Snowy Owl Lost

Monday, April 13, 2026

Birds! Late March-Early April

American Robin Turdus migratorius

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

Saturday, March 21, 2026

Pre-spring birds of late (February 28-March 21)

Common Raven Corvus corax

February 28, NDG

-6 species in an hour.

-No woodpeckers or finches around.

-Two Common Ravens patrolling the high ground.

-Grey, -1 and tricky slicky black ice everywhere – I did ‘the dance’ a few times.

My NDG humblepatch. A place where I can collect my thoughts once a week, and watch the changing of the seasons in slow motion. I sometimes mumble a prayer to the birding gods for something rare to pass through, but I’m never disappointed when that doesn’t come to pass. In any case, spring in coming, I smelled it on the morning wind, something something.

March 1, Lasalle

-Ring-billed Gulls spotted in Lasalle.

'Artistic'

This sure as hell looked like a gull at first glance

March 7, NDG

-A balmy 0 degrees and rainy…jacket came back wet inside and out.

-4 species in an hour.

-Mushy.

March 9, Lasalle, Sunny and 15

-Male House Finch singing from atop an apple tree.

-Personal first of year Red-winged Blackbirds spotted, seeming to be in ‘stake out territories’ mode.

-A dozen Canada Geese flying east along the river.

March 11, NDG

-Common Starlings are everywhere in NDG, very much out and about.

-Ring-billed Gulls over NDG now.

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

March 14, NDG

-0 degrees…a landscape weighed down by 10cm of wet overnight snow (an ice storm came later in the week).

-8 species in an hour.

-A Merlin was heard screeching. Breeding time?

-Several Ring-billed Gulls overhead.

-Where have all the woodpeckers gone?

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Pileated workings on one of three remaining tall pines

One of the four big pines in the area is down - last week's wind got it

March 21, NDG

-Technically, it is spring.

-Sun broke through clouds, 0 degrees.

-8ish species in an hour.

-Thought I heard a House Finch singing in the distance.

-Some evidence of Pileated Woodpeckers.

-I imagine Song Sparrows will be back next week, or the week after that. Groundhogs and Mourning Cloaks will also return soon, followed by Hermit Thrushes and Eastern Phoebes, then all the rest.

Friday, February 27, 2026

Robin (in my) Hood

European Robin/Rougegorge familier Erithacus rubecula

Fortunately for the homeowners in the area, the Robin hangs out in
the cedars at the end of the block, meaning twitchers are relatively out of sight

Dan using terrain to his advantage

February 21, 2026, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Earth

Saturday last, I finally headed out to Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (The Shlag) to twitch the world-famous European Robin (Familiar Redthroat) with Dan. It was a brief encounter, after an extended wait in the frigid cold (-12 but felt colder in the stiff breeze). It was one of those ‘wait 20 minutes for 20 seconds with the bird’-type deals. Anyway, neat to see one so far from home.

Plenty of efforts have been made to keep the bird fed during the frigid spells of the past month, with at least 3 feeding stations set up inside the cedars. I was reminded of a European Robin that showed up in Seoul many moons ago, kept fat and happy by an endless supply of photog meal worms.

On the way out, we rescued an older American birder who we spotted wandering the streets far from the Robin. We gave him proper directions to the bird and drove him back to his wife who was waiting in their car many blocks away. Seems they got turned around with faulty directions. The fellowship of the dangling binoculars at work.