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| House Sparrow Passer domesticus |
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| American Robin Turdus migratorius |
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| Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis |
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| White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis |
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| The amazing Giraffe-necked Nuthatch |
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| Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus with White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis |
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| Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens |
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| Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii in daydream skies |
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| (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)
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