Spectacular Migration Signals Winter's Approach

Large groups of migratory birds in spectacular formations were seen during the weekend over the Eastern Townships. The birds annual southern voyage is one of the surest signs that the cold Arctic air is on it's way towards us. The sight of the honking birds surely make many of us contemplate purchasing our tickets for the beaches and sun baked islands that are so popular during the Canadian winters.

If only it was as easy as flapping our wings!

Throughout Saturday and Sunday the grey skies were streaked with groups of hundreds of birds toughing the winds. The familiar v-shaped formations pulsed across the sky as the winds made the formations shift and morph into incredible shapes! Wave after wave of birds passed overhead, sometimes 10, 15 and 20 minutes between the various flocks.

What an incredible sight! If anyone has any better pictures of the dramatic formations please feel free to submit your photos to our photo gallery.

Bird watchers in the Eastern Townships surely have been noticing the glorious sight of formations of migratory birds heading south. Such sights above us are a better indication that snows and cold are on the way than any Weather Network reporter attempting to decipher the low pressure patterns over Quebec!

Seeing hundreds of birds in their flight formations battling the winds is enough to well up our tears as these slight feathered creatures gather in groups to brave the long journey to warmer regions. We sometimes find it difficult to procure a timely flight via "WestJet" to the beaches of Florida that will be convenient to our hotel reservations and to many of us the struggle that migratory birds of Quebec must undergo does not even cross our minds...

Seeing huge flocks of low flying birds in formation over Granby, Cowansville and Lac Brome flapping against the cold winds as they made their way to their wintering grounds was indeed an incredible sight!

With the temperatures in November finally starting to get close to freezing, we are finally facing the inevitable fact that the snow and frigid temperatures will soon be fully upon us here in the Lac Brome region.

While many of the birds we saw flying above us this weekend during the dropping temperatures were Geese or Ducks; the variety of birds in Quebec is huge!

While most of us are used to seeing Cardinals (like this little cutie at the sunflower seed feeder), bright yellow finches and the happy Chickadees quite often around our feeders it doesn't take much of a trip through the more wild regions to discover some of the amazing birds of Quebec which include: the Common Loon, American Bittern, Double-crested cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Ruffed Grouse, Piping Plover, American Woodcock, Herring Gull, Common Tern, Atlantic Puffin, Rock Dove, Snowy Owl, Barred Owl, Common Nighthawk, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Pileated Woodpecker,Tree Swallow, Gray Jay, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Loggerhead Shrike, Red-eyed Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Northern Cardinal, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Bobolink, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow.

The Lac Brome residents are lucky to have such a variety of birds to watch and discover and many of us have a multitude of bird feeders hanging in our yards to feed and therfore enjoy the sight of a variety of birds close-up.

We don't need to watch the evening weather report to know when the cold weather is about to hit, we only need to atch the birds as they are usually the first to book their flights to the warmer regions! We did have a little tasting of snowy weather a few days ago but that was short lived as we suddenly jumped to un-usually warm temperatures but the fact is scene like this snow covered car are soon to be a everyday fact of life!

Don't forget to get your snow tires on soon!