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.