Boring NDG bird notes, January-March

Sorry, these are boring notes. They’re for me. I’ve been hitting my ‘Quiet Place in NDG’ every weekend this winter. No Carolina Wrens spotted conclusively since December 28. What else? It snowed a lot this winter, and it was cold. Good, that’s how old-fashioned winters are supposed to be, grumble grumble. My kingdom for another spring birding trip in Korea.

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

-->Jan 4

-Crisp: minus double digits, cloudy.

-7 species.

-->Jan 11

-8 species.

-Possible Carolina Wren sighting, but I’m 50/50 on it.

-->Jan 18

-6 species.

-Quiet overall, warm and overcast.

-->Jan 25

-11 species.

-Quite a few active House Finch around, based around a tall stand of sumac.

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

-->Feb 1

-8 species, sunny and very cold

-At least 10 House Finch now, in the same sumac/field area.

-->Feb 8

-10 species.

-Still cold, but fairly birdy.

Thought I was looking at an Eastern Screech-Owl

-->Feb 15

-Cold and sunny

-Snowshoes needed after a massive dump of snow. The biggest issue was having to crawl under branches that were previously duckable.

-8 species.

White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis

Lachine in the distance

-->Feb 21

-Pretty quiet overall.

-Nine species.

-Didn’t bring snowshoes, so some areas not visited.

-->March 1

-Warming up, but snow still too deep to get through in most areas.

-9 species in 45 minutes.

-->March 8

-Snow still deep.

-Very cold (-12 without the wind chill).

-Just 4 species in 45 minutes.

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

Canada Goose Branta canadensis

Woodchuck/Groundhog/Siffleur Marmota monax

Eastern Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

-->March 15
-Feeling spring-y.
-Snow is largely gone, was about 10 degrees out, had to shed a few layers.
-First Groundhog of the year.
-A personal first skein of Canada Geese flying over.
-Many birds in full song: House Finch, Northern Cardinal, and American Robin, among others.
-Ring-billed Gulls, Dark-eyed Juncos, and House Finches seen ‘again.’
-European Starlings mimicking Killdeers, Grey Catbirds (!), American Robins, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
-13 species in 90 minutes.

No Double Dip: Western Tanager Twitch, Jan 31, 2025

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana
House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana

Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana

New entry in Dan's legendary
 bird diary from the 80s...

Went to re-twitch the Western Tanager with Dan last Friday. It’s been sighted again in a Lachine backyard after it went dark for a while during a cold snap.

When we got to the backyard (So many thanks to the homeowner for letting birders use the back porch!), there were no other birders there. Not a good sign. We waited, and while the feeders were quite busy with the regular suspects (as well as Song and White-throated Sparrows), no Western Tanager. We loitered long, as the sun dipped below the embankment and the shadows grew long and purple.

“Maybe you can call your blog post Double Dip,” Dan suggested.

“Yeah, that would work,” I mumbled, and made toe fists to ward off the frostbite that already lurked in my boots.

We were both on the verge of saying something like ‘Well, I guess let’s give it five more minutes.’

Then a bird materialized in the bushes behind the feeder and I got my bins up. I saw a yellow bird with a reddish head. I stopped breathing so abruptly I may have been clinically dead for a moment.

“There he isssss,” I scream-whispered.

We ooohed and ahhhhhed for a good 15 minutes as the rare west-coast bird (which should be in Mexico this time of year) went about its leisurely circuit of the various feeders and heated bird bath. I got some grainy-ass record shots (cranked up the ISO in the gloom of dusk) and then we headed off for a fat man’s pillow of poutine. Western Tanager, huzzah!

Tanager Dip, January 10, 2025

Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolour

Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

American Robin Turdus migratorius

Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata

A Western Tanager showed up in someone’s backyard a few weeks back. Went to check it out and dipped. It was cold.

Happy ew Year

Late year birds o’ NDG

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens

December 21

Far less birdy than the 14th. It was cold and snowy, perhaps the birds have retreated to nearby backyard feeders. One Dark-eyed Junco seen skulking near some phragmites. Seven species in 90 minutes.

Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis

House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

American Goldfinch Spinus tristis

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

December 25

Relatively birdy on Christmas Day, with a notably increased mob of Dark-eyed Juncos (20+) in and around the phragmites, and a pair of American Goldfinch hanging out with the ‘local’ pair of House Finch. One Carolina Wren seen briefly. Eleven species seen in a quick circuit in the early afternoon.

Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus

American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos

December 28

-A second pair of House Finch has joined the first

-A flyover Red-tailed Hawk being mobbed by American Crows was a personal first for the site (71 species total to date)

-One Carolina Wren spotted in a ‘new’ spot

-A White-throated Sparrow skulking in the bushes of a nearby yard

-Still 15-20 Dark-eyed Juncos in the phragmites

-An Eastern Cottontail was seen in a small woods

-Fourteen species in 90 minutes

-Warm, with freezing rain on the way (has been smoggy of late)