Marais de St-Timothée, September 29, 2019

Autumn Meadowhawk Sympetrum vicinum

Canada Darner Aeshna canadensis

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus with American Robin Turdus migratorius

spot the Green Heron Butorides virescens

Common Gallinule Gallinula galeata

Pickerel Frog Lithobates palustris

  It’s been a year since my last pre-Gangneung Canadian birding jaunt. Time flies, yadda-yadda.

  Yesterday’s plan was to hit the Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville hard, but an apple picking event meant that the parking lot there was full. Cars were being directed to another, massive (and full) parking lot off the island (whose gates were set to be chained shut at 5 P.M. sharp), where a shuttle bus would be taking the throngs of apple pickers to the site. No thanks, nope.
  So we hit Marais de St-Timothée instead, and it while it wasn’t super birdy, it was at least peaceful – only 32 species were recorded in and around the swamp on a crisp, sunny day. Notable were at least 1,000 icterids on the move, with several flocks of 200-300 (mostly) Red-winged Blackbirds joining to form an unbroken chattering black cloud overhead at the end of the walk. Separate from that mob were four Rusty Blackbirds perched in a dead tree with two American Robins. Perhaps surprisingly for this time of year, but perhaps not, only one species of warbler (three Common Yellowthroats at the parking lot muck canal) was logged all day.
  In other news, dragonflies really like me.