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

Sightings for Saturday November 30

Mirabel: Rang St-Dominique from 11:00 to 2:00. About 150-200 Snow Buntings, 30 horned larks, 15 American tree sparrows. 1 Song Sparrow near 13900. 6 Grey Partridge behind 13900 St-Dominique and 1 Snowy Owl on Rang St-Dominique, that I caused unintentionally lift up because it was on the ground, close to the road. He flew away in the field and I did not manage to find it again.

sur lle Rang St-Dominique entre 11h00 et 2h00. Environ 150 à 200 Plectrophanes des neiges Trentaine d'Alouettes hausse-col, Quinzaine de Bruants hudsoniens, 1 Bruant chanteur près du no.civique 13900. 6 Perdrix grises derrière no. civique 13900 St-Dominique. 1 Harfang des neiges sur le Rang St-Dominique; je l'ai fait lever involontairement car il était au sol, tout près de la route.  Il s'est envolé plus loin dans le champ et je n'ai pas réussi à le retrouver par la suite. - Micheline Ouellet
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Ste-Anne-de-Sorel: 1 Short-eared Owl on ’Ile du Moine 2:0 hrs to 2:40 pm, in front of 2076 Chenal du Moine


De 14.10 hres à 14.40 hres, sur ’Ile du Moine en face du 2076 Chemin du
Chenal du Moine, a Ste-Anne de Sorel, 1 hibou des marais - Jean Bellerose
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Montréal: 2 juvenile Snowy owls (male and female) located in the area between chemin Côte-Vertu and chemin St Francis, also the presence of Red-tailed hawks and American kestrels to keep them company.

2 harfangs des neiges juvéniles (mâle et femelle) dans le secteur localisé entre Chemin Côte-Vertu et Chemin St-François,aussi présence de buses à queue rousse et crécerelles d'Amérique leur tiennent compagnie - Richard Dupuis

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday November 30

6 participants made their way to the South Shore for this morning's drive through the farm roads of Boucherville, Varennes and St-Bruno, ending up at the St-Hubert Airport on Clairevue Blvd. Although we faced double-digit minus temperatures throughout most of the morning, we were rewarded not only with birds, but with incredible scenery including a rainbow halo appearing around the rising sun and icy, frosted landscapes throughout the trip.

Bird-life was somewhat limited but we did our best to complete the morning with a total of 19 species. We do have some unfortunate news for 11 of our 16 participants who left the trip early, just after our scan of the airport grounds where we were unable to locate the Snowy Owl that has been appearing there throughout the last week. Our remaining 5 continued on north-west past the airport where we ran into two birders who told us that they were heading over towards the St-Bruno/Ste-Jule border, on ch. de Lorraine, where a Snowy owl (Harfang des neiges) had also been observed earlier in the week. We were quickly rewarded with an excellent view of what appears to be a young male bird perched atop a Hydro pole. It's unfortunate that our whole group was not there to see it, but had we not run into the other birders and followed their lead, we would not have seen it either.

The St-Hubert Airport, and the roads around the area, are showing signs being a very productive birding spot again this winter. We were able to find 2 Red-tailed Hawks and 4 Rough-legged Hawks in the area today.

Here is our list of 19 species for the day: Canada Goose 200+, Mallard 10, Common Merganser 2, Red-tailed Hawk 2, Rough-legged Hawk 4, Rock Pigeon 30, Mourning Dove 20, Snowy Owl 1, Downy Woodpecker 3, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Shrike 1, Blue Jay 2, American Crow 6, Black-capped Chickadee 1, European Starling 60, Dark-eyed Junco 8, Northern Cardinal 1, American Goldfinch 1, House Sparrow 40

Bernache du Canada 200 +, Canard colvert 10, Grand Harle 2, Buse à queue rousse 2, Buse pattue 4, Pigeon biset 30, Tourterelle triste 20, Harfang des neiges 1, Pic mineur 3, Pic chevelu 1, Pie-grièche grise 1, Geai bleu 2, Corneille d'Amérique 6, Mésange à tête noire 1, Étourneau sansonnet 60, Junco ardoisé 8, Cardinal rouge 1, Chardonneret jaune 1

Moineau domestique 40

Thanks to everyone for the great turnout and for braving the traffic issues to get to the South Shore. - Sheldon

Christmas Bird Counts

Join our Christmas Bird Counts – BPQs Most Popular Events

For complete information on taking part in our Christmas Bird Counts visit our website

CBCs complement the various breeding bird surveys that take place in spring and early summer, completing the picture with information about the birds that spend the winter in our circles.
However, you don’t need to be an expert birder. You will be part of a team and every pair of eyes and ears is helpful.

If you live within one of our circles, you can participate as a FeederWatcher, even if you can’t join one of teams of volunteers in the field. And, if you are not able to do that, you can help us by making sure that your feeders are full.
 
78th Montreal Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 21, 2013
 
This event will be followed by an informal social get together at the Montreal West Curling Club, 17 Ainslie Road in Montreal West, at approximately 4:00 p.m. All participants are invited to attend for a bite to eat and to submit their findings of the day. The rough results are tabulated and everyone is encouraged to share their birding experiences of the day.
 
If you have any questions, or wish to register for the event, please contact Sheldon Harvey, e-mail or telephone: 450-462-1459.
 
73^rd Hudson Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 28, 2013

After the count, we gather at the St-Hubert in Vaudreuil-Dorion and exchange stories about our day and more important give your tally sheet. If you can’t make it you can send your tally sheet via email. Every participant will receive all the instructions on how to proceed and a tally sheet you can complete either by hand or on your computer.

If you would like to participate in the Hudson Christmas Bird Count, please contact Jean Demers by e-mail or by phone at: 514-694-8240.

Bird Protection Quebec 'Monthly Lecture"

Monday, December 2, 2013
Knox Crescent Kensington & First Presbyterian Church
6225 Godfrey Ave, Montreal

Birding in the Limestone Region Discover the Birds and More of Southeastern Ontario with Joël Coutu

The area of Southeastern Ontario, between Prince Edward County and The Thousand Islands, is often considered one of the best for birdwatching in eastern North America. It attracts a variety of species, including Short-eared Owl and the rare Prairie Warbler. In this lecture, you will discover the various bird species, their habitats, a little history, and maybe even a few of the amusing adventures that the lecturer has experienced over the years.

Joël Coutu spent many of his early years in Kingston and it was there that his passion for birds and wildlife began. Back in Montreal, he was President of a local birding club from 2001 to 2007. In the early 2000s, he hosted a television show about birds, which aired on a local cable station, and later co - hosted a radio show about birdwatching. He continues to be an active birder, as well as a lecturer and consultant on bird - related topics. He works on a number of birdwatching projects with schools and other institutions and collaborates with Montreal and provincial parks on bird - related projects. He regularly participates in Christmas Bird Counts. In fact, he does everything from organizing birdwatching trips to conducting surveys in Northern Quebec and Labrador. He finds great pleasure in sharing his knowledge and renewing his interest with like - minded groups of birdwatchers.

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

STARTING POINT: Parc de la Frayere, boul. Marie-Victorin, Boucherville, in the parking lot. 
DATE: Saturday, November 30, 2013
TIME: 8 AM - Half day trip

Snowy Owls and other winter birds have begun showing up in different area around the Montreal region.  For this Saturday's spontaneous destination, we are going to attempt to track down some of these birds around the South Shore areas of St-Hubert, St-Bruno, Varennes, etc.  Although cold weather is forecast, conditions should be good.  This will predominantly be a driving trip.  We will be looking for Snowy Owls (already seen at St-Hubert Airport & Varennes, Rough-legged Hawks, Snow Buntings, and whatever else we can stumble across.

To facilitate matters, we will meet at a spot familiar to most of you have participated in some of our previous South Shore outings. This is Parc de la Frayere, on boul. Marie Victorin in Boucherville, on the St-Lawrence River.  After quickly exploring that parc, particularly its waterfront, we will head out on the road trip taking us through parts of Boucherville, Varennes, St-Bruno and finally to the airport in St-Hubert.


DRIVING DIRECTIONS: The park is a little less than 30 minutes from the South Shore side of the Champlain Bridge. .From Montreal, take the Champlain Bridge, to the first exit off the bridge. Follow Highway 20/Highway 132 EAST, heading towards
Varennes/Longueuil). Continue east on Highway 20/132. Note that Highways 20 and 132 split at exit for Quebec City & Hippolyte-Lafontaine Tunnel. Stay to the left at this exit, continuing east on Highway 132. Continue past the exits for de Montarville, de Montbrun
and chemin du General Vanier. The next traffic lights will be at Boul. de la Marine/Boul. Lionel Boulet (Highway 229). Turn left at the traffic lights on to Boul. de la Marine, heading north towards the waterfront. Continue north, cross the railway tracks and turn left at the traffic lights at the corner of boul. Marie Victorin. Continue on boul. Marie Victorin, past the hydro pylons. You will see an entrance road into the parking lot for the Parc de la
Frayere on your right. 

NOTE: Because there are reduce lanes available on Champlain Bridge, HIGHWAY 132 East can also be accessed from any of the other bridges to the South Shore (Mercier,  Victoria, Jacques-Cartier, or the Lafontaine Tunnel, as well as the new Highway 30 bridge at Vaudreuil-Dorion.) Once on Highway 132 east, route instructions above apply.

Dress warmly!  We will be in some wide open areas so wind and cold will be a factor. We will work in a pit stop, or two, throughout the trip.  Carpooling is recommended on these types of trips, plus if you have two-way radios, bring them along, tuned to channel 11, for inter-vehicle communications. If you have any questions, please contact me at 450-462-1459, or on Saturday morning at 514-637-2141.

Sheldon

Sightings for Wednesday November 27

Montréal, Mount Royal cemetery: 4 American Crow, 8 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 White-breasted Nuthatch, 2 Hermit Thrush, 25 American Robin, 1 Brown Thrasher, 100 European Starling, 2 White-throated Sparrow, 4 Northern Cardinal

Cimetière Mt-Royal: 4 Corneille d'Amérique, 8 Mésange à tête noire, 2 Sittelle à poitrine blanche, 2 Grive solitaire, 25 Merle d'Amérique, 1 Moqueur roux, 100 Étourneau sansonnet, 2 Bruant à gorge blanche, 4 Cardinal rouge - Jean-Sebastien Mayer

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday November 23

Montréal, Parc-nature du Bois-de-Liesse

Here’s the summary of this morning’s BPQ field trip, at Bois de Liesse Nature Park. A total of 11 brave birders (permit not necessary!) showed up on this cloudy, windy & cold November morning. It was very quiet in the park; this is not surprising at this time of year, for bird species. Also it would be a very good idea if the city & park officials started filling up their bird feeders at this time (they normally do, but they seem to be late) when local bird species are looking for their winter food source. Or maybe the city parks officials are too busy & overwhelmed with park permits that they don’t have time to fill up their feeders? I can at least confirm at Visitation Nature Park the feeders have been filled with seed the pass 12 days and are appreciated by the local birds.

A total of 20 species and the last two species added was a beautiful Peregrine Falcon (not surprising seeing I was field leader) that flew just over us at the parking area, after most of the group had left. The second was an immature Cooper’s Hawk in the same area. Here are the species of the day, and no doubt the American Robin was our bird of the day, the only bright color seen on this greyish day.

American Black Duck (1, male), Mallard Duck (15), Peregrine falcon (1, adult), Cooper’s Hawk (1, immature), Ringed-billed Gull (12), Herring Gull (3),  Rock Pigeon (40), Downy Wooderpecker (1), Blue Jay (3), American Crow (2), Black-capped Chickadee (6+), White-breasted Nuthatch (2), Brown Creeper (2), American Robin (42), European Starling (46), Dark-eyed Junco (1), Northern Cardinal (3), House finch (2), American Goldfinch (4), House Sparrow (30)

Canard noir (1 mâle), Canard colvert (15), Faucon pèlerin (1, adulte), Épervier de Cooper (1, immature), Goéland à bec cerclé (12), Goéland argenté (3), Pigeon biset (40) , Pic mineur (1), Geai bleu (3), Corneille d'Amérique (2), Mésange à tête noire (6 +), Sittelle à poitrine blanche (2), Grimpereau brun (2), Merle d'Amérique (42), Étourneau sansonnet (46), Junco ardoisé (1), Cardinal rouge (3), Roselin familier (2), Chardonneret jaune (4), Moineau domestique (30),

*And the species seen between 7am& 8am at Bois-de-Saraguay Nature Park: American Tree Sparrow (2), Northern Cardinal (4), American Crow (80+), Hairy Woodpecker (1),  Downy Woodpecker (1), Black-capped Chickadee (2)

Bruant hudsonien (2), Cardinal rouge (4), Corneille d'Amérique (80 +), Pic chevelu (1), Pic mineur (1), Mésange à tête noire (2)

Merci & Cheers - Joël Coutu

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, November 28 – samedi novembre 28
Montréal, Parc-nature du Bois-de-Liesse
Guide: Joël Coutu   e-mail  

8:00 a.m. Meet at the south entrance. Take Henri Bourassa exit 60 off Highway 40 west. Stay on the north service road west to Henri Bourassa Boulevard (approx. 2 km). Exit east on Henri Bourassa Blvd. Almost immediately turn left onto rue Douglas-B-Floreani. Drive to the end of the street at 3555. Parking: $9.00 Looking for late migrating species as well as the possibility of observing local species. Half Day

8 h 00 Rassemblement à l’entrée sud. Prendre la sortie # 60 Henri-Bourassa de l’autoroute 40 ouest. Demeurer sur la voie de service nord vers l’ouest jusqu’au boulevard Henri-Bourassa (environ 2 km). Prendre la sortie est du boulevard Henri Bourassa. Presqu’immédiatement, tourner à gauche sur la rue Douglas-B-Floreani et se rendre au bout de la rue, 3555. Stationnement : 9,00$. A la recherche des espèces migratrices tardives ainsi que la possibilité d’observer des espèces locales. Demi-journée.

Sightings for Wednesday November 20

Chambly: The Ross's gull spent three hours this morning (9:30 to 12:35), observed by Robert Thibault and some Americans, on the rocks in the rapids of the Richelieu river, just at the beginning of Parc des Rapides de Chambly. It is reached by the Rue Richelieu, near the rue Lafontaine.

La Mouette rosée a passé 3 heures ce matin (09h30-12h35), observée par Robert Thibault et des Américains, sur des rochers dans les rapides du Richelieu, juste face au début du Parc des Rapides de Chambly. On y accède par la rue Richelieu, près de la rue Lafontaine. - Alain Théault
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Baie-du-Febvre, route Lacerte: Snowy Owl east side in the plowed fields, Horned Lark 15, Bald Eagle. 1 immature, 1 Red-tailed Hawk

Harfang des neiges 1, côté est dans les champs labourés, Alouette hausse-col 15, Pygargue à tête blanche 1 immature, Buse à queue rousse 1 - Pierre Casavant

Sightings for Monday November 19

Chambly: Helen Duval and I went to the Chambly sewage treatment ponds around 2 p.m. and at 2:15 p.m. the Ross's gull was in the first pond

Hélène Duval et moi nous nous sommes rendus aux étangs d'épuration de Chambly vers 14h00 et à 14h15 la Mouette rosée y était dans le premier étang - Denise Thibault

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday November 16

Saturday's spectacular weather brought out 20 birders for our regular November walk around Cap St Jacques Nature Park. Temperatures reaching 10-12°C, full sun and calm winds were unheard of conditions for this trip which usually involves strong winds, cloudy skies, cold temperatures and occasionally snow. 
 
Although the bird life was a little "thin" we did have some nice sightings. In particular passerine species were hard to find. Our birds of the day were Brown Creepers simply for their numbers and the fact that everyone was able to get good views of this sometimes elusive little beauty. We saw seven or eight and heard many more.
 
Our complete list of 26 species included: Canada Geese - 75, American Black Duck - 1, Mallard - 60, Greater Scaup - 4, Lesser Scaup - 40, Great Blue Heron - 2, Bufflehead - 2, Common Goldeneye - 100, Common Merganser - 3, Cooper's hawk - 2, Ring-billed Gull - 13, Great Black-backed Gull - 2, Mourning Dove - 1, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Hairy Woodpecker - 1, Blue Jay - 5, American Crow - 10, Black-capped Chickadee - 20, Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1, White-breasted Nuthatch - 6, Brown Creeper - 12, European Starling - 2, American Tree Sparrow - 6, Dark-eyed Junco - 6, Northern Cardinal - 7, American Goldfinch - 10
 
Bernaches du Canada - 75, Canard noir - 1, Canard colvert - 60, Fuligule milouinan - 4, Petit Fuligule - 40, Grand héron - 2, Petit Garrot - 2, Garrot à oeil d'or - 100, Grand Harle - 3, Épervier de Cooper - 2, Goéland à bec cerclé - 13, Goéland marin - 2, Tourterelle triste - 1, Pic mineur - 1, Pic chevelu - 1, Geai bleu - 5, Corneille d'Amérique - 10, Mésange à tête noire - 20, Sittelle à poitrine rousse - 1, Sittelle à poitrine blanche - 6, Grimpereau brun - 12, Étourneau sansonnet - 2, Bruant hudsonien - 6, Junco ardoisé - 6, Cardinal rouge - 7. Chardonneret jaune - 10

Thanks to everyone who came out for a nice walk and it was especially nice to meet quite a few new (at least for me ) participants.

Thanks also to those of you present who convinced me to make the trek to Chambly Sunday morning for the Ross' Gull. Had great views of it within 3 minutes of arriving! Easiest lifer ever!
 
Wayne

Sightings for Monday November 18

Chambly: We had the pleasure of seeing the Ross's gull at the sewage treatment plant (MAP) in Chambly. We watched it from 7.00 to 730 from the mound, and it fed in first basin.

Nous avons eu le plaisir de voir la Mouette rosée à la station d'épuration (CARTE), à Chambly. Nous l'avons observé de 7h00 à 730 à partir de la butte; elle se nourrissait dans le 1er bassin. -Luc Laberge, Marie D'Auteuil, Denise Fournier, Raynald
D'Aoust

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Longue-Rive: Salt marsh on Upper North Shore a beautiful Snowy Owl

Marais salés de Longue-Rive sur la Haute Côte-Nord un magnifique Harfang des neiges - fabe yves