20-21 October 2007
Following reports of a couple of Trumpeter Swans in Abitibi, on Lac Motte to be exact, we or rather I was inspired to go and look for them. In the end we, yes we, went Saturday morning, cruised through some fine scenery and hit Val D’Or by around 16.30. A swift perusal of the site showed, as expected, a beautiful lake with few viewing points and lots of summer cottages hogging the banks.
Sunday we were back on the banks looking for white blobs, any white blobs. You have probably already guessed that we did not see them. We toured the whole area looking at any water available but really very little was on offer bird wise. I harboured hopes of lucking a Sharp-tailed Grouse but no, or perhaps an American Three-toed Woodpecker, well actually, yes. One was on a telegraph pole at St-Mathieu but bad positioning meant nil chance of a photo and it soon settled into the big year theme of flying briskly away.
Because of the distance involved in getting home and the requirement to be at least human at work Monday morning, we had only limited time in the area. We checked out the fields around Barroutte, one of the few sites known, or at least shared, for Sharp-tailed Grouse in Quebec. We were every bit as successful as our last visit, obtaining fine views of fields.
The trip home was not too bad and the ‘parc’ was very scenic, we even enjoyed good views of Grey Jay but it was a long drive. For readers in Notts, and I do know that some birders from Notts do read this, the road through the parc is the equivalent of driving from Nottingham to Portland. There are no real services, apart from a couple of sites to picnic or widdle and apart from Ravens, you don’t see too many birds!
The drive back was about seven hours, enlivened only by a couple of trucks bearing the heads of recently surprised Moose. Quite why they shoot the Moose I’m not sure, they are big and stupid and just stare blankly at you, the Moose are just as bad, you might as well shoot a school bus. It poses the question, do they just enjoy killing big animals, if so they are clearly not fit to hold a licence for a gun!
Below a few photos. I’ve not given up on the year list but can I really drag myself to Tadoussac again, we shall see.
Distant Pileated Woodpecker, c100m away.
Northern Harrier, not too many hawks up north.
One of three Rough-legged Hawks seen.
Cryptic crazy chicken, the wrong grouse though.
Still working on the white balance.
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