Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday March 1 - samedi 1 mars
Hudson
Leader: Barbara MacDuff 514-457-2222 e-mail

8:00 a.m. Meet at the CPR station on Wharf Street in Hudson. Highway 40, exit 22 onto Côte St. Charles north, right on Main Street, left on Wharf Street. Looking for winter finches and early migrants. Half day.

8 h 00 Rassemblement à la gare C.P. sur la rue Wharf, à Hudson. Prendre l’autoroute 40, sortie 22, et tourner à droite sur la Côte St-Charles nord. Continuer jusqu’à la rue Main et tourner à droite sur celle-ci. Continuer jusqu’à la rue Wharf puis tourner à gauche sur celle-ci. Espèces recherchées : oiseaux d’hiver et migrateurs hâtifs. Demi-journée

Sightings for Wednesday February 26

Montréal, Parc du Mont-Royal: Around 1 pm I saw the Black-backed woodpecker, In front of the chalet on the right side of the lookout

Vers 13h j'ai vu le Pic à dos noir ,  Devant le chalet sur le côté droit du belvédère  - Pierre Casavant

Sightings for Thursday February 20

Montréal, Parc du Mont-Royal: This morning I tried my luck before work (7:30) to try and see the Black-backed woodpecker (PHOTO René Lortie) discovered by Johann Sebastian Mayer February 14. 

To the right of the look-out facing the city.

On the campus of the University of Montreal, two Peregrine falcons: one stood by the nest on a pole and another in flight around the Tower.

Ce matin j'ai tenté ma chance avant le travail (7:30): j'ai pu revoir le pic à dos noir (PHOTO René Lortie) découvert par Jean-Sébastien Mayer le 14 février. À droite du belvédère quand on fait face à la ville: il picossait un arbre.



Sur le campus de l'université de Montréal, deux Faucons pèlerin: un qui se tenait près du nichoir sur un poteau et un autre en vol autour de la tour. - Julie Tremblay

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, February 22 -samedi 22 février

Montréal, Secteur-Bois-de-l’Héritage (Parc-Nature-Pointe-aux-Prairies)

Leader: Joël Coutu 438-930-5092 e-mail

8:00 a.m. Take Boul. Metropolitain (Highway 40) east toward the northeast end of Montreal Island. Exit at Henri-Bourassa and travel east to Sherbrooke Street. Turn left (northeast) on Sherbrooke and proceed approximately 1.2 km to Ave.Yves-Thériault and turn left (northwest). Follow Ave. Yves-Thériault as it turns right then left to the corner of Jovette-Bernier. The park is across the street. If you don’t have a parking permit for the nature parks, parking is available on the streets in this area. Meet at the Chalet. The park has a variety of habitats. Looking for feeder birds, winter finches. Owls have been seen in the past. Half day.

8 h 00 Prendre Boul. Métropolitain (autoroute 40) direction est vers l’extrémité nord de l’île de Montréal. Prendre la sortie Henri-Bourassa et continuez vers l’est jusqu’à la rue Sherbrooke. Tournez à gauche (nord-est) sur la rue Sherbrooke et continuer environ 1,2 km jusqu’à l’avenue Yves-Thériault et tournez à gauche (nord-ouest). Suivez l’avenue Yves-Thériault qui tourne à droite puis à gauche au coin de Jovette-Bernier. Le parc est de l’autre côté de la rue. Le stationnement est disponible dans les rues du voisinage. Le lieu de rendez-vous sera au Chalet. Le parc a une variété d’habitats. Nous serons à la recherche d’oiseaux de mangeoires et de nos granivores hivernaux. Des hiboux ont été observés dans ce parc dans le passé. Demi-journée.

Sightings for Wednesday February 19

Montréal, Parc du Mont-Royal: This morning around 11:30 I saw the Black-backed woodpecker, it is very beautiful and impressive! In front of the chalet on the right side of the lookout when we look at the city of Montreal! 

Ce matin vers les 11h30 j'ai vu le Pic à dos noir , il est très beau et impressionnant ! Devant le chalet sur le côté droit du belvédère quand on regarde la ville de Montréal !  - Louise Ladouceur-Côté

Sightings for Tuesday February 18

Dorval: Snowy owl (Harfangs des neiges) seen this morning on Côte-Vertu Boulevard O. near corner Côte-Vertu and HWY 13. - Bryan Park

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday February 15

It seems that most people had had enough of winter driving after Friday's snow storm and so passed on heading out again Saturday for our field trip to Ormstown and the surrounding area. As of the 8:00 am meeting time only the two leaders (and one better half) had shown up. We almost picked up a few "strays" from another club that was apparently having an outing to the same area but they headed off to find their own group.

After a little discussion it was decided that we would part ways (very amicably, rest assured) and Sheldon and Darlene headed off in one direction and I in another. They covered much of the area that we had planned for the trip and I made my way slowly towards home with a few stops in the Hungry Bay/Valleyfield area to try and find some of the out-of-season rarities that had been seen there. 

We caught up by email later in the afternoon and compared notes. Our combined list totalled 29 species with a few interesting sightings including Peregrine Falcon, Northern Flicker, Tufted Titmouse (heard only), Pied-billed Grebe, and Red-necked Grebe. This would have made for a great winter trip list but it is doubtful that as a group we could have covered all the areas visited without splitting up.

For those interested our lists included: (Note that there is some overlap for a few species because we did have some areas in common) - Wayne

Darlene and Sheldon: Mallard 20, Common Goldeneye 30, Common Merganser 15, Cooper's Hawk 1, Red-tailed Hawk 12, Peregrine Falcon 1 (Hundington Water Tower Highway 138 SW of town), Rock Pigeon 15, Mourning Dove 6, Downy Woodpecker 3, Hairy Woodpecker 5, Blue Jay 25, American Crow 12, Horned Lark 2, Black-capped Chickadee 30, White-breasted Nuthatch 2, European Starling 20, American Tree Sparrow 8, Dark-eyed Junco 2, Snow Bunting 25, American Goldfinch 20

Canard colvert 20, Garrot à oeil d'or 30, Grand Harle 15, Épervier de Cooper 1, Buse à queue rousse 12, Faucon pèlerin 1 (tour de l'Eau Hundington route 138 SW de la ville), Pigeon biset 15, Tourterelle triste 6, Pic mineur 3, Pic chevelu 5, Geai bleu 25, Corneille d'Amérique 12, Alouette hausse-col 2, Mésange à tête noire 30, Sittelle à poitrine blanche 2, Étourneau sansonnet 20, Bruant hudsonien 8, Junco ardoisé 2, Bruant des neiges 25, Chardonneret jaune 20

Wayne: Pied-billed Grebe - 1 (Riviere St Charles River off Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Red-necked Grebe - 1 ( Soulanges Canal - Highway 338 and St Emmanuel), American Black Duck - 2, Mallards - 50, Common Goldeneye - 200, Hooded Merganser - 1(Riviere St Charles River off Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Common Merganser - 40, Cooper's Hawk - 1, Rock Pigeon - 60, Mourning Dove - 8, Snowy Owl - 3, Downy Woodpecker - 2, Northern Flicker - 1(Road to Hungry Bay), Blue Jay - 2, American Crow - 30, Horned Lark - 2, Black-capped Chickadee - 8, Tufted Titmouse - 1 (heard only) (Road to Hungry Bay), White-breasted Nuthatch - 2, European Starling - 30, Northern Cardinal - 1, House Sparrow - 4

Grèbe à bec bigarré - 1 (Riviere St Charles River hors Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Grèbe jougris - 1 (Canal Soulanges - Autoroute 338 et St Emmanuel), Canard noir - 2, Canard colvert - 50, Garrot à oeil d'or - 200, Harle couronné - 1 (Riviere St Charles River hors Sullivan St, Valleyfield), Grand Harle - 40, Épervier de Cooper - 1, Pigeon biset - 60, Tourterelle triste - 8, Harfang des neiges - 3, Pic mineur - 2, Pic flamboyant - 1 (route de Hungry Bay), geai bleu - 2, Corneille d'Amérique - 30, Alouette hausse-col - 2, Mésange à tête noire - 8, Mésange bicolore - 1 (entendu seulement) (route de Hungry Bay), Sittelle à poitrine blanche - 2, Étourneau sansonnet - 30, Cardinal rouge - 1, Moineau domestique - 4

Sightings for Saturday February 15

Montréal, NDG: Cooper's hawk (Épervier de Cooper) between Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve on Oxford - Margit

Great Backyard Bird Count

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is for everyone, from beginner birdwatchers to experts, and anyone can participate from anywhere in the world. Counting birds provides scientists and conservationists with a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Bird Studies Canada, and the National Audubon Society learn more about how birds are doing, and how to protect them and the environment we share. Please join us for the GBBC, Friday, February 14th through Monday, February 17th, and together we can make our local birds count!

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday February 8

Eight birders including a visitor from Belgium, started at rue Higgins in Chateauguay. Temperature  -13 C, but at least there not much wind. One of the the first birds found was a Carolina wren in full song, and everyone a good view as it was very co-operative. Fifteen species were found before five of us moved on to Sainte-Catherine. where we added another seven species for a total of 22. As we were going back to our cars Mary Ellen found a Northern pintail mixed in with the Mallards that were behind the fence at the parking lot.  - Tom

List of birds seen: 50 Canada goose, 4 American black duck, 100 Mallard, 1 Northern pintail, 200 Common goldeneye, 1 hybrid Common X Barrow's goldeneye, 4 Common Merganser, 1 Herring gull, 20 Great black-backed gull, 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker, 5 Downy Woodpecker, 2 Hairy Woodpecker, 6 American crow, 1 Common raven, 14 Black-capped chickadee, 3 White-breasted nuthatch, 1 Carolina wren, 20 European Starling, 1 American tree sparrow, 6 Dark-eyed junco, 3 Northern Cardinal, 5 American goldfinch

50 Bernache du Canada, 4 Canard noir, 100 Canard colvert, 1 Canard pilet, 200 Garrot à oeil d'or, Garrot à oeil d'or X Garrot d'Islande hybride, 4 Grand Harle, 1 Goéland argenté, 20 Goéland marin , 2 Pic à ventre roux, 5 Pic mineur, 2 Pic chevelu, 6 corneille d'Amérique, 1 Grand corbeau , 14 mésange à tête noire, 3 Sittelle à poitrine blanche, 1 Troglodyte de Caroline, 20 Étourneau sansonnet, 1 Bruant hudsonien, 6 Junco ardoisé, 3 Cardinal rouge, 5 Chardonneret jaune

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, February 8 -samedi 8 février
Chateauguay, Rue Higgins & Sainte-Catherine Récré-O-Parc
Guide: Tom Long - 450-692-1590 - e-mail 

8:00 a.m.: Meet at rue Higgins in Chateauguay. 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 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. St-Francis. Follow St. 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.

8 h 00 Rendez-vous sur 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 en 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 rue Higgins, nous irons au Récré-O-Parc à Sainte-Catherine. Au Récré-O-Parc, nous recontrerons presqu’exclusivement des canards d’hiver mais d’autres surprises peuvent se présenter. Le Récré-O-Parc n’offre ni installation sanitaire ni 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 direction Châteauguay. Lorsque vous entrez dans Châteauguay, tourner à droite sur le boul. St-François. Suivez St-François jusqu’au bout, en arrivant sur la rivière Châteauguay et le croisement avec le boul. Salaberry Nord. Tourner à droite sur Salaberry Nord. 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 Saturday February 1

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield: Luc Goneau and Daniel Ouellette were at the lookout at the end of rue St-Jean-Baptiste. Using their binoculars (absolutely necessary), they spotted two Red-necked Grebe and two Long-tailed ducks

Luc Goneau et Daniel Ouellette étaient au belvédère à l’extrémité de la rue St-Jean-Baptiste à Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. À l’aide de leurs lunettes d’approche(absolument nécessaires), ils ont repéré deux Grèbe jougris et deux Harelde kakawi - Régis Fortin

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report" Saturday February 1

Today's milder weather with calm early morning winds brought out 17 birders for our driving trip through the flatlands of St-Clet, Ste-Marthe and Ste-Justine. Temperatures peaked at -3C but a damp northeast breeze during our final hour made for slightly less pleasant conditions. But, all in all, veterans of this outing felt it was a very pleasant day by the standards of previous trips!
 
Snowy owls were the main target bird of the day and they did not disappoint although most of the sightings were quite far out in the fields. A total of seven were spotted - not bad considering they were "lifers" for three or four of our participants. Other birds were harder to come by. A flock of 20 horned larks were fairly cooperative but a group of 50 snow buntings played hide and seek against a cloudy sky and never really did give us a good look. Twenty turkeys, some in flight, were also a nice addition. A distant coyote added a good mammalian component to our day.
 
Many thanks to all who came out for their good camaraderie. Our complete list of 16 species(not all seen by everyone) is below. - Wayne
 
Wild Turkey - 20, Rock Pigeon - 75, Mourning Doves - 4, Snowy Owl - 7, Downy Woodpecker - 1, Northern Shrike - 1, Blue Jay - 20, American Crow - 25, Common Raven - 2, Horned Lark - 30, Black-capped Chickadee - 14, White-breasted Nuthatch - 1, European Starling - 60, Snow Bunting - 50, Northern Cardinal - 1, House Sparrow - 10

Dinde sauvage - 20, Pigeon biset - 75, Tourterelles tristes - 4, Harfang des neiges - 7, Pic mineur - 1, Pie-grièche grise - 1, Geai bleu - 20, Corneille d'Amérique - 25, Grand Corbeau - 2, Alouette hausse-col - 30, Mésange à tête noire - 14, Sittelle à poitrine blanche - 1, Étourneau sansonnet - 60, Bruant des neiges - 50, Cardinal rouge 1, Moineau domestique - 10

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Saturday, February 1  – samedi 1 février

Ste-Marthe, St-Clet, Ste-Justine

Guide: 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.

8 h 00 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 Thursday January 30

Québec, avenue St-David,  Great gray owl (Chouette Lapone) PHOTOS - Bruno Tremblay

Sightings for Friday January 24

Montréal: An Eastern Screech owl (Petit-duc maculé) was sitting on our porch this morning (in little Italy), corner Chateaubriand and Belle chasse).it seems unusual to us! It is still there, has been sitting there for at least a few hours already (we aren’t sure if it was there last night, we wouldn’t have seen it) - Karen
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Montréal: The Fox Sparrow is still present at the Botanical Gardens, I saw it at feeder #3 at 15:30 as well as the White-throated Sparrow

Le bruant fauve est toujours présent au Jardin Botanique Je l'ai vu à la mangeoire 3 à 15h30 ainsi que le bruant à gorge blanche - Pascale Berthe
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Varennes: At 4:40 p.m. today a Snowy owl sat atop a pole on Chemin du Lac, just east of blvd. Lionel-Boulet

À 16h40 aujourd'hui, à Varennes, un Harfang des neiges trônait au sommet d'un poteau, sur le chemin du Lac, un peu à l'est du boulevard Lionel-Boulet. - Michel Bertrand
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Beauport: The Northern Hawk Owl is is still at the corner rue Du Gulf and Boulevard Lloyd Welch.

La Chouette épervière est toujours au coin rue Du Gouffre et du Boulevard Lloyd Welch à Beauport. - Serge Mailhot

"Introduction to Birdwatching" course

Champlain College in St-Lambert will once again be offering my "Introduction to Birdwatching" course as a part of their Continuing Education program this spring. The course begins on March 26th, 2014. For information, or to register for the course, please visit the following webpage - Sheldon

http://www.champlainonline.com/champlainweb/continuing-education/programs-courses/introduction-to-birdwatching-2/

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip"

Here are the details for the BPQ field trip for Saturday.  After reviewing all of the recent sightings in our region, I have decided that our best opportunity for a good variety of birds on Saturday will be at the Ste-Catherine Seaway Locks and Récré-o-parc in south shore Sainte-Catherine.  A Wood Duck and two Northern Pintails are being seen regularly in the seaway run-off basin just in front of the seaway locks.  Also two juvenile bald eagles and a number of Wild Turkeys have been spotted on the shore of Heron Island facing the Récré-o-parc. There are also several species of ducks and gulls in the open water between the parc and Heron Island.  We will also walk some of the trails of the park itself to see what we might be able to shake out of the trees.

Rather than meeting at the usual spot at Sainte-Catherine (the empty parking lot facing the road leading up to the drawbridge at the locks), we will meet just a little north-east of that spot on boul. Marie-VIctorin at a small parking lot in the Parc des Optimistes.  Here are the details.

DATE: Saturday, January 25, 2014
TIME: 8 am - Half Day.LOCATION: Parc des Optimistes, Ste-Catherine
MEETING SPOT: The parking lot at Parc des Optimistes, boul. Marie-Victorin, slightly north-east of the road leading to the drawbridge at the Seaway Locks..

Directions to the Parc des Optimistes, on boul. Marie-Victorin, Sainte-Catherine, QC
SEE Google Map http://goo.gl/maps/Eciv3

By car, via Mercier Bridge. At the south end of the bridge, take the left exit
(direction LaPrairie-132 east), drive 6.5 km, turn left onto Rue Centrale. Follow Centrale which will turn right on to Marie-Victorin Blvd. The parking lot is on the left, just past the road leading up to the drawbridge at the locks.

By car, via Champlain Bridge: Take the Champlain Bridge, take the first exit
off the bridge toward New York State (#15 south / #132 east); take Exit 46
(LaPrairie/Salaberry) and turn right on to Marie-Victorin Blvd. Drive 5.2 km and
arrive at the parking lot on the right just before the road leading up to the drawbridge at the locks. 

This will mostly be a walking trip.  Wear good footwear as some of the trails may be icy. Scopes are recommended for viewing on to the river and across to Heron Island.

For more information contact me at 450-462-1459, or on the morning of the field trip at 514-637-2141

Sightings for Monday January 20

St-Pamphile, rang des Moreau: Northern hawk owl, this afternoon around 1:15 PHOTO

Chouette épervière, cet après-midi vers 13h15 PHOTO - Jean-Guy Chouinard, Jocelyne Morin

Bird Protection Quebec "Field Trip Report"

Montréal Botanical Gardens -Saturday, January 18,  8:00 to 12:00

We were blessed with sunny skies, light winds and temperatures of -2° C to + 2°C. 14 participants worked hard to identify 12 species. The feeders had seed and that is where most birds were found but there were very few birds to be found. The bird of the day was a Cooper’s Hawk (Épervier de Cooper) who stayed perched in a tree for at least half an hour moving once to give us a view from the front. A couple of birders not with our group saw a Red-tailed Hawk (Buse à queue rousse) and mentioned having seen a shrike the week before. A couple of other birders described a bird to some of our group which was probably a Northern Shrike (Pie-grièche grise).

Here is our list for the day, 

Coopers Hawk                      1          Épervier de Cooper

Rock Pigeon                          4          Pigeon biset

Downy Woodpecker            6          Pic mineur

American Crow                    5          Corneille d’Amérique

Black-capped Chickadee   20         Mésange à tête noire

White-breasted Nuthatch  6          Sittelle à poitrine blanche

American Robin                   6          Merle d’Amérique

European Starling               6          Étourneau sansonnet

Dark-eyed Junco                6          Junco ardoisé

Northern Cardinal              5          Cardinal rouge

American Goldfinch            3          Chardonneret jaune

House Sparrow                   7          Moineau domestique

We had a pleasant walk and I thank all who joined me. Hope to see you out again soon.

David Mulholland