Further to the discussion re: Smew Provenance. Mabel McIntosh and I saw a female Smew a Cote Ste. Catherine near Montreal on December 11/12, 1976. It was with Common Goldeneyes, which regularly feed at the edge of the ice in the Lachine rapids. There has been only one other sighting in Quebec that I know of. That was a male seen by Henri Ouellet on the Riviere des Prairies, also near Montreal, in 1967. The latter was considered an escapee by Henri. Despite being avid listers at the time, Mabel and I always held the view that the Smew we saw was almost certainly an escapee. (Indeed, we still remain suspicious of many sightings of rare waterfowl in Quebec.) Undoubtedly, some of these sightings, especially those of recent times, are genuine stragglers. However, where there is any doubt at all we chose/choose to err on the side of caution.
Cheers, Bob. Sent from Windows Mail _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to [email protected] For information about ONTBIRDS including how to unsubscribe visit http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdssetup Posting guidelines can be found at http://www.ofo.ca/site/page/view/information.ontbirdsguide
