Wood Ducks - Female

Wood Ducks were plentiful in the ponds of Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park.
On two different occasions I saw both Wood Ducks and Mallards obscured amongst trees in a marsh. There was a strange call coming from that general area. I'm pretty sure it must have been the Wood Ducks as it was reminiscent of what Cornell has on their site.

White-throated Sparrow

Another new lifer for me seen at Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park in Montreal. I ran into a small flock of White-throated Sparrows along a trail where modest bushes provided a clearing in the mostly forested park.

I noticed while reviewing the meta-data for these images that my camera was factory set for ISO 200. It would have been helpful on this trip with such an overcast sky if that had been set higher. I now have it set to auto mode allowing for an upper ISO setting and a minimum shutter speed. This should result in sharper images in low light situations.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Greg Gillson has a great post on distinguishing between Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. His primary method is to simply compare the length of the bird's bill to the length of its head. If the bill is longer than the head, it is a Greater Yellowlegs. If it is equal or less than the head, it is a Lesser Yellowlegs.
Go ahead, give it a try. Measure this birds bill and you will see that it is shorter than its head. Then do the same with my posting of the Greater Yellowlegs and you will see that its bill is longer than its head.
Its a good method as even though the Lesser is noticeably smaller than a Greater, if they aren't side-by-side that method fails.

Semipalmated Plover

Whenever I bird a new area, especially another part of the country or even another country, I am hopeful that I will see new species that I wouldn't be able to see here in Oregon. Such was the case when I visited Montreal and Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park. However, whenever I see a bird I've already seen close to home, I have make sure that my enthusiasm for new sightings doesn't hamper an opportunity for good pictures.
Such was the case with this Semipalmated Plover. It was the first bird I saw as I approached the river shore. When I identified it, my first reaction was, "Ah, just a Semipalmated Plover". Just a Semipalmated Plover?! It hasn't been but about a month since my first sighting of this species and then I only got fair pictures of it. Here was one of these birds very close to me and fairly at ease with my presence.
If you look closely at the left foot of the bird in the top image, you will see where it get its name. Semipalmated refers to the fact that its toes are partially webbed.

Gray Catbird

Another bird seen at Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park that I would rarely, if ever see here in the Portland area. I was trying to get descent shots of some "Slate-colored" Dark-eyed Juncos when this Gray Catbird caught my eye. Its gray color sharply contrasted with the colorful autumn leaves of the tree it was perched in.

Again, the dark clouds of the day made for difficult shooting, but this image didn't turn out too bad, though a little soft in focus.
Its rufous under-tail coverts were not very evident, but if I increased the brightness way up, I did see evidence of the color.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

I had two chances to get pictures of Ruby-crowned Kinglets at Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park. The first time I was unsuccessful. I got close looks, they actually seemed somewhat curious of me as they took turns flying into a path-side tree just next to me. But with them in near constant motion and with sluggish focusing because of the heavy overcast all the pictures were blurry or I shot too late.
The second time I had more success, but still had to fight bad lighting. Not only heavy overcast, but bright gray clouds in the background.
If you look closely at the lower image, you will notice a touch of red on its crown. Also, notice that the light is shining through its toes. An indication of just how small these birds are.

Common Moorhen - Juvenile

Among the two adult Common Moorhens I saw, there were also a couple of juveniles. The one in the image above is a bit obstructed by the reeds, but get a look at that foot! Huge toes.
Both juveniles and adults exhibited typical behavior from what I read. They swim like ducks and feed off plants growing just below the surface, sometimes walking on those same plants.

Common Moorhen

I'm in Montreal on business and had a bit of time at the end of the day to visit Bois-de-l'Île-Bizard Nature Park. It is a short distance from where I am staying and was highly recommended by locals on the internet.
I didn't have much time and the sky was dark, but I did see some birds. The image above is of a Common Moorhen. Though common, its range does not extend to my stomping grounds, so it was a good sighting.
Another exciting sighting for me was a Nashville Warbler. I saw a small flock of them in some bushes on my way back to my car. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get very good pictures. Just barely good enough to make a positive identification.