Monday, March 4, 2024

Notes from the north

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus

White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera

White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera

White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera

Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus

Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus

Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus

Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus

Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus

American Red Squirrel Tamiasciurus hudsonicus





Harry waiting to dig a hole

Harry digging a hole

Harry playing in a hole

“Hello, welcome to Harrycorp, how may I help you today?”

Intense fog in NDG



-Went up north with George, Anthony, and Harry yesterday.

-Way too hot for the time of year, especially in the boreal forest.

-We got a solid taste of boreal birds, with most expected finches encountered.

-A flock of 30-ish Bohemian Waxwings on mainstreet Saint-Donat was a pleasant surprise. They were spotted in a fruiting tree, then moved to a nearby conifer.

-White-winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins were spotted by roadside, getting after the salt and grit.

- Always a treat to clap peepers on Hawfinch-like Evening Grosbeaks, as they tend to stay up north.

-A Golden-crowned Kinglet heard near Tremblant.

-Three Wild Turkeys and a Ring-billed Gull spotted from the car near Prévost.

-20ish species on the day.


  It was foggy as all get-up last night ‘round midnight. I was monitoring a flight tracking app, commiserating with the poor bastards that were circling for 90 minutes, before having to divert to Québec City due to fuel issues. The pea soup fog and temperature hovering just above zero reminded me of a Gageo Island pre-dawn, in mid-April.

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Recent pasts and hazy futures

Jetlagged coffee-sipping/cat-sitting in Jeju City while the torrential
 rains pour down outside – peak cozy achieved

Aftermath of the great rainihilation/foaming shoe incident

Food options on Gapa Island were…tricky at times. One day I ate a pogo (corn dog) for all three meals. The woman at the shop felt so sorry for me, she gave me… 

…a free coffee ("Service!")

The following day on Gapa the only thing I ate was this massive pajeon. It was
 filling and tasty, albeit a tad heavy on oily octopus legs for my taste.

I crossed paths with this dapper squire on Gapa last spring. I regret not talking to him, but I understand that he had an important marshmallow gumdrop harvest to attend to.

My old favourite hang in Seogwipo (“The Office”)

Foggy Jeju hills

I'd forgotten how fun it was to live out of a perfectly packed backpack
(for a while at least)

Best bus pass ever

The legend of…

…Cheonjiyeon Falls

Spring in…February?

Much too early for park reading weather

Or...memories of spring, melting winters...

  Time flies, it’s true what they say. A short year ago I was busy plotting my nutty Korean spring fling. It feels like it was yesterday, no joke. I re-read all my spring posts in a daze the other night, which re-charged my adventure batteries by about 6%. I picked up another 4% by combing through some phone pics from the trip (here are a few). I wonder if I’ll ever get to experience another Korean spring? Will I one day get a proper look at a Ruddy Kingfisher? Stay tuned, I guess.


  In other news, it’s 15 degrees and sunny out in Montreal, on February 27th. The forecast shows unbroken above zero (mostly double-digit) highs from here on out. The only snow left is hiding in the shadows, and the outdoor rink on the corner has almost fully bled out into the gutters. Just 20 short years ago, the outdoor rink was skate-able from early December right on through to mid-March, with few exceptions. I doubt if there were two weeks of solid ice this year.

  If this is what February is like, I’m terrified to imagine what April will bring, let alone the hellfires of August. I wonder if birds will be migrating north early, only to find that favourite food isn’t available yet.


  In other other news, I’ve got a couple of birding-related writing projects that are baking away, and the oven is about to ding.

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Sunday in the frigid fields

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

House Sparrow Passer domesticus


tracks of a White-footed Mouse Peromyscus leucopus

Flap hat weather

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, January 21, 2024
  Went for a Sunday bimble in the deej. It was a bracing -14°C (colder with the wind chill)….flap hat weather…frozen moustache weather. I love it. Only five species seen in 90 minutes, including a Pileated Woodpecker, and a pair of White-breasted Nuthatch actively foraging in and around a large tree cavity.

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Bimble in the fluff-fluff

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

Grapes gone to rot

Wan winter sun







‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, January 7, 2024
  Finally got some decent snow cover here, as a result of a glancing blow from a nor’easter. Colder too, more seasonal, but it actually doesn’t ‘feel’ as cold somehow, because of the snow, if that makes any sense. It was nice to need winter boots…it felt odd walking around in Converse throughout December.

  “Grape Corner,” a spot normally bustling with avian activity in the winter, was quiet today. No Starlings, Robins, or Cardinals jostling for the best grapes. On closer inspection, I noticed that most of the grapes had gone to rot. Perhaps a result of the warm temperatures we’ve had until now? It seems that during a normal winter, they flash-freeze, and so are available to birds as frozen treats.

  Got a whopping five species in a 90-minute bimble through the heavy fluff-fluff. Good leg workout for sure.

  Oh yeah, a Yellow-Breasted Chat turned up in Lasalle yesterday, cool. I'll get around to seeing one some day.

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Basking Robins

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus with
Herring Gull Larus argentatus

Baltimore Oriole nest? (and a leafbird)



"Winter's Dusk at Maple Cabin"


Morgan Arboretum, December 21, 2023
  Did a crisp solstice go-around at the arbo with Dan that ended at dusk. Arbo!

Notable:
-16+ American Robins basking in the sun at Blossom Corner (Dan came up with the winning pun, ©™, all rights reserved)
-A V of small ducks zipped fast overhead at one point, headed towards the water – Green-winged Teal? Common Goldeneye?
-Four species of woodpecker, but no Red-bellied
-A steady trickle of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls drifting towards the waterfront
-A pair of Northern Ravens doing some odd vocalization
-A goofy dog named Sunny that ignored her owner ("Can you grab her? Please?")
-15 species in two hours