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Avian Pox

Apr9

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

I feed birds in my SE Calgary yard and spend a lot of time watching them. Recently I saw something new – a bird with some really obvious large growths on it.

Black-billed Magpie Avian Pox
Black-billed Magpie with avian pox. Calgary, March 9, 2026. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

I wasn’t sure what this was at first but a quick internet search identified the problem as avian pox. This is a virus that comes in two forms, one of which causes these dry wart-like growths on the parts of the bird without feathers (feet, legs, base of the bill, and around the eyes). The other form affects the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. It’s a problem, and something to watch out for at your own feeders.

Black-billed Magpie Avian Pox
Black-billed Magpie with avian pox feeding on the ground below my nut feeders, Calgary, March 9, 2026 Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Avian pox is highly contagious and is transmitted by mosquitos, but birds can also become infected by by direct contact with infected birds. Birds can also get the virus indirectly through contaminated feeders or birdbaths, or even dust from the ground below these. Fortunately, the virus cannot infect humans or pets like cats and dogs (but is very dangerous to captive or farmed birds).

So what to do? This particular bird has obviously been infected for quite a while, and it can still feed, so it appears to be otherwise healthy. Such birds can survive the virus and the growths may drop off in time. The first thing to do to prevent spread of the disease is to immediately remove the bird feeders and birdbaths, which may be contaminated, and to clean them thoroughly in a 10% bleach solution. I had one heated birdbath and four metal tubes with tree nuts which I removed and disinfected (I also disposed of the remaining nuts in the feeders). I did not have a sunflower feeder up at the time. In the winter I spread sunflower seeds on ground which I have cleared of snow. The many Dark-eyed Juncos and our pair of Eurasian Collared-Doves prefer to feed this way. House Finches and House Sparrows, Eastern Gray Squirrels, and Magpies also feed on the ground. The tube nut feeders are used mostly by at least eight Northern Flickers who come daily, but are also frequented by a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, a few Red-breasted Nuthatches, and occasionally by Black-capped Chickadees. If no easy food is available on the ground, House Sparrows and Magpies willl do their best at the tube feeders, but get very little.

Black-billed Magpie
Black-billed Magpie at nut feeder, Calgary, August 2010. The magpies’ bill size doesn’t allow them to get much from these feeders. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

I put the feeders and birdbath away and stopped putting out sunflower seed too. Disinfecting the birdbath and feeders keeps them safe for about two weeks, but I wanted to make sure the bird wasn’t still around. Since I hadn’t seen it before, I thought it might be a one-time visit. After ten days I put the tube feeders and birdbath back out, but still did not feed the ground birds since that attracts magpies (and the ground could still be contaminated). A few days later, I saw the infected bird briefly, on the ground once again, so I removed the birdbath and disinfected it again. I continued to use the nut feeders, since I hadn’t seen this magpie, or any magpie, feed on there this winter. I saw the infected bird a third time in late March but not since.

Black-billed Magpie Avian Pox
Black-billed Magpie Avian Pox
Black-billed Magpie Avian Pox

March 9, 2026, Calgary. This Black-billed Magpie, infected with avian pox, constantly shook it head due to the large lesion there, and tried to wipe it off on the fence. Photos by Bob Lefebvre.

I hope I don’t see the infected bird in my yard again but of course it may be visiting other feeders in the area and possibly spreading the infection. I had been advised by the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society that I should try to capture the bird and take it to them, to remove it from the population while it heals. I could do this – I have a small animal trap that I’ve used for feral cats, and I have occasionally caught magpies while doing that. But the infected magpie rarely shows up, and meanwhile I would likely capture the regular local magpies, cats, and other birds if I put a baited trap out. For now I’ll wait to see if it returns.

Black-billed Magpie Avian Pox
A close-up gives an idea of how bad these wart-like growths are. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

To try to get an idea of how common this disease is in Calgary, I contacted The Wild Bird Store to see if they had heard of any cases of Avian Pox from their customers. They had not heard of any at all. On iNaturalist, there is only one other case reported in Calgary, a magpie that was badly infected in the NW last fall. You can see the photos of that bird here. (It doesn’t look like the same bird I saw and was miles away from my location.) So avian pox seems to be very rare in the city.

Please note that it is important to always disinfect your feeders and birdbath at least monthly, to prevent the spread of not just avian pox, but other diseases as well. A common one is conjunctivitius in House Finches, which I have seen in a bird in my yard as well (a few years ago).

More information about avian pox is here: Cornell University Wildlife Health Lab.

Information about conjunctivitis in House Finches. Also see Monitoring House Finch eye disease with Project Feederwatch.

[Email subscribers can click on the post title to go to the Birds Calgary website to explore more content.]

Welcome Back, Swamp Boss: The Red-winged Blackbird Returns

Mar29

By Cathy Warwick

Guess who is coming back to Calgary this spring, the Red-winged Blackbird! This feels like a spring where Mother Nature will roll out the “white carpet” for these hardy birds. Hopefully they won’t turn right around and head back south.

Red-winged Blackbird
Courtship Display, Red-Winged Blackbird. Wikipedia.

For birders the Red-winged Blackbird is, thankfully, relatively easy to spot. They are widespread and, as birding books like Sibley’s call them, “conspicuous”, that means they make themselves seen. The males are glossy black with a military-esque red and yellow striped patch on their shoulders. The females are much harder to identify, and are almost sparrow-like, although larger. If you have ever seen a female out of context, as I have on a conifer tree, you will know what I mean.

Red-winged Blackbird
Male Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Bob lefebvre.

One of the main attributes of these birds is that they are highly territorial, befitting their military regalia. Their distinctive tumbling song can be translated to “Stay out of this swampy area, it’s mine!” repeated endlessly, all day. This is the male of course, chasing other Red-winged Blackbirds out and any other perceived threats to nests, including humans sometimes. His song is also for the benefit of the females, he will show off his red shoulders and puff up a bit and then sing loudly – ”conk-la-reeee”. 

Red-winged Blackbird
Male Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Meanwhile the females are quietly building the nests in the territory. They lash their sweet cup nests to reeds or tall grasses. As a finishing touch they line the nest with fine grasses. A male can have many female mates, although it turns out the eggs in his territory are not always his. The little swampy area has more drama than a Mexican soap opera.

Red-winged Blackbird
Female Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
Red-winged Blackbird
Female Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

If you want an (almost) guaranteed sighting of a Red-winged Blackbird head to Ralph Klein Park. This is a 30 acre wetland area in the eastern part of the city that could, frankly, use more visitors. The last time I was there it seemed to be just me and my son. These parks need more appreciation, to encourage more parks and more preserved wetlands. An unwilling teenager and his mom are not going to cut it.

In between all the Red-winged Blackbirds you will see a lot of other wetland species. Last time we were lucky enough to see a Black-crowned Night Heron. They also have a great interpretive center, similar to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

Welcome back Red-winged Blackbird! I can’t wait to hear your song, although I can’t guarantee I will stay out of your territory.

Red-winged Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbirds will come to feeders for seeds, especially on migration, when insects can be scarce. They prefer to feed on the ground. Photo by Bob Lefebvre, May 2013.

Christmas Bird Count Presentation, Thursday February 26th

Feb20

The Calgary Count results will be presented, plus those from the Fish Creek Park New Year’s Day Count.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Everyone is welcome to a special event to be held next Thursday, February 26th at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW. This is the venue we use for Birds & Beers events, so many of you will be familair with the format. The doors of the big ballroom open for us at 5pm. If you can come early you can order food and drinks and visit with your fellow birders. At about 7 pm we will start the presentations.

Merlin
Merlin at Pearce Estate, Calgary CBC, December 14, 2025. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Jim Washbrook will present the results and historical trends of the long-running half-day Count in Fish Creek Park. This is held annually on New Year’s Day. Matt Wallace will have the results of the Calgary Count, which recorded 68 species and 43,631 individual birds within the Count Circle. Expect to see some great photos (much better than mine)!

American Wigeon Mallard
American Wigeon with dabbling Mallard, Pearce Estate, December 14, 2025. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle, December 14, 2025. Photo by Joyce Tse.

Our Feeder Watchers had a lot of good birds on the count too:

Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch, December 14, 2025. Photo by Marilyn Parker.

Whether you took part in these counts or not, come for an enjoyable and informative evening!

Notes: Children are welcome at the Legion as long as they are accompanied by an adult. We have to pay a small fee for the use of the room so we ask for an optional donation of $1 per person to cover this. Any extra money is donated to the Legion. The next Birds & Beers event at the Legion is on Thursday February 12th, where Jody Allair will give a talk called “Inspired by Birds.”

Peak Birding – The Great Horned Owl

Dec7

By Cathy Warwick

Great Horned Owl
A beautiful Great Horned Owl. Photo by Diane Stinson.

A few weeks ago I was leaving my house to start my walk to work and I saw a cloud of Magpies squawking wildly around a spruce tree. I ran over and was delighted to see a large Great Horned Owl! It was a lighter color than I had seen before, almost white. Its large yellow eyes looked at me wearily. The Magpies were relentlessly hassling it, flying at it and generally freaking out. I managed to get a fairly decent picture of it with my phone, and also yelled at a stranger “An Owl is in this tree!”, as one should given the special circumstances. If I saw an owl nesting I wouldn’t tell anyone, but I could tell this one was moving on soon.

The Magpies know the owl is a skilled predator that is a threat to their very lives, they don’t want it to get comfortable in our neighbourhood. Owls have very sharp beaks, crushing claws, night vision, great hearing and near silent flight, they must be terrifying to other birds. Whereas we humans just notice their super fluffy feathers and luminous, intelligent eyes. “Don’t be mean” we mutter to the Magpies and Crows harassing them. 

Great Horned Owl
Great Horned Owls will often roost near the trunk of a spruce tree during the non-breeding months, where they can be very hard to see. Photo by Dan Arndt.

Owls eat rodents, hares, skunks and other mammals. With their swiveling head, which can turn nearly 180 degrees in either direction, no small mammal is safe. They’ve even been known to go after house cats. I would love to see one hunting, I wouldn’t hear it though. There are numerous videos on the internet of an owl flying with a sound detector nearby, they are virtually silent. They have specialized feathers that break up the sound, a subject of much study by scientists.

If you see a very large owl it is probably one of three in Calgary: Snowy, Great Grey or Great Horned. The Great Horned Owl is the most common and is distinct because of its prominent ‘horns’ which are part of a ‘V’ coming down to its beak. Although the Long Eared owl also has feather tufts protruding from the top of its head, those owls are much harder to find in the city. Obviously the same person didn’t name these owls, one taking their tufts for horns and the other for ears. It is difficult to identify owls by colour (other than the Snowy of course), for instance the Great Horned can vary from a light colour to a tawny brown colour. 

Nesting for the Great Horned is in February. The mating pair will usually steal another bird’s nest, they aren’t the apex of the birding world without some perks! After laying the eggs the female will diligently keep the nest warm for about 30 days. It probably requires a lot of energy – warming eggs through those long cold nights. Once the fluffy little owlets hatch they will stay around the nest until fall. If you know where an Owl is nesting, keep it to yourself and give them a chance to make it through their long nesting cycle.

An older Owlet, showing the last thing many mammals see. Photos by Diane Stinson.

I’m not sure if I’ll see the Owl around my house again, the Magpies are a very dominant force on our street. They seem really smug about it, if they had fingers they would be snapping them like the Jets from West Side Story. Meanwhile the owl has moved on, although they don’t migrate they can travel far for food, or to get away from Magpie gangs.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! May you all see an owl this season.

A very young Great Horned Owlet. Isn’t it the cutest?! Photo by Diane Stinson.

Winter Bird Lists, 2025-2026

Dec5

Tracking the winter birds of Alberta from December 1 to February 28.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

It’s time for winter birding, and I will be helping to track the species seen in the Calgary area once again. Caroline Lambert provides a lot of assistance with the Calgary list, and also maintains the Bow Valley list.

-throated Sparrow
A White-throated Sparrow below the feeder in my yard, SE Calgary, 2 December 2025. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Caroline also maintains a website with up-to-date and historical data for each of the four lists. Here is more information on the lists, from Caroline:

Link to The Winter Bird Lists.

Calgary: The count area is the 80km radius count circle centred on Calgary, the same one used for the May species count. It is preferred that sightings during this count period and in the count area be reported to the email list, albertabird@groups.io (keeping in mind that certain sensitive species should not be openly reported), but we will also include species reported to eBird and elsewhere, if we can find them.

Bow Valley: this area includes both the Bow River and Kananaskis River watersheds, as far east as the Stoney Nakoda casino and Seebe Dam. Most sightings for this area are taken from the Bow Valley Birding Facebook group, but we will record sightings reported on this email list, Albertabird, eBird, Christmas Bird Counts, rumours on the street, etc. The Bow Valley has the lowest species count of any area, so we’ll accept any reputable report! This is the list Caroline maintains, so you can send reports of sightings to her.

Provincial list: Andy Ross is again taking care of the Alberta-wide list. Andy will collect sightings from the usual sources (eBird, Albertabird, the other winter lists, WhatsApp, etc.). 

The Edmonton list as shown on the albertawinterbirds.org site is kept by Vivek Dabral. Birds that are listed on the Edmonton list must be reported to the Edmonton Nature Club discussion group (ENCnaturetalk@groups.io) by an Edmonton Nature Club member. If you are in Edmonton and are interested in the club, more information can be found at edmontonnatureclub.org.

If you post your sightings to eBird it will be added to the appropriate list (except for the Edmonton one). If you see a significant species that has not already been found, you can report it as above, or email to birdscalgary@gmail.com.

Most of the common winter birds are found on December 1st or shortly thereafter. This year, we had 63 species on the first day in the Calgary circle. As of December 4th, we are at 75 species. Our average for the winter is 113, so there are still lots of birds to find!

Notable birds include a Spotted Towhee which was found on December 1st in Redwood Meadows (and had been there for a while). It is only the second Calgary winter record in the nine years of the count. If you are building your own winter list, you might want to head to Carburn Park for the Harlequin Duck, which has only been reported there, and for some uncommon ducks. Wilson’s Snipe has only been reported from Douglasbank Park. Brown-Lowery Park has again produced an American Three-toed Woodpecker, and is a good place to try for Black-backed Woodpecker as well (not seen yet).

As of December 4th, the list totals are: Alberta 97, Calgary 75, Edmonton 43, Bow Valley 32.

I’ll do an update with more sightings and missing targets in a week or so. Good winter birding!

Count Birds in Your Yard For the Christmas Bird Count!

Nov30

Spend 30 minutes counting birds on December 14th for the Calgary CBC.

We always like to have as many birders as possible go out in the field on Count Day, and this is how we get the majority of our birds and species. But field teams operate mostly in parks in the city (though we do have some diligent counters who drive residential back alleys!), and there are large areas of the city that are not covered in this way . That’s where the Feeder Watchers come in.

As a Feeder Watcher, you simply count the birds you see in or from your yard on Count Day. We ask that you spend at least 30 minutes counting in total, though you can spend much more time if you wish. Every year our Feeder Watchers see a good number of species, including usually one or two that are not found by the field teams. So they are an important part of the Count, and they do help to fill in the gaps in our coverage.

We can really use more people to watch at their feeders this year. If you have participated in the past, you still have to register this year to be included.

Register here!

Below is an animated look at the tracks of the field teams in 2024. As Matt Wallace says in this Instagram post, it only includes 190 out of the 218 eBird tracks of field teams, which accounts for some of the large gaps in coverage. But look at all the residential spaces in between the tracks! There are a lot of birds in those areas, and we’d like to count them. (If this doesn’t play on your device, try this link: Instagram.)

In addition, the field teams are all located within the Count Circle, which has a 24-km diameter. We want to cover that circle as fully as possible. But over the years the city has expanded beyond the boundaries of the circle, leaving many willing backyard observers outside the Count. We have started to include observations by Feeder Watchers who are in the city but outside of the circle as part of our Community Christmas Bird Count. Those observations cannot be counted in the official Audubon count, but we feel that it is important to do this to get a more complete picture of the winter birds in our city, and to involve as many people as possible.

Please fill out the registration form if you’d like to take part, either as a Feeder Watcher inside or outside the city, or as part of a field team.

Bonus Read: Below is a link to a recent article about the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary in the Calgary Journal which includes an interview with CBC organizer Matt Wallace.

Calgary Journal link

2025 Calgary Christmas Bird Count

Nov3

Register now to take part on Sunday December 14th!

One of the Field Teams at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary during the 2024 CBC. Photo by Paul Dang.

The 74th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC YYC) will take place on Sunday, December 14, 2025. Here is a message from Coordinator Matt Wallace:

As you may know, Calgary hosts one of the largest CBCs in Alberta and Western Canada. In 2024, we had a total of 141 field participants and 163 feeder watchers, documenting 71 species and counting 39,446 individual birds. It’s a big job that takes an army of people to ensure its success each year. We hope you’ll join us again this season—no matter your experience or birding skills. Each one of you plays an important role, and the data we collect helps us understand long-term trends in our winter birds.

We’ve set up a Google Form that we kindly ask everyone to fill out so we have your most up-to-date information for analysis and team assignments. Please share the registration form widely with your network of neighbours, friends, family, and colleagues. Register Here. Once you submit your registration you will receive an acknowledgement email from us, followed by further instructions in mid-November.

A quick note: This year, I am seeking a “shadow” assistant (or assistants) to work with our organizing team. I plan to hand off the CBC Coordinator role to an inspired member of our community for the 2026 Calgary event, as I may be relocating in the new year. Finding a suitable successor will help ensure the continued success and legacy of this long-running event.

Sharp-shinned Hawk
A Sharp-shinned Hawk from the 2024 Count. Photo by Ken Pride.

Birds Canada has also launched a pilot project encouraging CBC circles to have Community Engagement Leaders (CELs). Calgary has been ahead of the curve in this regard—this has essentially been my role in recent years, while Lara Fitzpatrick has handled much of the data analysis for our circle. Bob Lefebvre is another key member of our team, overseeing feeder watcher outreach and following up on notable or unusual bird reports.

Birds Canada: The CEL roles are defined as:

  • Participant recruitment and community outreach
  • Helping manage sector/section/zone assignments and coordination
  • Onboarding new participants and facilitating mentoring
  • Coordinating communications with participants

This pretty much sums up what we are looking for in the “Shadow Assistant” Role with this person leading the charge next year. If you’re interested in taking on the coordinator role, there’s an option on the registration form where you can indicate your interest and provide a few details. We’ll be in touch right away to include you in this year’s planning. We encourage anyone with an interest to apply!

Bald Eagle
A Bald eagle from the 2024 Count. Photo by Andrew Hart.

Please watch for more information in November, including data submission instructions and templates.

A quick reminder that our CBC is open to anyone with an interest in the outdoors including experienced birders, novices, and the public. We try to accommodate all abilities and ages to grow and support our community, so please let us know if you need any assistance or have any requests using the comment section of the form.

Gadwall, from the 2024 Count. Photo by Andrew hart.

Register for the Calgary CBC here: https://forms.gle/pcAU6tH7Vcfk63sV9

Thank you very much for your attention—we’re looking forward to connecting with you all for our big count day!

Birders needed for Calgary CBC, Sunday December 15th!

Dec6

Register here to join backyard feeder watchers, or urban walking or driving routes.

The more eyes we have looking for birds during the Calgary Christmas Bird Count on December 15th, the better picture we will have of winter bird populations in Calgary.

Cassin's Finch
Cassin’s Finch, the first ever seen on the Calgry CBC, in 2023. Photo by Laura Bentley.

We could use a few more people to join existing teams who will be covering established routes driving or walking in a few parts of the city. (Refer to the section numbers on the map below.) This includes routes in the far NW (N9), Beaverdam Flats area (E1), Dover/Erin Woods/Forest Lawn/Marlborough neighbourhoods (E-5), the area south of Downtown along the Elbow River (W-3), a large section of the SW including North Glenmore Park (W-5), the large western edge of the Count Circle from Canada Olympic Park south to Griffiths Woods (W-6), and even Carburn Park (S-1) which is the section that usually finds the most species of birds. Please register if you’d like to help out in one of these areas – you can specify your preferred section number when you register.

Some sections have no one covering them at all yet. If you would like to do one of these by yourself, or lead a small team, again please register. Areas available include Bowness including Bowness Park (N1), The U of C grounds and parts of Varsity and Shouldice (N-4a), Parkdale and the rest of Shouldice (N-4b), and the Capitol Hill area (N-7 lower).

As always, in addition to the field teams, we will accept as many people as we can get counting birds at their feeders in their yards. You can watch for as little as 30 minutes on Count Day. Just select “Feeder Watcher” on the registration form under “How do you want to participate?” (Note that you must live within the Count Circle as shown on the map, in order that your Feeder Watcher results can count for the CBC.)

Once again, the count is Sunday December 15th. Register here!

The Winter Bird Lists

Dec2

Keeping track of bird species in the winter months, from December 1 to February 28.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre, 2 December 2024.

Once again I will be assisting Caroline Lambert with tracking all bird species recorded in the Calgary Count Circle in the winter months. I have been doing this for Calgary for a few years, and Caroline tracks the Bow Valley list. There is also an Edmonton List, and a Provincial one that has been going for many years.

The Calgary list got off to a great start, with the highest December 1 species count yet – 65! Many birders challenge themselves to keep a winter list and I think quite a few people went out on Sunday to get a good start to their winter birding. All 65 species were ones we get every winter, although in some years it takes quite a while to find some of these! We are more than halfway to our usual species total in one day, but it gets much harder to add species from here.

Eurasian Collared-Dove
The second bird I saw when I looked out my front window on December 1st – Eurasian Collared-Dove. I only had my phone handy so the picture is very poor. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Click here for the complete Calgary list. You can tell at a glance which species are usually found but have not yet been seen this winter.

I will quote below from Caroline’s post about the winter lists on the Albertabird discussion site:

The winter birding season starts Sunday, Dec 1. As in previous years, various lists of winter birds seen in certain areas in Alberta will be maintained from Dec 1 to end of February. Alberta has some really good winter birds – there are just not many of them! And each year there are surprises. Links to all of the lists, with area maps, can be found at albertawinterbirds.org.

Calgary: this will be compiled again by Bob Lefebvre. The count area is the 80km radius count circle centred on Calgary, the same one used for the May species count. It is preferred that sightings during this count period and in the count area be reported to the Albertabird site (keeping in mind that certain sensitive species should not be openly reported), but we will also include species reported to eBird and elsewhere, if we can find them.

Bow Valley: this area includes both the Bow River and Kananaskis River watersheds, as far east as the Stoney Nakoda casino and Seebe Dam. Most sightings for this area are taken from the Bow Valley Birding Facebook group, but we will record sightings reported on Albertabird, eBird, Christmas Bird Counts, rumours on the street, etc. The Bow Valley has the lowest species count of any area, so we’ll accept any reputable report!

Provincial list: Andy Ross is again taking care of the Alberta-wide list. The list has been cleaned up, simplified for easier reading, and sorted to the most recent taxonomic order (following the Clement’s/eBird taxonomy). Andy will collect sightings from the usual sources (eBird, Albertabird, the other winter lists, the Alberta Birds Facebook group, etc.).

The Edmonton list as shown on the albertawinterbirds.org site is not the official one; I simply copy their list from the Edmonton Nature Club’s groups.io discussion group. The links are there mostly to have one jumping off spot to find all the winter list info should anyone be interested.

Good birding,
Caroline Lambert
Canmore

Join the 2024 Calgary Christmas Bird Count!

Nov2

Please register to take part in the field or at home

The Calgary CBC will be on Sunday December 15. We need birders to take part out in the field counting birds, as well as Feeder Watchers counting in their yards. All participants, whether new or returning birders, must register so we have up-to-date contact information, and, for Feeder Watchers, correct addresses.

Redpoll
Redpoll (at the time, Common Redpoll) taken by Lou Zaganelli on the 2023 Count.

Here is everything you need to know about the Christmas Bird Count, from organizer Matt Wallace:

I am inviting you to take part in the upcoming 2024 Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC) happening on December 15!

As you likely know, the CBC is the longest-running citizen science project which began in the year 1900 as a way to encourage people to appreciate birds while helping to conserve them through data collection. The Calgary event began in 1952 and is one of the largest CBC events in Western Canada with nearly 400 people participating annually. 

Consider this event to be the annual census of our winter birds in Calgary! It requires lots of people and effort to conduct this event, so we are always looking for birders of all experiences and abilities to take part. We really aim to use this event as a way to build up our community of nature enthusiasts and would love for you to share the event information with your friends, family, colleagues, and community.

Skip the details below if you’re ready to sign up and hit the registration form here: https://forms.gle/cNMoCPZZ9FNNrq3Q8

There are a few ways to participate:

Field Teams:

  1. We have 38 circle sections and assign people to survey designated sections. All birds are identified and counted, and it usually runs the entire day depending on our participant’s availability. Bird submissions are made via eBird and shared with our CBC Compiler account. We also accept field templates from people who prefer to use them.We have section leaders who work with their groups to determine meeting locations, targeted areas, summarize effort data, and submit it back to our compilation team. We are looking for both field participants and field leaders (both returning and new). 

Feeder Watchers (FWs):

  1. People (individuals and families) observe birds visiting their yards and feeders for a minimum of 30 minutes on count day. FWs submit their data using a pre-formatted template which we provide. FWs are very important for our count as they help to fill in the data gaps where our field teams can’t access due to time or privacy. FWs must reside within the count circle, but we will confirm your address to ensure you are eligible to participate.

Data Entry/ Analysis: 

  1. Anyone interested in helping us to compile data is welcome! I often receive hundreds of emails with data templates, photos, and stories of the CBC. I manage but would love to have an assistant to help with this!
  2. We continue to expand on our ways of showcasing the hard work of our volunteers. We have approximately 20 years of data (30 binders or so) which includes the detailed “section data” for the Calgary count. Yes, we submit all of the cumulative count “Circle” data to Audubon each year, but the section data is of interest to us on a local scale for showing how changes in our landscape and may influence bird populations.We would like to get all of this data entered prior to the 2024 count so that we can provide some additional infographics and analysis at the results presentation in January 2025. 
  3. In addition to the data entry, we would love anyone with skills in GIS and data visualization to join our compilation team in producing the final report (for media and the community).

So, all that’s left to do is register so I have your contact information, and we will be in touch soon! We look forward to you joining our CBC and thank you! Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions citynatureyyc@gmail.com. 

Register Here: https://forms.gle/cNMoCPZZ9FNNrq3Q8

Naturally, Matt