Bird Protection Quebec

Bird Protection Quebec Our mission is to protect birds and their habitat through conservation, observation, research, and education.

Notre mission est de protéger les oiseaux et leurs habitats par la conservation, l'observation, la recherche et l'éducation. We are a not-for profit, registered charity established in Montreal in 1917. We envision a world in which people appreciate the intrinsic benefits of birds and act to protect our planet and its wildlife. Our mission is to protect birds and bird habitat while fostering an app

reciation of them through conservation, observation, research, and education. We organize birdwatching field trips, lectures, monthly meetings and special events. We also award grants annually for bird related research and educational studies.
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Nous sommes un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré, sans but lucratif, établi à Montréal en 1917. Nous envisageons un monde dans lequel les gens apprécient les avantages des oiseaux et agissent pour protéger notre planète et sa faune. Notre mission est de protéger les oiseaux et leurs habitats tout en favorisant leur appréciation par la conservation, l'observation, la recherche et l'éducation. Nous organisons des excursions d'observation des oiseaux, des conférences, des réunions mensuelles et des événements spéciaux. Nous accordons également des subventions annuelles pour la recherche et les études éducatives sur les oiseaux.

🚫🔈 With spring underway and migration in full swing, BPQ would like to remind everyone that the use of audio playback—ev...
05/01/2026

🚫🔈 With spring underway and migration in full swing, BPQ would like to remind everyone that the use of audio playback—even something as simple as playing a bird’s call on the Merlin app, for example—is strictly prohibited in all of our sanctuaries. Playback can stress birds, disrupt essential behaviours such as feeding and nesting, and interfere with ongoing research.

For example, an MSc student at UQAM, is currently conducting approved research at our George H. Montgomery Sanctuary in Philipsburg to better understand how road noise affects bird communities. Because his work relies on recording birdsong, the use of playback can compromise the accuracy of his results.

We encourage everyone to keep this in mind when visiting our sanctuaries this spring and summer. Small actions like this help ensure these spaces remain safe and respectful for birds and for science.
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🚫🔈 Avec le printemps bien entamé et la migration en plein essor, POQ souhaite rappeler à tous que l’utilisation de la repasse sonore — même quelque chose d’anodin comme faire jouer le chant d’un oiseau par l’application Merlin, par exemple — est strictement interdite dans tous nos sanctuaires. La diffusion de chants peut causer du stress chez les oiseaux, perturber des comportements essentiels comme l’alimentation et la nidification, et nuire aux projets de recherche en cours.

Par exemple, un étudiant à la maîtrise à l’UQAM, a eu l'approbation de mener un projet de recherche dans notre sanctuaire George H. Montgomery, à Philipsburg, afin de mieux comprendre les effets du bruit routier sur les communautés d’oiseaux. Comme son étude repose sur l’enregistrement des chants d’oiseaux, l’utilisation de la repasse peut compromettre la fiabilité de ses résultats.

Nous invitons tout le monde à en tenir compte lors de leurs visites dans nos sanctuaires ce printemps et cet été. De petits gestes comme celui-ci contribuent à faire de ces milieux des espaces sécuritaires et respectueux, tant pour les oiseaux que pour la recherche.

BPQ Field Trip Report - Warbler Walk  #1 - Mt. Royal Cemetery - Tuesday, April 28, 2026 Hi Everyone, "Now is the winter ...
04/29/2026

BPQ Field Trip Report - Warbler Walk #1 - Mt. Royal Cemetery - Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Hi Everyone,
"Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of . . ." a really good recent run of Springtime weather!

It was a glorious weather day for a walk in the Mount Royal Cemetery and 12 like-minded birders showed up to enjoy the walk, the talk and the birds seen today as we seemed to proceed from one avian highlight to the next. Starting with Mr. and Mrs. Mallard feeding on the ground under the bird feeders, then finding the Eastern Phoebe on the roof of the gatehouse behind us, we continued up the hill and in short order had a brief glimpse of a Black-throated Green Warbler (one of the first now arriving in Montreal). We then had great views of an Eastern Bluebird couple along with good looks at many Ruby-crowned Kinglets (and one Golden-crowned Kinglet), both nuthatches, the three amigos, Downy, Hairy and Flicker, many Chipping and White-throated Sparrows, Juncos galore, several Song Sparrows, two Brown Creepers and a Hermit Thrush!

And the raptor roll-out was nothing less than spectacular: Cooper's Hawk, Turkey Vultures, Osprey, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk - and, in an authentic Nat Geo moment, a Merlin zipped across our path, flew into an osier bush to our left and flew back across our path carrying a freshly caught breakfast (seemed like a sparrow of some sort)!

In sum, 12 people observed 32 species over 2 and a half hours and a good time was had by all.

A big "tip-of-the-Tilley" thank you to Cory, who acted as the e-bird lister for the walk and to all of the members of the group who brought their A-game for birding on this beautiful morning.
The Ebird checklist for the outing is available at https://ebird.org/checklist/S329351879

We also have some photos, courtesy of Bill Thompson and Cory Ruchlin.

Many thanks,

Harle and Minda

BPQ Trip Report - Saturday, April 25 2026 - Île Bizard, QCA beautiful sunny day on Ile Bizard where the morning started ...
04/27/2026

BPQ Trip Report - Saturday, April 25 2026 - Île Bizard, QC

A beautiful sunny day on Ile Bizard where the morning started off at 4 C. and climbed to 12 C. by the end of the trip. Flooding on ch. du Bord-du-Lac forced us to enter the park from the de l'Eglise parking.

37 people took part and together we walked a bit over 6 km through woodlands and marsh ending the morning with a total of 47 species including a nesting pair of Cooper’s Hawk, a Barred Owl, 4 species of Swallows, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Northern Flickers, Wood Ducks in a tree and Pied-billed Grebes in flight on the marsh. A special shout-out to the beaver and her kit seen sunning off the edge of the main boardwalk.
An Ebird checklist is available at https://ebird.org/checklist/S327700969
We have a collection of photographs by Bill Thompson, Darlene Harvey, Omar Morsy, Tom Long and Frédérik Senez.

Thank you to all who turned out for the walk.

Ron Rind
Bird Protection Quebec.

BPQ Birding For Beginners Field Trip Report - Morgan Arboretum, April 21, 202614 participants enjoyed a cool, but sunny ...
04/26/2026

BPQ Birding For Beginners Field Trip Report - Morgan Arboretum, April 21, 2026

14 participants enjoyed a cool, but sunny morning, and observed 27 species of birds including 4 raptors.
Highlights included Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown-headed Cowbird and Eastern Phoebe. All species were a pleasure to see but these 4 posed for us so that we were able to get good looks at their field marks.
It was a lovely morning for a walk with a great group of people.
Thank you to Alison Hackney for her help and to Bill Thompson for his photos.
Our complete list of birds is available on Ebird at https://ebird.org/checklist/S327772255

Barbara MacDuff
Bird Protection Quebec.

The 11th City Nature Challenge (CNC) takes place this weekend from Friday, April 24 to Monday, April 27. Montreal is a r...
04/21/2026

The 11th City Nature Challenge (CNC) takes place this weekend from Friday, April 24 to Monday, April 27. Montreal is a registered city for this huge paricipatory science effort to find and document plants and wildlife in cities. So get outside this weekend, take photos or sound recordings of your observations - birds or otherwise, the key word is "wild" - and submit them through iNaturalist. It's that easy!

Let's all join in to make this the biggest CNC yet 🙂

🐦🦆🦅

La 11e édition du « City Nature Challenge (CNC) » se déroule cette fin de semaine, du vendredi 24 avril au lundi 27 avril. Montréal participe à cette grande initiative scientifique participative visant à recenser et à documenter la flore et la faune urbaines. Alors, sortez ce week-end, prenez des photos ou enregistrez des sons de vos observations – qu’il s’agisse d’oiseaux ou d’autres espèces, le mot clé est « sauvage » – et envoyez-les via iNaturalist. C’est aussi simple que ça !

Participons tous pour faire de cette édition la plus grande CNC à ce jour 🙂

For more information:

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is an annual four-day event where people around the world use iNaturalist to document the plants, animals, fungi, and other wildlife living in their cities and neighborhoods. 2026 marks the 11th year of the CNC!

BPQ Field Trip Report - Saturday April 18, 2026 - Pointe-des-Cascades, QuebecThe weather was far better than the seasona...
04/19/2026

BPQ Field Trip Report - Saturday April 18, 2026 - Pointe-des-Cascades, Quebec

The weather was far better than the seasonal average, starting at +8c at 8 am rising to +22c at noon with sunny skies and mild winds throughout.
There were 44 attendees to this field trip, some for the first time at this location and a couple for the first time joining BPQ. We covered approximately 6.4 km along a twisting route including varied habitats from woods, to swamps, and riverside views. The route was modified in places due to high water.

In total 50 species were recorded. Special sightings included Bald Eagles, Osprey, a Broad-tailed Hawk (first of season), Killdeer (first of season), Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-rumped Warblers and many Norther Flickers. Two Ruffed Grouse were spotted by some of the participants. The water was so high that the rapids at the dam looked more like a smooth lake.
Thanks to all who attended, and to Ron Rind for taking care of the e-Bird list and species count.
An Ebird checklist for the trip is available at https://ebird.org/checklist/S324720655
We have some photos supplied by Bill Thompson.

Sarah Marshall & Bill Thompson

🌿 VOLUNTEERS WANTED! For 10 years, BPQ has been working closely with the organization CIME du Haut-Richelieu to control ...
04/17/2026

🌿 VOLUNTEERS WANTED!

For 10 years, BPQ has been working closely with the organization CIME du Haut-Richelieu to control Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), an invasive plant species present in the George H. Montgomery Sanctuary in Philipsburg.

Every spring, we bring our forces together for a pulling session on site — and this year, we need you! 🙌

📅 Date: May 9, 2026

🕘 Time: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM

📍 Location: George H. Montgomery Sanctuary, Philipsburg (parking lot on Rte. 133)

Come for an hour or stay for the whole event — it's entirely up to you! The activity is open to everyone, regardless of your knowledge of plants, and will take place rain or shine ☀️🌧️

Since the pulling session takes place during the World migratory bird day, we are also offering the option to join a 2-hour birdwatching walk in the sanctuary before taking part in the activity. 🦅🥾

The walk will begin at 8:00 am, and we will return to the pulling site by 10:00 am. If you would like to participate, please indicate this when registering by email. In the event of bad weather, only the birdwatching walk will be cancelled.

❗Note that there are ticks in the sanctuary, we strongly encourage appropriate clothing.

To sign up or for any questions, reach out to us at: 📧 [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you at the sanctuary this spring! 🐦🌱
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🌿 APPEL AUX BÉNÉVOLES !

Depuis 2015, POQ collabore activement avec l'organisme CIME du Haut-Richelieu pour contrôler l'Alliaire officinale (herbe à ail), une plante exotique envahissante présente dans le Sanctuaire George H. Montgomery à Philipsburg.

Chaque printemps, nous unissons nos forces pour une corvée d'arrachage sur le site — et cette année, nous avons besoin de vous ! 🙌

📅 Date : 9 mai 2026

🕘 Heure : 9h00 à 14h00

📍Lieu : Sanctuaire George H. Montgomery, Philipsburg (stationnement en bordure de la Rte. 133).

Venez pour une heure ou pour toute la journée — c'est vous qui choisissez ! L'activité est ouverte à tous, peu importe votre niveau de connaissance en botanique, et se tiendra beau temps/mauvais temps ☀️🌧️

Comme la corvée se déroule lors de la Journée mondiale des oiseaux migrateurs, nous offrons également la possibilité de participer à une marche d’observation de 2h dans le sanctuaire avant de vous joindre à l’activité. 🦅🥾

La marche débutera à 8h00 et nous serons de retour au site d’arrachage pour 10h00. Si vous souhaitez y participer, merci de l’indiquer lors de votre inscription par courriel. En cas de mauvais temps, la marche uniquement sera annulée.

❗Notez qu’il y a présence de tiques dans le sanctuaire, un habillement approprié est fortement suggéré.

Pour vous inscrire ou pour toute question, écrivez-nous à : 📧 [email protected]

On a hâte de vous retrouver au sanctuaire ce printemps ! 🐦🌱

The Earth Day FORUM Jour de la Terre takes place this Saturday, April 18 in Ormstown and BPQ will be there! This event b...
04/16/2026

The Earth Day FORUM Jour de la Terre takes place this Saturday, April 18 in Ormstown and BPQ will be there!

This event brings together 40 organizations—nonprofits, government, businesses—in celebrating Earth Day, the theme of which for 2026 is "Our Power, Our Planet", emphasizing conscious consumption, reducing waste, and empowering citizens to drive systemic change through community efforts. In this vein, Earth Day Forum offers recycling services, workshops on upcycling crafts and clothing mending, and free tree distribution!

We'll be at our booth from 10 am to 2 pm. Be sure to stop by and say hi!!

🐦🐦🐦🐦

Earth Day FORUM Jour de la Terre aura lieu ce samedi 18 avril à Ormstown, et BPQ sera de la partie !

Cet événement rassemble 40 organisations – associations à but non lucratif, administrations et entreprises – pour célébrer le Jour de la Terre, dont le thème pour 2026 est « Notre pouvoir, notre planète », mettant l’accent sur la consommation responsable, la réduction des déchets et l’autonomisation des citoyens pour susciter un changement systémique grâce à des initiatives communautaires. Dans cette optique, le Forum du Jour de la Terre propose des services de recyclage, des ateliers sur le surcyclage d'objets artisanaux et la réparation de vêtements, ainsi que la distribution gratuite d'arbres !

Nous serons à notre kiosque de 10 h à 14 h. Passez nous dire bonjour !

Let's all cheer on Kenauk to be the first one back! In a true collaboration, the Kenauk Institute assisted the Broad-win...
04/15/2026

Let's all cheer on Kenauk to be the first one back! In a true collaboration, the Kenauk Institute assisted the Broad-winged Hawk Project in locating a nesting female at Kenauk in Montebello QC in 2024, and the Project tagged her with a transmitter funded by a BPQ research grant. So we all have a special connection to her and can't wait to see Kenauk come home!

You can meet all the tagged BWHAs and follow their travels here: https://www.hawkmountain.org/conservation-science/active-research/raptor-conservation-studies/broadwing-movements

We thought it would be cool to highlight the six broad-winged hawks we are tracking that summer in Canada!

Wintering locations for these individuals include Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

Hugger and Amelia are in the lead, but who will make it back to their breeding territory first? 🧐

BPQ Beauharnois and Area Field Trip Report, April 11, 2026Twenty-nine birders arrived at our rendezvous site next to the...
04/14/2026

BPQ Beauharnois and Area Field Trip Report, April 11, 2026

Twenty-nine birders arrived at our rendezvous site next to the Beauharnois Dam for our April 11th, 2026, field trip. Partly cloudy skies, single digit temperatures and a moderate but increasing northwest wind meant that open areas were cool but typical for mid-April in this region.

The area around the dam was fairly quiet apart from the Ring-billed Gulls jockeying for nesting sites on the island between spillways. Singles of two other gull species were spotted and a distant Common Loon was a first of the year for many participants.

From the dam we moved on to the Parc de la Pointe-du-Buisson archeological site with its forest trails and views of the rapids. Scopes are a definite advantage at this location and we put them to good use ferreting out no less than three Barrow’s Goldeneyes, a pair and an immature male, among the dozens of their Common cousins. A large number of Green-winged Teal were once again doing their best shorebird imitations as they fed along the water’s edge and adjacent mud flats. This seems to be a regular springtime habit at this site. A distant white-winged gull was identified as a Glaucous. Two Bald Eagles, a male Northern Harrier, a distant Red-shouldered Hawk and an overhead Osprey made up the raptor contingent for the site.

On the wooded trails two early species of warbler were sighted together, Pine and Yellow-rumped, along with both kinglet species. Several woodpecker species gave good views and a Red-bellied was heard calling briefly.

On the drive to our last location at Parc de Nature de Beauharnois we passed over the Rivière St-Louis where dozens of Tree Swallows were actively feeding above the water. Our arrival at the park was observed by a Merlin sitting in the trees. A Pied-billed Grebe was calling from the shoreline area. Several new species of waterfowl were added to our list, and two more Common Loons were spotted.

By this time the cold northwest wind had increased considerably so the incongruity of people pulling up their parka hoods while viewing dozens more Tree Swallows searching for insects over the open water was not lost on us. The morning ended on an upscale note with some participants treated to a flyover by four Sandhill Cranes.

In total we tallied 59 species for the morning. The individual eBird reports and an overall trip report can be viewed with the links below. We also have a collection of photographs contributed by Bill Thompson, Darlene Harvey, Wayne Grubert and Cory Ruchlin

Thanks to everyone who came out for a very pleasant early spring morning of birding. A big thank you once again to Darlene Harvey for keeping all the eBird lists.

Beauharnois Dam https://ebird.org/checklist/S320211848
Parc de la Pointe-du-Buisson https://ebird.org/checklist/S320216728
Parc de Nature de Beauharnois https://ebird.org/checklist/S320216815
Trip Report https://ebird.org/tripreport/499341

Wayne Grubert
BPQ Field Trip Committee

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Montreal, QC

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