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The SONG SPARROW Bird Protection Quebec - Protection Des Oiseaux Du Québec September 2020 (Vol: 63.1)

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The SONG SPARROW Bird Protection Quebec - Protection Des Oiseaux Du Québec September 2020 (Vol: 63.1) The SONG SPARROW Bird Protection Quebec - Protection des oiseaux du Québec September 2020 (vol: 63.1) For the Birds since 1917 Pour les oiseaux depuis 1917 Bird Protection Quebec is a registered charity: Cover Photo Donations are tax deductible. Charity Registration #: 11925 2161 RR0001. An October moment / Un moment en octobre © Richard Principal Officers Gregson President: Simon Duval Vice-Presidents: Sheldon Harvey, Connie Morgenstern Treasurer: Sheldon Harvey In this Issue Secretary: Helen Meredith Editor’s Message 1 Membership Secretary: Darlene Harvey Ian Alexander Mclaren 1931-2020 3 Contact: Bird Protection Quebec Bird Views 5 Parlons d’oiseaux 5 Box 67089 – Lemoyne Our October Presentation via Videoconference 9 Saint-Lambert, QC J4R 2T8 Tel.: 514-637-2141 Our November Presentation via Videoconference 10 E-mail: [email protected] Joining a BPQ Presentation via Zoom 11 Website: www.birdprotectionquebec.org Field Trip Committee News for September 2020 Newsletter 13 Online discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Songsparrow The Song Sparrow: ISSN 1710-3371 Legal Deposit: National Library and Archives of Canada Publication Mail No.: 40044323 Newsletter Editor & Layout: Jane Cormack [email protected] Cover Design: Richard Gregson [email protected] Bird Views: Pierre Bannon [email protected] i and Directors Émile Brisson Curadeau, year this year, and the Société de biologie Editor’s Message Chris Cloutier, Claude Cloutier, Kyle de Montréal (SBM) who will celebrate their Elliott, Mélanie Guigueno, Jeff Harrison, centennial in 2022. We look forward to by Jane Cormack Darlene Harvey, Kristen Lalla, Don-Jean celebrating along with them. Editor, The Song Sparrow Léandri-Breton, Ana Morales, and Bonnie Sautor. This is the perfect time to celebrate birdwatching or to encourage your BPQ celebrated its centennial in 2017. friends and family to take it up, or even Obviously, this is not the first time, in its get more involved with BPQ. If you are rich history, the board is finding itself interested in helping BPQ to achieve its face-to-face with new challenges, having goals, contact us to adapt and find new ways to continue to [email protected] develop the Education, Conservation, and Observation (ECO) of birds and bird habitat in Quebec. The board began holding meetings via videoconference in March. The fall and winter season of its monthly meetings and presentations will be held also via videoconference until further notice, and Sitelle à poitrine rousse / Red- our in-person field trips have shifted to a breasted Nuthatch / © Chuck Kling virtual version. 2020 Although there are new restrictions on The Song Sparrow wishes to congratulate social gatherings, birders can continue to the new directors on their election to the enjoy their favourite activity. BPQ board at the June 2020 eAGM. As the Birdwatching has a long history in Great Blue Heron / Grand Héron 2020-2021 season of board meetings Quebec. BPQ is proud of its 100 plus © Chuck Kling 2020 has now begun in earnest, we look years and is also encouraged by the forward to the contribution of Anne longevity of many other birding clubs in Archambault, Sue Denoncourt, Le Duing the province. We would like to Yong Lang, and Maya Longpré-Croteau. congratulate in particular the Société de They the new President, Simon Duval, loisir ornithologique de l'Estrie (SLOE) Treasurer and Vice President Sheldon who will celebrate their 40th year in Harvey, Vice President Connie 2021, the Club des ornithologues de Morgenstern, Secretary, Helen Meredith, Québec (COQ) who are celebrating 65th Bird Protection Quebec 1 New Members It’s Time to C’est le temps de by Darlene Harvey, Renew Your renouveler votre membership secretary Membership adhésion We are happy to welcome the following new and returning members who joined BPQ memberships expire on the 30th of Les adhésions à POQ-BPQ expirent our flock over the summer: Louis- September of every year. Unless you're a chaque année le 30 septembre, donc, à Philippe Doré, Jean Béliveau, Linda Pérez, Life Member or a new member who joined moins que vous ne soyez un membre à Suzy Slavin, Elisabeth Breski and Chris after March 1, 2020, it’s time to renew vie ou un nouveau membre qui s'est joint Thompson your support and remain a part of BPQ, après le 1er mars 2020, le temps est venu one of the oldest bird conservation de renouveler votre soutien et de faire We look forward to meeting you, charities in Canada! partie de POQ, l’un des plus anciens hopefully in the near future, when it is organismes de bienfaisance de la safe for us to resume our group activities. Click here to go to our website, where it conservation au Canada! In the meantime, don’t forget to join our is easy to renew on line with your credit Song Sparrow e-list to connect with other card through Paypal (no Paypal account Cliquez ici pour accéder à notre site Web members https://groups.io/g/ needed) or, if you prefer to pay by et renouveler facilement en ligne avec bpqsongsparrow and to follow us on cheque, by following the instructions for votre carte de crédit par l'entremise de Facebook. “Becoming a Member by Mail” at the Paypal (aucun compte Paypal nécessaire) bottom of the page. ou, si vous préférez payer par chèque, en On behalf of all of us, welcome to BPQ! suivant les instructions «Si vous préférez payer par chèque» au bas de la page. Bird Protection Quebec 2 a member of its Board of Directors from the same time, a Manx Shearwater and a Ian Alexander as early as 1954. He was named president Prothonotary Warbler. Seal Island was like Mclaren 1931- of the Society in 1966. that. A day’s hiking, with lots of good birds, would be followed with lively 2020 He studied at McGill, where he did his BSc lobster dinners, sometimes with local and MSc in biology, and then did a PhD at lobstermen. by Robert Carswell Yale. He married Bernice in 1956, and they spent wonderful summers in the On one memorable occasion the island Canadian arctic doing field work. Ian was was invaded by a hundred or more kind enough to send me his diary of one Russian fisherman, who were delighted to of those summers, an idyllic walk on land after months at sea in their remembrance of living in tents and huge factory boat. The locals (of whom observing wildlife. there were a few) and our little group were happy to welcome them. He taught and did research work at McGill for a few years, but got an offer he I recall once, when we were birding on the couldn’t refuse from Dalhousie, where he mainland, that Ian and I disagreed on the spent the rest of his professional life, identification of a shorebird, He said it close to better maritime environments. was a Yellowlegs, I said it was a Ruff. It He found Nova Scotia to be an avian turned out we were both right – we were paradise. looking at different birds. He was the best birder I ever In 1984, some of us were lucky enough to encountered. Along with other accompany Ian on a once-in-a-lifetime Montrealers (including at various times trip, in beautiful weather, to Sable Island, stalwart PQSPBers such as George 290 km east of Halifax. The first bird we Montgomery, Brooke Clibbon, Eric Tull, saw when alighting from our helicopter Ilay Ferrier and Peter Mitchell) I made four (provided by a company doing oil I am sorry to report the death of an old friend, well known to earlier generations or five trips with Ian to Seal Island, off the exploration work in nearby waters) was southern tip of Nova Scotia.He could an Ipswich Sparrow. There were all sorts of birders in Montreal, Ian Mclaren, on identify fall Warblers and Empids on the of amazing seabirds, such as Jaegers, and July 29, 2020, in Halifax. wing. We routinely saw great seabirds shorebirds, including a Curlew (such as Sooty Shearwaters, Wilson’s Sandpiper. Ian was born and brought up in Montreal, Storm-Petrels, a Puffin on one occasion) and remained here until lured away to Nova Scotia in 1967. He was an active and strays (Blue Grosbeak, Goshawk). Ian Apart from the Ipswich Sparrows there said it was the only place in the world were other passerines, most of them lost member of the PQSPB, as it then was, and where you could have in your telescope at migrants. As we walked along the endless Bird Protection Quebec 3 beaches on the island we were followed, Ian was instrumental in getting both He is survived by Bernice and their three just offshore, by a number of curious Sable Island and Seal Island protected. children, Mary, Andrew and James. seals. The famous ponies (really smallish Seal Island was acquired by the Nova horses) were there in numbers. Scotia Nature Trust, and Sable Island is managed by Parks Canada. Bob Carswell joined BPQ with his friend Ian was primarily a marine biologist Peter Mitchell in 1950. Both became (think copepods…), publishing more than popular field trips leaders. Bob was 100 peer-reviewed articles. He helped president of BPQ from 1968 to 1970. He dozens of graduate students, including has served on an impressive number of Montrealer Jean Boulva. The Department boards of directors relating to nature and of Biology of Dalhousie established a the environment. He was president of the graduate bursary in his name. Toronto Ornithological Club from 2005 to 2007, a director of the Nature But he also made outstanding Conservancy of Canada from 1982 to 2017, contributions to ornithology. He provided and a director of the boards of Bird the data and wrote the paper which led to Studies Canada, Wildlife Habitat Canada, the lumping of the Ipswich and Savannah and the Canadian Nature Federation.
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