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Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Dec 2

Dec3

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 zoxox@shaw.ca  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.

This Bird Alert was recorded on Friday December 2 at 1:45 pm.

Bird Sightings:

WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS have been seen in fairly good numbers, with the best locations being the west end of Fish Creek Provincial Park and Edworthy Park. RED CROSSBILLS have been scarce. COMMON REDPOLLS have been abundant, with the usual sprinkling of HOARY REDPOLLS among them.

Nov 27:
NORTHERN SHRIKE, Griffith’s Woods in Discovery Ridge south of HWY 8, Bill Wilson (NORTHERN SHRIKES arrived in good numbers at first, but few have been reported recently).
PINE GROSBEAK, Griffith’s Woods, BW (PINE GROSBEAKS have been fairly widespread and in good numbers in the Calgary area this winter).

Nov. 29:
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, NW of Calgary on RR 24 and TWP RD 262, Ron Kube (ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS have been widespread and in good numbers throughout southern Alberta during the past couple of weeks).
NORTHERN HAWK-OWL, W of Turner valley along HWY 546 ca. 3 km. W Lineham Crossing, Peter Maksymiw.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday Dec 5.

BIRD STUDY GROUP:  Bird Study Group meets 1st Wednesday of the month, Room 211, BioSciences Building, U of C. December meeting is Wednesday,December 7. Topic will be “Birding in Brazil”, presented by Rob Worona. Meeting time is 7:30pm.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Nov 28

Nov30

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 zoxox@shaw.ca  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.

This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday Nov 28 at 1:45 pm.

Bird Sightings:

Nov 20:
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (40+) near Pine Coulee Res., west of Staveley, Terry Korolyk.

Nov 24:
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, 30 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, 30 BREWER’S BLACKBIRDS, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, MOURNING DOVE, RED-TAILED HAWK , at Lloyd Bennett’s farm near Taber.
MARSH WREN at Taber Lake, LB.
COMMON GRACKLES (3) in Lethbridge, LB.

Nov 25:
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (56) birding between Medicine Hat and Brooks, Milt Spitzer and Ben Velner.

Nov 26:
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (8) in a kettle south of Calgary, TK.
KILLDEER (5) along the Bow River north of 22X bridge, TK.
KILLDEER (2) along the Elbow River, Bill Wilson.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday Dec 1.
BIRD STUDY GROUP:

Bird Study Group meets 1st Wednesday of the month, Room 211, BioSciences Building, U of C. December meeting is Wednesday,December 7. Topic will be “Birding in
Brazil”, presented by Rob Worona. Meeting time is 7:30pm.

Christmas Bird Count

Nov25

As a follow-up to Bob’s post on the Christmas Bird Count this year, I am posting from my experiences last year.

For the 2010 Big Year birding here in Calgary, I decided to participate in my first Christmas Bird Count. I had heard great stories about this annual winter event and I was not disappointed. I was scheduled to a very productive route on the Bow River, with Southland Park and Carburn Park our main birding spots. We had a very good turnout for species, recording about 29, if I remember correctly. Some of the highlights on our route, were Killdeer, a Northern Shrike, a Rough-legged Hawk, a pair of Great Horned Owls and two immature Trumpeter Swans. These swans were seen continually in January of 2011 and were identified as one immature Tundra Swan and one immature Trumpeter Swan.

A fellow bird-counter participating in the 2010 Calgary CBC

Overall, almost 200 people took part in the 2010 count, with 102 feeder-watchers and 92 birders in the field. Temperatures ranged from -15 to -13 degrees Celsius with some light snow falling in the morning. Birders in the field put in a combined
205 party-hours total, 230 km  on foot and 881 km by car. These stats were compiled by Phil Cram, Donna and Arthur Wieckowski, Bob Lefebvre and John McFaul and can be more extensively viewed  by following this link:

http://birdscalgary.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/59th-calgary-christmas-bird-count-results/

Bald Eagles are usually seen on the Bow River

My group divided ourselves up into small parties in the morning, scanning the Bow River on either sides in and around Southland Park. Once we had spent several hours scouring the snow-swept landscape for birds, we headed to the nearest Tim Hortons for some warmth, where we traded stories and identification tips over refreshments. We headed back out, this time to Carburn Park, where we added Bohemian Waxwings, the shrike and some Barrow’s Goldeneyes. We ate lunch in our heated cars at Carburn and spent the afternoon searching our range for any missing species. That evening, all CBC participants from all over the city flocked to the Flynn’s house where we were served delicious chili and shared our tales from the day.

Birds are not the only wildlife seen on the Christmas Bird Count

The 2010 Christmas Bird Count was very enjoyable; if you have never done it before I highly recommend it. Calgary is historically a very high count in North American for number of participants; last year we had a total of 194 participants which was the 7th highest count in the US and Canada (Edmonton was 1st in North America with 439 participants!!!). Calgary also had the most species of birds recorded on the CBC in Alberta with a grand total of 64.

I will be back in Calgary for the holidays and I hope to see you there!

Posted by Matthew Sim

Snowy Owl Sightings

Nov22

Snowy Owl from Wikipedia

Snowy owls are one of the best things about a southern Alberta winter. These beautiful birds escape the harsh Arctic winter, and travel south to the grasslands of Canada and the northern USA. From the time the first one is reported, the country roads around Calgary are very popular with birders.

The adult male is virtually pure white, but females and young birds have some dark bars and spots, which are darkest on immature birds.

To make it easier for owl spotting, we’ve added a page to the blog titled Snowy Owls 2011. We’ll be updating this on a regular basis, as soon as snowy sightings are reported on Alberta Bird. By keeping a running list of locations, it’s easier to plan your drive, and increase your chances of a sighting.

If you’re not signed up for Alberta Bird and find a snowy owl, please leave the location in the comments below, and we’ll add it to the list.

Posted by Pat Bumstead

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Nov 21

Nov22

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 zoxox@shaw.ca  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.

This Bird Albert was recorded on Nov 21, 2011.

NOV 19

SWAN sp. – 2 juveniles below the Carseland Weir, Terry Korolyk
BARROW’S GOLDENEYE – male and female on McElroy Slough, TK
RUDDY DUCK – on McElroy Slough, TK
GADWALL – male on Bow River in east Fish Creek PP, TK
LESSER SCAUP – (possible) female, Beaverdam Flats, Bill Wilson
SNOWY OWL – Grand Valley Road 5 kms south of the Bates Bar J Ranch Gateway southwest of Water Valley, Richard Clarke
COMMON REDPOLL – common throughout area over the weekend
PINE GROSBEAK – as above
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL – as above
SNOW BUNTING – a flock of 300 reported just south of Frank Lake, TK

NOV 20

SWAN sp. – an adult at the dam at Pine Coulee Reservoir along Hwy 527 just west of Stavely, TK
WESTERN GREBE – 6, as above
AMERICAN COOT – as above
RUDDY DUCK – as above
GADWALL – a few, as above
ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK – 23 around the Pine Coulee Reservoir boat launch, TK
GYRFALCON – an adult at Twp Rd 162 – Rge Rd 26 east of Nanton

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Nov 24.

Sunday Showcase: Goldeneye With Egg

Nov20

Some unique photos from Rob English, who says “I shot these last June in Carburn Park at the hundred year old tree. It was early in morning so the photos aren’t the best but I thought you might enjoy them anyway. I sent them to Gus Yaki  and he said it was something seldom seen, never mind photographed.

Who knows what she was doing? Cleaning her nest of a cracked egg or raiding the nest site for a takeover as there was a Common Merganser circling the tree.

What she was doing I guess we will never know, but it is interesting to see. After she had done the deed she just sat in the tree cavity”.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Nov 17

Nov18

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 zoxox@shaw.ca  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.

This Bird Alert was recorded on Thursday Nov 17.

Bird Sightings:

WEDNESDAY, NOV 16
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER (1) – Police Point Park in Medicine Hat by Marty Drut. For more info call Milt Spitzer at 403-528-3120
–SNOWY OWL (1f) – Hwy 1 just west of junction with Hwy 9 (east of Calgary) by Angela Steffens
–NORTHERN HAWK OWL (1) – near intersection of TwpRd 262 and RgeRd 261 (Irricana Sloughs area) by Eddy Matuod

TUESDAY, NOV 15
–GLAUCOUS GULL (1 1st yr) – Bow River at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary by Yousif Attia
–MEW GULL (1 ad) – location and observer as above
–THAYER’S GULL (1 ad) – location and observer as above

MONDAY, NOV 14
–PINE GROSBEAK (15) – Fish Creek PP between Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace by Gus Yaki and Friends of Fish Creek PP Society
–TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE (2) – location and observers as above
–WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL (30+) – location and observers as above
–COMMON REDPOLL ( 25+) – location and observers as above

THURSDAY, NOV 10
-SNOWY OWL (1) – Arbour Lake subdivision of NW Calgary by unidentified observer

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday November 21

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Nov 14

Nov15

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 zoxox@shaw.ca  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.

This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday Nov 14 at 10:05 am.

Bird Sightings:

Nov 10:
SNOWY OWL (possible) sitting in the middle of the road in Arbour Lake, NW Calgary.

Nov 11:
MACKAY’S BUNTING (possible) with a flock of 500 SNOW BUNTINGS on a frozen slough north of Blackie, at 338th Ave & Hwy 799. Seen very close to the vehicle, the
bird was almost completely white with black primary and tertial tips, buffy yellow crown and sides of neck and cheeks. Bill was bright yellow, eye black. Call Terrry Korolyk 403-254-1878 for more info.
GADWALLxLESSER SCAUP (likely) at Weed Lake N of Hwy 560 , TK and others.
GYRFALCON, SW of Water Valley, Malcolm MacDonald.
SNOW GOOSE juvenile, above Weir at Carseland, TK.

Nov 12:
GYRFALCON, gray morph, at the Yacht Club, Glenmore Res., Bill Wilson.
PACIFIC LOON at the dam at Chain Lakes PP, one also at the dam at Pine Coulee and another N of Hwy 522 bridge at Pine Coulee, TK.
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN above the weir at Carseland , Cedric Hitchon.

Nov 13:
GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH (20) at feeders at Barrier Mtn Dr, Exshaw, Tony Timmons and Howard Heffler.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday Nov 17.

Bird Profile: Bohemian Waxwing

Nov5

A rush of wings, followed  instantly by  high-pitched trills break the silence. It is a cold, wintry scene, snow falling slowly from the never-ending sheet of clouds that blanket the sky in a gloomy grey. Standing still, nothing is to be heard; no cars, no people, and, above all, no birds. Just when it seems as though the entire world has gone into a peaceful slumber, the calm is broken by the sound of nature.

When they descend in hundreds, berries don’t last long at all. These birds are highly social and travel tight together, descending en masse on fruit bearing trees, where they proceed to rapidly consume thousands of berries. A very hardy bird, the Bohemian Waxwing toughs out the frigid winters of northern latitudes, enduring harsh conditions.The waxwing is both gregarious and elegant with a slick crest, and soft, silky plumage; it is deemed attractive by many. Named for the red, drop-shaped, waxlike tip on their feathers, this bird has warm grey-brown plumage, a black patch through the eye and a yellow-tipped tail. Bohemian Waxwings are berry aficionados and during winter, survive on the fruit of trees such as mountain ash and juniper, but also eat saskatoon and choke berries. Such a heavy reliance on one source of food can greatly affect a birds population and will cause much fluctuation. If there is a high population one year and a low fruit crop the same year, many waxwings will disperse in winter further south out of their regular mapped range. These years are known as irruptive years and are cherished by southern birders who do not usually get the opportunity to observe these birds.

I love witnessing large flocks of Bohemian Waxwings, it is possible to hear the whir of thousands of wings as they land, the twittering as they communicate endlessly, and the soft thud of berries as the fruit falls into the snow below, dropped by  a careless tug from the beak of a waxwing. Sometimes, after the flock has left, the snow will be littered with bright red berries. Then as cars and people pass over the fruit, the snow will be stained a rose color, evidence of the masses of birds that banqueted there.

Remember next time you are shoveling snow in -30 degree weather; you are privileged in that you can witness this elegant species brightening up the dull grey day. These birds are truly northern and hardly extend into the U.S. They are definitely one of the things I will miss most about Calgary winters.

Posted by Matthew Sim