Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville, Île Sainte-Bernard, Châteauguay, April 25, 2026

Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum

Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum

Palm Warbler Setophaga palmarum

Palm Warbler Setophaga palmarum

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus

Wood Duck Aix sponsa

-Sunny, but still cool, and breezy.

-First warbler of the year was a restless Palm Warbler near the entrance.

-Evelyn was thrilled to get her first ever Wood Duck – we had to work for it – constant scanning of the flooded woods.

-Several Rusty Blackbirds in those same woods, with a Brown-headed Cowbird heard nearby.

-Plentiful Tree Swallows were the only hirundines (Hirundines! Hirundines!)

-Bird of the day was on the way out – two Brown Thrashers, one showy, one not so much. Love a Brown Thrasher.

-Mourning Cloaks, Eastern Commas, and Cabbage Whites all out.

-32 species in 2.5 hours.

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

Veery Nice

Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum

Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum

Veery Catharus fuscescens

Veery Catharus fuscescens

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana

Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula

Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula

American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla

American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla

Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia

House Wren Troglodytes aedon

Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula

Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularius

Canada Goose Branta Canadensis

White-tailed Deer Odocoileus virginianus

European Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

Forest Tent Caterpillar Malacosoma disstria

A fish that sparked much debate - not a Bowfin...

Yuck bubbles

Reserve Faunique Marguerite-D’Youville, Île Sainte-Bernard, Châteauguay, May 26, 2022

  Muggy and buggy at D-ville the other day, and leafy to boot. Feels like the winds are almost out of spring’s sails. All in all, the day felt like a bit of a dream. A hazy daze. I dunno. You had to be there.

  After 7 hours of P.M. birding, the day ended with 74 species. That total surprised me, as it felt like more of a 50-species day.

  Nine warbler species were logged – many of these species were low-number migrants on the tail end of the bell curve, while with the resident breeding Yellow Warblers and American Redstarts were evident in big numbers.

  It was a treat to get excellent looks at species that are usually quite skulky, such as Veery and Brown Thrasher. Brown Thrashers always struck me as a ‘tropical-looking’ bird, if that makes any sense.

  A Black-billed Cuckoo was heard, not seen (as is tradition), and Wilson’s Snipes could be heard winnowing at dusk, over the eastern edge of the Grande Digue. What else? I bought a hat. Stop the presses. I wonder if any crazy late-spring provincial rarities will show up in the next week...