Petering out

13 October 2007

After a pretty poor September it seems that the year list is petering out. Few additions can be expected and my revised, revised target is 270 although even that might be optimistic.

The third quarter report sees the list on 264 so basically static. The month failed to yield a Grey-cheeked Thrush (so far!) despite birding suitable locals. Admittedly I didn’t chase any, birds were present in downtown Montreal, I had rather expected to find my own.

For the record the garden list stands at 77 for the year and I have spent 179 bird days in the field. I won’t bother telling you the kilometerage but, on reflection, it is probably not that different from my usual birding kilometres travelled.

Since the last post we have not taken any longer trips although in September I spent more days (or, more accurately, part days) in the field than any other month. In September I covered the L’Anse at Vaudreuil almost daily seeing a total of 20 species of shorebird there. The season is winding down but, as I write, there are still 70+ Dunlin there.

Looking at the year as a whole I would say it has been pretty poor bird wise, perhaps the tone was set with the suppressed Green-tailed Towhee in Montreal which stuck until March in a garden of birder haters. Recently the trend has carried on with a suppressed Eared Grebe at a ‘private’ site, but not so private that a birder was able to photograph it though. I spent many years in the UK trying to make sure that all birders got the chance to see rarities; here they just keep a lot of birds quiet for very tenuous and certainly indefensible reasons. I think the grebe was at one of the water treatment plants, I bet none that saw it, and there would be a few, tried to get limited weekend access for the masses, which here would amount to only 50 or so.

Next month we go south to Ecuador so I hope to have the odd picture to post. Next year I will be concentrating on St-Lazare sand pits, if I can stand the numerous dogs (especially stupid, yapping sled dogs), ATVs, toy glider fliers anglers and the hut, hut, hut from the nearby sports field where ten year olds in body amour spend three hours confused. It’s called Football here, which is rather stupid, but I will not digress, this time.

Below a few shots, when I have had the time the light has either been blindingly bright or very dull, on the odd occasion the light was good the wind was so strong that the poor birdies needed legs like a steroid enhanced American athlete to hold on.


















In pouring rain which is why it is rubbish.



















A Rusty Blackbird, one of many at Parc Plaisance.