Mount Royal Cemetery, Nov 25, 2020

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus

White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera

  Winter laid a surprise siege around the colossal bowl of the Mount Royal Cemetery on the 25th of November. In spite of the stinging cold and shin-deep snow in spots, for some reason I neglected to wear my shiny new winter boots, because I'm a giant dummy. As a result, in addition to losing three Sherpas and most of our sled dogs, I had all of my toes crudely amputated due to frostbite back at base camp. Spirits remain high, however, as we expect the relief ship to breach the pack ice by late spring, to deliver us to salvation.

  The birds of the day were only seen fleetingly, high overhead: conservatively 75 White-Winged Crossbills (assuming it was a relatively mono-specific flock) south towards Mount Royal.

  Another highlight was a lone Bohemian Waxwing gorging on fruit. It offered great looks at all the field marks, but alas, no Cedars to compare it to. Species total was 14, including 12+ American Goldfinch and 18+ Mopes (Pine Grosbeak).

Forsaken Visions of Futures Past (What?!)

White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca deglandi

White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca deglandi

Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

November 7, 2020, Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Notre-Dame

  Another tardy birding report, with more yet to come. I last visited Parc Jean-Drapeau on a March 5, 2020 Pine Warbler twitch, that surely was 25 years ago (The Before Times!).

  Being on Île Sainte-Hélène that day felt like being in Asia somehow…the balmy weather (18 and hazy), bare trees, and calendar were all wildly out of sync. The vast tourist-friendly expanses of concrete and polished metal completed the mirage.

  Île Notre-Dame had more of a Cuban vibe. Weedy paths were strewn with the mouldering remnants of a 1960’s vision of the future. Gangneung’s 6-month-old-yet-crumbling Olympic installations had a similar feel to them.

  It didn’t feel overly birdy at any particular moment, but the species count was nickel and dimed up to 28 species. A lone White-winged Scoter loitered with the more common waterfowl in the southeast corner of Lac de l’Île Notre-Dame. A Black-crowned Night Heron was seen on Île Sainte-Hélène from Pont des Îles. A Red-bellied Woodpecker spotted on Île Sainte-Hélène felt notable. At dusk, a bat sp. was shimmering over the reeds on the western bank of Lac de l’Île Notre-Dame.

Belated Cems

Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina

Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula

American Robin Turdus migratorius

American Robin Turdus migratorius
(Check out that trap-door tongue!)

Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator

Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator

Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator

American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
(Just doing Halloween things...)

Eastern Chipmunk Tamias striatus

Mount-Royal Cemetery and Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, October 28+31, November 11, 2020

  Been busy. My bird reports may be tardy, but I have been slipping out to bird every now and again.

  The cemeteries yielded 26 species on a brisk October 28th (5 degrees and cloudy). Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins were unfortunately only heard in flight. Highlights included both Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks, a lone Pine Grosbeak (AKA ‘Mope’), and, in NDN along the north fence, 5 Winter Wrens and 6+ Hermit Thrush.

  Down to 19 species on Halloween. Sunnier, but cooler. Again haunted by more flyover Evening Grosbeaks with no satisfying views. Birds of the day: 6 Fox Sparrows in NDN along the north fence.

  Bizarre weather on Remembrance Day — gloomy and drizzly, but high teens in temp, in the midst of a week-long stretch of summery weather. Species count was 19 again, with more frustrating fickle finch flyovers (White-winged Crossbills, Common Redpolls). Pine Grosbeak numbers were up, and the ‘feeder Fox Sparrow’ was spotted. At dusk, the ground shook when a massive birch came down hard nearby, narrowly missing several graves. George L and Harry were quick on the scene to investigate, and chew big sticks into smaller sticks.

  On the snowy morning of Nov 4th at 8:15am, I witnessed a window-strike at close range in NDG. A mixed flock of finches came in low and fast across a side street, and two smashed into a large 2nd floor window that was reflecting the sunrise. Not the way I wanted to tick the first Pine Siskin and Common Redpoll for my neighbourhood. It was an absolute horror.

Secretary of Warblers

  Here’s my most recently published tale, Secretary of Warblers. In hindsight, it’s a little bit on-the-nose, in the finger-wagging style of an episode of the old-school Twilight Zone. It continues in the mould of some of my other ‘near-future eco-dystopia cautionary tale’-type stories.

http://losangelesreview.org/secretary-warblers-matt-poll/

  I’ve got some other birdy writing projects currently in the works…all will be revealed soon.

(To read my other published birding tales, click on this handy clickety-click and scroll down:
http://snowyowllost.blogspot.ca/search/label/Writing%20stuff-published%20stories)

Fall's Flame, Finch Fails

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus

Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus

Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus

Winter Wren Troglodytes hiemalis

White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa

Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura

Merlin Falco columbarius

Mount-Royal Cemetery and Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, October 24-25, 2020

  In order to conform with the Halloweeny mood of the season, cemeterial birding sessions were in order for the weekend. On the 24th, the sweet fresh Canadian air was a treat as always, and autumn’s foliage flame was in full blaze, which made for a spectacular setting for some cem birding.
  In an affirmation of that age-old mantra of birder surrender — “That’s birding!” — species of particular interest such as Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, and American Pipit were all heard, but not seen.
  While 28 species were logged in four hours of late afternoon birding, somehow it felt like less. There were loads (6) of Winter Wrens about in all the expected areas, which is always nice to see — nothing beats an encounter with a feisty wren.

  Cems again the following day, because why not? The weather was fresher, with gloves and neck tubes being a necessity. The species count was down to 18, and it was evident that a big clear-out had occurred overnight...there were several long stretches of eerie birdlessness. Species with huge one-day drop in numbers included American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, Golden- and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Hermit Thrush.
  Two Merlins perched on station in the tallest available conifers at opposite corners ensured that most passerines that remained were sticking to low cover, and were relatively silent.
  Finch sightings were confined to a quick flyover of a half-squadron of Pine Siskins near the feeders.