Bird Protection Quebec's -"Summer Series" - Trip #6 Report

11 birders attended today's field trip that took us to 3 separate destinations; Ste-Brigide-d'Iberville, the Ruisseau Hazen in Iberville; and St-Bernard-de-Lacolle. The weather was great throughout the morning and early afternoon; sunny with cloudy periods and a nice breeze to keep the humidity down.

Our first target bird of the day was the Eurasian Collared Dove which obliged us beyond imagine. As we pulled up to the intersection of rue Principale and Martel in Ste-Brigide, a dove was perched on a Hydro line directly opposite the small lot which we parked it. Could it be this easy? Yes, the Eurasian Collared Dove sat there for a good 10 minutes or so before finally flying off, giving us all good binocular and scope views, as well as a photo op.

We then drove on to Iberville, QC, to the Ruisseau Hazen, a small stream that winds through a narrow forest parallel to railway tracks that divide Iberville into two sections. Our targets here were the Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Carolina Wren. We struck out on the Cuckoo, but no less that 3 Carolina Wren appeared, on in particular putting on quite a vocal and visual display for us. Everyone enjoyed exploring this unique little piece of birding territory, many of the participants for the first time. It's definitely a location that deserves more exploration at various times of the year.

We then drove about 30 minutes southwest to St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, west of Highway 15 and just a little north of the U.S. border, between Lacolle and Hemmingford. Several birders have spotted Upland Sandpipers in two different locations in this region over the last few weeks. Today however this species eluded us.

Overall though a very nice day of birding with all locations well within a one-hour drive from Montreal. We wrapped up the day with 42 species with the obvious highlights being the Dove and the Carolinas. Here is our list for the day.

Mallard 1, Great Blue Heron 3, Turkey Vulture 1, Bald Eagle 1 (immature), Northern Harrier 1, Merlin 1, Killdeer 4, Ring-billed Gull 4, Rock Pigeon 15, Mourning Dove 20, Eurasian Collared Dove 1, Chimney Swift 9, Downy Woodpecker 3, Northern Flicker 1, Eastern Phoebe 1, Eastern Kingbird 1, Warbling Vireo 2, Philadelphia Vireo 1, Blue Jay 10, American Crow 20, Common Raven 1, Tree Swallow 500+, Barn Swallow 50, Black-capped Chickadee 6, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Carolina Wren 3, House Wren 2, American Robin 25, Gray Catbird 2, European Starling 100+, Cedar Waxwing 20, Yellow Warbler 1, feeding a young Cowbird!), American Redstart 1, Common Yellowthroat 1, Chipping Sparrow 1, Song Sparrow 20, Northern Cardinal 4, Red-winged Blackbird 12, Common Grackle 1, Brown-headed Cowbird 1 (see above), American Goldfinch 20, House Sparrow 6

Canard colvert 1, Grand Héron 3, Urubu à tête rouge 1, Pygargue à tête blanche 1 (immatures), Busard Saint-Martin 1, Faucon émerillon 1, Pluvier kildir  4, Goéland à bec cerclé 4, Pigeon biset 15, Tourterelle triste 20, Tourterelle turque 1, Martinet ramoneur 9, Pic mineur 3, Pic flaboyant 1, Moucherolle phébi 1, Tyran tritri 1, Viréo 2, Viréo de Philadelphie 1, Geai bleue10, Corneille d'Amérique 20, Grand corbeau 1, Hirondelle bicolore 500 +, Hirondelle rustique 50, Mésange à tête noire 6, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 1, Troglodyte de Caroline 3, Troglodyte familier 2,Merle d'Amérique 25, Moqueur chat 2, Étourneau sansonnet 100 +, Jaseur d'Amérique 20, Paruline jaune 1, Paruline flamboyante 1, Paruline masquée 1, Bruant 1 familier, Bruant chanteur 20, Cardinal rouge 4, Carouge à épaulettes 12, Quiscale bronzé 1, Vacher à tête brune 1, Chardonneret jaune 20, Moineau domestique 6
Just a note to let everyone know that next week's outing will be on Sunday rather than Saturday due to a work committment on my part. - Sheldon