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.

Sparrow School

American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea

White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys

Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana

Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula

Common Raven Corvus corax

Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus

Shagbark Hickory nuts?
The placement seems odd...

  The parking areas at PN du Cap-St-Jacques were clagged up with happy families and clots of unmasked teenagers last weekend. Away from the scenic waterside vistas, there were plenty of quiet and un-Instagramable spots to be found. The birdiest patches were the shadowy trails that wound around a series of large, mostly fallow farm fields.

  These weed-choked fields were prime habitat for some of my favourites: LBJs…and boy, were the LBJs out and about! If we’re counting Juncos (Are we counting Juncos? Do we? Are we?) and the 'grand finale sparrow' that closed out the trip, nine species of sparrow were logged on the day. Welcome to Remedial Sparrow Identification School.

  At dusk, at the edge of a scrubby field near the farms on the northern bit, a sparrow was spotted that made my stomach fall into my shoes. Pale, straw-coloured, with an eye-line that joined up with the malar behind the eye to form a dark ‘U’…what the? My mind was racing, flicking through the pages of the various field guides in my mind. A pale female Rustic Bunting! Yes, it must be! Then I remembered I was not in Korea. Brewer’s Sparrow? Nope…that map isn’t right…Clay-colored Sparrow! 100% yes. And it was in no way, shape, or form a Chipping Sparrow.

  I got solid looks at it through the bins for a while before I remembered the camera slung over my shoulder. I got on it, and saw the bird filling the frame in perfect focus…for a split second. Then the clump of weeds in front was in perfect focus…followed by the clump of weeds behind the bird. Autofocus hell, I call this. When I lowered the lens to switch to manual focus (damned tiny switches), the bird flipped into a hedge-line that was quivering with other sparrows, as well as half a dozen active Yellow-rumped Warblers for added flavour, never to be seen again. We lingered long after the light had leaked over the horizon, with no re-sighting. That’s birding, eh?

  Looking at the range maps, you gotta wonder if Clay-colored Sparrows are an overlooked species at this time of year, when they are drab, not singing, and mixed in with loads of other sparrows. Anyway, without having secured a record shot, I shall meekly mumble this record out, and should couch the sighting in more uncertain terms. One must never shout CCSP in a crowded theatre. Wait, I guess there are no more crowded theatres.

PN du Cap-St-Jacques, October 11, 2020
Canada Goose-50+
Mallard-12
Cooper’s Hawk-1 harassing the RSHA
Red-shouldered Hawk-1 adult
Herring Gull-1
Downy Woodpecker-1
Hairy Woodpecker-1
Northern Flicker-1
Pileated Woodpecker-2
Eastern Phoebe-2
Blue Jay-4
American Crow-3+
Common Raven-2
Black-capped Chickadee-8
White-breasted Nuthatch-4
Red-breasted Nuthatch-1
Golden-crowned Kinglet-7+
Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5+
Hermit Thrush-1
American Robin-8+
Nashville Warbler-1
Yellow-rumped Warbler-10+
Northern Cardinal-2
Clay-colored Sparrow-1
American Tree Sparrow-4
Song Sparrow-7
Lincoln’s Sparrow-1
Swamp Sparrow-1 hopping along the trail with tail cocked
Fox Sparrow-2
White-crowned Sparrow-12+ (conservative count…they were in most fields)
White-throated Sparrow-10+
Dark-eyed Junco-8+
Purple Finch-2

Lincoln’s Park

Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii

Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii

Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Yellow-rumped Warbler Setophaga coronata

Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata

Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius

Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis

Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

Canada Goose Branta canadensis

American Wigeon Anas americana
(female-type)

American Wigeon Anas americana
(male just starting to come out of breeding plumage)

Bumblebee sp.

Swarms of tiny flies in odd chimney formations

The Sparrow Bowl

All masks, all the time

  A three-hour amble around Parc des Rapides turned up some notable avian observations. Several thick veins of Yellow-rumped Warblers moved through the treetops, seemingly in hot pursuit of tiny flies that were swarming above the treeline in bizarre chimney-like appendages. Three Blackpoll Warblers were spotted moving within these otherwise mono-specific groups. Each individual looked quite different from the other (much variation in the streaking on the underparts), each posing initial identification problems…especially with the hyper-active butterbutts (YRWA) running interference.

  In an underbrush-clogged depression feature near the parking lot (that I have dubbed ‘Sparrow Bowl’), two lovely confiding Lincoln’s Sparrows offered up excellent field mark comparisons with several nearby Song Sparrows. Other birds of note included a re-sighting of Canada Goose X6F2, close views of American Wigeons in fall plumage (never did manage to see one in Korea), and a juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker flying figure-eight aerobatics through the trees, perhaps in reaction to a perceived threat.

Parc des Rapides, October 6, 2020
Double-crested Cormorant-25+

Great Blue Heron-2
Canada Goose-50+ (including neck collar ‘X6F2’)
Wood Duck-12+

Mallard-8
American Wigeon-4

Red-breasted Merganser-4
Ring-billed Gull-60+

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1
Northern Flicker-1
Blue Jay-1
American Crow-2
Black-capped Chickadee-12+
White-breasted Nuthatch-2
Golden-crowned Kinglet-2
American Robin-1

Yellow-rumped Warbler-30-40
Blackpoll Warbler-3
Northern Cardinal-2
Song Sparrow-20-30 (many first-year birds hopping around the weeds)

Lincoln’s Sparrow-2
White-throated Sparrow-3