Bird Protection Quebec field trip report, Saturday November 26

6 birders were brave enough to come to Hungry bay this morning despite the weather forecast. The weather was indeed not so great this morning, and we experienced fog, rain, chilly weather and spent our morning in a very wet atmosphere. But the warmth of the group largely compensated the poor weather and the birding was good in particularly for waterfowl, with 16 species observed.

Of particular interest were 4 Red-throated Loons (1 at Hungry bay, 2 at St-Louis de Gonzague, and 1 at St Thimotée), Common Loons, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Red-necked Grebe as a an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull at Ste-Thimotée and a very late Juvenile Common Gallinule. At some point, getting a Red-throated Loon and a Long-tailed Duck together in the scope was pretty nice.

Overall, 41 species were observed (after recalculation, it was not 39... which will please the group).

Thanks to all who joined for this nice morning. - Frederic Hareau

Canada Goose 1000+, Gadwall 30, American Wigeon 10, American Black Duck 12, Mallard 60, Ring-necked Duck 100+, Greater Scaup 1, Lesser Scaup 18, Greater/Lesser Scaup 160, Black Scoter 6, Long-tailed Duck 1, Common Goldeneye 4, Hooded Merganser 7, Common Merganser 1, Red-throated Loon 2, Common Loon 11, Red-necked Grebe 12, Double-crested Cormorant 2, Great Blue Heron 1, Common Gallinule 1, Ring-billed Gull 12, Herring Gull 2, Lesser Black-backed Gull 1, Rock Pigeon 5, Mourning Dove 2, Downy Woodpecker 2, Blue Jay 9, American Crow 6, Common Raven 2, Black-capped Chickadee 12, Tufted Titmouse 2, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, Brown Creeper 1, American Robin 120, European Starling 80, American Tree Sparrow 6, Dark-eyed Junco 5, Northern Cardinal 1, Red-winged Blackbird 50, Common Grackle 2, Brown-headed Cowbird 100, American Goldfinch 4

Bernache du Canada 1000+, Canard chipeau 30, Camard d'Amérique 10, Canard noir 12, Canard colvert 100, Fuligule à collier 100+, Fuligule milouinan 1, Fuligule milouinan/Petit fuligule 40, Harelde kakawi 1, Garrot à oeil d'or 4, Harle couronné 7, Grand harle 1, Plongeon catamarin 2, Plongeon huard 11, Grèbe jougris 12, Cormoran à aigrette 2, Grand héron 1, Gallinule poule-deau 1, Goélandland à bec circlé 12, Goéland argenté 2, Goéland brun 1, Pigeon biset 5, Touterelle triste 2, Pic mineur 2, Geai bleue 9, Corneille d'Amérique 6, Mésange à tête noire 12, Mésange bicolore 2, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 1, Grimpereau brun 1, Merle d'Amérique 120, Étourneau sansonnet 80, Bruant Hudsonien 6, Junco ardoisé 5, Cardinal rouge 1, Carouge à épaulettes 50, Quisale bronzé 2, Vaché à tête brun 100, Chardonneret jaune 4

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip" Saturday November 26

Hungry Bay, Beauharnois, St Timothée Area

Saturday, November 26 – samedi 26 novembre
map/carte https://goo.gl/maps/uE4FZJDKsM12
Guide: Frédéric Hareau
Contact: 514-805-8491 (cell phone on the day of the trip only

 – cellulaire pour le jour de la sortie seulement)
e-mail 

8:00 a.m Meet at Hungry Bay. Half Day.

Directions:
If you are taking the Mercier Bridge from Montreal, go (left) east on Highway 132 for 4.5 km to Highway 730. Take Highway 730 to its junction with Highway 30. Proceed west on Highway 30 for approximately 33 km to the exit for Highway 530. Take Highway 530 until its end. Turn left onto Highway 132, crossing the bridge, and continue approximately 1.0 km. Turn right on Chemin du Canal. Bear right after 2.3km and continue following Chemin du Canal to its end. Caution: This becomes a very narrow road. An alternative route, especially from the West Island, is to take Hwy 20 or 40 west past Vaudreuil-Dorion to Highway 30. Take Highway 30 (Toll$2.50) and then exit onto Highway 530 and continue as per instructions above.

During this fall migration period we will be looking for goldeneyes, scaup, grebes, scoters and other diving waterfowl which never fail to frequent this region. We will also look for other migrants including passerines and raptors. We will begin our trip at Hungry Bay near Valleyfield, then go back along the Beauharnois Canal visiting the ponds at Saint-Louis de Gonzague and finish our outing at St Timothée. Half Day.

8 h 00. Rassemblement à Hungry Bay Demi-journée

Directions:
Si vous arrivez par le pont Mercier en provenance de Montréal, prenez vers l’est (gauche) sur la route 132 pour 4.5 km jusqu’ à l’autoroute 730. Prendre l’autoroute 730 jusqu’à sa jonction avec l’autoroute 30. Continuer vers l’ouest sur l’autoroute 30 pendant environ 33 km jusqu’à la sortie vers l’autoroute 530. Prendre l’autoroute 530 jusqu’au bout. Tourner à gauche sur la route 132, traverser le pontet continuer environ 1.0 km. Tourner à droite sur Chemin du canal. Rester à droite après 2.3 km et continuer jusqu’au bout du Chemin du Canal. Faire attention: C’est une route très étroite. Un itinéraire alternatif, en particulier depuis l’Ouest de l’Ile de Montréal, consiste à prendre l’autoroute 20 ou 40 ouest passé Vaudreuil-Dorion jusqu’à l’autoroute 30. Prendre l’autoroute 30 (frais de 2,50 $), puis sortir sur l’autoroute 530 et continuer en suivant les instructions données ci-dessus.

En cette période de migration automnale, nous serons à la recherche des garrots, fuligules, grèbes et macreuses et autres canards plongeurs qui ne manquent pas de fréquenter la région du Canal de Beauharnois. Nous chercherons également les autres migrateurs, notamment les passereaux et rapaces. Nous débuterons notre excursion par Hungry Bay, aux abords de Valleyfield, puis remonterons le canal de Beauharnois, visitant les étangs de Saint-Louis de Gonzague, pour finir notre sortie à St Timothée. Demi-journée

Bird Protection Quebec field trip report, Saturday November 19

21 birders may their way through the fog on Saturday morning for a field trip starting at Fort Chambly & the Chambly Basin, moving south along the Richelieu River, ending up in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Visibility was close to zero as we started the trip at 8 am. After spending some time at the waterfront behind Fort Chambly peering through the fog, hoping that it would lift, we decided to move on close to the Yule Bridge on the Richelieu River to look for one of the target species of the day. We were not denied, even with the fog, as 4 Long-tailed Ducks appeared attracting not just our attention, but the attention of another birding club that was looking for the same targets. The fog refused to lift so we decided to move south to St-Jean-sur-Richelieu with the hope of seeing several of the duck and goose species reported there earlier in the week. The fog remained with only minor breaks into the late morning. We did have a nice selection of ducks and Canada Geese, but only a small group of 10 snow geese was initially spotted. Charlie Nims suggested moving just a little further south to get a closer look at some of the birds on the river. Just as we arrived at our last stop the skies came alive with the sounds and sights of waves of thousands of snow geese returning to the river, presumably from feeding time in the nearby farm fields. Almost magically, the fog lifted, the sun emerged and the temperature began to rise, leading to a spectacular end to the day's field trip


Thanks to everyone who made their way through the fog! - Sheldon Harvey

Here is the list. Numbers, particularly for the geese, are definitely rough estimates.

Snow Goose 12, 000+, Canada Goose 3,000+, American Black Duck 12, Mallard 100, Northern Pintail 3, Greater Scaup 10, Lesser Scaup 40, Long-tailed Duck 4, Common Goldeneye 750, Hooded Merganser 50, Common Merganser 250, Double-crested Cormorant 12, Peregrine Falcon 1, Ring-billed Gull 100+, Great Black-backed Gull 2, Rock Pigeon 10, Downy Woodpecker 1, Blue Jay 2, American Crow 30, Black-capped Chickadee 7, White-breasted Nuthatch 1, American Robin 1, European Starling 8, American Tree Sparrow 3, Dark-eyed Junco 12, Northern Cardinal 1, House Sparrow 6

Oie des neiges 12, 000+, Bernache du Canada 3 000+, Canard noir 12, Canard colvert 100, Canad pilet 3, Fuligule milouinan 10, Petit fuligule 40, Harelde kakawi 4, Garrot à oeil d'or 750, Harle couronné 50, Grand harle 250, Cormoran à aigrette 12, Faucon pèlerin 1, GoGoélandland à bec circlé 100+, Goéland argenté 100+, Goéland marin 2, Pigeon biset 10, Pic mineur 1, Geai bleue 2, Corneille d'Amérique 30, Mésange à tête noire, Sittelle à poitrine blanche1, Merle d'Amérique 1, Étourneau sansonnet 8, Bruant Hudsonien 3, Junco ardoisé 12, Cardinal rouge 1 Moineau domestique 6

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip" Saturday November 19

Saturday, November 19 – samedi 19 novembre
Fort Chambly and the Richelieu River – Fort Chambly et Rivière du Richelieu
Map/carte http://goo.gl/maps/hz9cT

Guide: Sheldon Harvey  e-mail
450-462-1459 or/ou 514-637-2141 (Morning of the trip after 6:00 a.m..- Matinée de la sortie après 6h 00)

8:00 a.m.

Meet at the Fort Chambly National Historic Site, 2 rue de Richelieu, Chambly, Quebec, in the main parking lot (free parking). From Montreal, take the Champlain Bridge to the South Shore. Continue on Autoroute 10-Eastern Townships Autoroute. Take Exit 22-Direction Chambly. Drive on Boul. Frechette to the intersection with av. De Bourgogne. Turn right on av. De Bourgogne and follow it along until you cross a small bridge over \the Chambly Canal. The entrance to the Fort Chambly parking will be on your left just a little past the bridge.Itinerary: We begin at the rapids area on the Chambly Basin located behind the old fort. We will then drive through the town of Chambly checking various observation points on the Richelieu River. We’ll then drive south along Highway 223 following the Richelieu River through Carignan into St-Jean-sur-Richelieu where we will make several stops at observation points along the riverfront. Combination walking & driving trip. - Half Day

8 h 00.

Rendez-vous aulieu historique national du Fort-Chambly, 2 rue de Richelieu, Chambly, Québec, dans le stationnement principal (stationnement gratuit). De Montréal, prendre le pont Champlain vers la Rive-Sud. Continuer sur l’autoroute 10 – Cantons de l’Est. Prenez la sortie 22 – Direction Chambly. Continuez sur le Boul. Frechette jusqu’à l’intersection avec av. De Bourgogne. Tournez à droite sur l’avenue de Bourgogne et suivez le long du bassin jusqu’à ce que vous traversiez un petit pont sur le canal de Chambly. L’entrée du stationnement du

Fort-Chambly sera sur votre gauche juste un peu après le pont. Itineraire: Nous visiterons tout d’abord la zone des rapides sur le bassin de Chambly située derrière l’ancien fort. Nous nous déplacerons ensuite en voiture à travers la ville de Chambly pour visiter différents points d’observation sur la rivière Richelieu. Nous nous déplacerons par la suite vers le sud le long de la route 223 en suivant la rivière Richelieu à travers Carignan jusqu’à St-Jean-sur-Richelieu où nous ferons plusieurs arrêts à des points d’observation le long de la rivière. Sortie combinant marche et déplacements en voiture. - Demi journée

Sightings for Wednesday November 9

Laval, Ile Migneron - map/carte

450 Canada Goose, 15 American Black Duck, 14 Mallard, 6 Ring-necked Duck, 6 Greater Scaup, 33 Lesser Scaup, 1 Harlequin Duck, 3 Surf Scoter, 2 White-winged Scoter, 19 Black Scoter, 1 Long-tailed Duck, 2 Bufflehead, 200 Common Goldeneye, 9 Hooded Merganser, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Double-crested Cormorant, 100 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Herring Gull, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 2 Black-capped Chickadee, 3 American Robin, 6 Dark-eyed Junco, 1 Song Sparrow

450 Bernache du Canada, 15 Canard noir, 14 Canard covert, Fuligule à collier, 6 Fuligule milouinan, 33 Petit fuligule, 1 Arlequin plongeur, 3 Marcreuse à front blanc, 2 Marcreuse brun, 19 Marcreuse noire, 1 Harelde kakawi, 2 Petit garrot, 200 Garrot à oeil d'or, 2 Harle couronné, 1 Harlé huppé, 3 Cormoran à aigrette, 100 Goéland à bec circlé, 1  Goéland argenté, 1 pic mineur, Mésange à tête noire, 3 Merle d'Amérique, 6 Jonco ardoisé, 1 Bruant chanteur - Vincent Giroux & Andra Florea

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Verdun, Parc de l'Honorable-George-O'Reilly - map/carte

153 Canada Goose, 8 American Black Duck, 63 Mallard, 1 Canvasback, 8 Greater Scaup, 2 Lesser Scaup, 4 Black Scoter, 10 Hooded Merganser, 8 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Red-throated Loon, 1 Common Loon, 2 Double-crested Cormorant, 54 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Downy Woodpecker, 2 American Crow, 1 Black-capped Chickadee

153 Bernache du Canada, 8 Canard noir, 63 Canard covert, 1 Fuligule à dos blanc, 8 Fuligule milouinan, 2 petit fuligule, 4 Marcreuse noire,  10 Harle couronné, 8 Harlé huppé, 1 Plongeon catamarin, 1 Plongeon haurd, 2 Cormoran à aigrette, 54 Goéland à bec circlé, 1 Goéland marin, 1 Pic mineur, 2 Corneille d'Amérique, 1 Mésange à tête noire - Richard Guillet

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip" Saturday November 12

Montréal, Dollard des ormeaux
Centennial Park/Parc du Centenaire

Saturday, November 12 – samedi 12 novembre
https://goo.gl/maps/qEiD8EpTnzj
Guides: Jean Demers and Clémence Soulard
514-694-8240  e-mail
8:00 a.m.

Meet in the parking lot for Centennial Park. From Highway 40 take the exit for Sources Boulevard and go north. Continue past Salaberry and take a left on Churchill and drive where you will see a light right curve to Lake, and continue until you reach the parking lot which faces Manuel street.

Half Day.

8 h 00

Rendez-vous dans le stationnement pour Parc du Centenaire.

De l’Autoroute 40 prenez la sortie pour Boulevard des Sources et prenez la direction nord. Continuez passé Salaberry et prenez Churchill à gauche et continuez jusqu’à la courbe vers la droite sur Lake et continuez jusqu’au stationnement qui est en face de la Rue Manuel.

Demi-journée

Bird Protection Quebec field trip report, Saturday November 5

Yesterday's early morning drizzle stopped just in time for our field trip at Parc Nature Cap St Jacques and 20 participants enjoyed a pleasant, if quiet (birdwise) walk around the park. Skies remained cloudy throughout, temperatures were seasonable (5ºC) and the NW breezes gradually increased through the morning. We followed our usual five kilometer path along the riverside to the farm and back through the woods to the parking lot.

Songbirds were exceedingly scarce throughout the morning with one notable exception - American Robins. While waiting in the parking lot we were treated to the spectacle of wave after wave passing over our heads heading northwest. We quickly lost count but a conservative estimate would put the number at well over 1000 birds. We later found a group 100-200 feeding in trees near the farm.

Other highlights included two Bohemian Waxwings - first of the new "winter" season for most participants - and two female/juvenile Black Scoters diving in the center of Rivière des Prairies. Common Goldeneyes put on a good show flying up and down the river on whistling wings. A Merlin landed very close by and sat obligingly for those braving the cool breezes off the Lake of Two Mountains while scanning for ducks. A Golden-crowned Kinglet displayed nicely at close range in the bushes at the riverside.

Thanks to everyone for coming out. Pleasant company on a nice late autumn walk. - Wayne Grubert

Our complete list of 36 species includes - Canada Goose - 4, Wood Duck - 2, American Black Duck - 2, Mallard - 30, Scaup species - 200 (Both identified but exact proportion as per species uncertain), Black Scoter- 2, Common Goldeneye - 50, Common Merganser - 12, Double-crested Cormorant - 3, Great Blue Heron - 1, Cooper's Hawk - 1, Red-tailed Hawk - 1, Killdeer - 1, Ring-billed Gull - 24, Herring Gull - 2, Great Black-backed Gull - 4, Rock Pigeon - 18, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Hairy Woodpecker - 1, Pileated Woodpecker - 1, Merlin - 1, Blue Jay - 3, American Crow - 12, Black-capped Chickadee - 20, White-breasted Nuthatch - 5, Brown Creeper - 6, Golden-crowned Kinglet - 4, American Robin - 1000+, European Starling - 200, Bohemian Waxwing - 2, American Tree Sparrow - 3, Dark-eyed Junco - 12, Northern Cardinal - 5, Red-winged Blackbird - 1, American Goldfinch - 4

Bernache du Canada - 4, Canard branchu - 2,  Canard noir - 2, Canard colvert - 30, Petit fuligule / fuligule milouinan 200, Macreuse noire - 2, Garot à oiel d'or - 50, Grand harle -12, Cormoran à aigrettes - 3, Grand héron - 1, Épervier de Cooper - 1, Buse à queue rousse - 1, Pluvier kildir - 1, Goéland à bec cerclé - 24, Goéland argenté - 2, Goéland marin - 4, Pigeon biset - 18, Pic mineur - 1, Pic chevelu - 1, Grand pic - 1, Faucon émerillon - 1, Geai bleu - 12, Mésange à tête noire - 20, Sittelle à poitrine blanche - 5, Grimpereau brun - 6,  Roitelet à couronne doré - 4, Merle d'Amérique - 1000+, Étourneau sansonnet - 200, Jaseur boréal - 2, Bruant Hudsonien - 3, Junco ardoisé - 12, Cardinal rouge - 5, Carouge à épaulettes - 1 , Chardonneret jaune - 4

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip" Saturday November 5

Montreal. Pierrefonds - Parc-nature du Cap-Saint-Jacques
Saturday, November 5 – samedi 5 novembre
https://goo.gl/maps/TLEH1

Guide: Wayne Grubert  e-mail - 450-458-5498
514-774-0811(Cell – Morning of trip only)
8:00 a.m.

Take Highway 40 West. Exit Chemin Ste-Marie. Turn left to Anse-à-l’Orme Road. Turn right and continue to the end. Turn right on Senneville Road (Gouin Blvd.). Continue for two km to the chalet d’accueil of the park.

Parking: $9.00.

Half day.

8 h 00

Prendre l’autoroute 40 ouest. Prendre la sortie pour le chemin Ste-Marie et tourner à gauche sur celui-ci. Continuer jusqu’au chemin de l’Anse-à-l’Orme. Tourner àdroite sur celui-ci et continuer jusqu’au bout. Tourner à droite sur le chemin Senneville (boul. Gouin) et continuer sur une distance de 2 km jusqu’au chalet d’accueil du parc.

Frais de stationnement : 9,00 $.

Demi-journée