Birds of Saint-Norbert

176 bird species have been recorded within 6 mi of the centre of Saint-Norbert (Quebec) since 2010, across 17,135 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Blue Jay, Mourning Dove and American Crow.

Saint-Norbert is backyard-bird country: 87% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and yard trees. Blue Jay, Mourning Dove, American Crow and American Goldfinch make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.

20 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Turkey Vulture, Snowy Owl and Peregrine Falcon. A hawk that hunts feeder birds is among them, so set feeders about 10 feet from shrubs: close enough for cover, far enough that a cat can't ambush from it.

Records peak in April and are lowest in August — about 5.7 times as many in the busiest month. Part of that is birds (migrants and breeding arrivals), part is people: more birders are out in good weather, so treat the curve as activity, not a census.

Saint-Félix-de-Valois, 5 mi to the west, has a similar number of species on record (173 against 176). Birds logged far more often around Saint-Norbert than there include House Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Killdeer and House Finch.

Daylight runs from 15 h 47 min at midsummer to 8 h 37 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:08 AM in mid-April and 5:01 AM in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.

Foods for the most recorded backyard birds here, from our species notes.

• Blue Jay

  Peanuts in the shell · Black-oil sunflower · Suet

• Mourning Dove

  Millet · Cracked corn · Black-oil sunflower

• American Crow

  Cracked corn · Peanuts in the shell · Suet scraps

• American Goldfinch

  Nyjer (thistle) · Hulled sunflower chips · Black-oil sunflower

• European Starling

  Suet · Cracked corn

• Dark-eyed Junco

  White proso millet · Hulled sunflower · Cracked corn

• Saint-Félix-de-Valois5 mi west · 173 species
• Sainte-Élisabeth5 mi south · 196 species
• Berthierville9 mi south-east · 266 species
• Saint-Gabriel10 mi north · 204 species
• Saint-Thomas11 mi south · 210 species
• Saint-Charles-Borromée11 mi south-west · 209 species