Sunday, December 20: Today, we will search for wintertime roosting owls in Montreal! Montreal is traditionally a great wintertime destination for various owl species, especially Long-eared Owl and Northern Saw-whet, which can be quite difficult to see in Ottawa; the Montreal area is comparable to the Greater Toronto Area in terms of its winter owl numbers. At the time of writing (September 2026) it’s impossible to say which species we may in fact see, however, time will tell! Soon, details will emerge as to which owls are arriving from the north. If there is a good food stock of meadow voles and mice in the locations where owls begin to show up, then they are likely to form winter territories. Each year is different…and that’s the exciting part! We will search for all the expected species, including Boreal Owl and Northern Hawk Owl. Looking forward to it!

Field Guiding Philosophy: With birds (winged…prone to movement; i.e. not “fixed” in location), there are never guarantees, but the good news is you’ll have a professional guide at the helm with many years of experience searching for and identifying birds. As always, I will endeavour to make the most of each tour, and the philosophy I encourage is to “take whatever the day brings.” Field-guiding is far less about rarity chasing/stakeouts/listing, and far more about the flow of a particular day, time and location. As a guide, I typically don’t place pressure on the tour (i.e. have a long list of hopes and expectations); I simply allow the day to unfold before me, and interpret moments and themes to the best of my ability, on the fly. Birding is fluid, in my experience, and placing pressure on the day can lead to disappointment. If and when birding action is red hot, I will be there, guiding with bells on; the gloves are off, so to speak, and it’s “go time!” When it’s quiet, I will pull from my reservoir of information and field experience, and share information about birds and various natural history topics throughout the day.

What to pack/What to know: Please dress for the season and be sure to check on the weather conditions ahead of the tour. Dressing in layers, and packing extra clothes (so you’ll have extra options) during fall tours is a good idea, especially on full day tours. It’s also a good idea to pack a toque, gloves, rubber boots, extra socks (in case your feet get damp/wet) and your full rain gear. Please pack your photographical and optical equipment of your choice; if you have a spotting scope, pack it, as well. Packing a cooler with a lunch, snacks and liquids is a good idea, whether you’re on a shorter or longer tour; it’s always better to have packed more, than to have packed less, during field tours. If we are on a full day tour, we will break for lunch; if it’s a half day tour, then there will be no lunch stop.

Passes & Permits Needed? N/A.

eBird Checklists: I will take care of all of the checklists for the day, and share them with you when the tour is complete. Your eBird statistics will automatically update when you accept the checklist. If you are not an eBird user, that is perfectly fine; I will email the checklists after the tour. You’ll be able to browse through the sightings list without having to be an eBird user.

Washrooms: I will schedule a washroom break every 90-120 min throughout the tour.

Activity rating: 1-2/5.

Meet-up time and location: TBD based on scouting results and local reports. However, the tour is likely to take place in the West Island of Montreal or in Laval. We will be meeting at 8:30 a.m.

Duration: Approximately 6 hours.

Cost: $150 per person (HST-included). I accept payment via e-transfer to eontbird@gmail.com. I also accept mailed cheques sent to Eastern Ontario Birding, 751 Namur Street, Embrun Ontario, K0A 1W0.

Payment due date: Upon registration preferred. Please be sure to review my Cancellation Policy ahead of signing up for this tour. The cancellation policy comes into effect the moment the online registration form is inputted.

Register for this outing by using this sign-up form