Summer Series of Birding 2009 - Trip #8 - SUNDAY, August 16

The eighth outing of the Summer Series of Birding, our second to last of the season, will once again take place on Sunday rather than Saturday. The forecast is for sunshine, clear and HOT with a predicted high of 30 degrees! As a result, I think it will be wise to keep ourselves near some water and hope for a bit of a breeze!

So, we will begin our trip at the dam at Ste-Martine, checking for shorebirds, ducks, etc. and then head off to some of the well-known birding spots in southwestern Quebec, including the sewage lagoons at Mercier, the ponds at St-Etienne de Beauharnois and the marsh at St-Timothee. With dry weather all week, we may drive down behind the ponds at St-Etienne, something that proved very productive on one of our outings a few summers back. There have also been Caspian Terns spotted at Maple Grove. If time permits we may be able to look
for them as well.

DATE: Sunday, August 16, 2009
TIME: 8:00 AM – Half day; combination driving/walking trip
MEETING PLACE: The dam on the Chateauguay River, in Ste-Martine, Quebec, behind the Gregoire restaurant on Highway 138, just south of the intersection with Highway 205.

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: Coming from Montreal, take the Mercier Bridge to the South
Shore and continue on Highway 138 through the towns of Chateauguay and Mercier, into Ste-Martine. On Highway 138 in Ste-Martine, just past the intersection for Highway 205, you will see the Gregoire restaurant & ice cream parlour on your right. Turn in right at the Gregoire restaurant. Parking is available behind the restaurant along the shore of the river.

ITINERARY: We will begin the day by checking for shorebirds, ducks, etc. at the dam at Ste-Martine. From there, we will back-track a little to visit the sewage lagoons/water filtration plant in Mercier. We will then move on to St-Etienne and St-Timothee and, if time permits, we'll make a short stop at Maple Grove, on McDonald Street at the waterfront to check for the Caspian Terns.

If you have any question, please feel free to contact me by e-mail, or by telephone at 450-462-1459. On Sunday morning you can reach me on the BPQ cellphone at 514-637-2141. With the high temperature and sunshine forecast, be sure bring along plenty of fluids and protection from the sun. I do not anticipate going much beyond lunchtime, but you may wish to bring lunch along with you.

This looks like a morning of real summertime birding! See you there. - Sheldon