Same April 11, different spot

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolour

Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolour

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus

Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus

American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea

Greater Scaup Aythya marila

Great Egret Ardea alba

White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville, Île Sainte-Bernard, Châteauguay, April 11, 2026

-Temps in the 3-5 degree range

-A blustery (especially on the west side) go-around at lovely Marguerite-D’Youville with Evelyn, who got a huge kick out of hand-feeding birds (Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch and Tufted Titmouse…the Downy Woodpeckers were not feeling it)

-150+ Bohemian Waxwing

-1 American Tree Sparrow

-Local specials were out - Tufted Titmouse and Red-bellied Woodpecker

-Loads of Song Sparrows, as per usual

-3 Great Egrets

-5 Blue-winged Teals

-2 Common Goldeneye

-1 Northern Harrier

-Several vocal Pied-billed Grebes

-2 Greater Scaup

-1 Winter Wren

-35 species in 3 hours

-Martha Black, Coast Guard ice breaker, went past

-Nice to be back, been a while

Cooper’s and Creepers, Cooper’s and Creepers, Cooper’s and Creepers

Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus

Brown Creeper Certhia americana

Brown Creeper Certhia americana

Brown Creeper Certhia americana

Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus

Merlin Falco columbarius

Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos

Mount Royal Cemetery, April 11

-Sunny, 2 degrees

-30ish species in about three hours

-A satisfying selection of birds that should be in the cemetery on April 11

-A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers appeared to be excavating a nest hole 

-Carpets of Dark-eyed Juncos (300?!)

-Personal first of year birds included Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Phoebe, Fox Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Winter Wren

-A Pine Siskin near the feeders (Good ear, George)

-A pair of Cooper’s Hawks patrolled the high ground.

-Brown Creepers were everywhere (12+)

Birds! Late March-Early April

American Robin Turdus migratorius

American Robin Turdus migratorius

American Robin Turdus migratorius

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

The same picture of tree buds I post every year 'round this time

Going

March 27, NDG

-On the way to work: Cardinal alarm from the treetops…Blue Jay noisily policing the skies just above that…American Crows doing the same 50 feet higher…then much higher…soaring overhead, the source of the hue and cry – two Red-tailed Hawks cruising around…just menacing specs…my kingdom for some optics.

March 28, NDG

-11 species in 75 minutes

-It was -10 but felt colder with the wind (‘real feel’)…clear blue skies that later paled

-Buds on the trees, but much colder than is usual for the time of year

-Looking for changes

-No arrivals yet but it’s feeling ‘different’ out there

-American Robins were getting after the sumac and digging in the newly muddy soil…the fast territorial drumming of Downy Woodpeckers echoed through some small woods…Northern Cardinals were heard having laser beam duels

-Hoping for some new sparrows at this spot this spring…I’d settle for a Lincoln’s

-I wonder if the Cooper’s Hawks will nest here again

-Heard the lunatic melody of a House Finch singing in the distance again

Turkey Vultures over NDG

Gone

March 29, Lasalle

-First-Of-Year Common Grackles spotted

March 30, Lasalle

-F.O.Y. Turkey Vulture floating over the Champlain Bridge, then several over Lasalle later in the day

April 5, Lasalle

-FOY Groundhog

-FOY Song Sparrows

-FOY Chipping Sparrows

-FOY Double-crested Cormorant

-Northern Cardinals laser duels at dawn

April 7, NDG

-2 Turkey Vultures low over the Decarie Expressway