BPQ 2018 Summer Series Trip #5 - Report

20 birders turned out on a hot and humid morning at Parc-nature de la Pointe-aux-Prairies, at the eastern end of Montreal island. We welcomed the overcast skies as that helped to keep the heat down...somewhat. While we all hoped for a great number of birds, there was one star celebrity bird that everyone was hoping for and it didn't disappoint. The Black-bellied Whistling Duck, one of two of these birds that turned up at this location a couple of weeks ago, was found in its usual hangout, with a group of Wood Duck on one of the waterways in the park. Everyone managed very good looks at the rare visitor. It turned out to be a fairly productive morning, even with the high humidity level. We came away with a total of 37 species. Here is our list:

Wood Duck 40
Gadwall 2
American Wigeon 3
American Black Duck 1
Mallard 15
Blue-winged Teal 2
Northern Shoveler 2
Black-bellied Whistling Duck 1

Green Heron 3
Black-crowned Night Heron 2
Common Gallinule 2
Ring-billed Gull 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Downy Woodpecker 6
Northern Flicker 3
Eastern Phoebe 6
Eastern Kingbird 6
Warbling Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2
American Crow 10
Black-capped Chickadee 6
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
American Robin 6
Gray Catbird 5
European Starling 6
Cedar Waxwing 12
Yellow Warbler 6
American Redstart 3
Common Yellowthroat 4
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 10
Swamp Sparrow 2
Northern Cardinal 6
Red-winged Blackbird 4
Common Grackle 2
House Finch 10
American Goldfinch 25

Thank you to everyone who joined in for a fun morning of birding.

Sheldon Harvey