A total of 21 brave people (including myself and two others who arrived late) came to this morning's BPQ field trip, even with cold temperatures at Bois de Héritage Nature park. We even had a nice young couple from South Africa who joined us.The key to finding the birds today was finding warm areas protected from the cool wind. Also more working is involved in winter to see many species, which is not the case between spring and fall. Courtship rituals were often observed by our non-migrating species as well. We also took a few minutes to search the cemetery, located next to the park, to see if any owls were around hiding in the trees. Visited the southern part of the park (between Sherbrooke and Notre-Dame) before returning to the chalet for snacks and warmth, and continuing on the northern part of the park. A total of 20 species of birds were observed by the group this morning. - Joel Coutu
1 American Kestrel, 8 Great Black-backed Gull, 4 Downy Woodpecker, 5 Hairy Woodpecker, 1 Pileated Woodpecker, 1 Blue Jay, 2 American Crow, 17 Black-capped Chickadee, 5 White-breasted Nuthatch, 5 American Robin, 2 European Starling, 1 American Tree Sparrow, 2 White-throated Sparrow, 5 Dark-eyed Junco, 19 Northern Cardinals, 4 House Finch, 12 Common Redpoll, 1 Hoary Redpoll, 5 American Goldfinch, 5 House Sparrow
1 Crécerelle d'Amérique, 8 Goéland marin, 4 Pic mineur, 5 Pic chevelu, 1 Grand Pic, 1 Geai bleu, 2 Corneille d'Amérique, 17 Mésange à tête noire, 5 Sittelle à poitrine blanche, 5 Merle d'Amérique, 2 Étourneau sansonnet , 1 Bruant Hudsonien, 2 Bruant à gorge blanche, 5 Junco ardoisé, 19 Cardinal rouge, 4 Roselin familier, 12 Sizerin flammé, 1 Sizerin blanchâtre, 5 Chardonneret jaune, 5 Moineau domestique