Notre-Dame-de-Thrash

Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea

Rain cover thingy - it works!

Strap quick release thingy

Quiet Spot in NDG, April 26

Very steady rain in the morning, yet it ended up being quite birdy, with 29 species encountered in 90 minutes.

I finally got to try out a waterproof camera cover I picked up last year. After some fiddling, it worked a treat, although the rain made it tricky to see through the plastic window bit at times (I had to install quick release strap attachments to get the strap mounted through the cover). I’m sort of shocked I got any images at all through the thing, if I’m honest, ha ha.

I used my ‘old’ birding gear, as testing my new light travel rig for water resistance is not something that interests me (but the trials continue).

Looking at the mix of birds, it really felt like late April.

-High single-digit numbers of White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, and Chipping Sparrow cluttered up every bit of weedy edge.

-Several Song Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-shafted Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, and an American Tree Sparrow, only my second for the site.

-Finally got a Brown Thrasher for this spot…personal species #73 for the site – a silent individual perched at the top of a muddy sumac slope. I must have walked right past it on the way in, and only caught it on the way out with one of those ‘one last look’ 360 twirls birders do.

-Other birds of note: Merlin, Cooper’s Hawk still on the nest, Winter Wren, Carolina Wren (Back!), Golden- and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

-Warblers? On the way.

Part of the charm of this spot is that it looks much as it did 130 years ago, I imagine. Unfortunately, the property is soon changing hands, and in the next few years, I fear that domino rows of condos will stand in this quiet place. But that’s OK, because one fine day in the future, all those condos will crumble back into the weeds, and the last people that remember the folks that built them will be long dead.

Woodcocking at dusk

Call of the American Woodcock Scolopax minor

Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps

Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon

Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus

Popped over to the Technoparc with George for some crepuscular Scolopacidae-ing. Several target American Woodcocks were heard peenting, as well as seen overhead on their bat-like display flights. Other birds of note included Wilson’s Snipe, Pied-billed Grebe, Belted Kingfisher, and Great Egret. Logged 24 species total.

Boring NDG bird notes, March 29-April 12

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

-->March 29

-Song Sparrows are back at my ‘quiet spot in NDG.’

-Still some snow around, the winter doesn’t want to surrender.

-Merlins and Turkey Vultures are back in town, spotted earlier in the week in and over NDG.

-11 species in 90 minutes.

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
(taken with the Lumix Fz200…with the auto white balance way out of whack)

'Featherweight birding bag'
(My back will thank me)

-->April 5

-9 species in 90 minutes

-0 degrees

Finally saved enough pennies (remember those?) to complete a project I’ve had in the works for a long while – putting together a small, ‘travel birding bag.’ For my next few birding excursions, I will be putting the new gear through its paces, to get used to it. The resulting bag is shockingly small and light. My back will thank me...

The camera is a Lumix Fz200. Released in 2012, you can find them at a reasonable price on the used market.

The bins are Nikon Travelites. They worked a treat, after some calibrating of the separate barrels - they really punch above their weight...a lot of bang for the buck. They almost felt too light and tiny in my hands, after a decade of lugging around Swaros.

This ‘go bag’ is not intended to replace my old birding rig. But it will certainly come in handy when traveling, climbing mountains, going on long walks, and for being prepared for bird-mergencies on ‘non-birding’ excursions.

My first field trial with the new setup was fun, if a bit disorienting – I kept reaching for optics that were not hanging in their usual spots.

The Lumix was working fairly well until the old battery died in a hurry. Got some new ones in the mail since, but the camera sure lives up to its reputation as a battery hog.

Before setting out, I had only done a preliminary muck-through of the settings, and I clearly need to do a little studying! The pics I did take were all blued out...an issue with the auto white balance. Also, the focus is gonna take some practice.

Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii
(taken with the Lumix Fz200)

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
(taken with the Lumix Fz200)

Woodchuck/Groundhog/Siffleur Marmota monax
(taken with the Lumix Fz200)

The very last bit of snow

-->April 12

-4 degrees and cloudy.

-12 species in 90 minutes.

-About 6 Song Sparrows now, all quite vocal.

-A last blast of snow on April 8 - snow all but gone on the 12th, and it’s baseball cap weather.

-A pair of Cooper’s Hawks was seen nest-building.

-Got more used to the Lumix settings. The auto white balance is under control (sort of, ha ha), but I still need to tweak my focus skills. Been doing some research on that front. The resolution is obviously not as rich as the old ‘hand Canon,’ but again, this is only meant for backup situations and for getting record shots, and it is proving to be quite a competent tool for that.

Spring is afoot!

Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis

Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

Brown Creeper Certhia americana

Brown Creeper Certhia americana

Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
(Typically camera-shy)

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe

Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura

Woodchuck/Groundhog/Siffleur Marmota monax

Mount Royal Cemetery, April 28, 2025

-Went for an A.M. Saturday circuit of the cem with the usual suspects.

-Personal first of year birds included: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Ruby- and Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird (some overwintered at the cems, quite rare), Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow, and Purple Finch.

-30-some-odd species in about four hours.

-Heard an odd vireo-long song at the end...unresolved.

-No warblers, but they’re on the way!

-Finally stopped snowing, but only recently.

-I’ve got a catch-up post on NDG birding/optics update on the way.

Boring NDG bird notes, January-March

Sorry, these are boring notes. They’re for me. I’ve been hitting my ‘Quiet Place in NDG’ every weekend this winter. No Carolina Wrens spotted conclusively since December 28. What else? It snowed a lot this winter, and it was cold. Good, that’s how old-fashioned winters are supposed to be, grumble grumble. My kingdom for another spring birding trip in Korea.

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

-->Jan 4

-Crisp: minus double digits, cloudy.

-7 species.

-->Jan 11

-8 species.

-Possible Carolina Wren sighting, but I’m 50/50 on it.

-->Jan 18

-6 species.

-Quiet overall, warm and overcast.

-->Jan 25

-11 species.

-Quite a few active House Finch around, based around a tall stand of sumac.

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

-->Feb 1

-8 species, sunny and very cold

-At least 10 House Finch now, in the same sumac/field area.

-->Feb 8

-10 species.

-Still cold, but fairly birdy.

Thought I was looking at an Eastern Screech-Owl

-->Feb 15

-Cold and sunny

-Snowshoes needed after a massive dump of snow. The biggest issue was having to crawl under branches that were previously duckable.

-8 species.

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

Lachine in the distance

-->Feb 21

-Pretty quiet overall.

-Nine species.

-Didn’t bring snowshoes, so some areas not visited.

-->March 1

-Warming up, but snow still too deep to get through in most areas.

-9 species in 45 minutes.

-->March 8

-Snow still deep.

-Very cold (-12 without the wind chill).

-Just 4 species in 45 minutes.

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

Canada Goose Branta canadensis

Woodchuck/Groundhog/Siffleur Marmota monax

Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

-->March 15
-Feeling spring-y.
-Snow is largely gone, was about 10 degrees out, had to shed a few layers.
-First Groundhog of the year.
-A personal first skein of Canada Geese flying over.
-Many birds in full song: House Finch, Northern Cardinal, and American Robin, among others.
-Ring-billed Gulls, Dark-eyed Juncos, and House Finches seen ‘again.’
-European Starlings mimicking Killdeers, Grey Catbirds (!), American Robins, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
-13 species in 90 minutes.