Quebec year list 2007

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Weekend of 10-11 February 2007

Dogged by a heavy cold, I limited Saturdays search for year ticks to another check on the local Snowies and hoped to pick up a Grey Partridge along the way. As it happened the partridge were again absent but two Short-eared Owls were most welcome. The birds quartered fields west of St-Clet (AFTER 16.30!!!) but did not come very close. I took some distant record shots, results below. To add to the fun we saw four different Snowy Owls all within view of Ste-Julie, THE place to see Snowies west of Montreal.

Sunday was supposed to be bright so we headed north in the snow flurries. Our local Ice Bridge had opened and so, despite every instinct we have saying “don’t go on the ice” something instilled by nagging mothers, we crossed anyway. After a steady cruise, seeing nothing more than a Northern Grey Shrike we arrived at the Secteur de la Pimbina car park at Mont Tremblant. Cross-country skiers and Gods way of telling you not to breed, Ski-Dooers, were everywhere, but the many White-winged Crossbills present seemed oblivious, singing form the tops of the pines and taking grit from the roadsides. They were joined by a few Pine Siskins, also singing when not gritting.

Our next target was, well anything not seen so far, so we took the road to the Secteur de la Diable (route 329) which is an excellent and fairly quiet road for birding from. We saw several groups of gritting crossbills and siskins, one of which had a few Purple Finch in, another year tick. Further on we found first one, then another five Pine Grosbeaks but, as ever with this species (for me at least), they were quick to depart and avoid the camera lens.
Apart from a Northern Goshawk, and lots more White-winged Crossbills, nothing much else showed and we made our way back home nursing a misfiring car along the racetrack routes. Looks like another expensive week ahead.