See if you can identify the bird in the photograph below; then let us know what you think by posting a comment.
The bird in this photograph is a large, noisy and conspicuous shorebird typical of the prairie sloughs. Do you know what it is? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
Posted by Matthew Sim
July is another great month to go birdwatching in the Calgary region. By now, most birds are in the process of raising hungry families while others, such as hummingbirds and certain shorebirds, start their southward migration in late July. Our must-see birds for July are as follows:
1. Western Grebe
Featured before in one of our previous posts (Grebes, Grebes, Grebes), the Western Grebe is a gregarious grebe that is easily recognized thanks to its contrasting black and white plumage, thin green-yellow bill and slender neck. Colonial nesters, the Western Grebe is usually found on medium to large lakes such as Frank Lake ( Glenmore reservoir during migration) where they mainly consume small fish.
A pair of Western Grebes, front, on a crowded Frank lake.
2. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a beautiful black-and-white songbird with a rosy red breast, lives up to its name. The female is a brownish-streaked bird with yellow wing linings. Emitting a robin-like song, only richer, more energetic and more rapidly delivered, both male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeak sing. This bird may be seen in the Glenmore and the Weaselhead area or at Griffith Woods along the banks of the Elbow River in southwest Calgary.
Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak feeding a juvenile.
3. Canvasback
The largest diving duck found in the province, I find Canvasbacks to be very beautiful. The male is resplendent with a canvas coloured back and a chestnut head and neck. This species prefers lakes and ponds with emergent vegetation and vegetated margins. Weed lake is a good place to observe these ducks. The Canvasback uses its long sloping bill to strain seeds from the mud on the bottom of ponds.
4. Wilson’s Phalarope
The only shorebirds that normally swim, the sex roles are reversed in phalaropes, the female being larger and more colorful than the male; a black stripe going down from the eye, down the side of the neck and then merging into chestnut. Favouring sloughs and shallow lakes where wet meadows and grassy marshes are present, the Wilson’s Phalarope may be seen on most southeast sloughs and lakes.
5. Cinnamon Teal
Our final bird for the month of July is the Cinnamon Teal, a conspicuous cinnamon red duck that is striking in the right light. This teal prefers shallow lake margins, marshes and ponds; on larger bodies of water, it is never found very far from shore. Look for Cinnamon Teal in early July, before they molt, in the southeast sloughs, Frank Lake, or in Fish Creek at Burnsmead, among other spots.
Let us know which of these birds you saw this month! Happy Canada Day!
Posted by Matthew Sim
The boy paused to make some adjustments to his gear before moving the long black object that was glinting in the sunlight up to his eye. He slowly, carefully took aim, lining up his target into the right position, not wanting to miss this golden opportunity. Not this time. He paused another moment before finally taking the shot. Snap! The boy looked down at his camera screen, pleased with the result. He rapidly took some more shots before quietly leaving the way he came.
Sunday afternoon, my dad and I headed out to Frank Lake, eager to see some young birds starting to emerge. As we were leaving this birding hotspot, we passed a small marsh beside the road; a fence running along the edge of the water. “Stop!” I suddenly exclaimed. We turned the car around when the traffic had died down and found a quiet place to park. On a fencepost, I had seen a Wilson’s Snipe, a long-billed shorebird often seen in and around wetlands. We hopped out of the car, listening to the music of the wetland around us; boreal chorus frogs, yellow-headed blackbirds, red-winged blackbirds and coots, all adding to the cacophony of sounds around us.
We slowly and cautiously made our way closer and closer to the snipe, not wanting to scare it . We had never been quite so close to a snipe before and we approached to within a couple of meters of the bird before stopping. We admired and observed this well-marked little bird, delighted to have such a close encounter.
After doing some research on this remarkable little bird, I found that its long bill is really quite amazing. The bill of the Wilson’s Snipe is flexible and the tips can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the bill. Sensory pits at the tip of the bill act a little bit like sonar, allowing the snipe to feel its prey (small invertebrates) deep in the mud.
Posted by Matthew Sim
These wonderful Great Horned Owl photos were sent to us by Rob English – thanks again Rob. (Click images for a larger view).
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 Jun 27, 2011.
SUNDAY June 26
–GADWALL X MALLARD (BREWER’S DUCK) (1) – main stormwater pond W of Votier’s Flats parking lot in W Fish Creek PP by Terry Korolyk
SATURDAY June 25
–HARLEQUIN DUCK (3) – Bow River at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary by Penny Smith and a CFNS field trip
–SHORT-EARED OWL (2) – 300 m north of Hwy 23, N of Frank Lake (Frank Lake is 6 km E of High River on Hwy 23) by Phil Evans
–SPOTTED TOWHEE (4) – N Glenmore/Weaselhead by Bill Wilson
–LE CONTE’S SPARROW (2) – W of bridge 10 in E Fish Creek PP by BW
FRIDAY June 24
–UPLAND SANDPIPER (1) – SW of High River, just N of Hwy 540 on RgeRd 12, by Ron Kube
TUESDAY June 21
–NORTHERN PINTAIL X GADWALL (1) – pond NE of Airdrie, 2.4 km S of Hwy 567 on Rge Rd 284, by TK
The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thursday Jun 30.
These stunning robin photos were sent to us by Tom Langlois. Enjoy! (Click on pictures for a larger view).
Last Tuesday when I was down at the Bow River, I was witness to a great birding spectacle; photogenic pelicans putting on a show of flying, landing and swimming. I was able to count up 27 of these social and gregarious birds at one time, half of them circling in the sky while the other half loafed around on the banks of the river. Among the world’s largest birds and gracing the air with a wingspan of over 2 meters, the American White Pelican can swallow fish up to 30cm (12 inches) long and must eat 2 kg (4 lbs) of fish a day.
Several Pelicans made a show of coming in for a landing.
They came closer and closer…
Until it seemed as though they were right beside me…
Their feathers were absolutely stunning against the blue sky.
This Pelican was demonstrating the mechanics of a good landing…
Before finally putting down the landing gear.
If you look carefully at this last photo, you may just be able to make out a Franklin’s Gull at the far right of the screen. This gull was flying at roughly the same altitude as the pelicans and shows the massive size difference between the two. After Tuesday, Pelicans have become a bird I love to watch.
Posted by Matthew Sim
I had a day off this last Tuesday so I took the opportunity to go biking and birding in Fish Creek Provincial Park. It was a beautiful morning; the sun was out, the sky was blue, the birds were singing and the weather was warm; finally! I got to Fish Creek at around 8:30 a.m. entering the park just off the intersection of Canyon Meadows drive and Acadia . I was preparing to go down the steep hill into the park only to find that the trail was flooded! Instead I followed the trail around the ridge until I entered the park beside the ranch.I did some random wandering on small paths through Fish Creek, finding a pheasant, a kingfisher, several catbirds and 3 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, among other birds. I then carried on to bridge number 11, leading to Hull’s Wood. Rounding a bend in the path I was surprised to see a male Pileated Woodpecker, just meters from the path. Before I could get my camera out of my bag, he had flown further away; apparently he was surprised to see me!
I reached Sikome Lake and rode my bike up the hill, in hopes of finding some Great Horned Owls and their owlets; I was not disappointed! There in their regular tree, was the Great Horned Owl family, two young ones and one adult.
As I continued my circuit, I found some more interesting birds, including some Green-winged Teal.
And the Pelicans! The water is so high in the river that pelicans are everywhere; I was able to count up to 27 pelicans at one time, half in the water, half circling in the sky, their bright white feathers contrasting magnificently with the clear blue sky. Another post on the pelicans will follow this one. However, this day, was truly the day of families. At one secluded spot near the river, I found 4 different nests all within a couple of feet of each other. The first belonged to a Downy Woodpecker, the second to a House Wren and the last two to Tree Swallows.
At the Downy Woodpecker nest, the male would visit the hole every couple of minutes and would be instantly greeted with the call of the hungry young in the inside. He continued his work incessantly, feeding his ever hungry offspring.
The House Wrens hardly ever came in and out of their nest but the male was always nearby, singing very loudly and stopping only for the occasional break.
The Tree Swallows would vigorously defend their nests from potential threats, such as the kestrel that flew over several times. The Kestrel in turn would chase away a Swainson’s Hawk that could have been a potential threat to the Kestrel’s family.
As I was leaving the park in late morning I came across a coyote sitting on a hill, looking very content as well as many Savannah Sparrows singing.
Family time for the birds is a busy time of year; I saw 52 species of birds that morning and I had luck as I got to see some of them raising their families.
Posted by Matthew Sim
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 Jun 20, 2011.
JUN 15
BAND-TAILED PIGEON: reported by Carrie Mashon at a feeder at her home in Dorothy, AB. Not seen after June 15
JUN 16
SHORT-EARED OWL – Ron Kube saw one on Twp Rd 192 north of Frank Lake
VEERY – Gus Yaki and Friends of Fish Creek heard one in Weaselhead
JUN 17
BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO – POSSIBLE – reported by Terry Korolyk who saw a large dull brownish bird with a very long brownish tail moving in a deciduous tree on either Auburn Rd, Adrian Rd or 7 St visible above a gray sound barrier wall from Southland Drive just west of Blackfoot Trail.
LONG-BILLED CURLEW – south of Hwy 566 on Hwy 9 northeast of Calgary, by Corinne Griffin
The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Jun 23.
Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the 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 June 16 at 10 am.
Bird Sightings:
June 9:
GREAT GRAY OWL, CONNECTICUT WARBLER, WILLOW FLYCATCHER at Pearanod? Wildlife Hab. S of Grand Valley Rd & Rge 52, SW of Cochrane , Dwight Knapik.
June 13:
BAND-TAILED PIGEON for the last week at the home of Carrie Mashon ? (403
822-2216) near Dorothy (near Brooks) .
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (3), EASTERN PHOEBE, Weaselhead area of FCPP, Gus Yaki and
FFCPP.
June14:
SPOTTED TOWHEE, CALLIOPE HB, E. PHOEBE, as above.
THAYER’S GULL (possible) Glenmore Res near the Yacht Club, Terry Korolyk.
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday June 20.