Sightings for Sunday December 29

Found 3 Snowy Owls (Harfang des neiges) between Mercier and Ormstown one on rte 138 just outside Mercier.  One in Ste-Martine on chemin Riviere des Feves N, and the other on rang du 30 near rte 226. - Tom Long
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Montréal: Today at the Botanical Garden between feeder one and feeder two underneath some sort of large evergreen: 6 Northern Cardinal (3 male, 3 female); 2 White-throated Sparrow; 1 (maybe 2) Fox Sparrow.  Also house finches and chickadees (6 Cardinal rouge (3 mâle, 3 femelle); 2 Bruant à gorge blanche; 1 (peut-être 2) Bruant fauve. Aussi Roselins familiers et les Mésanges) - Mike and Doris Bristol

Sightings for Monday December 23

Verdun: In the late afternoon from the lookout on the banks of Verdun, I observed 2 adult male Harlequin ducks who dived for food in the rapids. In the same area, there was also a female Bufflehead. Two adult Bald Eagles were perched on île aux Chèvres. Hundreds of Common goldeneye and Common Mergansers gathered downstream of île Rock after 4 pm to spend the night

En fin d'après-midi à partir du belvédère sur les rives de Verdun, j'ai pu observer 2 Arlequins plongeurs mâles adultes qui plongeaient pour se nourrir dans les rapides. Dans le même secteur, il y avait aussi une femelle de Petit Garrot. Deux Pygargues à tête blanche adultes étaient perchés sur l'île aux Chèvres. Des centaines de Garrots à œil d'or et de Grands Harles se rassemblaient en aval de l'île Rock après 16h00 pour y passer la nuit - Pierre Bannon
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Lasalle, Île-aux-hérons: 12 Wild Turkey (Dindons sauvage) - Michel Cournoyer

Sightings for Saturday December 21

Verdun - During Montreal Bird Count, bird of the day was a Peregrine Falcon (faucon pèlerin) perched high on Centre D'Hebergement Du Manoir-de-Verdun. Possibly a regular perch. Also saw a Merlin (faucon émierillon) hunting across on Nun's Island, and 6 Brown Creepers (grimpereau brun) along the river. - Mike and Nicki Fleming

Sightings for Thursday December 19

Bromont, Rue du Ciel: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) - Suzanne Labbe

Sightings for Wednesday December 18

Vaudreuil: While visiting the retail park at Vaudreuil today I saw two Snowy Owls (Harfangs des neiges) in the Reno Depot/Wal-Mart parking lots. One was on a lamp and one on the snow piles around the edges, both were oblivious to the shopping mayhem around them and giving good photo ops. I then set out to see how many we had in my area west of Montreal. My count ended at 16 and included my first male of the season.

Photos on my blog later. - Mark Dennis
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Saint-Timothée, Rte 132 près du motel: Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) 

Beauharnois, Hydro dam: Snowy owl

centrale hydroélectrique Harfang des neiges - Denis Collins

Sightings for Tuesday December 17

St Hyacinthe: We had a Bald Eagle (Pygargue à tête blanche) resting in a tree opposite our house on the Yamaska river, St Hyacinthe area. It was about 100 yards across the river., but did watch him for a while until the Crows (Corneilles d'Amérique) drove him off. - John

Sightings for Saturday December 14

Montréal - Technoparc, Ville Staint-Laurent (MAP): 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 Snowy Owl, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Northern Shrike, 2 American Crow, 2 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 American Robin, 12 European Starling, 1 Northern Cardinal

1 Buse à queue rousse, 1 Harfang des neiges, 1 Pic mineur, 1 Pic chevelu, une Pie-grièche grise, 2 Corneille d'Amérique, 2 Mésange à tête noire, 1 Merle d'Amérique, 12 Étourneau sansonnet, 1 Cardinal rouge - Julie Tremblay

Montreal Christmas Bird Count December 21

We still have room for people who would like to participate in this year's BPQ Montreal Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 21st.  Novice birders right through to seasoned veterans; it doesn't make a difference. Binoculars, sharp eyes and ears, and you're set to go.  We have a few teams out in the field that have space for a few more people, particularly in these following sectors:

Sector - Lasalle-Angrignon Park-Montreal West-Cote St-Luc - Bounded on west by Mercier Bridge and Highway 138 to Boulevard Norman in Ville St Pierre, the Railroad tracks east to the bottom end of the Meadowbrook Golf Course then by Radcliffe-Roxton, east to Westminster then along the Railroad tracks east to West Broadway, and on the east by West Broadway  south via Rue Avon to St. Jacques then east to Cavendish and south to Blvd. Angrignon and des Trinitaires, Laverndrye and east side of Douglas Hospital

Sector - Cemeteries of Mount Royal

Sector - South-east Montreal - Bounded on the north by the Metropolitan Autoroute 40; on the east by St-Michel Blvd/Davidson; on the south by the St. Lawrence waterfront; on the west by the St-Denis Street.

If you would like to participate and any one of these areas is suitable or convenient to you, please get in touch with me (Sheldon Harvey - 450-462-1459 or e-mail) and we will get you set up with the sector leader.

The event runs from dawn to dusk, with a compilation party at the Montreal West Curling Club starting at 4 pm which all participants are invited to attend.

More information on the BPQ Christmas Bird Counts can be found at the following link:
http://pqspb.org/bpq2/?page_id=139 

Hudson Christmas Bird Count

The Hudson Christmas Bird Count takes place on Saturday December 28. As of now we are missing a good number of volunteers, so if you want to join in a nice day of birding and help in this 114th count probably the oldest citizen science project in North America, please send Jean Demers an e-mail

Thanks
Jean Demers compiler

Sightings for SundayDecemebr 8

Mirabel: Eastern Meadowlark is still very visible in Mirabel on rang St-Dominique. I also had the chance to see a Cooper's Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk, 200 Snow Buntings, 20 Mourning Dove, 3 American Crows and 3 Snowy Owls

Sturnelle des prés est toujours très visible à Mirabel sur le rang St-Dominique. J'ai eu aussi la chance d'observer 1 Épervier de Cooper, 1 Buse à queue rousse, environ 200 Plectrophanes des neiges, une vingtaine de Tourterelless triste, 3 Corneille d'Amérique et 3 Harfangs des neiges - Alain Sylvain

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday December 7

Casselman and Ste. Rose de Prescott, ONTARIO

This is a far cry of the 45 species we got on the trip held on 5 December 2011.  But in all fairness some of us did go all day in 2011 and went as far as the Ottawa area. In 2011 we were 20 people while today we were only 4 in all.  Today was sunny with a bitter cold wind at times, and temperatures ranged from -7 to -4 Celsius.

The bird of the day was Lesser Black-backed Gull / (Goéland brun) (2 adults) near the Moose Creek dump.  Runners up were Bald Eagle / Pygargue à tête blanche (an adult) and Snow Buntings / Bruants des neiges (24).

Here is the list of the other 21 species and their numbers (in brackets):

SPECIES - ESPÈCES

CANADA GOOSE / BERNACHE DU CANADA (4), COMMON MERGANSER / GRAND HARLE (1), RED-TAILED HAWK / BUSE A QUEUE ROUSSE (2), ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK / BUSE PATTUE (2), HERRING GULL / GOELAND ARGENTE (2,000+), ICELAND GULL / GOELAND ARCTIQUE (2), GLAUCOUS GULL / GOELAND BOURGMESTRE (4), GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL / GOELAND MARIN (100+), ROCK PIGEON / PIGEON BISET (200), MOURNING DOVE / TOUTERELLE TRISTE (40), SNOWY OWL / HARFANG DES NEIGES (2), BLUE JAY / GEAI BLEU (6), AMERICAN CROW / CORNEILLE D'AMERIQUE (40), COMMON RAVEN / GRAND CORBEAU (10), BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE / MESANGE A TETE NOIRE (12), RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH / SITTELLE A POITRINE ROUSSE (2), AMERICAN GOLDFINCH / CHARDONNERET JAUNE (1), EUROPEAN STARLING / Étourneau SANSONNET (50), AMERICAN TREE SPARROW / BRUANT HUDSONIEN (3), SONG SPARROW / BRUNT CHANTEUR (1), HOUSE SPARROW / MOINEAU DOMESTIQUE (6)

If you read this far down, you may be further interested in the birds of the St-Isidore-Casselman area.  If so, go to my blog here http://jacquesbouvier.blogspot.ca/ and then click on this link on the right side of the page: ANNOTATED and ILLUSTRATED LIST of the Birds of Far Eastern Ontario and of neighbouring southwestern Quebec and northern New-York.

In my blog you will also see BirdTrax which lists daily, all the birds observed and reported by e-birders in our 50 km birding circle.  Enjoy!!  Your comments are always appreciated.

Thanks to the eager participants who came out today and good birding to all - Jacques Bouvier

Sightings for Saturday December 7

Dorval: There were 2 Snowy Owls (Harfang des neiges) at Dorval Airport this morning. Both were observed from the end of Ch. Saint-Francois. One was on the ground about 70 m in from the first perimeter fence gate, just after three yellow cement blocks on the road. The second owl was on the ground near a runway in front of the Air Canada maintenance building, and could be seen from the gate at the end of the road. Hopefully they will still be around for the CBC. - Peter

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Mirabel: Eastern meadowlark on rang St-Dominique west of rang Giroux

une Strunelle des prés sur le rang St-Dominique à l'ouest du rang Giroux - Jean-Pierre LaBrèche

Sightings for Friday December 6

Montréal: 1 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 11 American Crow, 1 Common Raven, 5 Black-capped Chickadee, 1 Brown Thrasher Well seen and photographed, has been there for about two weeks is between the fenced land at the University of Montreal and Côte-des-Neiges Calvary Cemetery, often along the trail in the bushes. Google Location: 45.505732, -73.609836. Photo at this link 300 European Starling, 2 Northern Cardinal 1 Pic mineur, 1 Pic chevelu, 11 Corneille d'Amérique, 1 Grand Corbeau, 5 Mésange à tête noire, 1 Moqueur roux Bien vu et photographié, se tient à cet endroit depuis deux semaines environ, se tient entre la clôture des terrains de l'université de Montréal et le Calvaire du cimetière Côte-des-neiges, souvent en bordure du sentier dans les buissons. Google Lieu: 45.505732, -73,609836. Photo a ce lien et suivante 300 Étourneau sansonnet, 2 Cardinal rouge - Jean-Sebastien Mayer ------------------------------------------------------------ Between Saint-Constant and Highway 15 along Highway 30 2 Short-eared Owls were seen  2 Hibou des marais ont été observés le long de l’autoroute 30, entre Saint-Constant et l’autoroute 15. - Régis Fortin ----------------------------------------------------------- Saint-Clet: A Snowy Owl was seen around 1:15 p.m. on Montée Sainte-Julie, between Chemin Sainte-Julie and Chemin Sainte-Marie, perched on a mound of tillage, more than 100 meters from the road (45 ° 32'30 "N / 74 * 18'21" W) on the south side. Also, 5-6 Common grackles on the 2ème rang. Un Harfang des neiges observé vers 13:15 hres, sur la Montée  Sainte-Julie, entre le chemin Sainte-Julie et le chemin Sainte-Marie à Saint-Clet; perché sur une motte de labour, à plus de 100 mètres de la route (45*32'30" N/ 74*18'21"O), du côté sud. Aussi, 5-6 Quiscales bronzés sur le 2ème rang. - Jean-Pierre Lebel & Françoise Chatel ----------------------------------------------------------- With Martine Laporte this morning we went to Pont St-Louis de Gonzaque hoping to see the Coot. It was not disappointing. There were: 5000 Snow Goose, Canada Goose 500 10 Black Duck, Mallard 200, Blue-winged Teal 1, 6 Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser 50, Common Merganser 10, Double-crested Cormorant 2, American Coot 1, Herring Gull 2, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Tree Sparrow 2 At St. Thimothé Marsh work was being done. We could not go very far. There was a Snowy Owl  on a Heron nest Avec Martine Laporte ce matin on a été au Pont de St-Louis de Gonzaque dans l'espoir de voir la Foulque. On ne fut pas déçu. Il y avait aussi: Oie des neiges 5000, Bernache du Canada 500, Canard noir 10, Canard colvert 200, Sarcelle à ailes bleues 1, Fuligule à collier 6, Harle couronné 50, Grand Harle 10, Cormoran à aigrettes 2, Foulque d'Amérique 1, Goéland argenté 2, Goéland marin 1, Bruant hudsonien 2 Au marais de St-Thimothé, il font des travaux. On n'a pas pu aller bien loin. Il y avait un Harfang des neiges dans un nid de Héron - Sylvie Vanier

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday 7 December – samedi 7 décembre

Casselman and Ste. Rose de Prescott, ONTARIO

Guide: Jacques Bouvier  613-524-1154 e-mail

8:30 a.m.* 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.

*Note the start time.

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.

*Noter l’heure de commencement.

Sightings for Wednesday December 4

Alymer: The male Black-throated Gray Warbler (Paruline à joues grises) found yesterday has been located again (9:25 am) this morning in basically the same area as yesterday. It is in Aylmer Quebec which is just across the Ottawa River from Ottawa Ontario.
It is in the bushes close to the river opposite (south of) the pedestrian bridge at the west end of Vanier St in Aylmer.

Directions: from Ottawa east exit from hwy 417 at Island Park Dr and follow Island Park Dr north to the Champlain bridge. From Ottawa west (or 416 ro 417 east) exit from hwy 417 at Carling Ave and follow Carling east then left (north) on Island Park Dr (I think you can make a left there!) and follow Island Park Dr north to the Champlain bridge. Continue (north) on the Champlain bridge then west on the lower Aylmer road (Ch. d'Aylmer) then south on Ch. Vanier. Drive to the Ottawa River. When Vanier turns to the right (west) follow Vanier all the way to the west end. Park and walk west onto the pedestrian bridge. The bird has been moving around south of that bridge, either low in the bushes at the river edge or higher in the trees mid way between the bridge and the river.
Good luck, - Bob

Sightings for Tuesday December 3

Aylmer, Chemin Vanier: Black-throated gray warbler (Paruline à joues grises) - Michael Tate

Sightings for Monday December 2

Mirabel: Eastern meadowlark on rang St-Dominique west of rang Giroux

une Strunelle des prés sur le rang St-Dominique à l'ouest du rang Giroux - Jonathan Roy

Sightings for Sunday December 1

Verdun: I made a short visit to the banks of Verdun 8:30 to 9:30. When I arrived in the natatorim area (at the end of rue Stephens), cries of chickadees attract my attention. Heading towards the group, the first bird that I see in a pine tree, is ... a Pine Warbler!

Also present on the river: 2 Common loons, 1 Double-crested Cormorant, 3 Bufflehead, etc..J'ai fait une courte visite aux berges de Verdun de 8h30 à 9h30. Dès mon arrviée dans le secteur du natatorim (au bout de la rue Stephens), des cris de mésanges attirent mon attention. Me dirigeant vers le groupe, le 1er oiseau que je vois, dans un pin, est ... une Paruline des pins!
Aussi présents sur le fleuve: 2 Plongeons huart, 1 Cormoran à aigrettes, 3 Petits garrots, etc. - Diane Demers
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Montréal, St-Laurent - Techno Parc: A Snowy owl is visible at the beginnging rue Hervé St-Martin (in the first curve).

un Harfang des neiges est visible à partir de la rue Hervé-St-Martin (dans la première courbe). - Domimic Gendron
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Mirabel: Eastern meadowlark on rang St-Dominique west of rang Giroux

une Strunelle des prés sur le rang St-Dominique à l'ouest du rang Giroux - Janine May, Louise Simard, Michel Bertrand
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Ste-Anne-de-Sorel, A Snowy Owl was present on Ile du Moine. He often changed perch on poles at the edge of the island.

While I watched, a female Northern Harrier came and pitched in the field.

Un Harfang des neiges present sur Ile du Moine. Il changeait souvent de perchoir sur les pôteaux au bord de l'ÎLe. Pendant que je l'observais, un Busard St-Martin femelle est arrivé et a piqué dans le champ. - Micheline Ouellet, Ste-Martine