Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday February 15

It seems that most people had had enough of winter driving after Friday's snow storm and so passed on heading out again Saturday for our field trip to Ormstown and the surrounding area. As of the 8:00 am meeting time only the two leaders (and one better half) had shown up. We almost picked up a few "strays" from another club that was apparently having an outing to the same area but they headed off to find their own group.

After a little discussion it was decided that we would part ways (very amicably, rest assured) and Sheldon and Darlene headed off in one direction and I in another. They covered much of the area that we had planned for the trip and I made my way slowly towards home with a few stops in the Hungry Bay/Valleyfield area to try and find some of the out-of-season rarities that had been seen there. 

We caught up by email later in the afternoon and compared notes. Our combined list totalled 29 species with a few interesting sightings including Peregrine Falcon, Northern Flicker, Tufted Titmouse (heard only), Pied-billed Grebe, and Red-necked Grebe. This would have made for a great winter trip list but it is doubtful that as a group we could have covered all the areas visited without splitting up.

For those interested our lists included: (Note that there is some overlap for a few species because we did have some areas in common) - Wayne

Darlene and Sheldon: Mallard 20, Common Goldeneye 30, Common Merganser 15, Cooper's Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 12, Peregrine Falcon 1 (Hundington Water Tower Highway 138 SW of town), Rock Pigeon 15, Mourning Dove 6, Downy Woodpecker 3, Hairy Woodpecker 5, Blue Jay 25, American Crow 12, Horned Lark 2, Black-capped Chickadee 30, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, European Starling 20, American Tree Sparrow 8, Dark-eyed Junco 2, Snow Bunting 25, American Goldfinch 20

Canard colvert 20, Garrot à oeil d'or 30, Grand Harle 15, Épervier de Cooper 1, Buse à queue rousse 12, Faucon pèlerin 1 (tour de l'Eau Hundington route 138 SW de la ville), Pigeon biset 15, Tourterelle triste 6, Pic mineur 3, Pic chevelu 5, Geai bleu 25, Corneille d'Amérique 12, Alouette hausse-col 2, Mésange à tête noire 30, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 2, Étourneau sansonnet 20, Bruant hudsonien 8, Junco ardoisé 2, Bruant des neiges 25, Chardonneret jaune 20

Wayne: Pied-billed Grebe - 1 (Riviere St Charles River off Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Red-necked Grebe - 1 ( Soulanges Canal - Highway 338 and St Emmanuel), American Black Duck - 2, Mallards - 50, Common Goldeneye - 200, Hooded Merganser - 1(Riviere St Charles River off Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Common Merganser - 40, Cooper's Hawk - 1, Rock Pigeon - 60, Mourning Dove - 8, Snowy Owl - 3, Downy Woodpecker - 2, Northern Flicker - 1(Road to Hungry Bay), Blue Jay - 2, American Crow - 30, Horned Lark - 2, Black-capped Chickadee - 8, Tufted Titmouse - 1 (heard only) (Road to Hungry Bay), White-breasted Nuthatch - 2, European Starling - 30, Northern Cardinal - 1, House Sparrow - 4

Grèbe à bec bigarré - 1 (Riviere St Charles River hors Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Grèbe jougris - 1 (Canal Soulanges - Autoroute 338 et St Emmanuel), Canard noir - 2, Canard colvert - 50, Garrot à oeil d'or - 200, Harle couronné - 1 (Riviere St Charles River hors Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Grand Harle - 40, Épervier de Cooper - 1, Pigeon biset - 60, Tourterelle triste - 8, Harfang des neiges - 3, Pic mineur - 2, Pic flamboyant - 1 (route de Hungry Bay), geai bleu - 2, Corneille d'Amérique - 30, Alouette hausse-col - 2, Mésange à tête noire - 8, Mésange bicolore - 1 (entendu seulement) (route de Hungry Bay), Sittelle à poitrine blanche - 2, Étourneau sansonnet - 30, Cardinal rouge - 1, Moineau domestique - 4