Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018. Photo by Ron Chiasson.
There is a large flock of Bohemian Waxwing flying around the North Glenmore Park, it’s great to see them back! These social birds are usually found in a tight flock that is full of non-stop trilling and fluttering. Their flocks can number in the thousands, however the one I saw looked to be about 150 birds. The best way to guarantee the number of birds is to be the only one around to count them. In this case I didn’t have much time because a car honked and they took off in a moving cloud, trilling away.
Bohemian Waxwings are primarily fruit-eaters in the winter, and in Calgary they usually eat Mountain Ash berries. Wikimedia commons, no restrictions, Lisa Hupp/USFWS.
I have a soft spot for masked birds, so the Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings are always a welcome sight. These two birds are very similar to one another. However looking at their bar chart on eBird for Calgary it’s like they have two shifts, a Winter shift and a Summer shift. That makes it easy to guess which species you are looking at. The Bohemian Waxwing summers in the north, they must feel right at home in the cold, so they took the winter shift. You can also see from this chart that a few hardy (and perhaps not very bright) Cedar Waxwings stick it out here in Calgary over the winter.
How to tell if a stray Cedar is in a flock of Bohemians? The Bohemian Waxwing can be identified by its Cinnamon undertail and they are plumper and more jolly looking, than their sleeker cousin. Both birds have the sweet black mask and funky head plumage, as well as bright colors at the end of their wingtips and tails. This is where they get their name from, previous generations thought their wingtips looked like they had been dipped in wax. This is another example of how much day-to-day life has changed, the importance of wax has plummeted in the modern era.
An overwintering Cedar Waxwing (top) and a Bohemain Waxwing (bottom), Queen’s Park Cemetery, Calgary, March 6, 2018. Photo by Ron Chiasson.
The trilling sound they make is not a true song but a high-pitched sound that is nevertheless very distinct. I’m sure they are discussing something of great importance, probably where the dried berries are, which is their winter food. The abundance of Mountain Ash in Calgary would make you think they have it made here, however their populations see wild fluctuations. For example in the below chart we have the eBird total sightings for the winter months in Calgary. The numbers have dropped drastically, especially in 2025. As their name suggests they are wanderers at heart so we can only hope there is a berry laden place somewhere else in Alberta where they are all congregating.
Total birds on eBird checklists, Winter months. 5 year comparison:
Even if there is some other factor, like a Bohemian Waxwing loving birder has moved from Calgary, the numbers are telling us these birds aren’t around as much. In fact, although these birds are considered ‘common’, the “Partners in Flight” organization has identified them as a “Species in Steep Decline”. This organization is made up of a network of more than 150 partner organizations in the Western Hemisphere, concerned with landbirds specifically.
If you see the Bohemian Waxwings in North Glenmore, take a moment to admire them, I know I did until the horn honked, a clear warning in the cold winter air.
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 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.
The most “Halloween” bird around is the Northern Shrike, aka, the “butcher bird”. Although it is a Passerine, which is a perching songbird, it has rejected the usual cutesy song-bird personality and instead is a merciless hunter. Not only does it hunt other birds, but it is known to rip its kill to shreds and impale pieces of the body on barb wire fences and tree branches. I don’t think a bird can get more grisly than that, it would even make a Crow shudder. It needs no costume to strike fear in a little bird’s heart, however it does sport a small black mask and a heavy hooked beak.
Northern Shrike, showing its black mask and sharply hooked bill. Grand Valley Road, NW of Cochrane, April 20, 2013. Photo by Dan Arndt.
The Northern Shrike will scout out a nest or mouse hole and wait to strike. If it’s after a flying bird it may force it to the ground with its feet. Then it makes the kill with its hooked beak. In its upper bill (at the front) it has a vampirish toothlike spike, called a tomial tooth, that it uses to break the necks of its prey.
The Shrike spends its summer in the far north and just comes to Calgary for the winter, that’s how tough it is. Apparently, it finds our “balmy” -20°C days pleasant.
“Vlad the Impaler” with a bit of songbird in its beak. Photo by Ron Ostrander, Carburn Park, Calgary, 2024.
The same bird as above, after impaling the bit of meat on a branch. Photo by Ron Ostrander, Carburn Park, Calgary, 2024.
Ron saw the pictured Northern Shrike at Carburn Park last winter. Shrikes are known to return to the same winter territory year after year, so keep an eye out; you might see this tiny terror perched high atop a tree, scanning for its next victim.
In the summer they will head back to the far north to nest. One sweet fact about this bird – their nest is a deep cup that, when the female is in it, only her tail can be seen.
This winter get your binoculars ready to see a real horror icon: the Northern Shrike.
-Cathy
Northern Shrike. Castor, Alberta, April 4, 2017. Photo by Dan Arndt.
Note:The Northern Shrike has a summertime lookalike, the Loggerhead Shrike. Northern Shrikes are in our area from early October to late April. Loggerheads arrive in mid-May and can sometimes be seen into September. There is the possibility of a little overlap in May and September. Loggerhead Shrikes are a little smaller than Northerns, and have a clear breast without the barring of the Northern. They have a smaller bill with a tip that is less hooked, but they share the feeding habits of the Northern Shrike.-Bob
Loggerhead Shrike, June 22, 2022. Photo by Dan Arndt.
Next Thursday, June 12th, join us for The Big Birding Quiz of the Year!!
For the last Birds & Beers of the spring/summer season, we will be meeting as usual at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW, from 5 to 9 pm. Instead of a presentation this time, we will have a birding quiz starting at about 7 pm.
Come early if you want to eat, drink, and socialize, and then at about 7 pm Joan Walker will host a special Trivial Pursuit-style “Wing and Feather” Night. A night when we can share our knowledge of our feathered friends, and perhaps gain some new insights into their unique habits and behaviors.
This promises to be a lot of fun! Each table, whether four, five, or six people, will be a team, and the teams compete to get to a certain number of correct answers. Questions will be on any birding topic, but weighted towards local birds. Songs and calls may be involved! And there will be some surprises too!
Joan introducing last month’s talk at Birds & Beers. (This shows about half of the 96 attendees.) This time, we will stay at our tables and take part in a birding quiz.
Everyone is welcome to join us, even children if accompanied by an adult.
Birds & Beers takes a break in the summer and will resume in September. I will post the schedule and upcoming presentation topics once they are booked.
Calgary is lucky to have Wood Ducks within our city limits. In June eBird checklists have about a 5% chance of including a Wood Duck, compare this with Edmonton with only a 0.1% chance! Virtually zero! Something to keep in your back pocket next time the subject of hockey comes up. “Well we have Wood Ducks!”.
If you have seen a Wood Duck you will know why this is a brag. They are like a beautiful sculpture come to life. If you want to see one for the first time (or again) head to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, a Wood Duck hotspot. This waterfowl has a beautiful shimmery green pompadour swept back to the nape of its neck and bright red eyes. No boring modern minimalism for this guy, it has speckles, stripes, shimmers and all kinds of colour: burgundy, blue, a bit of beige. Its latin name is “Aix Sponsa”, which can be loosely translated to “bridal duck”, it’s all dressed up for a fancy wedding. (Audubon). The female has plainer plumage, she makes do with some speckles on her front and a large white eye ring.
Male and female in flight. Photo by Dan Arndt
Its name comes from its close relationship to trees. The Wood Duck has claws on its duck feet that allow it to climb up trees. This is necessary since it nests in trees. The female will have two broods a year, which apparently is very rare for ducks. When the chicks are ready they will jump out of the tree, up to 50 feet! You have probably seen a video on the internet of ducklings jumping from trees in slow motion, landing like little puff balls on leaf litter. Their mom calls them out, encouraging them to jump, but doesn’t help otherwise. Then they follow her to the pond.
Mother Wood Duck with chicks. Photo by Dan Arndt.
So make a trip to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and you might get lucky and see the famous Wood Duck. They will be in the pond looking for weeds to eat. They also love perching on the logs in there, firmly in place with their claws, making it easier for you to get a picture of their finery.
The female and male Wood Duck, climbing on a log with their claws. Photo: wikimedia commons no restrictions.
With the spring equinox just around the corner, I’d like to give the final results of the 2024-2025 Calgary Winter Bird Count. This is a list of all species reported in the Calgary-region 80-km radius circle from December 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025.
For this count, Caroline Lambert and I just record whether or not a species is observed in the circle during the winter months. Numbers of birds are not considered, so even a single individual counts. We are trying to get an idea of long-term trends in which species are resident here in winter, which migratory species regularly overwinter, and also, for species which are rarely are seen in winter, whether there is any trend of increasing or decreasing overwintering. Keeping a winter list also might help to keep birders interested during the winter, and encourage them to get out more.
Northern Hawk Owls are uncommon winter birds that migrate here from the north, but are seen in small numbers every winter. As we will see, it was a great winter for owls of many species. Photo by Amir Said.Both NHOW photos by Amir Said, taken in Okotoks this winter. Follow Amir on Instagram here.
The final total for this year was 111 species. This is lower than each of the previous four years, but only a little below our average.
Winter Bird Species, 2017-2025
Year
Species
2017-2018
108
2018-2019
108
2019-2020
109
2020-2021
118
2021-2022
117
2022-2023
113
2023-2024
120
2024-2025
111
The average number of species recorded is 113. Note that for this year and going forward, now that the Hoary and Common Redpolls have been lumped as one species, we have lost one species. Five of the previous years had both Common and Hoary Redpoll. The cumulative total of all species recorded at least once (taking Redpoll as one species, and also discounting Pacific/Winter Wren as a species, is now 156.
The list got off to a great start, with 71 species reported in the first two days. By December 31, after some of the local Christmas Bird Counts were complete, we were at 104. This is a typical number for that date, and I expected we would have a pretty high total by the end.
A Wilson’s Snipe (105) was added on January 1 during the annual Fish Creek Park New Year’s Day count, and a Black-backed Woodpecker (106) (an uncommon resident species) in Brown-Lowery on Jan 2. American Kestrel (107) was added on January 8 (more on this below). Also on January 8 a Harris’s Sparrow (108) was found in Airdrie. This species migrates mostly well east of us, but we do see a few in the fall, and occasionally they overwinter. The bird was still being seen there in Airdrie at the end of February.
Harris’s Sparrow. A single bird was reported in the circle this winter, and not until January 8. Photo by Bob Lefebvre, Calgary, 2020.
A more common sparrow around here is the White-crowned Sparrow, but they rarely overwinter. One was found in Carburn Park on January 12 (109). That is only the second time in 8 years we had one on the winter list. Somewhere in there we added Gyrfalcon (110), which is a hard species to verify since it is a sensitive species, and locations are hidden from most reports. But there were definitely eBird lists that were well within our circle.
The final species we added was actually reported earlier, in December. This was a new species for the winter list, Swamp Sparrow (111). It was seen and heard twice at the same location and reported on eBird. A sound recording of the call was included. We were waiting for a confirmation from eBird but it has not yet come. Nevertheless, Caroline was satisfied that the description and recording were legitimate.
There can sometimes be problems when trying to verify a report. Two American Kestrels had been reported earlier in December, but we were unable to verify either (both were on eBird, but eBird did not confirm them). Finally on January 8 a Kestrel was confirmed near Chiniki, at the west edge of the circle. Kestrels are occasionally known to overwinter here.
American Kestrel, photographed in September 2017 by Michael Kim. Only one Kestrel was confirmed to be in the circle this winter.
Another discrepency between our list and eBird is Purple Finch. One was reported on eBird in December, and photographs were included. Caroline and I thought it looked good, and added it to the list. But it has not yet been confirmed on eBird.
On the other hand, I recieved a report of a Great Blue Heron in Okotoks in early December, which I spent about a week verifying. I was satisfied that it was legitimate, and did add it to our list. It was not reported on eBird. Then in late January there was a Great Blue Heron reported on eBird in Okotoks, so likely the bird had been there all winter. Perhaps there aren’t too many eBirders in that area.
There were a couple of late-February unconfirmed reports – Rusty Blackbird, which we have always had in previous years, and Snow Goose, which we usually have. We had hoped to get these but they were not confirmed. In the last few days we also hoped to get the first returning California Gulls, but they didn’t arrive until March 2.
The species that we missed this year that had been seen in all previous years are Rusty Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, and Varied Thrush. A Varied Thrush was reported in the city on March 1, but that is only a week or so before their usual return date on migration, so it may not have been an overwintering bird.
Varied Thrush. We missed this for the first time this winter. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
Although the total number of species was a little low, it was an unusually good year for most species of owl. We had all ten of the owls that might be expected here (the 11th, American Barn Owl, is very rarely seen in Alberta, even in the summer). Seven of these have been seen in all 8 winters, but we also had the less common Barred Owl (6th year out of 8), Long-eared Owl (4th year of 8), and Boreal Owl (3rd year of the 8). In addition, many of these were seen on multiple occasions in several different places, and several species like Great Gray Owl and Northern Hawk Owl were seen in much larger numbers than usual.
Barred Owl, photographed in northwest Calgary in February. Photo by Amir Said.
The Calgary list has only been kept since 2017-2018 (eight seasons), so it is too early to perceive many long-term trends, but I think there is one that is evident. Historically, Swans were rarely seen in the area during the winter months but Trumpeter Swans have been recorded on the winter list in each of the eight years of the count. Tundras are on the past seven lists. The numbers of overwintering swans on the Bow River are increasing, with groups of up to fifteen birds being reported this winter, and they tend to stay all winter.
Tundra Swans on the Bow River. Photo by Matt Wallace.Trumpeter Swans over the Bow River. Photo by Max Ortiz Aguilar.
Below is a table showing how many species have been seen every year, 7/8 years, 6/8, and so on down to 1/8 years.
Frequency of Overwintering Species
Number of Years Seen
Number of Species
8 out of 8 years
86
7/8
9
6/8
8
5/8
7
4/8
3
3/8
6
2/8
10
1/8
27
It’s an interesting and smooth distribution. There are are a large number of bird species (86) that are either year-round residents like House Sparrows and Black-billed Magpies, winter migrants that are not here in summer but are on their normal winter ranges, like Pine Grosbeak and Northern Shrike, and species that always overwinter here in decent numbers, north of their usual winter range, like American Robin and White-throated Sparrow.
Then there are 5/8, 6/8 and 7/8 species, which usually overwinter or are in low numbers so that they are difficult to find, and finally, there are quite a few species that would be considered unusual finds in the winter – the 4/8 years down to 1/8.
Once again, here is a link to the list, and from there you can navigate to all of the Alberta Winter lists and see what has been found in the Bow Valley, Edmonton region, and in the entire province.
The last time I saw a Brown Creeper I was cross-country skiing at Confederation Park and had stopped at the top of a hill to catch my breath. I was near a stand of Spruce trees and noticed a piece of the bark was moving. Of course it wasn’t the bark – it was a tiny brown bird moving up the tree. The Brown Creeper is not a well-known bird largely because they lay low, extremely low. They are elusive and mysterious but when you see one its behaviour and look is unmistakable. If you decide to add it to your Life List and go out looking for one, good luck! You’re going to need it. Another strategy is to read this article to familiarize yourself with the Brown Creeper for the day you see one, then you can point to it and yell “a Brown Creeper!”
Brown Creeper. From Wildreturn at Wikimedia.com
First of all they are tiny, their body is about the length of a thumb, add to that their long brown tail. Secondly they have amazing camouflage, they have brown feathers on the top of their body, perfectly suited to hide against a spruce tree. Their underside is a white colour, this countershading camouflages them when flying. Their stealth colouring is only undone by their song, a high pitched tssst sound. That’s where you come in with your phone at the ready, the Merlin Bird ID app open. It can identify a Brown Creeper and then you can look for it by its song.
If you get a good enough look you will see its curved bill, perfect for digging in the bark where other birds can’t get to. It eats the insects, their eggs and pupae, hidden in the bark. In photos you can see its relatively long feet, which help it hang on to the bark as it creeps upward in a spiral. Once they have checked out a tree they will fly to the base of the next and start up that one. I wonder if the nuthatch, going down and the creeper, going up, have ever bumped their little heads together. What an adorable mishap that would be.
A colourful Creeper photographed in Elliston Park, January 23, 2017. Photo by Bree Tucker.
The Brown Creeper needs live trees to forage on and dead and dying trees to nest in, they use the whole forest lifecycle (allaboutbirds.com). The English traditional park of rolling green lawns with large trees studding it is horrible for wildlife. In our city it’s nice we have some Creeper friendly ‘messy parks’ like Weaslehead and Fish Creek.
A well-camouflaged Brown Creeper, Bebo Grove, Calgary, January 15, 2015. Photo by Dan Arndt.
Hopefully five years from now when you actually see a Brown Creeper on a tree you can recall the name of it. Maybe the fact that it is ‘creeping’ up the tree will twig your memory and you can yell out its name. Your advanced birding badge will be on its way if you succeed.
If you are walking around Calgary and hear a bird singing its heart out in a long trilling song, it is most likely a House Finch. These small birds are identified by their brown bodies, heavy beaks and the red colour on the male. It’s hard to believe that these now ubiquitous birds were fairly rare in Calgary, until as recently as the 1990’s! In theory most of us can remember a time when there were no House Finches around. In practice I barely remember the 90’s. Look at a group of birds at any feeder now and you will probably see some. The females have a striped body, and I find if you look for the stripes you can tell them apart from the House Sparrow fairly readily.
Male House Finch (left) showing off his reddish rump, with a sleepy female House Finch. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
The House Finches origins start in the Southwestern US and Mexico. In the 1940’s someone tried to rebrand them as a ‘Hollywood Finch’ and sold them to pet stores in New York. In what way are they symbols of Hollywood I’m not sure, it was a different time back then. The Migratory Bird act came into effect, and all of a sudden pet store owners had illegal birds in their store. What do you do with a bird you don’t want? You open the window and let it fly away! If that bird is a tough and hardy finch, it will spread across North America.
The House Finch is prone to an eye disease called Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis. If you see one with red puffy eyes don’t bother running out with tiny little cucumber slices, that bird is too far gone. According to Project FeederWatch you should take down your feeder for a couple days and then wash it. This will stop the spread of the disease to other House Finches.
These birds are fairly strict vegetarians, they fill up on seeds, buds, roots and foliage. Their colour is believed to be related to how well they are fed, if you see an orange male it could be that he isn’t getting all the nutrients he needs. Studies show the females choose the redder males. The male House Finch is responsible for feeding the young so it’s important to choose one that is a good provider. According to allaboutbirds, during courtship the male mimics regurgitating food to the female, showing off how good a feeder he is! These are monogamous birds, and very social, so really what you are seeing around the feeder are just a bunch of couples hanging out together.
This House Finch is pretty orange. Photo by Pat Bumstead.And here is a very yellow male. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
What I love about them is their song that seems so out of place on a cold day. Listen for a “zzz” buzzing sound that is part of the up and down warble and it sure to be a House Finch. You can look for the singer and you will see a little brownish bird way up in the heights of a tree singing, perhaps lamenting its ancestors’ move from Mexico. Or perhaps it’s trying to win back its Hollywood moniker with a winning solo.
More about the House Finch on All About Birds, including audio.
Help migrating songbirds by keeping our night skies dark.
Spring migration is well under way, but as far as songbirds go, it will really pick up steam for the month of May. Songbirds migrate at night, and they can become disoriented by artificial light. This can cause them to be drawn off their normal path and into a more dangerous urban area, where they may collide with windows and other human structures, or be taken by predators.
Sparrows, warblers, and other songbirds will soon be moving through the city in large numbers. Lincoln’s Sparrow, Orange-crowned Warbler. Photos by Bob Lefebvre.
In 2021, Calgary became one of Canada’s first certified Nature Canada Bird Friendly Cities. Bird Friendly Calgary is the local organization whose mission is to highlight and mitigate threats that have contributed to a decline in bird populations of an estimated three billion over the last fifty years. As part of these efforts, Bird Friendly Calgary has a “Lights Out” initiative they would like to pass on to the local birding community. It is asking for everyone to turn off all unnecessary lights between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM during the migration periods of spring and fall. For spring they are targeting April 1st to June 15th with special emphasis on the month of May.
Please try to keep your houses and yards as dark as is safe at these times.
Lighted office towers are also a great threat to migrating birds and bats, and a huge number die or are injured each year in collisions with office buildings across North America. The Calgary Urban Species Response Team is active during migration in searching for such birds and bats in the downtown core, and trying to rescue any injured ones. The hope is that they can find out where the major problem areas are, and find ways to mitigate the loss of bird and bat life. See their site to find out more about this problem and the great work they are doing.
In 1992, Peter Sherrington and Des Allen serendipitously discovered that large numbers of Golden Eagles and other raptors were migrating along a corridor on the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains in Kananaskis. Prior to this it was thought that not many Golden Eagles migrated. Peter and a group of volunteers began observing and recording the migrating birds. Over the next ten years they observed over 80,000 Golden Eagles (plus over 16,000 other raptors from 17 other species) passing through the corridor.
Observers at Hay Meadow, Kananaskis, Alberta. Photo by Caroline Lambert
The Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation, a non-profit organization, was set up with the goal of increasing knowledge of Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle and other raptor migrations in Western Canada. For over thirty years the foundation has organized spring and fall migrant watches at three sites in the foothills.
The Hay Meadows site with Mount Lorette in the background. Photo by Caroline lambert
Caroline Lambert, one of the Principal Observers, is appealing for new volunteers to join the team of observers. Anyone can join the observers at the sites to help – it’s a very interesting place to visit and I encourage anyone with any interest to get in touch with the foundation and see where and when to go – but they also have a need to recruit more volunteers who can commit to observing for full days at regular times.
Golden Eagle, photographed by Caroline Lambert
Here is Caroline’s description of what is involved, and the rewards of taking part in this important project.
It’s a deep connection to nature like no other. Going to the same place regularly and staying there for a full day allows the birds and other animals to come to you, and over time you witness how the season changes, oh so gradually. That’s what it’s like at the semiannual eagle migration count in Kananaskis. A casual visitor, coming for a few hours at the peak of migration, will see just a snapshot of this. They might witness a few dozen eagles flying by, maybe a Red-tailed Hawk or Northern Goshawk, the usual chickadees, nuthatches, maybe the American Dipper. If they’re lucky, they might see some elk, or a moose, or deer grazing in the meadow. But the long-time observers have seen just about everything the area has to offer. Eighteen different species of raptor have been seen at the site, mostly eagles, but also Turkey Vultures, Ospreys, harriers, five different species of hawk, five species of falcons, and the three accipiters, with Northern Goshawk an almost daily occurrence. While cougar sightings have been admittedly very rare, most of us have seen all the other mammals in the area, including wolves and lynxes.
The eagle count at Kananaskis, run by the Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation, has been running for over 30 years, and many of the older observers are no longer able to help out. We’re looking for dedicated people to help fill our ranks. We appreciate everyone who shows up with a pair of binoculars to help spot birds, but what we need most are people who will commit to a regular schedule, first as an Assistant Observer, and later as a Principal Observer. The Assistant Observer only needs to be able to spot birds and describe to the Principal where the birds are so the Principal can ID them, but the Principal Observer needs to be able to identify all the raptors that fly by. It takes some time to acquire the skills to do that – usually our Principal Observers start out as Assistant Observers and learn on the job, which is the best way to learn – out in the field, with an experienced person at your side. This isn’t for everyone as you need to be out at the site all day (mid-morning until sunset for assistants, sunrise to sunset for principals), constantly scanning the skies, and the weather can be a challenge, but for those who do this regularly, the rewards that keep us coming back and looking forward to the next season are there – the sighting of a wolf, or a Gyrfalcon, or one of those glorious days when hundreds of eagles fly by. We smile when the dipper comes by, almost every day, dipping as dippers do, and often singing. We marvel at the bluebirds, robins, and Varied Thrushes that show up in mid-March when it still seems too cold for them. It keeps us coming back season after season – not just for what we witness, but knowing that we are contributing to our knowledge of raptor demographics, especially eagles, as citizen scientists.
Even if you can’t help out, then donations to help compensate observers for expenses would be much appreciated.
The spring 2022 eagle migration count starts on March 1 and runs until April 22. Detailed information, including location and how to get there and how to donate, can be found on the website at eaglewatch.ca.
Hope you see you out there.
Caroline Lambert, Canmore
Bald Eagles at Hay Meadows, Kananaskis, Alberta. Bald Eagles are the second-most frequently observed raptors. Photo by Caroline LambertNorthern Goshawk at Hay Meadows, Kananaskis, Alberta. Photo by Caroline Lambert
Please check out the website – it’s full of fascinating observation records and a history of the counts. And even if you can’t get out to the sites yourself, you can support the project with a donation, or purchase a lifetime membership for just $20!
