More birders needed to help to monitor bird populations in the area, May 27-28.
From organizer Andrew Hart.
The Calgary Area May Species Count is held on the last weekend of May. Teams of observers will count birds in about 80 count areas in the 80 km circle centered on Calgary. There are still some areas that need to be covered. Some of these may be parks within the city, or larger rural areas.
Eastern Kingbird, Longview area, May Species Count 2022. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
We are always in need of new participants. If you would like to participate this year please reply to the email address or phone number below confirming your availability and also whether you would prefer to team up with an established group or try an area on your own. Could you also confirm if anyone else will be in your team, or if you would like me to try and find you some additional participants to join you.
To register or if you have any questions please contact me by email (andrewhartch@icloud.com) or at (403) 608-8918.
Take part in this Citizen Science Project in the Calgary area from April 28 – May 1, 2023.
From organizer Matthew Wallace:
The fifth annual City Nature Challenge Calgary event will take place April 28-May 1, 2023! After five years, we’ve seen the success that CNC can have for engaging Calgarians with their local environments and we hope to make this the biggest event yet! Expect more cities than ever participating from around the world.
April 28-May 1, be sure to get outside and make observations of flora and fauna by taking photos and posting them to iNaturalist (web or app). Observations must be posted by Midnight May 7 to be included. Cities around the world will compete to see which can make the most observations, document the most species, and engage the most people! We need your help to activate your communities!
Encourage your friends, family, and neighbours to make as many observations as possible during the four-day window. We will be hosting public bioblitzes across the city with the support of local stewardship groups. If you have an interest in hosting, sponsoring, or simply participating in an event, please contact us at citynatureyyc@gmail.com and keep your eye on our website www.citynatureyyc.ca for all the information and news.
You can also follow news about the Calgary CNC on this Facebook page. Click the “Going” button and follow the group.
You can follow the progress of the Calgary effort from April 28-May 1 on this iNaturalist site.
Taking part in the CNC is as easy as taking pictures of any wildlife, and uploading the photos to iNaturalist. It is easy to use the iNaturalist app on a smart phone. You can spend the four-day challenge window taking photos, and then we have until May 7 to identify everything using the iNaturalist AI and the worldwide commununity of naturalists who use the site. If you are unable to participate or if you live outside of the Calgary CNC areas, you can still particpate by identifying everything that is submitted.
A poor photo of Grey Partridge I took in east Calgary during the 2022 CNC. But every species counts! Photo by Bob Lefebvre
The cities, towns, and other areas that comprise the Calgary region for the purposes of the CNC are Airdrie, Chestermere, Cochrane, Foothills County, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, High River, Okotoks, Rocky View County, and the City of Calgary. Any observations made in these areas will count for the challenge.
The Calgary CNC Region for 2023.
Last year, there were over 460 cities all over the world taking part in this friendly challenge. Over 67,000 observers reported over 50,000 species in 1.7 million iNaturalist observations. It really is a great way to document and monitor the world’s biodiversity.
Matthew has set a goal for the Calgary region of 10,000 iNaturalist observations in the four-day period. He would like to have 1,000 observers so if we can reach that goal, we should easily get to 10,000 observations. Last year we had 6,200 observations with only about 200 observers. It doesn’t take long to take even 50 or 100 photos and submit them. So please plan to take part in your yard, in a park, or anywhere in the area.
If you have any promotional ideas or would like to host a CNC event or field trip, please email Matthew at citynatureyyc@gmail.com. I plan to lead an outing or two so you could also join me then.
I’ll have more on the City Nature Challenge closer to the event.
Planning for the May Species Counts is already under way. There are two southern Alberta counts besides the Calgary one that many Calgarians take part in – Brooks/Lake Newell, and Milk River/Writing-on-Stone. The Brooks count is in its 24th year and MR/WOS is in its 22nd. The organizers would like to get more people participating in both counts. Since birders from the city have to arrange accomodation for these, you have to start your planning now. (Note that the Calgary count is May 27-28, the same weekend as Writing-on-Stone, so you will have a choice to make.)
Below is the information about the counts and booking camping. There is more information in the attached brochures. If you have questions, please contact the count organizers.
Lark Sparrow. Photo by Bob Lefebvre, May 31, 2020.
_____________________________________________
Hello Alberta Bird Counters! We are pleased to announce that the 2023 Brooks and Writing-on-Stone Bird Counts will take place on the following dates:
· Brooks-Lake Newell Bird Count: Sat. May 20 and Sun. May 21
· Milk River – Writing-on-Stone Bird Count: Sat. May 27 and Sun. May 28
If you plan on camping we highly recommend booking early!
Tillebrook Provincial Park: general reservations for May 19-21 will open at 9 am on Saturday February 18. www.reserve.albertaparks.ca or 1-877-537-2757
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park: general reservations for May 26-28 will open at 9 am on Saturday February 25. www.reserve.albertaparks.ca or
1-877-537-2757
Note: a small non-refundable fee of $12 per person will be charged to all Brooks participants to help cover the rental of the Brooks Legion meeting room.
Please indicate interest in participating to Debra Hornsby in advance of registration. Registration forms will be emailed by March 27. The 2023 count brochure provides further information and a draft count schedule.
We look forward to seeing all of you — and thousands of migrating birds — at the end of May!
To indicate interest contact: debra.hornsby.banff*@*gmail.com
More information: Donna Wieckowski astolat*@*shaw.ca
The next Calgary Birds & Beers meeting will be this coming Friday at the the Horton Road Legion. There will be a presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt about their 2022 trip to Elk Island and Cold Lake parks.
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285,
9202 Horton Road SW.
Friday February 10, 2023, 6:00-9:00 pm
We start at 6 pm, and there will be time for socializing, eating, and drinking before the presentation begins after 7 pm. Here are the details of the talk.
Sunset at Elk Island Park
Gas Yaki Walk 2022: A camping trip to Elk Island National Park and Cold Lake Provincial Park by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt
In 2017 a group of us hiked across Southern Alberta with our friend and outstanding naturalist, Gus Yaki. Since that time some of the group, and anyone else who was interested, has been conducting an annual trip involving exploring some of the beautiful scenery and wildlife in Alberta and Saskatachewan. In 2022 we traveled north to visit Elk Island National Park and Cold Lake Provincial Park. Elk Island, only about 35 kilometres east of Edmonton, is a wonderful location for seeing wildlife and doing some hiking. Cold Lake, about 250 kilometres north east of Elk Island, is one of the premiere places in Alberta to witness the spring migration of warblers.
We now have the Birds & Beers social events scheduled for the first half of 2023. All the meetings will be held on the second Friday of each month, from 6 to 9 pm, at the Horton Road Legion (9202 Horton Road SW). Everyone is welconme to attend! We will try to have a presentation at each event. The January meeting, on Friday January 13th, will feature Andrew Hart and Lara Fitpatrick speaking about the Calgary May Species Count, with results from 2022 and a look ahead to the 2023 count.
An Eastern Kingbird in a field of Shooting Stars in the Longview area, on the 2022 May Species Count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
I will post more details on each meeting and each presentation a week or two before the event. Below is the schedule (which is also always posted on the right-hand sidebar of the blog). Remember, the second Friday of each month!
January 13 – May Species Count presentation.
February 10
March 10
April 14
May 12
June 9
We take a break from Birds & Beers in July and August, then resume for the fall season, September to November. I will post that schedule once the dates are booked. See you in January!
In early December I posted about the start of Winter Birding season. As usual, we picked up almost all of the commonly-occcuring winter species pretty quickly for our list. Before last weekend’s Calgary Christmas Bird Count, we were at 87 species. But we added four new species on the Calgary Count on December 18 (Varied Thrush at Queen’s Park Cemetery, Northern Shoveler at Bonnybrook waste treatment plant on the Bow River, Gadwall at a couple of locations on the Bow, and a Common Grackle seen at a feeder in SE Calgary). So, as of December 20, we were at 91 species for the Calgary region.
Common Grackle, photographed in mid-December in SE Calgary by Jennifer Howson. (Yes, I have spoken to her about the bread!)
The extreme cold weather we have been having is keeping birders from going out, and the birds are often sheltering, so one might think we would have a low number of species this year. But it is in line with the past few years:
Year
Total on Dec. 20
Final Total
2019
89
109
2020
98
119
2021
92
118
2022
91
???
(Data courtesy of Caroline Lambert. Caroline has done most of the work on the Calgary list again this year, as well as maintaining the Bow Valley list.)
There are several other Christmas Bird Counts in the region in the next ten days, so we should get a few more species on those. (Nature Calgary’s site has some information on some of the other counts if you wish to take part. There are also some Long-term Foothills Counts that may need addditional participants.) And then there is the long stretch from the beginning of January to the end of February to find more species. So we might end up with a total of well over 100 species again.
Northern Pygmy-Owl, Calgary, February 2008. We haven’t yet had a report of one in the 80-km circle. Some winters they are right in the city. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
Some of the species that haven’t been reported yet this year but that we are still likely to find include Wild Turkey, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Short-eared Owl. Those have all been seen in the five previous winters. American Kestrel and Red-winged Blackbird have also been seen in each of the last five winters, but I wonder if it is now less likely at this point that they will turn up. We have a good chance to get Clark’s Nutcracker (seen in three of the past five years but known to winter in nearby areas) and Black-backed Woodpecker (seen in four of the past five). Hoary Redpolls have also been seen in four of five years, but the low numbers of Redpolls around this year will make it a real challenge.
If you see somethig that is not yet on the list, please report it on the Albertabird site.
Meanwhile, over in the Bow Valley near Canmore and Banff, they have 55 species so far. They may not get to the record of 74 for the season, but should have a respectable total in the 60’s. You can follow the Bow Valley Birding Group on Facebook here.
Check out the Alberta Winter Bird List site to see the lists for Calgary, the Bow Valley, Edmonton, and the overall Provincial list.
The winter birding season is from December 1 to February 28, and once again I will be helping Caroline Lambert to keep a list of species seen in the Calgary region during that time period. Caroline also maintains a list for the Bow Valley, while Gerry Fox keeps track of the Edmonton region list. Andy Ross compiles the Alberta provincial list.
All four lists, with some previous years’ lists for comparison, can be found on the page albertawinterbirds.org.
Great Horned Owl, photographed in Calgary in late November by Patrice O’Brien.
Already there have been 58 species reported on the Calgary list. We usually get between 100 and 120 species by the end of February, so there are plenty more out there to find. Have a look at the list and report your finds on Albertabird or eBird.
Calgary’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) takes place on Sunday December 18, 2022! CBC began in 1900 and is the world’s longest-running citizen science event. The count has been going on in Calgary since 1952 and is a valuable resource for understanding species and population trends of birds found in Calgary and around the world.
Matthew Wallace will once again be organizing the count and compiling the results. Lara Fitzpatrick and I will assist once again.
Please take a minute to fill out the Registration form here. Unless you are a Feeder Watcher who has already been assigned to a FW Captain, we are asking everyone to register, even if you have participated last year or in many past years. This helps to ensure we have the correct and most up-to-date contact information for each person and reduces the thousands of emails down to a more manageable size. It also helps Matthew to organize the required participant information that is submitted to Audubon and confirm that feeder watcher residences are within the count circle.
Calgary CBC Circle, from Google Earth.
Completing the form will ensure that you will receive information that will follow in the next few days. The form is required for both feeder watchers and field participants. It can be shared with anyone who may wish to take part this year. Please share widely. If you are not sure that you can participate, or if you would like more information about the count, please fill out the form so we can contact you.
Great Horned Owl photographed by Matthew Wallace on last year’s Calgary CBC. December 19, 2021, Tsuut’ina Nation, Calgary.
Count Week Birds: If you come across any interesting birds during count week (December 15-21), please send information to citynatureyyc@gmail.com including any notes, counts, or photos you may have.
The next Birds & Beers event is this Friday, October 14th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,
9202 Horton Road SW.
Friday October 14, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm
Green-winged Teal
Everyone is welcome to attend. Unfortunately we had a late cancellation by our scheduled presenter, but we hope to have an update from Greg Wagner on the proposed Frank Lake solar power project. Greg may not be able to make it, but in that case we will still have some information from him on the status of the project, how to get more information on it, and how you can get involved.
At the Bird & Beers event in Calgary on September 9th, Caroline Lambert gave a presentation on the Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation (RMERF), and the work they have been doing for thirty years, monitoring the migratory flights of eagles (and other birds) along the eastern edge of the Rockies. The discovery of this migratory corridor, along which thousands of Golden Eagles travel twice a year, is a fascinating story. A dedicated group of volunteers watches the skies spring and fall and records the birds passing over.
At the Birds & Beers presentation there was a technical problem which prevented the screening of a video about the RMERF. The 13-minute video can be seen here:
The RMERF relies on volunteers to monitor the birds. They welcome visitors to the site during their counts, so you can learn what is involved and work towards becoming a volunteer yourself. It’s a great place to visit! If you are interested in volunteering, or for more information, see the RMERF Website here. If you are not able to volunteer, you can support the Foundation with a donation.
You can follow the RMERF on Twitter and Instagram at @_eaglecount.
