After a very quiet period on the garden feeders this winter, suddenly redpolls have arrived. My daily ‘chore’ this week has been to top up the four nyger feeders for the hoards to descend on. I would estimate the visitor number are in three figures, I’ve only seen one Hoary Redpoll with them so far but such is the coming and going that it is hard to keep track.
The lanes around St-Clet are very quiet now, Snow Buntings seem to have moved off, the Horned Larks are paired up and staking their territories, a few Lapland Longspurs are still there but elusive. As for Snowy Owls, I’ve seen none since my first a few weeks ago, not a good year for them anywhere in Quebec. I paid a visit Saturday to Hungry Bay, specifically the entrance to the Beaharnois Canal which remains ice free when all around is solid. The main reason for the visit was to connect with a over-wintering male Harlequin Duck which I duly did. It was way out but such are the marvels of digital photography that I got the record shot below. As Rolf Harris might say, “can you tell what it is yet?”
QCbirding Blog 