Posted by Pat Bumstead
Yes friends, my overwintering Mourning Doves are still hanging around the yard. Judging by this affectionate display, I can soon look forward to having even more of them to feed! Last year they nested in my neighbor’s spruce tree, so I’ll be keeping a sharp eye on that location in the coming months.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7N4A3vfnIg“&rel=0”Posted by Matthew Sim
Back in November, the Calgary Herald ran an article on the Sage Grouse, a large and impressive grouse that faces a bleak and dismal future. For me, this was a depressing article; it opened my eyes to a species I never knew even lived in Alberta, only to present very pessimistic prospects for the bird here.
Image courtesy Wikipedia
A scarce permanent resident with a very limited distribution in our province, the sage grouse needs large stands of sagebrush as well as wet meadows, river bottoms or green areas for foraging. This habitat is crucial for the bird and without it, the grouse cannot survive. It is for exactly this reason that population levels have decreased in Alberta since the 1960’s, in fact, the sage grouse population in Alberta is down to just 13 males. Many experts have already given up any hope of saving Alberta’s prairie sage grouse, however, led by the Alberta Wilderness Association, 12 environmental groups are acting to save the species. These groups have asked that the federal government enact an emergency protection order, which would force Environment Canada to do whatever it can to save this species’ habitat. Though it may be too late, let this species plight be a lesson to all of us, and let us ensure that this never happens again.
To read the Herald’s article, follow the link below:
If you’ve taken any pictures of interesting birds in the Calgary region, you can share them with us by emailing birdscalgary@gmail.com and we may post them on the blog.
We received these amazing photos of Horned Larks from Joe Harley. Horned larks have been returning to the area for the past few weeks and can be seen along rural roads. They can be very hard to photograph but Joe got a few great shots.
Joe writes:
We’d like to compliment the writers of the blog; we enjoy all the articles (and photos). Thought I’d share the Lark family, photographed on Family day [February 20], not far from Kinbrook Marsh. That’s all I was able to get of the Larks. We were in the midst of photographing Pronghorns when the Lark opportunity occurred.
(click photos to enlarge)
Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, us email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.
February 28
–RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. Present in George Lane Park in High River since Oct.2011; seen recently by Phil Quinn.
–BARROW’S GOLDENEYE(3), Bow River at Carburn park, by Gus Yaki et al.
March 1
–HOODED MERGANSER(1), seen during Elbow River survey, by GY et al.
–SNOW BUNTING(1), N. end of Nose Hill park, by PQ.
March 3
–SWAN (sp), seen at Frank Lake by Terry Korolyk. May be the same bird seen there since Dec.2011.
–GREEN-WINGED TEAL(F). Bow River at Policeman’s Flats SE of Calgary, by TK.
–THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, Griffith Woods park, by Steve Kassai.
–NORTHERN GOSHAWK, Griffith Woods park, by SK.
–PILEATED WOODPECKER, (same as above) by SK.
–HORNED LARK. small numbers seen by TK between High River and Carseland.
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday, March 8.
BIRD STUDY GROUP – Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September-May at 7:30 pm, Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary.The next meeting will be Wednesday March 7. The program is titled “High Science: The The Natural History of Alpine Ptarmigan”, by Kathy Martin.
Rob English lucked out again with this beautiful Rough-legged Hawk spotted near Sikome Lake in Fish Creek Park on Feb 29. Click to enlarge photos.
Snow buntings are notoriously difficult to photograph, as they’re always in motion. Duane Starr was lucky to run into thousands & thousands of them and managed to get a series of wonderful pictures of these hyperactive little birds. He says when the flock was in the air they were everywhere and when they were on the ground they were everywhere. Click here to view his snow buntings on the fence, in the air, on the ground…
Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, us email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.
February 25
– –MALLARD (leucistic female) Beaverdam Flats in SE Calgary, Rob English
–SPOTTED TOWHEE, farm ca. 5 km. N of Irricana, John Corbin 403-935-4340
February 26
–NORTHERN SHRIKE, Weaselhead Natural Area, SW Calgary, Phil Quinn – February 28
–CACKLING GOOSE, Mackenzie Meadows, Phil Quinn
– –GREATER SCAUP, Hwy 22x bridge E end of Fish Creek Prov. Park, Terry Korolyk
– –SNOW BUNTING (60), N. of Linden, Corinne Griffin
– –COMMON GRACKLE, Lynnwood subdiv., SE Calgary, Pat Bumstead
February 29
–GREAT BLUE HERON (6) Southland Dog Park parking lot, Deerfoot Tr. And Southland Dr., observer unknown
– –KILLDEER, Bow R. S. of Glenmore Tr. Bridge, Gus Yaki,
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The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, March 5.
BIRD STUDY GROUP – Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September – May at 7:30 pm, Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary. The next meeting will be Wednesday March 7. The program is titled “High Science: The The Natural History of Alpine Ptarmigan”, by Kathy Martin.
Duane Starr has had some excellent snowy owl luck lately, and sent us a couple of links to his photo galleries.
The first set has some wonderful in-flight and action shots. Click here to view, then click on Slideshow on the right hand side.
His second set of snowy pictures shows the complete sequence of an owl coughing up a pellet, which looks like an extreme amount of hard work! View here.
Rob English has sent us some photos of the leucistic (white) mallard duck that’s been hanging around Beaverdam Flats this winter. Click photos to enlarge.
This bird is getting a lot of attention from photographers. Duane Starr has more views of this beautiful bird you can view in his photo gallery.
Rob English got these last Friday in Carburn Park in southeast Calgary, and says this was the first time he’d ever managed to see one there. The bird was so easy going he couldn’t stop taking pictures. When she did fly it was only 50 or 60 feet so he stayed with her for about an hour just shooting and watching her peel bark. Click on the photos for a larger view.
