More great raptor photos from Rob English, taken in Carburn Park in July. Click to enlarge.
Archives
Willet (or won’t it)
As colder weather begins to descend upon Calgary, it can be nice to reflect a little bit on some birds that we were familiar with during the summer months.
Many species of birds vary greatly from region to region. The Willet is one of these birds that are highly variable with two distinct subspecies, the eastern semipalmata darker, browner and thicker-billed than the western subspecies inornata that we see both in Calgary, and down here on the Gulf Coast.
A western inornata Willet
A large shorebird with a flashy black-and-white wing pattern seen in flight, the willet was given its name thanks to its territorial call: pill-will-willet. A very vocal bird, the Willet, as biologist William Vogt wrote many years ago, has another call, a ringing kaaaty. When William Vogt studied a breeding pair of Willets back in 1938 he couldn’t help but call them Will and Kate, thanks to their calls.
Another western Willet
Several years ago, before I was a big birder, I traveled out east for vacation. I observed my first Willet out there and now I have the chance to compare photographs of eastern and western Willets.
While the shots of the Western Willets are winter plumaged birds, you can still see the smaller size, darker color and stouter bill in the eastern Willet pictured above.
I always find regional variations in birds intriguing and the Willet is a bird with an easily visible difference, making it a good subject to view and compare from the east to the west.
Posted by Matthew Sim
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Sept 23
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 report was prepared on Thursday September 22.
September 18
— BLACK-NECKED STILT (20), Weed Lake, Terry Korolyk
September 21
— COOPER’S HAWK, Hull’s Woods, Fish Creek Provincial Park, TK
–AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, Weed Lake, Ilya Povalyaev
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday September 27.
BIRD STUDY GROUP:
Bird Study Group meets 1st Wednesday of the month, Room 211, BioSciences Building, U of C
October meeting is Wednesday, October 5. Birds of Prey – presented by Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. Meeting time is 7:30pm.
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Sept 19
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 Sep 19, 2011.
SEP 17
BROAD-WINGED HAWK – over North Haven subdivision, by Steve Kassai
VARIED THRUSH – north end of Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Bill Wilson
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER – numerous over weekend, seen by many observers
WILSON’S WARBLER – as above
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER – as above
COMMON LOON – immature reported by TK at Chestermere Lake
WHITE-FACED IBIS – 19 at 338 Ave and Hwy 799, TK
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER – 8 at Weed Lake, TK
SEP 18
NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL – seen in Weaselhead by Steve Kassai. For more details, phone Steve at 403-289-1351
COOPER’S HAWK – as above
SWAMP SPARROW – Bill Wilson saw one in Confederation Park by the creek
BLUE-HEADED VIREO – as above
BLACKPOLL WARBLER – 2, as above
HERRING GULL – 1st – 2nd year, seen by TK at Weed Lake
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER – 12 at Namaka Lake, seen by David Pugh
The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Sep 22.
Sunday Showcase: Osprey With Lunch
Rob English has sent us this absolutely stunning sequence of photographs he took at Bankside in Fish Creek Park. (Click to enlarge.)
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Sept 15
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 Sep 15, 2011.
SEP 12
Orange-crowned Warbler – 21 banded at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary banding station
SEP 13
Orange-crowned Warbler – 17 as above
Pine Siskin – numerous flocks of 20+ seen coming into North Glenmore Park by Terry Korolyk
SEP 14
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 30 seen by TK at Hull’s Wood in a short space of time
Blackpoll Warbler – 1 as above
Tennessee Warbler – 1 as above
Wilson’s Warbler – 1 as above
SEP 15
Yellow-rumped Warbler – 30 seen by Bill Wilson and Ilya Povalyaev at Confederation Park
Tennessee Warbler – 2 as above
Orange-crowned Warbler – 8 as above
Blackpoll Warbler – 1 as above
American Redstart – 1 as above
Wilson’s Warbler – 7 as above
Palm Warbler – 1, as above
Pine Siskin – 30, as above
The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Mon Sep 19.
Bird-brained
Who ever said birds were stupid? They were quite wrong. Many birds are quite intelligent and we get a fine chance to observe this intelligence in the migration of geese.
Everybody can associate geese flying in a ‘V’ formation with fall; the geese head south for the winter and are most often seen flying this way. Down here in Texas, we can often see Cattle Egrets flying this way, demonstrating their often overlooked wisdom. There is actually an intelligent method behind this flight, showing us that birds are smarter than we think.
Birds fly in a ‘V’ to save energy; by traveling this way, they render themselves as a group, more aerodynamic. If these birds were to fly in an unorganized group, flying would be a lot harder. Picture it this way; which car is more aerodynamic, a sports car or a dump truck? The sports car is by far the more aerodynamic of the two, its sleek form enabling it to reduce drag, therefore allowing it to go faster. When the geese and the egrets fly this way, they render themselves more aerodynamic, reducing the wind they have going against themselves and therefore applying less energy into flying. The bird flying at the point of the V though, has all the wind going against him, however this is not permanent. Studies have shown that after flying at the point for some time, upon becoming tired, the lead bird will drop to the back where flying is the easiest, and take a well-deserved break. This just goes to show that birds are a lot smarter than we think.
Posted by Matthew Sim
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Sept 12
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 Sep 12, 2011.
SEP 8
AMERICAN PIPIT – 4 seen by Terry Korolyk at Clear Lake east of Stavely
SEP 10
SNOW GOOSE – 2 adults seen by TK at Cattleland Feedlot Slough north of Strathmore
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE – 150 reported as above; 52 seen by John Corbin on RR 264 2 miles north of Irricana
RUDDY TURNSTONE – juvenile seen by TK at Weed Lake
WESTERN SANDPIPER – seen as above
MOURNING WARBLER – found by Tony Timmons in his yard in Evergreen Terrace
SEP 11
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE – Andrew Slater reported 200 at the Cattleland Feedlot Slough, as well as 35 in a flooded field on Hwy 564 3 kms west of the Cattleland Slough
SANDERLING – TK saw 3 juveniles in the NE corner of the large slough at the corner of the Hwy 547 – Rge Rd 255 junction 20 kms north of Herronton
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER – 2 seen as above
DOWITCHER sp – 300 at 338 Ave and Hwy 799 , TK
PECTORAL SANDPIPER – 35 as above
STILT SANDPIPER – Bill Wilson saw 30 at Weed Lake
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD – Ian Maton saw one at Confederation Park in Calgary
AMERICAN PIPIT – Bill Wilson saw 8 at Weed Lake
The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Sep 15.
A Prairie Evening Drive
Posted by Pat Bumstead
Sunday Showcase: Bald Eagle
Rob English has sent us more of his superb photos. This week it’s a juvenile bald eagle, photographed in Carburn Park in late July and early August. Click to enlarge.
