie-IX Blvd., a little ways up the block, north of Sherbrooke Street. Enter through these gates and turn left at the main road. The restaurant is the brown building on your left, facing the greenhouses and administration/exhibit hall complex.

ITINERARY: This will be a lengthy walk, exploring the complete Gardens, offering a wide variety of habitats. Of particular interest, bird-wise, is a family of Cooper Hawks, including no less than 5 young that have just recently emerged from the nest. BPQer Chuck Kling posted photos on Songsparrow recently and on Monday of this week indicated that "3 of the 5 young were running around within 15 feet of me, just like a bunch of chickens in a barnyard! One of them "attacked" pine cones, laying on the ground and flipped them in the air...quite a show!
In addition to birds, there will be plenty of plants, flowers, trees, etc. to see in the various sections of the Gardens.

If you have any question, please contact me by e-mail, or by telephone at 450-462-1459. On the morning of the trip you can reach me on the BPQ cellphone at 514-637-2141. - Sheldon