Sightings for Sunday December 26th

Lasalle, l'Île-Aux-Hérons: Bald eagle on the Ste-Catherine side

Pygargue à tête blanche sur l'Île-Aux-Hérons du côté de Ste-Catherine - Roger Rousselle,  Richard Dupuis

Sighting for Sturday December 25th

Vaudreuil-Dorion: 11:45am a Peregrine falcon (Faucon prelerin) was perched atop a lamp post overlooking Hwy 40 east bound.  This is just before the Baton Rouge (to my right along the 40 east). - W. Hum

Frampton, 995 route Audet: Yellow-headed blackbird (Carouge à tête jaune) - Louise Lemoine

Sightings for Thursday December 23rd

Verdun: I returned to Nun's Island, on the east side of the river where I made some stops. I met Charline, Louis and Lorraine, who hoped to see Harlequin Duck. Unfortunately, it was not found. Other observations include a Black Scoter off rue O'Reilly, a total of 3 male Barrow's Goldeneye, and a beautiful Bald Eagle (found by Charline) perched in a large tree at he end of Île aux Hérons (Heron Island). With other less rare species,  was a Red-breasted merganser, 20 Gadwall, 2 American Wigeon, Canada geese, Common Goldeneye, and Common Mergansers, Hooded mergansers, Mallards and Black duck, etc. ... I forgot a Red-tailed hawk.


Je suis retourné à l'île des Sœurs, sur la rive est où j'ai fait quelques arrêts. J'y ai rencontré Charline, Louis et Lorraine qui espéraient y voir  l'Arlequin plongeur. Malheureusement, ce dernier est resté introuvable. Parmi les autres observations, notons une Macreuse à bec jaune loin au large de la rue O'Reilly, un total de 3 Garrots d'Islande mâles, et un beau Pygargue à tête blanche (trouvé par Charline) perché dans un grand arbre au bout de l'Île aux Hérons. Parmi les autres espèces moins rares, il y avait un Harle huppé, une vingtaine de Canards chipeaux, 2 Canards d'Amérique, des Bernaches du Canada, des Garrots à œil d'or, des Grands Harles, des Harles couronnées, des colverts et des noirs, etc... J'oubliais une Buse à queue rousse.- Pierre Bannon

Hudson Christmas Bird Count

The Hudson Christmas Bird Count will take place on Sunday, January 2nd. Seventeen routes are covered in all ranging from Valleyfield in the south to across the Ottawa River in Oka to the north, while to the west folks count up Rigaud Mountain and to the east as far as Île Perrot.

There are many different habitats to be explored and always a good variety of species. A highlight for many of us who participated in last yearʼs Hudson CBC was spotting the red morph Eastern Screech-owl, seen in the Driscoll-Naylor Sanctuary. This sanctuary is owned by BPQ and is situated in the centre of Hudson.

If you can help on the count please call Alison Bentley at 1-866-438-4096 (Camp Tamaracouta) or on some weekends at home at 450-458-8076. She can also be reached by e-mail at alison.bentley@sympatico.ca

Sightings for Wednesday December 22nd

Verdun, 'île des Soeurs: I saw the Harlequin Duck (male adult) this morning a little ahead of West Vancouver Park (parking on rue Darwin). There were also two Barrow's Goldeneye. There was another at Barrow's at the end of rue O'Reilly, a Red-breasted Merganser and 3 Hooded Merganser. At these two locations, there were also some hundreds of Common Goldeneye and Dozens of Common Mergansers.

In the woods, a Winter Wren, a Pileated woodpecker, a White-throated Sparrow , etc..

Montréal, rue Marc-Cantin: at the Technopark, 3 Red-tailed Hawks.

Verdun, l'île des Soeurs: J'ai repéré l'Arlequin plongeur (mâle adulte) ce matin un peu en amont du parc West Vancouver (stationnement sur la rue Darwin). À cet endroit, il y avait aussi 2 Garrots d'Islande. Il y avait un autre Garrot d'Islande au bout de la rue O'Reilly, ainsi qu'un Harle huppé et 3 Harles couronnés. À ces 2 endroits, il y avait aussi quelques centaines de Garrots à œil d'or et dizaines de Grands Harles.


Dans le boisé, un Troglodyte des forêts, un Grand Pic, un Bruant à gorge blanche, etc.


Montréal, rue Marc-Cantin: Au Technoparc, 3 Buses à queue rousse. - Pierre Bannon
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Frampton, 995 route Audet: Yellow-headed blackbird (Carouge à tête jaune) - Olivier Barden

Sightings for Tuesday December 21

Montreal: This morning at the corner of Acadie and Salaberry  a Cooper's hawk chasing a flock of pigeons. He failed to catch his breakfast

Ce matin, au coin des rues Acadie et Salaberry, à Montréal, un Épervier de Cooper pourchassant une volée de pigeon. Il n'a pas réussi à attraper son déjeuner! - Alexis Brisebois
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Chateauguay: 9 Wild turkeys (Dindons sauvage) beside hwy 30 in a field that borders Kanawake - Tom Long
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Chambly: I saw a dozen Wild turkeys near the junction of Highway 10 and 35. A little past the 35 (going towards Granby) on the Chambly side of  the 10.


J'ai vu une dizaine de Dindons sauvages près de la jonction de l'autoroute 10 et 35. Un peu passé la 35 (en allant vers Granby) et sur le côté de Chambly de la 10. - Charles Ménard

MONTREAL CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

Here are the preliminary results from the Montreal Xmas Bird Count held yesterday, December 18, 2010.

My heartfelt thanks to all who participated this year.

Please note that feeder-watcher results will be added, and waterbird and raptor totals may be adjusted slightly downward when they are examined for double-counting.

Count week totals for December 19, 20 and 21 may also add a few species.

Additional details on the count and on uncommon species will be provided in the final report.

2010 MONTREAL CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT DRAFT FINAL SPECIES TOTALS

Species Totals

Canada Goose 398,  American Black Duck 267,  Mallard 1592,  American Wigeon 12,  Gadwall 26,  Northern Pintail 1,  Greater Scaup 20,  Lesser Scaup 1,  Harlequin Duck 1,  Common Goldeneye 622,  
Barrow's Goldeneye 3,  Hooded Merganser 40,   Common Merganser 313,  Bald Eagle 1,  Northern Harrier 1,  Common Loon 1,  Sharp-shinned Hawk 2,  Cooper's Hawk 10,   Red-tailed Hawk 15, 
Rough-legged hawk 4,  American Kestrel 4,  Merlin 10,  Peregrine Falcon 4,   Ring-billed Gull 246,  Herring Gull 227,  Lesser Black-backed Gull 1,  Great B. B. Gull 133,  Rock Pigeon 2230,  Mourning Dove 50,  Eastern Screech Owl 8,  Barred Owl 4,  Red-bellied Woodpecker 1,  Downy Woodpecker 128,  Hairy Woodpecker 60,  Northern Flicker 2,  Pileated Woodpecker 15,  Blue Jay 63,  American Crow 9149, 
Common Raven 11,  B. C. Chickadee 827,  Tufted Titmouse 8,  Red Breasted Nuthatch 7,  White-Breasted Nuthatch 111,  Brown Creeper 39,  Carolina Wren 3,  Winter Wren 3,  Golden-Crowned Kinglet 3,  Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1,  Eastern Bluebird 3,  American Robin 243,  Northern Mockingbird 1,  European Starling 4291,  Bohemian Waxwing 1,  Cedar Waxwing 44,  Yellow-rumped Warbler CW, Tree Sparrow 151, Song Sparrow 5,  White-throated Sparrow 16,  Dark-eyed Junco 114,  Northern Cardinal 190,  Red-winged Blackbird 1,  Brown-headed Cowbird 1,  House Finch 154,  White-winged Crossbill 2, 
Common Redpoll 98,  Pine Siskin 2,  American Goldfinch 305,  European Goldfinch 1,  House Sparrow 1070

Sp. Count Week (CW) 1
Sp. Count Day 68
Species Total 69

Jeff Harrison, Compiler

Sightings for Monday December 13th

Terrebonne: Common loon on rivière des Mille-Iles at the end of 42nd ave

Plongeon Huard sur la rivière des Mille-Iles à  au bout de la rue 42e avenue - Jonathan Roy
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quai de Rivière-Ouelle  (dock): 15:30Gryfalcon (Faucon gerfaut) - Jacques Anctil

Sightings for Saturday December 11th

Verdun, Île des Soeurs: A tour of the woods allowed me to see 3 Winter wren, 1 Swamp Sparrow, 1 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Eastern Screech Owl, 1 Cooper's hawk, 1 pileated woodpecker, and other more common species.

On the river at the end of rue O'Reilly, there was an American Coot, a hundred scaup (Lesser or Greater?), More than a hundred Common goldeneye, etc..

Montreal, rue Marc-Cantin: At the Technopark, I relocated the Northern mockingbird, a Red-tailed Hawk and an American Kestrel. Total: 28 species

Verdun, Île des Soeurs: Une tournée du boisé m'a permis de voir 3 Troglodytes des forêts, un Bruant des marais, un Bruant à gorge blanche, un Petit-duc maculé, un Épervier de Cooper, un Grand Pic, et d'autres espèces plus communes.

Sur le fleuve au bout de la rue O'Reilly, il y avait une Foulque d'Amérique, une centaine de Fuligules (Petits ou milouinan ?), plus d'une centaine de Garrots à œil d'or, etc.

Montreal, rue Marc-Cantin: Au Technoparc, j'ai retrouvé un Moqueur polyglotte, ainsi qu'une Buse à queue rousse et une Crécerelle d'Amérique. Total: 28 espèces - Pierre Bannon
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St-Césaire, Avenue de l'Union: Merlin (adult male) in a tree
rang Chaffers: Snow buntings
Mont-St-Grégoire, chemin du Ruisseau barré:  Horned Lark, Red-tailed Hawk (adult), Raven and Cooper's Hawk (adult)

Marieville, rang de la Petite Savane: Red-tailed Hawk (adult)

St-Césaire, l'Avenue de l'Union: Faucon émerillon (adulte mâle) dans un arbre
rang Chaffers: Plectrophanes des neiges

Mont-St-Grégoire, chemin du Ruisseau barré:  Alouette hausse-col, Buse à queue rousse (adulte), Grand corbeau et Épervier de Cooper (adulte)

Marieville, rang de la Petite Savane: Buse à queue rousse (adulte) - Patrick Laniel
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Boucherville, rue de Lorraine: 60 Snow buntings and a Lapland longspur
une soixantaine de Plectrophanes des neiges et un Plectrophane lapon - Michel Bertrand

Sightings for Friday December 10th

Maple Grove, rue MacDonald : 2 Pied-billed Grebe (one of which ran very awkwardly on the ice), an American Coot, 1 Double-crested cormorant, 1 adult Bald Eagle (on îles de la Paix), 2 Song Sparrows


2 Grèbes à bec bigarré (dont un qui courait très maladroitement sur la glace), 1 Foulque d'Amérique, 1 Cormoran à aigrettes, 1 Pygargue à tête blanche adulte (sur les îles de la Paix), 2 Bruants chanteurs - Samuel Denault

Sightings for Thursday December 9th

Lasalle: A Brown thrasher seen today at 3pm at the end of the look-out east of parc des Rapides
Un Moqueur roux observé à 15.00 heurs aujourd'hui au bout de la jetée Est au parc des Rapides à Ville LaSalle - Jean-Marc Lacoste et Pierre Lamontagne

Longueuil,  parc Marie-Victorin: I observed and photographed the Yellow-throated warbler this morning between 9:45 am & 10:30 am. She was in the cedars in front of the parking lot, often at the foot of trees. She was accompanied by chickadees and 2 downy woodpecker. It was at the end, facing the row of trees next to the marina.

J'ai observé et photographié la Paruline à gorge jaune  ce matin entre 9:45h& 10:30h.Elle était dans les thuyas en face du stationnement et souvent au pied des arbres. Elle était accompagnée des mésanges et de 2 pic mineur.Elle s'est à la fin dirigée vers la rangée d'arbres du côté de la marina. - Gilles Papillon

Montreal's 2010 Christmas Bird Count
December 18th

Recensement des Oiseaux de Noël

18 décembre

 

The Montreal Count Circle:

Christmas Bird Counts are held within a mandated 24 km. circle. In Montreal this circle is centred at the corner of Sherbrooke Street West and Westminster Avenue in Montreal West. The arc ranges to Chateauguay in the southwest, the St. Lambert Locks in the southeast, Ahunsic in the northeast and Dorval airport and Bois de Liesse in the northwest.

Each year on a Saturday, usually between December 15 and 21st, Bird Protection Quebec (BPQ) conducts the Montreal Christmas Bird Count (CBC). We held our first count in 1931, and except for four years, we have held counts every year since

Types of Participation:

If you would like to participate in this years Montreal Christmas Bird Count you can do so either as a Feeder-watcher or Field participant

Bird Protection Quebec will be doing its 75th Christmas Bird Count on the 18 December. To help the coverage of our area, we are seeking help from people with feeders. The center of our circle, 24K in diameter, is at the corner of Westminster and Sherbrooke. If you would like to help in the comfort of your

home, please contact the assistant compiler at: jeandemers@sympatico.ca or by phone at: 514-694-8240. We will need your address so we can verify if you are situated within the circle.

If you are not familiar with the Project Feeder-watch from Bird Studies Canada, your task is very simple and not very demanding, you have only to count the species and number of each species you see during the day. You don't have to stay at your windows all day, any amount of time is better than not having your data. You count the number of birds of each species you see at one time, do not add the birds each time you see them. The numbers we need is the greatest amount of each species you see at one time ex: if  at 10:00 you see 5 house sparrows and at 11:00 3 house sparrows and at 13:00 you see 10 house sparrows, the number we
need is 10 because it was the greatest amount at a single time.

You can obtain a checklist at: http://www.pqspb.org/downloads/cbc/2010/feederwatchchecklist2010.pdf you can fill out, save and send to Jean Demers via email or regular mail.

Thanks for your help, it will greatly appreciated Jean Demers, Assistant-compilor

Protection des Oiseaux du Québec tiendra son 75ième Recensement des Oiseaux de Noël le 18 décembre. Pour améliorer la couverture de notre territoire, nous demandons l'aide des personnes qui ont des mangeoires. Le centre de notre cercle, 24K de diamètre, est au coin de Westminster et Sherbrooke. Si vous
voulez contribuer dans le confort de votre foyer, veuillez contacter l'assistant-compilateur : jeandemers@sympatico.ca ou par téléphone au : 514-694-8240. Nous aurons besoin de votre adresse afin de vérifier si vous êtes situé à l'intérieur du cercle.


Si vous n'êtes pas familier avec Project Feeder-watch d'Études des Oiseaux du Canada, votre tâche est simple et pas très exigeante. Vous devez seulement compter le nombre et les espèces d'oiseaux qui fréquentent vos mangeoires durant la journée. Vous n'avez pas besoin de rester à vos fenêtres toute la journée. Tous les oiseaux que vous verrez, même durant une courte période, ajouteront des données importantes pour la recherche. Votre décompte doit comprendre le plus grand nombre d'oiseaux de chaque espèce que vous voyez à la fois ex : à 10:00H vous voyez 5 moineaux et à 11:00H vous en voyez 3 et à 13:00H vous en voyez 10, alors le chiffre que vous devez rapporter est 10 parce que c'est le plus grand
nombre que vous avez observé en une fois.


Vous pouvez vous procurer une liste de vérification au : http://www.pqspb.org/downloads/cbc/2010/feederwatchchecklist2010.pdf que vous pouvez compléter, enregistrer et envoyer à Jean Demers soit par courriel ou par la poste.


Merci pour votre aide, elle sera grandement appréciée. Jean Demers, Assistant-compilateur

You can find out more about participating by contacting the co-ordinator, Jeff Harrison by Email at: dha@videotron.ca or by telephone in the evening after 8:00 PM at: 514-486-4943

Sightings for Wednesday December 8th

Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Morgan Arboretum: At the Pine's Cottage and Conservation Centre on Main Road (AM): 20+ American Golfinches, 30+ Black-capped chickadees, 6 Pine Siskins, 4 Red-Breasted Nuthatches, 4 American Tree Sparrows, 6 Dark-Eyed Juncos, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 40+ American Crows, 40+ Canada Geese, 2 Ring-billed Gulls, 1 Red-tailed Hawk

20 + Chardonneret jaune, 30 + Mésange à tête noire, 6 Tarin des pins, 4 Sittelle à poitrine rousse, 4 Bruant Hudsonien, 6 juncos ardoisés, 1 Pic mineur, 1 Grand Pic, 40 + corneilles d'Amérique, 40 + Bernaches du Canada, 2 Goélands à bec cerclé, 1 Buse à queue rousse - Chris Cloutier

Sightings for Tuesday December 7th

Longueuil: Yellow-throated warbler is still present at parc Marie-Victorin in the company of Chickadees, a White-breasted nuthatch and a Downy woodpecker

Paruline à gorge jaune était toujour présente au parc Marie-Victorin de Longueuil en compagnie des mésanges d'une Sittelle à poitrine blanche et d'un Pic mineur - Denis Hamel

Sightings for Sunday December 5th

Longueuil: Yellow-throated warbler is still present at parc Marie-Victorin in the company of Chickadees, a White-breasted nuthatch and a Downy woodpecker


Paruline à gorge jaune était toujour présente au parc Marie-Victorin de Longueuil en compagnie des mésanges d'une Sittelle à poitrine blanche et d'un Pic mineur - Eve-Lyne Samson

Bird Protection Quebec's Monthly Meeting

Monday December 6, 2010
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Knox Crescent, Kensington and First Presbyterian Church, 6225 Godfrey Avenue, NDG

Citizen Scientists of BPQ

Focusing on our main goals of education, conservation and observation, we have asked three McGill University ornithology researchers to present their areas of study to us. Their oral presentations will be followed by a poster session — a format that is widely used at scientific conferences to communicate the names and work of the researchers, to link up with others and to exchange with citizen scientists. You will have the opportunity to circulate among the various visual displays and talk one to one with all the researchers bringing their posters.

As part of our education dossier BPQ gives research grants to students. It is important for members to be aware of trends and current areas of interest as well as for students to know more about BPQ.

Our speakers and their subjects are:

DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS) IN WILDLIFE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT - Dominique Chabot.

We have been using Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) since 2007 to investigate potential applications with our current focus on surveying bird aggregations and habitat studies. This technology has the advantage of low disturbance levels, convenient access to remote and secluded areas as well as rapid collection of large amounts of precise data which can be processed with the aid of image-analysis software at low cost. A newly released UAS platform is now being used to survey migrating Snow Geese (Cap Tourmente) , Common Tern breeding colonies (Kouchibouguac NB) and in a study of the breeding habitat of the threatened Least Bittern (Baie-du-Febvre). Future applications involve the detection and census of bird nests in perilous locations (cliffs, canopies, tall buildings etc.)


Dominique Chabot is a PhD. student in Wildlife Biology working with David Bird at McGill. He received his B.Sc. at the Université Sainte -Anne, Nova Scotia and his M.Sc. at McGill. He is one of the first students in North America to study the use of UAS in wildlife research and management.

EFFECTS OF TOXINS ON THE BREEDING SUCCESS OF TREE SWALLOWS - Tiffany Gilchrist

The presentation will discuss the occurrence of emerging and current-use brominated flame retardant chemicals in the eggs of free-ranging Tree Swallows exposed wastewater treatment effluent and the possible related effects that this exposure may be having on their reproductive success.


Tiffany is working on her second MSc at McGill following research at the University of Kent in the UK on the effects of recreational kitesurfing on migrating and overwintering wading birds.

BEHAVIOUR OF RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS IN NEW BRUNSWICK. - David Fishman
David?s project concerns aspects of the nesting ecology of a colony of Redbreasted Mergansers (Mergus serrator) situated in Kouchibouguac National Park, NB. Using genetic information obtained from these birds, his team looked at whether there were any patterns of association or cooperation between related individuals. It was found that under dense nesting areas, relatives nested closer to one another than expected by chance. They also found that neighbouring females, regardless of their degree of kinship, began incubation in a synchronized fashion.


David was born and raised in Montreal. From a young age he has had an infatuation with birds, nature and anything to do with the outdoors. Currently, under the supervision of Dr. Rodger Titman and Dr. David Zadworny, he is completing his final semester as a Master’s student at McGill University.

Bird Protection Field Trip

Saturday 4 December samedi 4 Decembre

Casselman and Ste-Rose-de-Prescott, Eastern Ontario
Leader : Jacques Bouvier 613-524-1154 bouvier@magma.ca

8:30 AM* Meet in the parking lot of Tim Hortons in Casselman, Ontario. From Montreal, take Highway 40 to the Ontario border. Continue on Highway 417 to Exit 66 (Casselman). From the exit, continue north towards Casselman for a short distance. Tim Hortons is on the right as you head north. This will be mostly a driving trip with the possibility of a couple of short walks. Looking for Snowy Owl, Horned Lark and other winter birds of open country as well as other winter residents. Half day.

8 h 30* Rassemblement au Tim Hortons à Casselman, Ontario. Emprunter l'autoroute 40 jusqu'à la frontière avec l'Ontario. Poursuivre sur l'autoroute 417 jusqu'à la sortie 66 (Casselman). À la sortie, continuer vers le nord en direction de Casselman sur une courte distance. Le Tim Hortons sera à votre droite. Excursion en voiture principalement, avec la possibilité de faire quelques courtes randonnées. Espèces recherchées : Harfang des neiges, Alouette hausse-col et autres oiseaux d'hiver se tenant dans des endroits à découvert en plus des résidents. Demi-journée.

Sightings for Wednesday Decemebr 1st

Longueuil: Yellow-throated warbler is still present at parc Marie-Victorin in the company of Chickadees, a White-breasted nuthatch and a Downy woodpecker
Paruline à gorge jaune était toujour présente au parc Marie-Victorin de Longueuil en compagnie des mésanges d'une Sittelle à poitrine blanche et d'un Pic mineur - Denis Hamel