"An Unwelcome Christmas Greeting"

Basking Robins

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus with
Herring Gull Larus argentatus

Baltimore Oriole nest? (and a leafbird)

"Winter's Dusk at Maple Cabin"

Morgan Arboretum, December 21, 2023

  Did a crisp solstice go-around at the arbo with Dan that ended at dusk. Arbo!

Notable:
-16+ American Robins basking in the sun at Blossom Corner (Dan came up with the winning pun, ©™, all rights reserved)
-A V of small ducks zipped fast overhead at one point, headed towards the water – Green-winged Teal? Common Goldeneye?
-Four species of woodpecker, but no Red-bellied
-A steady trickle of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls drifting towards the waterfront
-A pair of Northern Ravens doing some odd vocalization
-A goofy dog named Sunny that ignored her owner ("Can you grab her? Please?")
-15 species in two hours

The '23 Christmas Bird Count

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

The amazing Giraffe-necked Nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus with
White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii
in daydream skies

(last week)

  I’ve been participating in the Montréal Christmas bird count for the past few years. The first Christmas bird count in 1900 kind of led to modern birding — look it up. 

  In past years I’ve checked the NDN Cemetery, but this time round I just covered a local NDG spot. Didn’t stumble into anything unexpected, but it was nice to tick the resident Cooper's Hawk, which I don't always see. When the Cooper's jetted over, a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches and some Black-capped Chickadees freaked out, then all seemed to be checking in on a pair of what looked like nest/roost holes.

  The temperature hovered around freezing, with a mix of high hazy cloud and sun. Most of the snow had melted, and it was claggy in the fields. We had quite a dump of snow last week — instant winter. Tomorrow? Nearly double digit temps and a heavy rainfall warning.

  Earlier in the week, I sat out front at midnight and was rewarded with a few Geminid meteors. Seeing a meteor in the dark night sky provokes from me an involuntary stream of gibberish. Perhaps that’s the bit of excitable caveman DNA that we all have in us. I love all the ‘nids.

‘Quiet Place’ in NDG, December 16, 2023

-Observers: 1

-11:30am-1:00pm (~3km)

-Species counted: 14

-Individual birds counted: 82

Cooper's Hawk: 1

Rock Dove: 8

Downy Woodpecker: 3 (1 male, 2 female)

Hairy Woodpecker: 2 (1 male, 1 female)

American Crow: 4

Black-capped Chickadee: 9

Brown Creeper: 1 (heard only)

White-breasted Nuthatch: 4 (2 were attending a nest/roost hole)

American Robin: 6

European Starling: 25

Northern Cardinal: 3 (1 male, 2 female)

Dark-eyed Junco: 7

House Sparrow: 8

American Goldfinch: 1 (heard only)