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Southeast Alberta May Species Counts 2022

The May Species Counts, held each year over a weekend in the second half of May, are a highlight on the birding calendar. There are several counts in Alberta (including one in Calgary on the last weekend in May). For each count, birders go out to sections of the 80-km diameter count circle and record all the species (and the numbers of each) that they can find. It’s an attempt to have a long-term record of birding populations during spring migration.

Lark Sparrow
Lark Sparrow, Southern Alberta, May 2020. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Many Calgary birders participate each year in two SE Alberta counts, at Brooks-Lake Newell and at Writing-On-Stone. These give local birders an opportunity to experience some different and beautiful prairie habitats and find some bird species that are not common near the city.

The organizers of these two counts, Debra Hornsby and Donna Wieckowski, are hoping to get some new people to take part this year. In particular they would like to have more birders out for the Writing-On-Stone count, but can accommodate more for Brooks/Lake Newell as well.

Below are the details.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hello Alberta Bird Counters! We are pleased to announce that the Brooks-Lake Newell and Writing-on-Stone Bird Counts will take place this year on the following dates:

· Brooks-Lake Newell Bird Count: Sat. May 21 and Sun. May 22

· Writing-on-Stone Bird Count: Sat. May 28 and Sun. May 29

If you plan on camping we highly recommend booking early!

Tillebrook: general reservations for May 20-22 opened at 9 am on Saturday February 19.

www.reserve.albertaparks.ca or 1-877-537-2757

Writing-on-Stone: general reservations for May 27-29 will open at 9 am on Saturday February 26www.reserve.albertaparks.ca or 1-877-537-2757

All participants must pre-register. Please indicate interest in participating to Debra Hornsby and registration details will be sent out by March 31, 2022.

Because many count areas are accessed via rough country roads, high-clearance or 4×4 vehicles are recommended.

We are hopeful that we will be able to resume in-person Friday night meetings to review count protocols and hand out area assignments – be sure to be there! (We’ll have a Plan B ready in case Covid doesn’t cooperate!) Note: a small fee of $12 per person will be charged to all Brooks participants to cover the rental of the Brooks Legion meeting room. The attached brochure provides further information, and a draft count schedule. Registration forms will be emailed by March 31.

To indicate interest contact: debra.hornsby.banff*@*gmail.com

More information: Donna Wieckowski astolat*@*shaw.ca

The Calgary Winter Birds List – One Week To Go

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

For the past five years Caroline Lambert and I have been keeping track of all species reported in the Calgary region in the winter months (December 1 to February 28). This is something that Gerry Fox has done for the Edmonton birding community for many years. Caroline also keeps a list for the Bow Valley birding area in the Banff-Canmore area. There is also a long-standing list for the whole province that is maintained by Richard Klauke.

Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker puffed up at -30 Celcius. We may get a little more weather like that yet! Photographed in Calgary on January 2022 by Ray Turner.

It’s interesting to see how many species and how many rarities we can find in the winter, and many birders like to keep a personal winter list so that they have incentive to get out during these slow birding months.

The Calgary region is the 80-km diameter circle that is also used for the May Species Count:

Calgary birding region
The Calgary birding region.

Here are the numbers of species we have recorded:

In the first two years we only accepted sightings that were posted to Albertabird but since then we have included any confirmed sightings we can get. So, although it is a small sample size, 110 to 120 species seems to be what we get in the winter.

We are currently at 113 species. The most recent additions, since January 15, are Red Crossbill, Purple Finch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Clark’s Nutcracker.

As always seems to happen when you keep a list, we have had some great rarities this year, but we have also missed on some species we usually get. But there is still a little over a week to go, so maybe we can find two or three more.

The three species that have been reported in all four previous years but not this year are American Kestrel, Harris’s Sparrow, and American Goldfinch. It seems a long shot that these will be found at this point, but it’s surprising that none have been seen.

Harris's Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow, photographed NW of Cochrane, October 4, 2021. Photo by Steve Dyke

Spruce Grouse is definitely a species we should be able to find. It was reported in three out of the four previous winters. Although their range is restricted to the western edge of the circle, there should be some around.

The other possibilities are the three local “hard-to-find” owls, Barred, Long-eared, and Boreal. And sometimes we get California Gulls or even Ring-billed before the end of February.

My personal winter list is now up to 44 species, which is still very low. I have only six species that are only or primarily seen in winter, plus a lot of resident birds and seasonal rarities. So I have nine days to go find Snowy Owls, Snow Buntings, Pine Grosbeaks, Northern Shrikes, and many others!

Fox Sparrow
My best “winter” bird this year, a seasonally rare Fox Sparrow. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Here is a link to the page that Caroline maintains with all four winter lists. If you’ve seen any of the species that haven’t yet been reported this winter, let me know.

Previous posts on Albertabird about the 2021-2022 Calgary winter list:

December 2 – 41 species.

December 18 – 90 species.

January 15 – 109 species.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count Final Results

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The counting and correcting is done, and here are the final results of the 2021 Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC). I helped out with the Feeder watchers again this year. Matthew Wallace coordinated the count and finalized the results. Lara Fitzpatrick created the spreadsheets that organized the data. It was a fun learning experience for us, and many emails were exchanged and many hours spent in Zoom meetings.

First, watch this summary video of the count results presented by Matthew:

The 2021 count was held on Sunday December 19. The temperature ranged from about -13 C to -10 C, with some light snow and winds of 10 to 20 kph. So the conditions were pretty good.

We had good participation this year, with 136 people out in the field (pretty much as many as we could manage with Covid protocols and the number of leaders we had) and 177 Feeder Watchers counting in their yards at 125 addresses (we can definitely add more Feeder Watchers).

Bohemian Waxwings
Bohemian Waxwings seen on the 2021 Calgary CBC. Photo by Arthur Wieckowski

The final total on count day was 73 species, plus another four species seen during Count Week (December 16-22) but missed on Count Day. The total number of individual birds recorded was 71,468. (All numbers have been corrected to account for possible double-counting.)

Field ObserversFeeder Watchers
70 species36 species
65,640 birds5,828 birds
Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owl, December 19, 2021, Tsuut’ina Nation, Calgary. Photo by Matthew Wallace

Below is the bird list and the number of each species reported:

Cackling Goose4
Canada Goose18,954
Trumpeter Swan5
Tundra Swan1
Wood Duck3
Gadwall1
Mallard17,251
Green-winged Teal1
Canvasback2
Redhead18
Ring-necked Duck5
Greater Scaup2
Lesser Scaup5
Harlequin Duck4
Bufflehead144
Common Goldeneye554
Barrow’s Goldeneye3
Hooded Merganser2
Common Merganser86
Ruddy Duck1
Sharp-tailed Grouse3
Gray Partridge58
Ring-necked Pheasant11
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)1,450
Eurasian Collared-Dove2
American Coot1
Wilson’s Snipe1
Sharp-shinned Hawk4
Northern Goshawk6
Bald Eagle55
Rough-legged Hawk6
Great Horned Owl9
Snowy Owl1
Northern Saw-whet Owl1
Belted Kingfisher3
American Three-toed Woodpecker2
Downy Woodpecker264
Hairy Woodpecker41
Pileated Woodpecker4
Northern Flicker419
Merlin24
Gyrfalcon1
Northern Shrike8
Blue Jay138
Black-billed Magpie2,529
American Crow65
Common Raven649
Black-capped Chickadee2,218
Mountain Chickadee7
Boreal Chickadee7
Golden-crowned Kinglet2
Red-breasted Nuthatch199
White-breasted Nuthatch114
Brown Creeper17
American Dipper3
European Starling326
Townsend’s Solitaire18
American Robin82
Bohemian Waxwing15,676
Cedar Waxwing11
House Sparrow7,394
Pine Grosbeak79
House Finch2,015
Common Redpoll294
Hoary Redpoll2
White-winged Crossbill41
Pine Siskin50
American Tree Sparrow3
Fox Sparrow1
Dark-eyed Junco91
White-crowned Sparrow1
White-throated Sparrow9
Song Sparrow2
Other: Sp./Slash/Hybrid5

The four Count Week birds were Varied Thrush (a continuing backyard bird that failed to show on Count Day), a Killdeer seen in Griffiths Wood Park, a Prairie Falcon seen in the east end on December 18th, and a Greater White-fronted Goose reported and photographed on the Elbow River at Sandy Beach, also on December 18.

Some of the notable birds this year were the two swan species and the Ruddy Duck (all continuing at Carburn Park), the three Sharp-tailed Grouse seen in the Tsuut’ina Nation in the SW, a Wilson’s Snipe and Snowy Owl at Carburn, a White-crowned Sparrow in the Weaselhead, and a Gyrfalcon.

We also had one species that had never been reported in the 69 previous Calgary counts – a Fox Sparrow in the yard of one of our Feeder watchers. This brings our cumulative total of all species reported on Calgary CBC’s to 143.

Fox Sparrow
Fox Sparrow, Calgary. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Matt Wallace, the count coordinator, has used the data to create some very interesting maps. (The maps below, and many more, will be posted on the Nature Calgary site when they are all complete.)

The Count Circle is divided into Sections, and here you can see how many species were found in each Section, and how the geography of the city influences species density.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Number of Species seen in each Section.

Due to the open water here, we get a lot of Mallards and Canada Geese overwintering. We also often have big flocks of Bohemian Waxwings in the winter. As a result, we tend to get really high numbers of total individual birds reported. This year, 71,468 individual birds were counted. This is one of the highest totals (and possibly the highest) of any of the CBC’s in Canada this year. It is far higher than the totals for the Edmonton or Toronto counts, for example.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Total number of individual birds seen in each Section.

Below is a map that shows all the Feeder Watcher addresses (the white dots). Some areas have quite a few, but we can definitely use more!

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Distribution of Feeder Watcher addresses within the Count Circle.
Black-capped Chickadee
A Black-capped Chickadee photographed by a Feeder Watcher, Calgary, December 19, 2021. Photo by Raman Brar

It’s interesting to look at some individual species. Bald Eagles:

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
The 55 Bald Eagles reported on the Calgary CBC.
Bald Eagle, Calgary, December 19, 2021. Photo by Arthur Wieckowski

The Eagles are concentrated along the lower stretches of the Bow River, where they feed mostly on sick or injured Mallards.

Here is the Mallard map:

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Mallards on the Calgary CBC.

Note how closely the Mallard distribution mirrors that of Bald Eagles. Mallards rest on the river, and go out to farmer’s fields to feed. There was also a huge concentration of 6,000 birds in the bit of open water at the northeast corner of Elliston Lake. Perhaps this is a safe place for them to rest, where there are fewer eagles around to prey on them than along the Bow.

The Canada Goose numbers were even higher than the Mallard numbers, with a similar distribution.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Canada Goose distribution on the Calgary CBC.

Black-billed Magpies are probably the most visible bird in Calgary, as they are found in all habitats and are very vocal. Many residents find them too aggressive and noisy to be likeable, but they are fascinating, beautiful, and intelligent birds. Like other urbanophiles (American Crows, House Sparrows, House Finches, and Rock Pigeons for example), they are doing very well in the urban environment.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Black-billed Magpie distribution.

The total number of Magpies reported on the CBC continues on a long-term upward climb:

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data

As in the Magpie example above, we can use the CBC data to produce graphs of long-term trends of the overall results and of the numbers of individual species. The next graph shows that the number of participants and party-hours has steadily increased over time, as has the total number of birds recorded, but the number of species seen each year has plateaued.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data

The 73 species we had this year is the third-highest total ever, but it is line with a pretty flat graph since the mid-1980’s:

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data

Below is an interesting graph that shows the number of Sharp-tailed Grouse reported. We had three this year, and three in 2016. But that’s it for the last twenty-plus years. They used to be found on Nose Hill and other areas at the city’s edge. But Nose Hill is now surrounded by development and the city has expanded to most edges of the Count Circle.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data
Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tsuut’ina Nation, Calgary, December 21, 2021. Photo by Chris Durtnall

The results of the Calgary Count and several other nearby CBC’s were presented at the January meeting of Nature Calgary’s Bird Study Group. The meeting was recorded, and a replay will soon be available on the Nature Calgary site here.

The next Calgary CBC will be on Sunday December 18, 2022. If you haven’t taken part before and are interested in participating, either as a Field Observer or a Feeder Watcher, email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com.

Many thanks to Matt Wallace for all his hard work in organizing the count and producing the maps, to Lara Fitzpatrick, who created the spreadsheets that captured all the data, and to the photographers.

Here is a link to an article about the Calgary Count results on CBC news, including a video interview.

Be sure to subscribe to Matthew’s Citizen Blitz channel on YouTube to keep informed about upcoming citizen science events in Calgary – and to see more great nature videos!. You can also follow him on Twitter (atcitynatureyyc) and on Instagram (atcitizenblitz).

2021 Calgary Christmas Bird Count Results

Here are the preliminary results of the 70th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which was held on December 19. Over 300 people participated this year – 136 field surveyors and 173 feeder watchers at 123 addresses. The current totals are 72 species (plus an additional two species seen during count week), and 75,917 individual birds.

(A previous version of this post had 326 field surveyors. That was an error, and the number has been corrected.)

Rough-legged Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk. Five were recorded on this count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre during the 2011 Calgary CBC.

These numbers are slightly higher than last year. The species total is higher than the long-term average of about 66. There are still some adjustments to be made to the numbers and the possibility of adding another species to the total.

For those interested in hearing all the details of this count, Matt Wallace will be speaking on the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group Zoom presentation on Wednesday January 12, along with the compilers of several of the other local CBC’s (and possibly even the Edmonton count!). Nature Calgary members should receive a link to this meeting by email. If you would like to become a Nature Calgary member, see this page.

Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll. Almost 300 were reported on the Calgary CBC, as well as two Hoary Redpolls. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Below is a more complete summary of the day, by Matt Wallace:

The 70th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count took place on December 19. We had a highly successful year and I wanted to share the tentative numbers with you all.

Before jumping into the details I want to thank everyone who participated this year and acknowledge the outstanding efforts that were put in. The legacy and continuation of this count would not be possible without everyone’s contributions and appreciation for the natural world. Thank you to all of the participants and especially our section captains for accommodating the many new birders that joined in on the count. Thank you to TsuuT’ina Nation for allowing us the opportunity to visit your land on count day. I also want to give a special shout out to Lara Fitzpatrick and Bob Lefebvre for their superhuman coordination and data entry powers. They were both calm, cool, and enthusiastic about ensuring the collection of data and experience for participants was accessible and fun. Thank you to all!

Note: These are the tentative numbers (without adjustments) received on count day. 

Weather:

A relatively mild day for Calgary in December compared to previous years with temperatures in the -20s. Light winds (~10-15 km/hr) began in the afternoon.

DateMax Temp.Min Temp.
Dec 19 2021‑10.1 °C‑13.4 °C

Circle Sections and Participants

The Calgary Circle was divided into 38 sections this year. This is consistent with previous years as “subsections” were created for teams to survey within an official section of the circle. We now have an up-to-date digital map that includes all subsections. Participants were able to use the map in the field by saving it to their phone. This helped to ensure they were surveying within the circle boundaries and correct sections that they were assigned to. The Circle Section Map can be viewed here.

Participant numbers were strong with a total of 309 participants in total. There were a total of 123 Feeder Watcher residences with some households tag-teaming their yards throughout the day. On count day, a total of 136 people were in the field with many new birders joining the count for the first time. The number of field surveyors matches the average over the past 15 years (136). The field team hours were down from the record in 2020 (330) but we found more individual birds and more species than in 2020.

Number of ParticipantsTotalField SurveyorsFeeder Watchers
309136173
    
Total Counting Hours 615273342
    
Field Surveyor DetailsTotalWalkingDriving
       Counting Hours273203  69  
       Distance Traveled (km)14984611,036

Birds Summary

This year we used two methods to obtain bird data from field teams. Participants could share their eBird checklist with an account we created specific for the CBC. Effort data, mammal sightings, and bird data (not submitted to eBird) were submitted by each section captain using the template.

All eBird checklists (98) shared during count day can be viewed in the  eBird Trip Report here.

Count ResultsTotalCount Week
Total Count – Species722
Total Count – Individual Birds75,917

Below is the summary of all species and individuals counted. Field teams counted a total of 68,115 individuals (70 species) and Feeder Watchers counted 7802 individuals (35 species). Notable species and records are highlighted in yellow. Calgary count data has been collected since 1952.

(Use slider at bottom to reveal more columns.)

SPECIES COUNTED2021 Count10-yr Average2021 vs.
10-yr Avg
% of Years Reported Since 2011% of Years Reported Since 1952Record High CountRecord High YearNotes and Comments
Cackling Goose412-66%80%17%1392004 
Canada Goose23,96712,90286%100%74%27,4522004 
Trumpeter Swan51456%30%12%52017/2021Tie for Record
Tundra Swan1900%10%6%11991/2021Tie for Record
Wood Duck337%80%42%402007 
Gadwall110%50%41%291987 
Mallard17,32311,35653%100%100%24,5061992 
Green-winged Teal1150%20%54%91981 
Canvasback21300%30%14%21963/2021Tie for Record
Redhead181337%70%45%352020 
Ring-necked Duck52213%60%19%52019 
Greater Scaup21300%30%14%62007 
Lesser Scaup5379%80%58%141991 
Harlequin Duck41264%50%38%71989 
Bufflehead144194-26%100%72%3212015 
Common Goldeneye5541,110-50%100%99%5,3562007Low Count Year
Barrow’s Goldeneye310-69%100%72%252016 
Hooded Merganser23-38%90%54%81995 
Common Merganser86807%100%99%1592017 
Ruddy Duck1900%10%3%12018/ 2021Tie for Record
Sharp-tailed Grouse3900%10%39%251986Notable Sighting
Gray Partridge5866-13%100%97%2761977 
Ring-necked Pheasant111012%100%99%1241961 
Rock Pigeon1,4171,992-29%100%70%4,6112006 
Eurasian Collared-Dove226-92%80%13%632015Low Count Year
American Coot11-9%50%22%42018 
Wilson’s Snipe1233%10%17%32005Notable Sighting
Sharp-shinned Hawk46-29%90%33%102014 
Northern Goshawk6446%90%74%92019 
Bald Eagle6933110%100%80%692021Record Year
Rough-legged Hawk57-30%100%71%172015 
Great Horned Owl9730%100%84%261991 
Snowy Owl10%58%151973Notable Sighting
Northern Saw-whet Owl1125%60%25%22005 
Belted Kingfisher3236%100%72%91988 
American Three-toed Woodpecker2182%50%39%51980 
Downy Woodpecker26318146%100%96%2632021Record Year
Hairy Woodpecker393511%100%86%502018 
Pileated Woodpecker42100%90%49%52015 
Northern Flicker36322959%100%78%3632021Record Year
Merlin24228%100%93%432015 
Gyrfalcon1143%40%30%41990 
Northern Shrike8557%100%78%112015 
Blue Jay13711222%100%61%2561994 
Black-billed Magpie2,4012,607-8%100%100%3,0962020 
American Crow65103-37%100%72%1522012Low Count Year
Common Raven62550723%100%70%8582017 
Black-capped Chickadee2,1401,91012%100%100%2,2212006 
Mountain Chickadee7484%60%48%191987 
Boreal Chickadee718-60%100%81%1011987 
Golden-crowned Kinglet218-89%100%86%851990Low Count Year
Red-breasted Nuthatch200382-48%100%75%7272015 
White-breasted Nuthatch1101082%100%81%2032014 
Brown Creeper1720-16%100%84%332014 
American Dipper3236%90%61%71994 
European Starling3263202%100%99%1,4451995 
Townsend’s Solitaire184350%100%48%182021Record Year
American Robin8286-5%100%62%2192001 
Bohemian Waxwing15,81610,26254%100%96%20,0122005 
Cedar Waxwing1112-4%70%45%882003 
House Sparrow7,0966,11316%100%97%10,3042000 
Pine Grosbeak64196-67%90%87%8622011 
House Finch1,9161,04683%100%45%1,9162021Record Year
Common Redpoll272580-53%100%93%2,0251995 
Hoary Redpoll23-20%30%39%221969 
White-winged Crossbill40718-94%90%59%4,4482015Low Count Year
Pine Siskin50187-73%100%62%7722003 
American Tree Sparrow32100%50%45%341999 
Dark-eyed Junco64163-61%100%71%3922018 
White-crowned Sparrow10%3%12005 
White-throated Sparrow93233%70%35%151994 
Song Sparrow21300%40%26%31995 

Count Week Species: Varied Thrush, Prairie Falcon

Species Normally seen but not counted in 2021: Northern Pintail, Ruffed Grouse, Cooper’s Hawk, Red Crossbill

Just a reminder that these numbers are tentative. I will be presenting a more in-depth analysis on the count and describe our methods for adjusting these initial numbers at the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group on January 12 via Zoom.

Thank you all. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

Matt Wallace

Foothills Birds – Live Bird Cameras

Most Calgary birders know of Barb Castell’s home in the foothills SW of the city, near Priddis. Many have been there, and it is a great place to see birds, including some uncommon species, that come to her feeders and bird baths. It’s one of the most reliable places in the area to see Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, and even Black-headed Grosbeaks.

Of course this is private property with restricted access, but there is a YouTube Channel which has a daily live stream from three cameras set up on the property. You can watch the birds live, and participate in the chat about what is being seen. There are also many archived past live streams, and clips of highlights on the site.

Here is the YouTube page: Foothills Birds.

They also have a web page with more information and a link to the YouTube site: foothillsbirds.com

Below is one of the clips from YouTube, featuring some brave Blue Jays.

With fall migration now under way, as many as 26 species have been seen in a day recently, including migrating warblers and hummingbirds. Archived streams feature birds like Northern Goshawks, Northern Saw-whet Owls, Ruffed Grouse, and Mammals like Red Squirrels, Northern Flying Squirrels, and Bats. It is very entertaining and educational to watch!

I’d like to urge you to go to YouTube and subscribe to this channel. It’s as simple as clicking on the “Subscribe” button if you are a regular YouTube user. If not, to get your free subscription,

1. Go to: https://www.youtube.com/foothillsbirds

2. Log into your Google Account, if you aren’t already logged in, top right corner.

3. Click on the red SUBSCRIBE button on the right side.

4. It should change from red to gray and say UNSUBSCRIBE.

Being subscribed to a channel is not obtrusive. For you, it just means that the site appears in your feed as a suggestion from time to time when you are already on the YouTube site. Any new clips that they add will appear in your suggestions. It will also be easy for you to re-find the site since there will be a link to it under your subscriptions.

But it is very important for Foothills Birds to get more subscribers! Even if you do not plan to visit the site much, please subscribe so that it will be suggested to more and more YouTube users and seen by more people. There are currently about 444 subscribers, and if they get to 1000, it will allow them to get more advanced features from YouTube and allow them to do more to support the birds.

Some photos of birds seen at the feeders, from the web site:

Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker, male
Evening Grosbeak
Evening Grosbeak, male
Varied Thrush
Varied Thrush, male

The best time to view the birds is when they are hungry early in the
morning. The camera is usually on from from dawn to dusk.

This location is now an eBird HotSpot, so you can go on eBird and see what has been reported there every day. There have been 105 species observed at the location this year, and 140 species all-time!

If you are on Twitter, follow them @FoothillsBirds. They regularly post photos of birds that are at the feeders and in the area.

So visit the site, watch some clips and live streams, and subscribe. Let’s help them reach their goal of 1000 subscribers!

Get Involved in the Calgary May Species Count

The Calgary count on May 29 and 30 still has some areas that need surveyors.

The May Species Count is an annual event in which birders count the number of birds of each species within the 80-km diameter circle centred in Calgary. The circle is divided up into many smaller territories, and there are a few that so far are not covered this year.

  • Area 2: FCPP Bridge 6 to Macleod Trail (Votiers Flats)
  • Area 3: FCPP Macleod Trail to Bridge 13 (Glennfield)
  • Area 4: FCPP Burnsmead South to Lafarge Meadows
  • Area 31: Irricana
  • Area 37: Acme/Carbon
  • 43b: Confluence Park – pending
  • 43g: Pine Creek Water Treatment Plant
  • 43j: Nose Hill Park – pending
The Calgary count circle with the rural territories marked. The city is also divided up into many territories.

If you are an experienced birder and want to participate by covering one of the areas above, contact John McFaul at alpglow[at]telus.net. He will provide details of the procedures and a description of the territory to be covered.

Online Film – Avian Summer

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Photographer and filmmaker Rick Andrews has produced a wonderful wildlife documentary about some of our local birds. Avian Summer has fantastic high-resolution video of birds that migrate into Southern Alberta each spring, where they come to find a mate and raise the next generation, before migrating south again in the fall. Watch the trailer below.

Avian Summer by Rick Andrews – trailer.

The full film is available to rent or purchase on the Vimeo platform. The cost is $8 for a three-day rental, and $25 to buy. You can watch it on your phone, tablet, or computer. (I played it on my phone and streamed it to our TV, and it looked fantastic.) Proceeds from Avian Summer will benefit the Growing the Grassroots Endowment Fund in support of nature-based interpretive programming at the Helen Schuler Nature Centre in Lethbridge.

I really enjoyed this thirty-seven minute film. It focuses mostly on waterfowl, raptors, herons, and cranes, and a few songbirds. There are a lot of great sequences of birds raising their young.

Rick Andrews is a conservation wildlife photographer and filmmaker from Southern Alberta. He has many other excellent films available for free on Vimeo, so be sure to check them out. (It is free to sign up on Vimeo.) Rick’s collection of films showcases resident wildlife in Southern Alberta, including the full-length documentary Wildlife of the Oldman River Valley (2018), as well as several documentary shorts including Great Horned Owls (2020), Country Club Marmots (2019), and Lethbridge Wild Turkeys (2018).

Here is the poster from the film’s online premier, which was on June 25. The question & answer session with Rick is available to view on the Helen Schuler Nature Center Facebook page here.

Check out these excellent productions, and help support conservation in southern Alberta.

You can follow Rick Andrews on Facebook here.

Friends of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre Society.

Stay-At-Home Birding: Some Backyard Birds

Here are some birds seen recently by local birders in their yards. Lots of great birds can still been seen while staying at home! Some of these are migrating and won’t be seen in the summer, but others are year-round residents.

Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.
Blue Jay
Blue Jay, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.
American Robin
American Robin, Okotoks, April 2020. Photo by Lloyd Bligh.
Downy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.
Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.
House Finch
House Finches, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.

Finally, here is a photo of a Varied Thrush that Karen Bout photographed in her yard in April. I have heard of three or four reports of Varied Thrushes passing through the city this spring, and there were at least three that overwintered here this year.

Varied Thrush
Varied Thrush, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Karen Bout.

May can be even better for migrants passing through city yards, so if you are isolating at home, keep an eye open!

Thanks to all the readers that submitted photos.

Birds & Beers, January 23, 2020

The next Birds & Birds social get-together will be held this Thursday, January 23, 2020. Gavin McKinnon will give a presentation, featuring photographs like the one below, on his Big Year in 2019. Gavin’s goal was to record over 300 species in Alberta in the calendar year.

Evening Grosbeak
Evening Grosbeak, photographed in 2019 by Gavin McKinnon.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Thursday January 23, 2020, 6:00-9:00 pm

Everyone is welcome to attend Birds & Beers, and there is no charge. We will meet in the big ballroom at the Legion. Food and drinks are available at reasonable prices, and children are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Come early if you want to avoid the lineup at the kitchen. The presentation will begin at about 7:15 so if you can’t make it at six pm, come later.

See you there!

The Winter Bird Lists

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

For many years Richard Klauke has maintained a list of bird species reported in Alberta during the winter birding season, December 1 to the end of February. This list shows us which species we can expect here every winter, which ones are not here every winter, and which ones are rarely seen in winter. It also allows us to monitor trends over time.

The Edmonton Nature Club has also maintained a winter list for their 80-km radius birding region for the past several years. A couple of years ago I started doing the same for our Calgary region, and Caroline Lambert has added a list for the Bow Valley birding area. Caroline has been maintaining a site where you can see all four lists, and she has been doing almost all of the updating of both the Calgary and Bow Valley lists this year.

Eared Grebe
Eared Grebe. One has been seen at Frank Lake this winter – a new bird for our Calgary winter list. Photo by Dan Arndt, Glenmore Reservoir, November 3, 2016.

Click here to see the Calgary Winter List. From that page you can navigate to the Alberta, Edmonton, and Bow Valley lists.

The Calgary list stands at 93 species. Last year’s total at the end of February was 100, and it was 103 the year before. It might seem like we’re getting close to those numbers, but it gets pretty hard to add new species from here on. Have a look at the lists and see if you know of any missing birds that were seen in each region. You can report your sightings on eBird or on Albertabird.

The Pacific Wren that was reported in Bowness in Calgary has been removed for now, since there is no agreement on whether it is a Pacific or a Winter Wren. It was seen and photographed several times, but no definitive conclusion has been reached, as far as I know.

Some recent additions to the list are Gyrfalcon (photographed in North Calgary on December 23), American Tree Sparrow (four birds seen at a feeder NW of Calgary on December 23, and seen and photographed again today), and American Kestrel (reported in the Strathcona neighbourhood on December 28).

American Tree Sparrows, NW of Calgary, December 29, 2019. Photos by Glenn Alexon.

New species for the three years the list has been maintained are Tundra Swan, White-winged Scoter, Eared Grebe, and Boreal Owl.

Notable species which were seen in the two previous winters but not reported yet this year (and which should be around somewhere) are Wild Turkey and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. Harris’s Sparrow has also not yet been reported, and there could be one lurking somewhere in the 20,000 square kilometers of our circle.

The Bow Valley List now stands at 54 species. Last year’s total was 67. No Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches have been seen here either, and surprisingly, no Great Horned Owl. If you see these, or any other species not listed yet, report it on eBird, Albertabird or to the Bow Valley Birding Facebook Group. The Bow Valley region is not a circle, so see the Winter Bird List page linked above to read the description of the area.

The Edmonton list is at 70 species. Although they have some excellent birds this year, they had a record year last winter, with 91. You can follow the progress of the Edmonton list on the ENC Nature Talk group.

Finally, the Alberta Winter Bird List is one you can contribute to from anywhere in the province. The total right now is 126, with 6 of those not confirmed. Last year was a record total of 166. This includes some subspecies that may not have been on the list in earlier years (or were not yet recognized as subspecies). The important thing is what hasn’t yet been seen. Of the 110 “core” species (seen every winter, or are elusive winter residents) only Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Mourning Dove, Long-eared Owl, and possibly Cooper’s Hawk have not yet been reported in the province.

Have fun trying to add to these lists in your region!