QUEBEC 
This adult male Hooded Oriole was fed at a hummingbird 
feeder at Macamic, near LaSarre, Abitibi, Quebec 30 May 
(here) through 2 June 2009. Photograph by A. Lebel. 
One of the four male Common Chaffinches seen in the cen- 
tral part of Quebec in late May and June 2009, this bird was 
photographed at Saint-Fulgence 28 May 2009. Photograph 
by Germain Savard. 
ported, including pairs at Morgan Arboretum 
in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue 27 Apr (J. 
Koppes) and at Philipsburg 9 May (M. Ar- 
naudin). It was a most excellent spring for va- 
grant White-eyed Vireos in the Region, with 
birds reported from Sherbrooke 29 Apr-2 May 
(R. Tanguay), Cap Tourmente 14 (C. Vachon, 
D. Boutin, Y. Hamel) & 22-24 May (R. Lep- 
age, m. oh.), Quebec City 18-22 May (L. Mes- 
sely, m. ob., ph.), and Rimouski 26 May (ph. 
G. Proulx). A Black-capped Vireo pho- 
tographed 24 May at Pointe-aux-Outardes, 
Cote-Nonl, some 2900 km from its nearest 
breeding grounds, was an astounding first 
record for Quebec and the 3rd for Canada af- 
390 
ter British Columbia’s record last fall. The 
male vireo entertained JP. Barry for two min- 
utes and was not relocated subsequently. 
Four Hooded Crows of most certainly cap- 
tive origin were photographed on a lawn at 
Beebe Plain, near the U.S. border 28 May (P 
Vallieres). A Townsend’s Solitaire at Rimouski 
3 May was surprising after last winter’s 
shutout (C. Hebert). An out-of-range Wood 
Thrush was at Aiguebelle Park, Abitibi 30 
May, one of that region’s very few records and 
only recent one (LI, JG, E. Hovington). A 
male Blue-winged Warbler banded at the 
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue McGill B.O. 14 May 
was the station’s 2nd (MA. Hudson); single 
males were also found at Lac-Brome 16 May 
(G. Poirier) and Godmanchester 22 May-i- (A. 
Quenneville, L. Goneau). A Black- throated 
Blue Warbler at Bromont 27 Apr tied the pre- 
vious early arrival date Ok Santerre). A male 
Townsend’s Warbler was beautifully de- 
scribed at Cap Tourmente 17 May Q- Bernier, 
G. Lord), exactly one year after last year’s 
sight record at the same location. A female 
Prairie Warbler was at Gap Tourmente 16 
May OPO). Transient or lost Cerulean War- 
blers were seen singly at Mont-Tremblant 
Park 15 May QG. Papineau) and Mount-Roy- 
al Park 22 May (SD et al.) A singing male 
Worm-eating Warbler was observed in 
Quebec City 24 May QPO. M- Lafleur). An 
obviously record-early Hooded Warbler was 
photographed while snow was still on the 
ground at Rimouski 22 Apr (ph. H. Dionne, 
A. Patry). The last spring record in the Region 
dated back to 1997. A record-early Canada 
Warbler was at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue 2 
May (M. Beaupre). 
TANAGERS THROUGH FINCHES 
It was an even better spring for Summer Tan- 
ager than last years’ harvest: ad. males were at 
I’Anse-a-Beaufils 28-29 Apr (record-early 
date; R. Cote, ph. AC) and Baie-Saint-Paul 3 
May (B. Cloutier, ph. A. Henry), a first-spring 
male was at Jonquiere 5-9 May (L. Potvin et 
al., ph. GS), and a female was at Saint-Joseph- 
de-la-Rive 24 May (C. Charlotte, H. Mead et 
al; ph.). A first-spring male Western Tanager 
was at Roberval 29 Apr-4 May (G. Guay et 
al., ph. C. Bellemare); the species has now 
been seen in all but one of the past 1 1 years in 
the Region. A Chipping Sparrow at Dundee 
25 Mar (DG) could be record early, but the la- 
bel should be used with caution, considering 
the unusual number reported last winter. A 
Lark Sparrow at Sainte-Therese-de-Gaspe 20 
Apr was record early (ph. AC, Y. Cyr et al.), 
while another visited Saint-Mathieu-de-Ri- 
oux, Bas-St-Laurent 2-3 May (P Fradette, ph. 
JL). An ad. male Blue Grosbeak was beauti- 
fully documented at Sainte-Luce 29-31 May 
(L. Lefebvre, ph. JL). A spring first for the ar- 
chipelago, a Dickcissel was at I’Etang-du- 
Nord, Magdalen Is. 23 May (DGG et al, ph. 
AR). An ad. male Yellow-headed Blackbird 
was at Authier-Nord, Abitibi 24 May (ph. JG, 
C. Plante). Single ad. male Orchard Orioles 
were seen at lie de la Visitation (Montreal) 16 
May Q. Coutu), Matapedia 22 May (G. 
Belanger), and Saint-Armand 31 May+ (N. 
Bourdon). An ad. male Hooded Oriole at 
Macamic, Abitibi 30 May-2 Jun (ph. A. Lebel) 
furnished an astonishing 2nd record for 
Quebec and 3rd record for e. Canada. The Re- 
gion’s previous record, also an ad. male, was 
found 22 Nov 1998 at Matapedia. 
Contributors (subregional editors in bold- 
face): C. Auchu, P. Bannon (Montreal), JR Bar- 
ry, S. Belleau, A. Couture, C. Douville (Lower 
St. Lawrence), D. Gagnon, J. Gagnon, DG. 
Gaudet, C. Girard, L. Imbeau (Abitibi), J. 
Lachance (Quebec City), J. Larivee, JP Ouel- 
let, P. Poulin (Gaspesie), A. Richard (Mag- 
dalen Is.), Y. Rochepault (North Shore), C. 
Roy (Bois-Francs), G. Savard (Saguenay-Lac- 
Saint-Jean), D. Toussaint (Outaouais). O 
Pierre Bannon, 1517 Leprohon 
Montreal, Quebec H4E1P1 
(pbannon@vicleotron.ca) 
Olivier Barden, 1652 rue de Bruyeres 
Sainte-Foy, Quebec G1W 3H1 
(whitephasegyrfalcon@hotmail.com) 
Normand David, 516 Shakespeare 
Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec H9G 1A2 
(normanddavid@videotron.ca) 
Samuel Denault, 75 Beauchemin 
Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Quebec J3N 1J6 
(samuel.denault@videotron.ca) 
Yves Aubry, Canadian Wildlife Service 
P.O Box 10100 
Sainte-Foy, Quebec G1V4H5 
(yves.aubry@ec.gc.ca) 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
C A A rapid and puzzling flurry of Common Chaffinch reports hit thecen. part of the Region in late May, with an addi- 
alotional record in summer in the Quebec City region. All records were of single males photographed at feeders, most 
likely different individuals: Saint-Leonard-de-Portneuf 25 May (ph. JC. Laplante, J. Braga), Baie-Sainte-Catherine 26 May-9 
Jun (ph. Y. Tremblay, G. Valliere, fide SB), and Saint-Fulgence 28-29 May (C. Cormier, ph. GS). Before these, there was but one 
single sight record of the species, not admitted to the Quebec official checklist (18 Nov 2000 at Saint-Benoit-du-Lac). Anoth- 
er pseudo-invasion of Eurasian finches was noted in the Great Lakes region s. of the U.S. border, with European Goldfinch and 
Common Chaffinch as the two main jail-breakers, and up to 8 Common Chaffinches at Whitefish Pt., Michigan! Coincidental- 
ly, at least one European Goldfinch was reported at Cap Tourmente 23-27 May (P. Larouche, m.ob.), and more followed 
throughout the Region in summer, including some in far-fetched locations. 
Meanwhile, a few thousand kilometers to the northeast, Iceland experienced an unusually large influx of Common 
Chaffinches this spring totaling 70-t- birds, mostly in a window spanning 5-17 Apr but with some birds being discovered 
through early May (fide Y Kolbeinsson). However, with no reports of the species from the Atlantic Provinces or the U.S. North- 
east in spring 2009, it seems far more likely that the Quebec chaffinches were escaped (or released) cage birds rather than 
Old World vagrants. 
