Sightings for Thursday February 14

Same area as yesterday, Great Gray Owl (Chouette Lapone)Gouin near St Genevieve Cemetery but a bit more West. Poor light again so I didn't stay very long. - Dwight Brown

------------------------------------------------------------------
Verdun: There were 2 Harlequin Ducks this afternoon in front of the lookout one female and one immature male.

Il y avait 2 Arlequins plongeurs cet après-midi face au belvédère à une femelle et un mâle immature

and 2 Wild turkeys that were eatting buds 40 meters above the ground in a tree on Heron Island.

et 2 Dindons sauvage qui mangeaient des bourgeons à 40 mètres au-dessus du sol dans un arbre de l'Île aux Hérons.

Lachine: Seen Summerlea Park in  at the very end of the afternoon: 2 Long-tailed Duck, 1 Bufflehead, etc ... and 2 Snowy Owls perched on blocks of ice on Lake St. Louis. No doubt the owls would appreciate duck on their menu.

Vus du parc Summerlea à Lachine en toute fin d'Après-midi: 2 Hareldes kakawi, un Petit Garrot, etc ... et 2 Harfangs des neiges perchés sur des blocs de glace sur le lac Saint-Louis. Sans doute des harfangs qui apprécient le canard à leur menu. - Pierre Bannon

"Field Trip" up-date

Those who plan to come to this Saturdays "Field Trip" take note that there is going to be construction on the Mercier bridge on Saturday. The north bound side towards Montreal will be closed from 6 am till 9 pm.

Sightings for Wednesday February 13

Great Gray Owl (Chouette Lapone) near Gouin and

St Genevieve Cemetery

Dwight Brown

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, February 16 - samedi 16 février

Chateauguay, Rue Higgins & Sainte-Catherine Récré-O-Parc
Leader: Tom Long 450-692-1590   e-mail

8:00 a.m.: Meet at rue Higgins in Châteauguay. The birds to look for at Higgins will be Red-bellied Woodpecker and Tufted Titmouse. But you never know what will show up. One Christmas Bird Count, 22 species were counted there in just over an hour including a Carolina Wren and an Eastern Towhee. After checking out the Higgins area, we will go to the Récré-O-Parc in Sainte-Catherine, where it will be mostly winter ducks and whatever else we can find. There are no facilities at the Récré-O-Parc. Half day.

From Montreal, take Hwy 138 and cross the Mercier Bridge. Stay right coming off the bridge and take Hwy 138 through Kahnawake into Châteauguay. As you enter Châteauguay, turn right onto Boul. Saint-Francis. Follow Saint-Francis all the way to the end where it meets the Châteauguay River at Blvd. Salaberry Nord. Turn right on to Salaberry Nord and continue till rue Higgins and turn right. There is a small parking area on the left next to the cell-phone tower.

8h00 Rendez-vous à la rue Higgins. Sur la rue Higgins à Châteauguay, les espèces recherchées sont le Pic à ventre roux et la Mésange bicolore. Mais nous ne pouvons prévoir qui sera au rendez-vous. Lors d'un décompte de Noël, 22 espèces ont été dénombrées dans un peu plus d'une heure comprenant un Troglodyte de Caroline ainsi qu'un Tohi à flancs roux. Après avoir fait le tour de la zone Higgins, nous irons à la Récré-O-Parc à Sainte-Catherine. A la Récré-O-Parc, nous y verrons presqu'exclusivement des canards d'hiver et peut-être autres surprises. Le Récré-O-Parc n'offre aucune installation sanitaire ni de restauration. Demi-journée.

De Montréal, prendre la route 138 et traverser le pont Mercier. Rester à droite en venant du pont et prenez l'autoroute 138 à Kahnawake dans Châteauguay. Lorsque vous entrez dans Châteauguay, tourner à droite sur le boul. Saint-Francis. Suivez Saint-Francis, jusqu'au bout à la rencontre de la rivière Châteauguay au boul. Salaberry Nord. Tourner à droite sur Salaberry Nord et continuer jusqu'à la rue Higgins et tourner à droite. Il y a un petit parking sur la gauche à côté de la tour de téléphonie cellulaire.

Sightings for Sunday February 10

Montreal, Ste-Geneviève: One of the Great Gray Owls (Chouette lapone) seen at Ste-Geneviève cemetery, near Cap St-Jacques, was there this morning, superbly ignoring the harassing Crows (Corneilles). Not content with that, we also tried Montée St-Lazare but dipped out there. Still, a day with even one Great Gray Owl has got to be a good one! - Zofia Laubitz
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Aéroport St.-Hubert: Gyrfalcon hunting near the Ecole d'Aeronautique (Place de la Savane)

Faucon Gerfaut chasse près de l'Ecole d'Aeronautique (place de la Savane) - Chantal Trudel

Bird Protectection Quebec "Field Trip Report" February 9

Today's outing on the South Shore turned out to be a fairly pleasant day. The sun came out and the winds were not as strong as had been predicted. The temperature remained around -13 C throughout the morning. Unfortunately the weather didn't manage to coax too many birds out.

10 birders met up at Parc de la Frayere in Boucherville. We began the day by walking through the woods across from the parking area. It seems that someone has decided to hang up a few feeders in the woods. This certainly helped to attract birds, including our "Birds of the Day" which were two White-throated Sparrows enjoying breakfast at the feeders.

We drove from Boucherville out through Varennes, through a number of secondary and farm roads, then returned along Highway 30 and scouted out the roads behind the St-Hubert Airport. Things were generally quiet although we did manage to accumulate 16 species for the day. Here is our list: 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 16 Great Black-backed Gulls, 30 Rock Pigeons, 3 Mourning Doves, 3 Downy Woodpeckers, 3 Blue Jays, 20 American Crows, 40 Black-capped Chickadees, 3 White-breasted Nuthatch, 50 European Starlings, 2 White-throated Sparrow, 8 Dark-eyed Junco, 6 Northern Cardinal, 27 Common Redpoll, 4 American Goldfinch, 20 House Sparrows

1 Buse à queue rousse, 16 Goélands marins, 30 Pigeon biset, 3 Tourterelle triste, 3 Pics mineurs, 3 Geai bleue, 20 Corneille d'Amérique, 40 Mésange à tête noire, 3 Sittele à poitrine blanche, 50 Étourneau sansonnet, 2 Blanche à gorge Bruant, 8 Junco ardoisé, 6 Cardinal rouge, 27 Sizerin flammé, 4 Chardonneret jaune, 20 Moineaux domestiques
Thanks to all of the participants -Sheldon Harvey

Bird Protectection Quebec "Field Trip"

South Shore Surprise Trip - Saturday, February 9
Leader: Sheldon Harvey

Saturday's trip will be a driving trip around the South Shore.

The majority of the trip will be on roads that do not have a lot of traffic, making it easier to stop safely along the route at several different locations to look for birds. Spotting scopes will definitely be an asset on this trip.

There is a forecast for snow beginning tonight and throughout Friday including high wind warnings for late Friday. Hopefully it will not be substantial enough to cancel our trip on Saturday but please verify the Songsparrow group page on Friday evening. At that point I will evaluate the situation with the snow and road conditions. I will definitely post on Friday evening to determine whether or not the trip is still on. At this point the forecast for Saturday looks good.

Our meeting point will be at 8 am. at Parc de la Frayere in Boucherville, on boul. Marie-Victorin, along the St-Lawrence River. We will begin by doing a quick visit of the park's wooded area and waterfront. From there we will move on to various roads and observation points in Boucherville and Varennes, then work our way back to the St-Hubert Airport area where we will wrap up the outing. This will be a half-day outing.

Here are the driving instructions to the meeting point at Parc de la Frayere in Boucherville.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS: Parc de la Frayere is a little less than 30 minutes from the South Shore side of the Champlain Bridge.

From Montreal, take the Champlain Bridge to the first exit (Exit 6) off the bridge. Follow Highway 20/Highway 132 EAST, heading towards Varennes/Longueuil. Continue east on Highway 20/132. Note that Highways 20 and 132 split at the exit for Quebec City/Hippolyte- Lafontaine Tunnel. Stay to the left at this exit, continuing on Highway 132 towards Varennes. Continue on Highway 132 East past the exits for de Montarville, de Montbrun and chemin du General Vanier. The next traffic light will be at Boul. de la Marine/Boul. Lionel Boulet (Highway 229). Turn left at the traffic lights on to Boul. de la Marine, heading north towards the waterfront. Continue north, cross the railway tracks and turn left at the traffic lights on to boul. Marie Victorin. Continue approximately a kilometer on boul. Marie Victorin, past the hydro pylons. You will see an entrance road into the parking lot for the Parc de la Frayere on the right.

If you have any questions regarding the trip, please contact me by e-mail, or by telephone at 450-462-1459


. On Saturday morning you can reach me on the BPQ cellphone at 514-637-2141.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, weather permitting.

Sightings for Thursday February 7

Ville LaSalle: I visited Parc des Rapides this afternoon with Prayitno Goenarto. There was a good selection of ducks present including Barrow's Goldeneye and Hooded Merganser. Other sightings of note included 3 Bald Eagles on Heron Island, an immature Glaucous Gull and a dead Brown Creeper impaled on a tree branch.

Canada Goose 50, Mallard 35, American Black Duck 5, Gadwall 2,  Common Goldeneye 80, Barrow's Goldeneye 2 (1 male,1 female), Hooded Merganser 3, Common Merganser 50, Bald Eagle 3 (2 adults), Herring Gull 3, Great Black-backed Gull 5, Glaucous Gull 1, American Crow 7, European Starling 5, Dark-eyed Junco 2

Bernache du Canada 50, Canard colvert 35, Canard noir 5, Canard chipeau 2, Garrot à l'oiel d'or 80, Garrot d'Islande 2 (1 mâle et 1 femelle), Harle couronné 3, Grand harle 50, Pygargue à tête blanche 3 (2 adultes), le Goéland argenté 3, Goéland marin 5, Goéland bourgmestre 1, Corneille d'Amérique 7, Étourneau sansonnet 5, Junco ardoisé 2 - Vivek Govind Kumar

Sightings for Monday February 4

Montreal, Ste Genevieve: Two Great Gray Owls (Chouette lapone) today, one just north of Chemin des l'anse a l'Orme near where the river passes under the road and the other, also seen from the road, near the farmhouse just before you get to the cemetery. In between, a Barred Owl, small by comparison, nearby the road on the way into the southern half of Cap St. Jacques Park (the road to the beach). Otherwise, very little. - Bob Barnhurst

Sightings for Sunday January 27

Saint-Hubert Airport: 1 Northern Shrike in the field off of Rue du R-100. He was pearched on the top most branch of the tallest tree!


Aéroport de Saint-Hubert: 1 Pie Grièche dans le champs à côté de la Rue R-100. Il étais sur la plus haute branche du plus haut arbre! - Shawna Sevigny

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, January 26 - samedi 26 janvier
Sainte-Marthe, Saint-Clet, Sainte-Justine
Leader: Wayne Grubert- 450-458-5498  e-mail

8:00 a.m. Meet at Hudson Inn, exit 17 off Highway 40. From Montreal, take Highway 40 west towards Ottawa. Allow an hour's drive from Montreal. Looking for Snowy Owls, Rough-legged Hawks, Snow Buntings and other open-country winter birds. Bring warm clothes for standing around or taking short walks (or in case weather conditions dictate a complete change of itinerary). We will try to keep the number of cars to a minimum; therefore, car-pooling arranged ahead of time and/or at our rendezvous would be greatly appreciated. Half day.

8h00 Rassemblement au Hudson Inn, sortie 17 de l'autoroute 40. De Montréal, prendre l'autoroute 40 ouest, en direction d'Ottawa. Prévoir une heure à partir de Montréal. Espèces recherchées : Harfang des neiges, Buse pattue, Bruant des neiges et autres oiseaux d'hiver. Apporter des vêtements suffisamment chauds pour de courtes marches et permettant de passer du temps à l'extérieur; prévoir également d'éventuels changements de plans, dus à la météo. Nous vous encourageons à faire du covoiturage en vue de limiter le nombre de voitures. Demi-journée.

Sightings for Wednesday January 23

 Rigaud mountain: pileated woodpecker (grand pic) - Jim Forster

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday 19 January – samedi 19 janvier

Montréal, Parc-nature de l'Île-de-la-Visitation
Leaders: Jean Demers and Clémence Soulard 514-694-8240 e-mail 

8:00 a.m. From Highway 40 (Metropolitan Blvd) take Papineau north to Henri Bourassa. Turn right (east) on Henri Bourassa and turn left on Rue de Lille. Turn right onto Gouin and left into the parking area. Parking : $8.00. Looking for winter birds. Half day.

8h00 De l'autoroute 40(boul métropolitain) prendre la sortie Papineau nord jusqu'à Henri Bourassa. Tourner à droite (est) sur Henri Bourassa et tourne à gauche sur Rue de Lille. Tourner à droite sur Gouin jusqu'au stationnement du parc. Stationnement : 8,00$. À la recherche des oiseaux d'hiver. Demi-journée

Sightings for Tuesday January 15

Montreal: This afternoon, a Cooper's hawk was hunting Pigeons in the alley of Rue Des Érables (one block north of Jean-Talon). I was on my balcony and raptor the passed a few meters away from me!

Ce midi, à Montréal, un épervier de Cooper chassait des pigeons dans la ruelle de la rue Des Érables (une rue au nord de Jean-Talon). J'étais sur mon balcon et le rapace est passé à quelque mètres de moi! - Alexis Robin-Brisebois

Sightings for Saturday January 12

Montréal: A number of Great Grey Owls (Chouette lapone) are turning up in the fields across from the Cap St.Jacques Park. We saw one behind the Ste. Genevieve Cemetery yesterday. Apparently, up to four have been seen in the vicinity by the local farmer. We have looked in the CSJ Park itself and along Chemin de L'anse a L'Orme, but have not spotted any there, as yet. A single bird was found near the bridge on Ch. L'anse l'Orme last year by Alison Hackney, who also found one in the same area just a couple of days ago. There are a couple of Red-tailed Hawks (Buse à queue rousse), a Northern shrike (Pie-grièche grise)  and a large, mixed flock of Cedar and Bohemian Waxwings (Jaseurs Cèdre et de Bohême) in the same area. - Bob Barnhurst

Bird Protect Quebec "Field Trip Report" January 12

Montréal, Botanical Gardens

Overcast, misty morning, clearing by noon. +4˚C. 14 birders, 22 species.

Red-tailed Hawk 1, Rough-legged Hawk 1, Great black-backed Gull 1, Rock Pigeon 7, Downy Woodpecker 3, Hairy Woodpecker 1, American Crow 3, Black-capped Chickadee 60, Red-breasted Nuthatch 3, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, American Robin 20, European Starling 3, Cedar Waxwing 20, White-throated Sparrow 1, Dark-eyed Junco 8, Northern Cardinal 14, Pine Grosbeak 8, House Finch 40, Common Redpoll 60, Hoary Redpoll 1, American Goldfinch 25, House Sparrow 2

Buse à queue rousse 1, Buse pattue 1, Goéland marin 1, Pigeon biset 7, Pic mineur 3, Pic chevelu 1, Corneille d'Amérique 3, Mésange à tête noire 60, Sittelle à poitrine rousse 3, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 2, Merle d'Amérique 20, Étourneau sansonnet 3, Jaseur d'Amérique 20, Bruant à gorge blanche 1, Junco ardoisé 8, Cardinal rouge 14, Durbec des sapins 8, Roselin familier 40, Sizerin flammé 60, Sizerin blanchâtre 1, Chardonneret jaune 25,  Moineau domestique 2 - Guy Zenaitis

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, January 12 - samedi 12 janvier
Montreal Botanical Garden -
Jardin Botanique de Montréal
Leader: Guy Zenaitis  514-256-8118 e-mail 

8:00 a.m. Meet in front of the restaurant, near the entrance on Sherbrooke St. East. There is a charge for parking inside the gates. Looking for winter finches. Half day.

8h00 Rassemblement devant le restaurant, près de l'entrée du jardin sur la rue Sherbrooke Est. Prévoir des frais de stationnement. Espèces recherchées : oiseaux d'hiver. Demi- journée.

Sightings for Sunday January 6

St. Clet: While looking for Snowy Owls this afternoon along rang St. Julie in St. Clet we came across a beautiful Short-eared Owl (Hibou des marais) - Terry Lunn and Brenda Guldemond
CLICK PHOTO TO ENLARGE
-------------------------------------
  St-Hubert: Boul. Clairevue east side of Clairevue in direction Boul. Montarville the Snowy owl that I observed late yesterday pm was still on his pipe at 9:20.

at he corner of boul. Clairevue and Chemin de l'aéroport a dozen Pine Grosbeak in larch trees!! they seemed to be eatting the tiny seeds in cones of the tree.

du coté est de Clairevue, en direction du Boul de Montarville l'harfang des neiges que j'avais observé hier en fin de p.m. était toujours sur son tuyau à 9h20.

Au coin de Clairevue et Chemin de l'aéroport, une dizaine de durbec des sapins dans un mélèze !!!! ils semblaient manger les graines dans les minuscules cônes de l'arbre.
Varennes: A Snowy owl on montée de la Baronnie, north of autoroute 30 and east of Baronnie

Un harfang des neiges, sur la montée de la Baronnie, au nord de la autoroute 30 et à l'est de Baronnie - André Provost

CORRECTION TO TIME OF BPQ Monthly Meeting/Lecture

Please note that there was an error in the notice regarding the BPQ monthly meeting/lecture to be held on January 7th. The CORRECT time is 7.30 PM, as usual for all BPQ monthly meetings.

Sightings for Saturday January 5

Saint-Clet and area: I tried my luck for a Snowy Owl, but no such luck. Among the interesting species, there were Horned Lark 30, Snow Bunting 30, Merlin 1, Wild Turkeys 15

St-Polycarpe: On rue Ranger a Great gray owl

Saint-Clet, et le alentiors J'ai tenté ma chance pour un Harfang des neiges mais aucune chance. Parmi les espèces intéressantes, il y avait Alouette hausse col 30, Plectrophane des neiges 30, Faucon émérillon 1, Dindons sauvage 15

St-Polycarpe: Sur la rue Ranger, une chouette Lapone - Sylvie Vanier-------------------------------------------------------------------
Laval: between Laval and Terrebonne on the Rivière des Mille-Îles. arriving along the river at park Olivier Charbonneau, I saw the Great Cormorant. It was well to the east of the old Terrebonne train bridge and, on a sheet of ice in the middle of the river, where it is crossed by power lines supported by concrete poles. In the same area, there was a Glaucous gull with the Great black-backed gulls and Herring Gulls. I was there between 12:00 and 12:15

entre Laval et Terrebonne, sur la rivière des Mille-Îles. Arrivant en longeant la rivière depuis le parc Olivier-Charbonneau, j'ai aperçu le Grand Cormoran bien avant d'arriver là où j'allais. Il était bien à l'est du vieux pont de Terrebonne et du pont des trains, sur une plaque de glace au milieu de la rivière, à l'endroit où elle est traversée par une ligne électrique soutenue par des pylônes en béton. Dans le même secteur, il y avait un Goéland bourgmestre avec des Goélands marins et des Goélands argentés. J'étais là entre 12h00 et 12h15  -Michel Bertrand
-------------------------------------------------------------------
St-Hubert: Boul. Clairevue around 4:15 and there, without a scope or binoculars I spotted a Snowy owl, on a large metal pipe, visible on the east side of Clairevue in direction Boul. Montarville.

Boul. Clairevue vers 4hr15 et là, sans longue vue ni lunette j'en ai repéré un Harfang des neiges, sur un gros tuyau de métal, visible du coté est de Clairevue, en direction du Boul de Montarville - André Provost