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Bird Profile: Western Kingbird

Jun17

A large flycatcher with a yellow belly, pale grey head and breast and a black tail with white stripes down the sides, the Western Kingbird is one of my favorite birds. Eating mostly insects, the Kingbird is always ready to snatch its next meal; whether from a perch or on the ground.

Nesting in tall cottonwoods along river valleys, the Western Kingbird can be difficult to find in Calgary. Probably the best spot in the city to look for this neat bird is Lafarge Meadows, in Fish Creek, south of 22x where they nest.

More social than other kingbirds, at times, several pairs of Western Kingbird may be found nesting in the same tree. They readily attack crows, ravens, hawks and other larger birds that can be potential predators to them and their young.

The Western Kingbird has a distinguishing lemon yellow belly.

Posted by Matthew Sim

Rare Bird Alert: June 13

Jun15

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 Monday June 13 at 10:20 am.

Bird Sightings:

June 9:
LUZULI BUNTING (male) in the yard of Michael Woertman, Wintergreen Est. Bragg Creek.
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (male) for 4 days, as above.
Unidentifed HUMMINGBIRD, south Glenmore Pk, Gus Yaki and FFCPP.
YELLOW RAIL , Horse Creek Rd slough about 9 km N of Hwy 1A, Dwight Knapik.
WHOOPING CRANE (3) flying over Okotoks, Keri Kesha.

June 11:
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (2 males) at Country Garden Greenhouse, L. Springbank Rd. Laurie Moore.
RED-TAIL HAWK, rufous morph. east of McElroy Slough, east of Chestermere Lake, Terry Korolyk.
Sterna TERN sp. at Chestermere Lake west side, TK.
WESTERN GREBE, at Chestermere Lake east side, TK.
CASPIAN TERN (pair) west end of Glenmore Res,have been there most of May, TK.

June 12:
RED-TAILED HAWK (dark morph) that was in the Raven Rocks area of FCPP through May, was at Votier’s Flats parking. TK.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday June 16.

Backyard Birds: Yellow Warbler

Jun7

Have you seen a flash of yellow in your yard lately?

The Wood Warbler family is famous for their diversity in plumage, song, feeding and breeding biology. All of them are small birds with long, thin bills used for snapping up insects and larvae. Perhaps one of the easiest to identify is the Yellow Warbler, which has more yellow in its plumage than any other member of the family.

In spring breeding season, males have rusty streaks on the breast and flanks, a bright yellow face with conspicuous black eyes, and yellow upperparts. They are known to build another nest on top of an old one when Brown Cowbird eggs appear in it, which can result in up to six different layers.

Yellow Warblers can be seen around the city from mid May to mid September. These birds are widespread in most shrubby and second-growth habitats in North America, where they can be seen quickly hopping from branch to branch. This bird was busily flitting from the saskatoons and lilac shrubs to the poplar trees in my yard.

Posted by Pat Bumstead

Rare Bird Alert: June 2

Jun3

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 report was prepared on Thursday, June 2.

May 29
— LARK BUNTING, One on 402Ave.SW,E.of 288, W.of Millarville, by Terry Korolyk. One W.of Nanton along Meridian Rd, by Mike T.
— BOBOLINK(2)(M),W.of Nanton along Meridian Rd, by M.T.

May 29/30
— SABINE’S GULL(30),SE Frank Lk. Bob Worona. For details, call Bob at 403-984-7655.
— MEW GULL, Glenmore Reservoir, reporter not known.

May 31
— RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, in backyard of Richard Rappel, High River.
— WESTERN KINGBIRD, La Farge meadows, E.Fish Creek PP, by Dave Vernon.

June 1
— BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER, S.Glenmore park, west end, Ray Wershler et.al.
— LARK BUNTING, Fish Creek PP,west of Votier’s Flats , by Peter Roxburgh.

Other recent reports included a BOBOLINK SE of Frank Lk. and a LARK
SPARROW N.of Strathmore. No details available on these reports.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, June 6.

Grebes, grebes, grebes

Jun3

Grebes are a worldwide family of aquatic diving birds with lobed toes, making them strong swimmers. There are 22 species of Grebe found across the world with 6 of those being found here in Alberta. Grebes are very clumsy on land and therefore spend most of their time on the water, staying there to feed, sleep and court. One of the oldest living family of birds, they can dive down 6m below the surface and can remain submerged for up to 30 seconds, where they search for small fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans to eat.

Of the 6 species of Grebes that live in Alberta, 5 of these can be seen in the Calgary region; above is the Horned Grebe, an attractive grebe that may be seen in Calgary on the Mckenzie Towne Ponds, which is where I saw this one last week.

Similar to the Horned Grebe is the Eared Grebe which can be distinguished from its close relative by its yellow feathered “ears” instead of compact “horns”. I find that one of the best places to see Eared Grebes is at Frank Lake, near High River.

The Western Grebe, together with Clark’s Grebe (which is only seen in the far south of Alberta), is a very large grebe. Below, is a procession of birds; from left to right; first is an Eared Grebe, then a Western Grebe, followed by another Eared Grebe and another Western Grebe. After that is a Franklin’s Gull and an Eared Grebe bringing up the rear.

The Pied-billed Grebe is the most common grebe in North America; it is also very intelligent. When apprehensive, the Pied-billed Grebe will sink slowly, expelling air from the body and feathers to lower their gravity, then they will swim with only their head above the water, facilitating an escape if need be. The adult Pied-billed Grebe is similar to the juvenile (juvenile below), except it will have uniformly colored cheeks and a black ring on its beak.

The last Grebe that can be seen in Alberta is the Red-necked Grebe, a large noisy bird with a broad black crown, white cheek patches and chestnut neck.

Grebes are a very varied family of birds and all are beautiful; makes sense when you find out that they are related to loons; a family of birds that amaze many people!

Posted by Matthew Sim

Rare Bird Alert: May 30

May31

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is a species 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 report was prepared on Monday May 30.

May 27
— ARCTIC TERN, Cattleland Slough, Yousif Attia, Ilya Povalyaev
— LAZULI BUNTING, southwest Calgary, Margaret Brunner, Rob Shifanski(?)

May 28
— PACIFIC LOON, Cold Lake, Tom Hince & Paul Pratt
— TURKEY VULTURE, Fish Creek PP, Gus Yaki group
— SABINE’S GULL 80+, Cold Lake, TH & PP
— ARCTIC TERN, Cold Lake, TH & PP
— COMMON NIGHTHAWK, Wyndham – Carseland PP, Andrew Hart
— YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, Mallard Point (Calgary), Bill Wilson
— OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, Confederation Park (Calgary), BW
— WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, Fish Creek PP, GY

May 29
— VIRGINIA RAIL, Eagle Lake, Lenora & Dick Flynn
— SABINE’S GULL 9, Frank Lake, Ian Halladay, Bruce Barnetson, Dave Gibson
— COMMON NIGHTHAWK, Carburn Park (Calgary), Louise & Michael Geldorp

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday June 2.

Backyard Birds: Tufted Finches

May31

House Finches are the ‘new kids on the block’ in Alberta, and a favorite of many back yard bird watchers.

These colourful little birds were originally found only in the southwestern United States and Mexico. In the 1940’s a small number were imported to New York, in an attempt to sell them as caged birds called “Hollywood Finches.” The business venture failed, and the birds were released on Long Island. They quickly started breeding, and now the two populations have spread across almost all of the United States and southern Canada.

The first Alberta birds were reported from the mountains in the 1960s. Sightings expanded to Calgary in the early 1970s, but significant populations did not develop until the late 1990s. Now these melodic singers are found throughout the city.

House Finches have received a much warmer welcome than the introduced House Sparrows or European Starlings. People love the cheerful red head and breast of males, and their long, twittering song brightens up any rainy day. These birds have also managed to survive Canadian winters, and are common feeder birds throughout our cold months, bringing a welcome splash of colour to the yard.

Most of the males are red, but House Finches can also come in orange…


Or yellow…


And a few times a year, they come with tufts!

House Finches have two or more broods each year, and each clutch has 4 or 5 eggs. This not only explains why they have colonized the continent so quickly, it also accounts for the appearance of the tufted juvenile finches in my yard throughout the year. Most birds feed their young insects for the protein content, but House Finches feed their chicks vegetable matter and seeds. Backyard bird feeders with their regularly available seeds have also helped them conquer the continent.

It’s no wonder bird watchers like House Finches – they’re an ongoing challenge to identify. The female looks like a member of the sparrow family, the males come in a variety of bright colours depending on their diet, and the tufted juveniles look like a separate species altogether.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology estimates the current House Finch population to be somewhere between 267 million and 1.4 billion individuals. It seems safe to say we will have these colourful singers in Calgary for the foreseeable future!

Posted by Pat Bumstead

Yellow House Finch Picture by Bob Lefebvre