Tuft Luck

Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula

Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula leading
Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis

The land of summer cottages on cinder block stilts

Saint-Paul-de-l'Île-aux-Noix, MRC : Le Haut-Richelieu, Montérégie

  Went on a twitch down south towards the border with George on Sunday. We found the Tufted Duck, a rare visitor from Eurasia tucked in among a loose raft of (mostly) Lesser Scaup. Bountiful rafts of Tufted Duck were always a sure sign that winter had arrived in Korea.

  We also ran into another bird familiar to me in Korea, a Red-necked Grebe. I didn’t realize that it was a Canada lifer for me until I checked my Sibley’s. Huzzah.

  I spotted a pair of Caspian Terns in the flooded fields on the drive down to the Tufted Duck spot, but we couldn’t find them on the way out. Those fields did hold some other birds of interest, such as Northern Shoveler, Blue- and Green-winged Teal, several Greater Yellowlegs, and a Rusty Blackbird.

  The ‘sexy’ spring migrants still seem bottled up somewhere down south. Those Blue-headed Vireos and Palm Warblers oughta be showing up in force in the next week.

Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville, Île Sainte-Bernard, Châteauguay, April 22, 2022

Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Osprey Pandion haliaetus

Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe

Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor

White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

North American Beaver Castor canadensis

North American Beaver Castor canadensis

North American Beaver Castor canadensis

Muskrat Ondatra zibethicus

North American River Otter Lontra canadensis

Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis

Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta

Who are these little fellers?

  It was cold and blustry at D-ville the other day, it felt downright autumnal. Tuques, gloves, and neck tubes were on for most of the day. Quiet at times, but still 51 species in 7 hours.

  Plenty of non-winged critters were out and about. There was a dead River Otter at the eastern tip of the Petite Digue – a sad way to encounter this species for the first time.

  There had to have been close to 1,000 Tree Swallows over the Grande Digue at dusk, swirling in clouds wherever one looked. Also at dusk, I heard one verse of Yellow Warbler song, but didn’t see a bird, so I think I’ll hold off until I claim my first warbler of the spring. Seems like the main streams of migrants are still plugged up somewhere down south by cold and weird weather. Soon!

I Chose the Cowbird

  Here’s my latest "Twilight Zone birding" tale. It’s a bit dark, but so are the current times, so it all evens out I guess.

https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2022/04/23/i-chose-the-cowbird/

All D’Youville, all the time

Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus

Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Common Garter Snake Thamnophis sirtalis

Dekay’s Brown Snake Storeria dekayi

Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates pipiens

CCGS Mamilossa

Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville, Île Sainte-Bernard, Châteauguay, April 11, 2022

  Another 7-hour early spring walk on D-ville, and my knees hurt again. More reptiles and amphibians were out and about, and more first-of-year birds, with 52 species on the day.

Vernal Returns

Your chances of being killed by a Tufted Titmouse are slim…

…but never zero.

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor

Great Egret Ardea alba

Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias

American Coot Fulica americana

Common Merganser Mergus merganser

with

Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula

Wood Duck Aix sponsa
(doing Wood Duck things)

Woodland Vole Microtus pinetorum

Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville, Île Sainte-Bernard, Châteauguay, April 5, 2022

  A quick 7-hour walk under a balmy 15-degree sun…all the different parts of my legs are still a bit sore. Spring is indeed here – it was a day of FOY (first-of-year) birds. These included: Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, two American Kestrels, Turkey Vultures, two Northern Harriers, a Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Shrikes (two individuals), a Rusty Blackbird, an American Coot, Tree Swallows, and one unmistakable Barn Swallow over the Grande Digue (seems quite early for the province).

  There was also a vernal stirring of non-avian creatures at D-ville: Muskrats, Groundhogs, Meadow Voles, a Mourning Cloak butterfly, several unidentified frogs, and a Garter Snake. A probable American Eel (now thought to have been a Bowfin) was seen moving slowly through the shallow waters by the Grande Digue. Is that even possible? It was long, moving just below the water, and I got a quick glimpse of a long green dorsal fin.

  On the way out, I caught a whiff of warblers on the wind – they’re in the pipeline. A nice round total of 50 species was logged for the day.