Monday, March 31, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec Field Trip Report" Saturday March 29

Lasalle, Verdun: Parc des Rapides


I was joined by a group of 24 birders. We had a visitor from Spain as a special member of the group.

We started our field trip at the parc des Rapides where we were welcomed by Red-winged Blackbirds. From there, our interest went from a cute American mink that was running along the shore to a group of 5 Wild Turkeys, standing on a tree at île aux Chèvres, probably feeding. Near that tree, a Great Blue Heron was standing on a nest, by itself, but did not stay there too long. We then headed to the eastern tip of the park. That’s where we noticed, looking northeast, a dark form on the ice at great distance. Opinions ranged from an eagle to an owl to a rock …

Leaving the park, we continued on to the belvedere at the end of Lloyd George street . From there we scanned the river. Some people of the group were able to find again the still not formally identified «form». From that point of view, the black and white pattern on the «form» have clarified the identification. It was eventually seen flying after some ducks, which (as some mentioned) eliminated the possibility of a rock … Anyway, at that point, it was obvious that it was indeed a Snowy Owl, which, despite an invasion of the species this year, remains an interesting sighting for Verdun.

That being settled, we were able to concentrate on other stuff but unfortunately, duck species were scarce: beside Common Goldeneyed and Common Mergansers, we managed to see only a few Scaups, in flight mostly. We also had some discussions on gull identification, as we were looking at an adult Glaucous Gull. Another stop further east along the river did not produce additional species.

The dozen of us remaining then headed to parc Angrignon for a short walk. We checked two trees that are often visited by Eastern Screech-Owls. But, alas, not that morning, to the great despair of one member of our group!.

Thank you everyone for coming and making this field trip a warm event, despite the winter that drags on too long! A special thanks to Wayne for his many interesting comments on birds.- Diane Demers

Here is the list of birds seen (27 species): Canada Goose (15), American Black Duck (6), Mallard (20), Greater Scaup (10), Common Goldeneye (200), Hooded Merganser (3), Common Merganser (45), Wild Turkey (5), Great blue Heron (1), Cooper’s Hawk (2), Ring-billed Gull (75), Herring Gull (6), Glaucous Gull (1), Great Black-backed Gull (15), Rock Pigeon (2), Snowy Owl (1), Downy Woodpecker (3), American Crow (25), Black-capped chickadee (15), White-breasted Nuthatch (6), Brown Creeper (1), American Robin (6), European Starling (20), Northern Cardinal (2), Red-winged Blackbird (6), Common Grackle (4), House sparrow (10)

Bernache du Canada (15), Canard noir (6), Canard colvert (20),Fuligule milouinan (10), Garrot à peil d'or (200), Harle couronné (3), Grand Harle (45), Dindon sauvage (5), Grand héron (1), Épervier de Cooper (2), Goéland à bec cerclé (75), Goéland argenté (6), Goéland bourgmestre (1), Goéland marin (15), Pigeon biset (2), Harfang des neiges (1), Pic mineur (3), Corneille d'Amérique (25), Mésange à tête noire (15), Sittelle à poitrine blanche (6), Grimpereau brun (1), Merle d'Amérique (6), Étourneau sansonnet, 20), Cardinal  rouge (2), Carouge à épaulettes (6), Quiscale bronzé (4), Moineau domestique (10)

Friday, March 28, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday March 29 - samedi 29 mars
Parc des Rapides, LaSalle and Verdun Waterfront
Leader: Diane Demers 514-729-3051 e-mail

8:00 AM Meet in the parking lot at Parc des Rapides, corner of LaSalle Blvd and 6th Avenue in Ville LaSalle (just east of Bishop Power Blvd). Take Hwy 20 to the Blvd de la Vérendrye exit. Heading west on de la Vérendrye, turn left onto the Stephens Street Bridge that crosses the Aqueduct. Follow this street south to the waterfront on LaSalle Blvd. Turn right on LaSalle Blvd and follow it to the parking lot at the corner of 6th Avenue. Looking for waterfowl and early migrants. If there is enough time, we will visit the riverfront or the woods on Nuns Island. Be prepared to drive. Half day.

8 h 00 Rassemblement dans le stationnement du Parc des Rapides. Celui-ci est situé à l’intersection du boul. LaSalle et de la 6e avenue à ville LaSalle (juste à l’est du boul. Bishop-Power). Prendre l’autoroute 20 et prendre la sortie du boul. de la Vérendrye. Aller en direction ouest sur ce boul. À la rue Stephens, prendre le pont qui traverse le canal de l’Aqueduc. Continuer sur la rue Stephens jusqu’au boul. LaSalle, qui longe le fleuve. Tourner à droite sur ce boul. et continuer jusqu’à stationnement, situé au coin de la 6e avenue. Espèces recherchées : sauvagine et migrateurs hâtifs. S’il reste suffisamment de temps, nous visiterons la rive ou le boisé de l’île des Soeurs. Quelques déplacements en auto seront requis. Demi-journée.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Sightings for Tuesday March 25

From the LaSalle rapid-side park, we saw 2 Wild Turkeys (Dindon sauvage), on open snow close to the shore of Ile aux Herons. We were able to observe them during the entire time we were there, about 45 minutes in all. If these were part of another, larger group, we were not able to confirm more than the 2 reported. - Ian and Eleanor Turner

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday March 22

8 birders paid no attention to the doom and gloom of the weather report yesterday morning (in fact two of them had no idea at all that snow was being forecast!) and headed out to Fort Chambly for this weeks (spring!) field trip.

With very slippery conditions around the fort grounds we were able to make it to the waterfront and get some great observations of the ducks and gulls in the rapids and on the ice flows.  That was all, of course, before the snow began to fall, and quite heavily, by around 9:30 or so.  As a result we decided against heading down along the Richelieu River towards St-Jean, particularly given the very limited visibility.  We did however head over to the wooded areas on Ile-Goyer, just a few minutes away from Chambly. - Sheldon

Thanks to those who came out to enjoy the 14 species seen for the day. They were: 1 Canada Goose, 6 American Black Ducks, 100+ Mallards, 12 Common Goldeneye, 12 Common Mergansers, 40 Ring-billed Gull, 30 Rock Pigeons, 2 Mourning Dove, 2 Blue Jays, 14 American Crows, 20 European Starling, 3 Northern Cardinal, 6 American Goldfinch, 8 House Sparrow


1 Brenache du Canada, 6 Canards noirs, 100 + Canards colverts, 12 Garrots à oeil d'or, 12 Grands Harles, 40 Goéland à bec cerclé, 30 Pigeon biset, 2 Tourterelle triste, 2 Geai bleue, 14 Corneilles d'Amérique, 20 Étourneau sansonnet, 3 Cardinal rouge, 6 Chardonneret jaune, 8 Moineau domestique

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday March 22 - samedi 22 mars

Saturday's Spontaneous Early Spring outing will be exploring the Chambly Basin and the Richelieu River.  The trip will begin at Fort Chambly, in Chambly, and then head south along the Richelieu River to St-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
MEETING LOCATION: Fort Chambly National Historic Site, 2 rue de Richelieu, Chambly, Quebec, in the main parking lot (free parking).
Google Map: http://goo.gl/maps/hz9cT
MEETING TIME: 8 AM; Half-day; combination walking & driving trip
LEADER: Sheldon Harvey

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: From Montreal, take the Champlain Bridge to the South Shore. Continue on Autoroute 10-Eastern Townships Autoroute. Take Exit 10 for Autoroute 30 East-Direction Sorel-Tracy.  Continue on Autoroute 30 East to Exit 73 for Highway 112-Cousineau Blvd.  Turn right on to Highway 112-Cousineau Blvd.
Continue on Highway 112 through St-Hubert, Carignan and into the town of Chambly.  NOTE: Highway 112 becomes boul. de Perigny in Chambly. Follow Highway 112-boul. de Perigny to the intersection with boul. Frechette. Turn left on boul. Frechette. Follow boul. Frechette to ave. Bourgogne. Turn right on ave. 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 will begin by checking out the rapids area on the Chambly Basin located behind the old fort as well as the grounds around the fort.  We will then move on through the town of Chambly checking various observation points on the Richelieu River.  We will then begin driving south along Highway 223 following the Richelieu River through Carignan and into St-Jean-sur-Richelieu where we will make several stops at observation points along the river.
NOTE: Spotting scopes will be useful on this trip, as will two-way radios to communicate between cars along the route.

For more information please contact Sheldon Harvey at 450-462-1459, or on Saturday morning after 6 am at 514-637-2141, or by e-mail

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday March 15

4 birders made it to the Boisé-Ste-Dorothée. Despite the bad weather forecast, the morning was quite enjoyable with mild temperatures and just a little rain. The sun even came out at about 10. The wind picked up by mid morning, especially by the river, announcing the cold front coming back tonight.

We first visited the Boisé Ste Dorothée and feeders closeby where we in partcular enjoyed a nice group of cedar wawxwings, a white-crowned sparrow (our first of the year) and the singing house finches.

We then visited the barrage du grand moulin and the Laval marina. Waterfowl was scarce except for mallards and American black ducks. An almost entirely white 'mallard' (except for the head and tail) was an intriguing find in the large group of ducks. - Frédéric Hareau

Canada Goose 1, American Black Duck 26, Mallard 70, Common Goldeneye 4, Common Merganser 2, Herring Gull 5, Great Black-backed Gull 14, Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 12, Downy Woodpecker 5, Hairy Woodpecker 3, American Crow 13, Black-capped Chickadee 26, White-breasted Nuthatch 4, American Robin 2, European Starling 2, Cedar Waxwing 12, American Tree Sparrow 10, White-crowned Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 2, Northern Cardinal 6, Red-winged Blackbird 2, House Finch 5, House Sparrow 2

Bernache du Canada 1, Canard noir 26, Canard colvert 70, Garrot à oeil d'or 4, Grand Harle 2, Goéland argenté 5, Goéland marin 14, Pigeon biset 12, Pic mineur 5, Pic chevelu 3, Corneille d'Amérique 13, Mésange à tête noire 26, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 4, Merle d'Amérique 2, Étourneau sansonnet 2, Jaseur d'Amérique 12, Bruant hudsonien 10, Bruant à couronne blanche 1, Junco ardoisé 2, Cardinal rouge 6, Carouge à épaulettes 2, Roselin familier 5, Moineau domestique 2

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday March 15 - samedi 15 mars
Boisé Ste-Dorothée & Laval West
Leader: Frédéric Hareau 514-805-8491  e-mail

8:00 a.m. – Meet at 517 rue des Pivoines in Laval. Allow 15 minutes from the intersection of Highway 40 and Highway 13. Take Highway 13 North. After 4 km, take exit 12 towards QC-148/Boulevard Notre-Dame/Boulevard Saint-Martin. Continue on the service road for 1 km then follow the signs to the Boulevard Saint-Martin Ouest. Continue on Blvd. St Martin Ouest for 2.5 km. Take rue des Pivoines on the right and park. We will first walk the mature forest of Boisé-Ste-Dorothée before visiting several spots along the Rivière des Mille-Îles. Bring warm clothes and adequate boots for taking short walks. Target species: forest birds, raptors, waterfowl, early migrants. Half Day.

8 h 00. Rendez-vous au 517 rue des Pivoines à Laval. Prévoir 15 minutes à partir de l’intersection entre l’Autoroute 40 et l’Autoroute 13. Prendre l’autoroute 13 Nord. Après 4 km, Prendre la sortie 12 vers QC-148/?Boulevard Notre-Dame/?Boulevard Saint-Martin. Continuer sur la voie de service pendant 1 km puis suivre les indications vers le Boulevard Saint-Martin Ouest. Continuer sur le boul. St Martin Ouest pour 2,5 km. Prendre la rue des pivoines à droite et garez-vous. Nous visiterons tout d’abord la forêt mature du Boisé-Ste-Dorothée avant de nous rendre à plusieurs endroits le long de la rivière des Mille-Îles. Prévoir des vêtements chauds et des chaussures adéquates pour effectuer quelques marches. Espèces recherchées : oiseaux forestiers, rapaces, sauvagine, migrants hâtifs. Demi-journée.

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Sightings for Sunday March 9

St. Clet: We revisited the area around St. Clet, and were again successful finding Snowy Owls (Harfangs des neiges): 3 individual birds.  All 3 appeared to be adult males, and each was seen along Saint Emmanuel, one just north of, but very close to, Route 340;  one just south of the railway tracks; and the 3rd within good viewing distance of the other just off to the south allowing us to observe both simultaneously for quite a long time.  Again, all birds were seen 25 or 30 feet up in deciduous trees.Also of note were numerous small flocks of Horned Larks and Snow Buntings (Alouette hausse-col et Bruants des neiges).  One of these flocks included many LaplandLongspurs (Bruant lapon). - Ian and Eleanor Turner
---------------------------------------------------------------- St-Armand: I went for a walk on chemin Bradley. I saw some American robins (19) in the crabapples. A call caught my attention, not as familiar call but I still recognized the call of the Fish crow. She was perched on the electrical wire at rivière de la roche, along with 2 other crows (American or Fish)? They left as soon as I saw them. She screamed again 2 more times and I lost sight of them.

Je suis allé faire une promenade sur le chemin Bradley à St-Armand. J’ai vu quelques merles d’Amérique (19) dans les pommetiers. Un cri a attiré mon attention, pas familier comme cri mais j’ai quand même reconnu le cri de la Corneille de rivage. Elle était perchée sur le fil électrique au niveau de la rivière de la roche, en compagnie de 2 autres corneilles, (d’Amérique ou de rivage)? Elles sont parties dès que je les ai vu. Elle a crié à nouveau 2 autres fois et je les ai perdu de vu. - Jean-Guy Papineau

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday March 8




Sainte-Anne-de Bellevue, Morgan Arboretum – Arboretum Morgan

28 birders, 25 species. Light snow and about -3 when we set out but temp. rose to 0 and sun came out at the end. We divided into two groups, the other ably led by David Mulhulland and Wayne Grubert.

Although some of the species may appear to be migrants, I am pretty sure they were all individuals that overwintered here.

Cooper's Hawk, Great Black-backed Gull, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Barred Owl, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, American Robin, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch

Épervier de Cooper, Goéland marin, Pigeon biset, Tourterelle triste, Chouette rayée, Pic à ventre roux, Pic mineur, Pic chevelu, Grand pic, Geai bleu, Corneille d'Amérique, Mésange à tête noire, Mésange bicolore, Sittelle à poitrine rousse, Sittelle à poitrine blanche, Grimpereau brun, Merle d'Amérique, Étourneau sansonnet, Jaseur d'Amérique, Bruant hudsonien, Junco ardoisé, Cardinal rouge, Carouge à épaulettes, Roselin familier, Chardonneret jaune

Friday, March 07, 2014

Red-tailed hawk (Buse à queue rousse) today in Repentigny
Dwight Brown


Sightings for Thursday March 6

St Clet: Snowy owls (Harfangs des neiges), 3 individuals seen, between 4:45 and 5:45 in the St. Clet area. An adult male along Saint Emanuel, about 2 km south of Route 340, then an immature bird on Route 201 about 2.5 km south of Route 340.

Then about 200 yards from the first bird seen, what seemed to be an adult female. ( The first bird we observed was still in ithe spot where we'd fist seen it.) All 3 birds were about 25 or 30 feet up in slender branches of deciduous trees. The second bird we initially saw in flight, flying low across the road from east to west. - Ian and Eleanor Turner

Bird Protection Quebec "Monthly Lecture, Meeting"

Monday, March 10, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.
Quebec Breeding Bird Atlas in Remote Areas: A Tale!
Presentation by Hugues Brunoni, member of Team BPQ 2013

Kensington Presbyterian Church, 6225 Godfrey Ave., Montreal, NDG, Free of charge
 
Hugues Brunoni will talk about his involvement as a volunteer and as the regional coordinator for the Quebec Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA) in the Mauricie region. He will describe the fieldwork of a handful of teams, each covering remote areas of the vast boreal forest. He will also describe his personal experience as an atlasser: three summers in the deep wilderness, sleeping in a tent, waking up at 3:30 a.m. every day, seven days a week, driving pick-up trucks and riding ATVs or bikes over rough terrain, all while enduring swarms of blackflies – in an attempt to cover as many atlas squares as possible Hugues will use the atlas data collected so far to show changes in bird distribution have taken place since the data for the first Quebec BBA were compiled. Although some new species have literally appeared on the Québec map over the last 25 years, others have almost disappeared. He should convince BPQ members who are not already contributing to the Atlas to do so!
 
Hugues, an historian from Trois-Rivières, is a former editor-in- chief of the QuébecOiseaux magazine and still a regular contributor to its pages. He has been an active administrator of the Regroupement QuébecOiseaux (RQO) and on the board of various committees within the organization. He was involved in the establishment of the Refuge faunique du lac Saint-Pierre. last summer and was a proud member of the BPQ-sponsored Atlas team.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday March 8 - samedi 8 mars
Sainte-Anne-de Bellevue, Morgan Arboretum Arboretum Morgan
Leader: Betsy McFarlane 514-457-9315 e-mail

8:00 a.m. From Montreal take Highway 40 west, take exit 44 (Morgan Blvd.). Turn left on chemin Ste-Marie. Drive 1.4 km to second stop sign (at Arboretum road). Turn right. Drive 1 km to the Conservation Centre parking lot on the left. $6.00 admission charge for non-Arboretum members. Looking for woodpeckers, owls and migrants. Half day.

8 h 00 De Montréal, prendre l’autoroute 40 ouest, sortie 44 (boul. Morgan). Tourner à gauche sur le chemin Ste-Marie et continuer sur une distance de 1,4 km jusqu’au second arrêt (rue Arboretum). Tourner à droite et rouler sur une distance de 1 km jusqu’au stationnement au Centre de conservation, situé à gauche. Frais d’entrée : 6,00 $ pour les non-membres. Espèces recherchées: Pics, hiboux et migrateurs. Demi-journée.

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Sightings for Sunday March 2

Montréal, parc Mont-Royal: I finally managed to see the Mount-Royal Black-backed Woodpecker (Pic à dos noir) this afternoon, after trying twice before and dipping out both times. On my previous attempts, I'd gone in the morning but several people have reported seeing it in the afternoon, so when it was so nice out this aft, I thought I'd try my luck again. And it was definitely a case of third time's a charm! As I approached the famous red pine stand, I could hear hammering so I thought it might be my lucky day--and so it proved! The woodpecker was working hard, quite high up in one of the pines. I watched her for a while, then went for a walk to check out some of the feeder stations. I then returned, hoping for another look, and this time the woodpecker was much better positioned, from my point of view--almost at eye level. 

This wasn't my lifer Black-back but I think it's only the third or fourth time I've seen one, so it's still a very special bird for me! - Zofia Laubitz

Saturday, March 01, 2014

New Quebec portal for eBird

The Regroupement Québec Oiseaux recently signed an agreement with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada to establish an eBird portal for Québec. This portal allows birdwatchers from Québec to contribute to the monitoring of bird populations, while providing interactive data visualization tools ( distribution maps, histograms, etc.).

Over the next months, this portal will become the main window for recording birds observations in Québec. At the same time, some observations can be automatically redirected to the Page des oiseaux rares and other bird monitoring programs such as SOS-POP.

The eBird Québec portal is online starting today and can be accessed athttp://ebird.org/content/qc/en/.

The ÉPOQ online form will be available until May 31, but we encourage observers to use the eBird Québec portal as soon as possible.


Le Regroupement Québec Oiseaux a récemment signé une entente avec le laboratoire d’ornithologie de l’université Cornell et Études d’oiseaux Canada afin de mettre en place un portail eBird pour le Québec. Ce portail permet aux ornithologues du Québec de contribuer au suivi des populations d’oiseaux, tout en offrant des outils interactifs de visualisation des données (cartes de répartition, histogrammes de présence, etc.).

Au cours des prochains mois, ce portail deviendra le guichet principal pour l'enregistrement des observations d'oiseaux du Québec. Du même coup, certaines observations pourront être redirigées automatiquement vers la Page des oiseaux rares et d’autres programmes de suivi des populations d’oiseaux, comme SOS-POP.

Le portail eBird Québec est en ligne à compter d’aujourd’hui à l’adresse www.ebird-qc.ca.

Le formulaire ÉPOQ du Regroupement QuébecOiseaux sera quant à lui accessible jusqu'au 31 mai, mais nous encourageons les observateurs à utiliser le portail eBird Québec dès que possible.

Veuillez noter que la version française de la section «Aide» ne sera complétée qu’au courant des prochaines semaines. Entre-temps, nous vous invitons à poser vos questions sur le fonctionnement d’eBird Québec à l’adresse http://bit.ly/1fXvz28.

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report"

Hudson Field Trip, March 1, 2014,  clouds, -15 with a cold east wind

Five birders braved the cold weather and were rewarded with sightings of 100+ Cedar waxwings and 10+ American robins feeding on Buckthorn berries.The colours on both species were rich, bright yellow on the waxwings and  rusty red on the robins, which made for satisfying observations.We ended the trip early as hands and feet were quickly freezing.Thanks to those who came out for a short but pleasant walk in the woods.

Here is our complete list of birds: Downy woodpecker 2, , Hairy woodpecker 2, Blue jay 1, American crow 6,  Black-capped chickadee 4, White-breasted nuthatch 2, American robin 12+, Cedar waxwing 100+, American goldfinch 3 

Pic mineur 2, Pic chevelu 2, Geai bleu 1, Corneille d'Amérique 6, Mésange à tête noire 4, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 2, Merle d'Amérique 12 +, Jaseur d'Amérique, 100 +, Chardonneret jaune 3 - Barbara MacDuff and Wayne Grubert
 
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