2015 Summer Series of Birding - Field Trip #6 - Saturday, August 1

This week we will be heading out on a driving trip close to the U.S. border in the Lacolle, Noyan and Henryville regions. We'll be visiting some waterfront areas and marshes south of Highway 202 in Lacolle and Noyan. Then we will head north to the Henryville area exploring locations on rang des Cotes, rang Melaven and chemin d’Henryville, including the Henryville Marsh.

We will meet at the Esso gas station/truck stop parking lot at Exit 6.from Highway 15 South. This is the exit for Highway 202-Lacolle/Hemmingford (it is also the exit for Parc Safari). You will see the gas station directly in front of you as you come off the exit.

DATE: Saturday, August 1
MEETING TIME: 8 am - Half-day + driving trip, extending past lunch
MEETING PLACE: The parking lot of the Esso gas station/truck stop – Exit 6 from Highway 15 (Lacolle/Hemmingford/Parc Safari exit)

DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: From Montreal, take Champlain Bridge, Mercier Bridge, or Highway 30 to Highway 15 South –Direction Lacolle, QC/Champlain, NY border crossing.

GOOGLE MAP TO MEETING SPOT AT EXIT 6 FROM HIGHWAY 15 SOUTH

https://goo.gl/maps/zaywk

ITINERARY: We’ll be driving east from the meeting spot and heading south of Highway 202 to both the western and eastern shores of the Richelieu River/Lake Champlain, down to the U.S. border. We’ll then head further east heading north of Highway 202 into the Henryville area, exploring rang des Cotes, rang Melaven and chemin d’Henryville. The trip will extend past noon, so please consider bringing your lunch along as there are several spots along the route where we could take a break for lunch.

If you have any questions about the trip, please contact me by e-mail. On the morning of the trip you can reach me on the cellphone at 514-637-2141. - Sheldon Harvey

Summer Series of Birding Field Trip #5 Report - July 25

Another excellent turnout for today's field trip to two new locations for BPQ; Parc Radisson in Brossard and Parc de l'arrondissement in La Prairie. 27 birders turned out on a warm but mostly cloudy morning. The cloud cover did help to keep the temperature & humidity down.

Things got off to a quick start in Brossard with a Peregrine Falcon perched atop a Hydro pylon, followed by a long debate over the identification of a far-off perched falcon. With the distance and lighting factored in, people see-sawed between a Kestrel and a Merlin. Everyone finally settled on the Merlin. A highlight in La Prairie was a fly-by of a young Bald Eagle.

Both parks offer up interesting and diverse habitat making for a combined species list for the two parks of 46 species for the day. Here are the details. I've split up the list between the two locations, for e-bird purposes - Sheldon Harvey

Brossard, Parc Radisson; 2 Double-crested Cormorant, 2 Great Blue Heron, 1 Great Egret, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine Falcon, 20 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Common Tern, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 4 Northern Flicker, 1 Eastern Kingbird, 2 Warbling Vireo, 5 American Crow, 4 Tree Swallow, 1 Black-capped Chickadee, 4 Marsh Wren, 12 American Robin, 2 Gray Catbird, 100+ European Starling, 2 Cedar Waxwing, 4 Yellow Warbler, 4 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 6 Common Yellowthroat, 12 Song Sparrow, 3 Swamp Sparrow, 6 Red-winged Blackbird, 4 Common Grackle, 6 American Goldfinch

2 Cormoran à aigrettes, 2 Grand Héron, 1 Grande Aigrette, 1 Faucon émerillon, 1 Faucon pèlerin, 20 Goéland à bec cerclé, 1 Goéland marin, 2 Sterne pierregarin, 1 Pic mineur, 4 Pic flamboyant, 1 Tyran tritri , 2 Viréo mélodieux, 5 Corneille d'Amérique, 4 Hirondelle bicolore, 1 mésange à tête noire, 4 Troglodyte des marais, 12 Merle d'Amérique, 2 Moqueur chat, 100+ Étourneau sansonnet, 2 Jaseur d'Amérique, 4 Paruline jaune, 4 Paruline à croupion jaune, 1 Paruline des ruisseaux, 6 Paruline masquée, 12 Bruant chanteur, 3 Bruant des marais, 6 carouge à épaulettes, 4 Quiscale bronzé, 6 Chardonneret jaune

La Prairie, Parc de l'Arrondissement: 2 Great Blue Heron, 1 Green Heron, 1 Bald Eagle, 40 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Common Tern, 12 Rock Pigeon, 1 Mourning Dove, 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, 2 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Hairy Woodpecker, 6 Northern Flicker, 2 Alder Flycatcher, 1 Least Flycatcher, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 Great-crested Flycatcher, 1 Warbling Vireo, 1 Red-eyed Vireo, 10 American Crow, 6 Tree Swallow, 2 White-breasted Nuthatch, 6 House Wren, 13 American Robin, 8 Gray Catbird, 100+ European Starling, 4 Cedar Waxwing, 6 Yellow Warbler, 3 American Redstart, 6 Common Yellowthroat, 12 Song Sparrow, 7 Swamp Sparrow, 1 Northern Cardinal, 6 Red-winged Blackbird, 12 American Goldfinch, 1 House Sparrow

2 Grand Héron, 1 Héron vert, 1 Pygargue à tête blanche, 40 Goéland à bec cerclé, 1 Sterne pierregarin, 12 Pigeon biset, 1 Tourterelle triste, 1 Colibri à gorge rubis, 1 Pic maculé, 2 Pic mineur, 1 Pic chevelu , 6 Pic flamboyant, 2 Moucherolle des aulnes, 1 Moucherolle tchébec, 1 Moucherolle phébi, 1 Tyran huppé, 1 Viréo mélodieux, 1 Viréo aux yeux rouges, 10 Corneille d'Amérique, 6 Hirondelle bicolore, 2 Sittelle à poitrine blanche, 6 Troglodyte familier , 13 Merle d'Amérique, 8 Moqueur chat, 100+ Étourneau sansonnet, 4 Jaseur d'Amérique, 6 paruline jaune, Paruline flamboyante 3, 6 Paruline masquée, 12 Bruant chanteur, 7 Bruant des marais, 1 Cardinal rouge, 6 Carouge à épaulettes, 12 d'Amérique Chardonneret, 1 Moineau domestique

Sightings for Friday July 24

La Prairie, Parc de l'Arrondissement  MAP/CARTE

36 species: 

1 Mallard, 1 Great Egret, 3 Green Heron, 1 Mourning Dove, 1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 2 Downy Woodpecker, 1 Northern Flicker, 2 Eastern Wood-Pewee, 7 

Alder Flycatcher, 2 , Willow Flycatcher, 1 Least Flycatcher, 2 Red-eyed Vireo, 1 Blue Jay, 2 American Crow, 8 Black-capped Chickadee, 2 White-breasted Nuthatch, 3 

House Wren, 1 Marsh Wren, 9 American Robin, 9 Gray Catbird, 2, European Starling, 5 Cedar Waxwing, 11 Common Yellowthroat, 2 American Redstart, 5 Yellow Warbler, 4, Chipping Sparrow, 1 Savannah Sparrow, 9 Song Sparrow, 13 Swamp Sparrow, 4 White-throated Sparrow, 1 Northern Cardinal, 21 Red-winged Blackbird, 2 Common Grackle, 1 Baltimore Oriole, 18 American Goldfinch, 3 House Sparrow

36 espèces: 1 Canard colvert, 1 Grande Aigrette, 3 Green Heron, 1 Tourterelle triste, 1 Colibri à gorge rubis, 2 Pic mineur, 1 Pic flamboyant, 2 Pioui de l'Est, 7 Moucherolle des aulnes, 2, Moucherolle des saules, 1 Moucherolle tchébec, 2 Viréo aux yeux rouges, 1 Geai bleu, 2 corneille d'Amérique, 8 mésange à tête noire, la Sittelle à poitrine blanche 2, 3

Troglodyte familier, 1 Troglodyte des marais, 9 américaine Robin, 9 Moqueur chat, 2, Étourneau sansonnet, 5 Jaseur d'Amérique, 11 Paruline masquée, 2 Paruline flamboyante, la Paruline jaune 5, 4, Bruant familier, 1 Bruant des prés, 9 Bruant chanteur, 13 Bruant des marais, 4 Bruant à gorge blanche, 1 Cardinal rouge, 21 carouge à épaulettes, 2 Quiscale bronzé, 1 Oriole de Baltimore, 18 Chardonneret jaune, 3 Moineau domestique - Alain Slyvain

Summer Series of Birding - Field Trip #5 - Saturday, July 25

Once again this week we will be visiting two locations that we have not visited in the past. We'll be heading to two South Shore parks; Parc Radisson in Brossard and Parc de l'arrondissement in La Prairie.

We will meet in the parking lot of the former Target/Wal-Mart store at Place Portobello on Taschereau Blvd. in Brossard and then drive from there to the parks.

DATE: Saturday, July 25
MEETING TIME: 8 am - Half-day combination walking/driving trip
MEETING PLACE: North end of the parking Lot, Place Portobello, Taschereau Blvd. just off the Taschereau Blvd. exit from the Champlain Bridge.
DRIVING INSTRUCTIONS: From Montreal, take the Champlain Bridge to Exit 8 (Taschereau Blvd.). Stay to the right on the exit then turn right on Taschereau Blvd. Zeller's will be immediately on your right.

GOOGLE MAP TO MEETING SPOT AT PLACE PORTOBELLO PARKING LOT  https://goo.gl/maps/oHvYe

ITINERARY: Departing from the parking lot we'll head to Parc Radisson in Brossard. This park surrounds a marsh and stream that winds through Brossard and empties into the La Prairie Basin. There are trails with various observation points along the trails.

From Parc Radisson we will head to Parc de l'Arrondissement in La Prairie. This park also has a marsh and various wooded trails. This park also has some areas of grasslands as well.

If you have any questions about the trip, please contact me by e-mail. On the morning of the trip you can reach me on the cellphone at 514-637-2141. - Sheldon Harvey

Summer Series of Birding Field Trip #3 Report - July 11

15 people attended today's 3rd field trip in this year's Summer Series of Birding. The goal of today's trip was to find birds in basically an urban and industrial environment. The trip started at Montreal's Parc du Cité du Havre, a beautiful spot jutting out into the St-Lawrence River between the Expo Island and Old Montreal, east of the Concorde Bridge. We then moved on to the Technoparc located along the Bonaventure Expressway between the Victoria and Champlain Bridges. Our final stop was at the lake and wooded trails on Ile des Soeurs.

It was a great day with lots of sunshine but not overly hot and humid. Nice breezes off the water certainly helped to keep the temperature pleasant throughout the morning. We completed the morning's outing with a total of 36 species including the birds of the day; a Peregrine Falcon in the CN Rail Yards at the Technoparc, a number of fly-overs by Great Egrets and a family of Eastern Kingbirds at Parc du Cité du Havre.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the morning. - Sheldon Harvey

Parc du Cité du Havre

Eastern kingbird / Tyran huppé

Tom Long

Here is our complete list for the day: Canada Goose 2, Mallard 20, Pied-billed Grebe 1, Double-crested Cormorant 3, Great Blue Heron 12, Great Egret 8, Accipiter Species 1 (Either Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk), Peregrine Falcon 1, Killdeer 1, Ring-billed Gull 200+, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Common Tern 1, Rock Pigeon 15, Downy Woodpecker 1, Great-crested Flycatcher 2, Eastern Kingbird 10, Warbling Vireo 2, Red-eyed Vireo 6, American Crow 4, Tree Swallow 30, Black-capped Chickadee 2, Veery 1, American Robin 8, Gray Catbird 1, European Starling 50, Cedar Waxwing 12, Yellow Warbler 10, American Redstart 1, Common Yellowthroat 2, Chipping Sparrow 4, Song Sparrow 25, Northern Cardinal 1, Red-winged Blackbird 100+, Baltimore Oriole 2, American Goldfinch 6, House Sparrow 24

Bernache du Canada 2, Canard colvert 20, Grèbe à bec bigarré 1, Cormoran à aigrettes 3, Grand Héron 12, Grande Aigrette 8, Épervier 1 (Épervier brun ou épervier de Cooper), Faucon pèlerin 1, Pluvier kildir 1, Goéland à bec cerclé 200+, Goéland marin 1, Sterne pierregarin 1, Pigeon biset 15, Pic mineur 1, Tyran huppé 2, Tyran de l'Est 10, Viréo mélodieux 2, Viréo aux yeux rouges 6, Corneille d'Amérique 4, Hirondelle bicolore 30, Mésange à tête noire 2, 1 Grive fauve, Merle d'Amérique 8, Moqueur chat 1, Étourneau sansonnet 50, Jaseur d'Amérique 12, Paruline jaune 10, Paruline flamboyante 1, Paruline masquée 2, Bruant familier 4, Bruant chanteur 25, Cardinal rouge 1 , Carouge à épaulettes 100+, Oriole de Baltimore 2, Chardonneret jaune 6, Moineau domestique 24

Summer Series of Birding Field Trip #3 - Saturday, July 11

For this week's Summer Series field trip we're going to repeat a field trip that we did back in January...this time though with obviously more pleasant weather...we hope!.

On January 24th we did a trip which we called "Urban Birding" where we visited a combination of industrial and residential areas looking for urban birds. It was a fun outing with some interesting birds and locations. At the time we discussed doing this again, but at a different time of year. So here we are! Here are the details:

DATE: Saturday, July 11
TIME: 8:00 am
MEETING SPOT: The Costo Parking Lot at the corner of Bridge and Mill Street in the Pointe-St-Charles area of Montreal. 

See map at https://goo.gl/maps/6eOF3

DURATION: Half day – combination driving and walking trip

Details:. We will leave the parking lot and drive first to Parc de la Cité-du-Havre close to the Concorde Bridge. We'll then head back to the Technoparc and CN rail yards along the Bonaventure Expressway before continuing on to some final stops on Nuns' Island. We’ll be looking for birds residing in an urban setting in parks, residential and industrial areas, and along the St-Lawrence River waterfront.

For more information, contact Sheldon by e-mail, or on Saturday morning by phone at 514-637-2141 - Sheldon Harvey

Summer Series of Birding Field Trip #2 Report - July 4

17 birders had a great morning of birding at two new locations for our Summer Series on Saturday. We visited the Laval Cemetery in eastern Laval, followed up by a visit to the Tylee Marsh in Rosemere. Both locations are excellent birding sites that will certainly deserve return visits at other times of the year, particularly during the spring and fall migration periods.

Laval Cemetery is not large, but offers a nice mix of habitats including wooded areas, grassy sections, a few small streams and marshy areas, plus it is bordered by a combination of farm fields and thicker forested areas on both sides. The cemetery is also very bird friendly, with many bird houses spread throughout the grounds. The administration is also very friendly to birders. We were even provided free coffee!

Moving on to Tylee Marsh, located at 202 chemin de la Grande-Cote, just east of Labelle Blvd. in Rosemere, has a large free parking lot. The long, winding, elevated boardwalk heads out from the parking lot through the marsh and terminates in a forested areas with trails leading through the woods and down at several locations to the Milles-Iles River waterfront. This site offers up a wide variety of trees, plants, reptiles and amphibians, as well as a few mammals.

The highlight of the day's outing was, without a doubt, the discovery of an active nest of Brown Creepers, just a few feet away from the boardwalk, offering up great close-up looks at the two active parents gathering up food and transporting it to the waiting hungry mouths of at least two young Creepers.

Thanks to all who turned out for the trip, including several new people for our group. Sheldon Harvey

Our species count for the two sites combined for the day was 46. Here is the breakdown

Laval Cemetery: Canada Goose 20, Mallard 1, Great Blue Heron 1, Green Heron 1, Black-crowned Night Heron 2, Killdeer 1, Ring-billed Gull 3, Common Tern 2, Rock Pigeon 1, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 4, Eastern Wood-Pewee 2, Least Flycatcher 2, Great-crested Flycatcher 1, Eastern Kingbird 4, Warbling Vireo 4, Red-eyed Vireo 2, American Crow 6, Tree Swallow 20, Barn Swallow 25, Black-capped Chickadee 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 3, House Wren 8, Veery 4, American Robin 12, Gray Catbird 2, European Starling 30, Cedar Waxwing 6, Yellow Warbler 1, American Redstart 2, Common Yellowthroat 2, Chipping Sparrow 9, Song Sparrow 15, Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1, Red-winged Blackbird 24, Common Grackle 2, Brown-headed Cowbird 1, Purple Finch 2, American Goldfinch 12, House Sparrow 1

Bernache du Canada 20, Canard colvert 1, Grand héron 1, Héron vert 1, Bihoreau gris 2, Pluvier kildir 1, Goéland à bec cerclé 3, Sterne pierregarin 2, Pigeon biset 1, Pic chevelu 1, Pic flamboyant 4, Pioui de l'Est 2, Moucherolle tchébec 2, Tyran huppé 1, Tyran de l'Est 4, Viréo mélodieux 4, Viréo aux yeux rouges 2, Corneille d'Amérique 6, Hirondelle bicolore 20, Hirondelle rustique 25, Mésange à tête noire 2, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 3, Troglodyte familier 8, Grive fauve 4, Merle d'Amérique 12, Moqueur chat 2, Étourneau sansonnet 30, Jaseur d'Amérique 6, Paruline jaune 1, 2 Paruline flamboyante, Paruline masquée, 2, 9 Bruant familier, Bruant chanteur 15, Cardinal à poitrine rose 1, Carouge à épaulettes 24, Quiscale bronzé 2, Vacher à tête brune 1, Roselin pourpré 2, Chardonneret jaune 12, Moineau domestique 1

Tylee Marsh: Canada Goose 12, Mallard 12, Great Blue Heron 1, Black-crowned Night Heron 1, Ring-billed Gull 2, Common Tern 2, Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 6, Downy Woodpecker 3, Hairy Woodpecker 1, Northern Flicker 1, Eastern Phoebe 1, Eastern Kingbird 2, American Crow 3, Tree Swallow 6, Barn Swallow 2, Black-capped Chickadee 10, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, Brown Creeper 4, House Wren 1, American Robin 4, Gray Catbird 1, Song Sparrow 12, Red-winged Blackbird 8, Common Grackle 1, Baltimore Oriole 1, American Goldfinch 6

Bernache du Canada 12, 12 Canard colvert, Grand héron 1, Bihoreau gris 1, Goéland à bec cerclé 2, Sterne pierregarin 2, Colibri à gorge rubis 1, Pic maculé 6, Pic mineur 3, Pic chevelu 1, Pic flamboyant 1, Moucherolle phébi 1, Tyran de l'Est 2, Corneille d'Amérique 3, 6 Hirondelle bicolore, Hirondelle rustique 2, Mésange à tête noire 10, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 2, Grimpereau brun 4, Troglodyte familier 1, Merle d'Amérique 4, Moqueur chat 1 , Bruant chanteur 12, Carouge à épaulettes 8, Quiscale bronzé 1, Oriole de Baltimore 1, Chardonneret jaune 6

Summer Series of Birding - Field Trip #2

For this week's field trip we'll be visiting two locations that, to the best of my knowledge, BPQ has not visited previously, at least in recent memory. These are two locations that are visited regularly by the Laval and the Mirabel birding clubs.

We will begin in eastern Laval, at the Laval Cemetery at 5505 rang du Bas-Saint-François, Laval. This is a very interesting location with a great mix of habitat. We visited the cemetery on Tuesday and were rewarded with a great sighting of a Northern Mockingbird! We will be driving through the cemetery, stopping at a number of different spots to check out the birds.

After completing the tour of the cemetery, we'll travel in convoy to the Tylee Marsh at 202 chemin de la Grande-Cote in Rosemere. At the cemetery I'll provide everyone with a map with the route from the cemetery to the Tylee Marsh. From the parking lot we'll walk the long, elevated boardwalk through the marsh and then take a couple of trails that lead down to the waterfront on the Mille-Iles River.

Saturday, July 4, 2015
8:00 a.m. - Half-day - combination driving/walking trip
Meet in the parking lot at the Laval Cemetery, 5505 rang du Bas-Saint-Francois, Laval,

Driving Instructions: The following webpage will give you a map with various route possibilities for getting to the cemetery.

http://www.cimetierelaval.com/en/maps-and-directions/

It should be an interesting morning of birding. If you have questions, please contact me by e-mail. On the morning of the trip you can reach me at 514-637-2141. - Sheldon Harvey