Tony LePrieur photographed these birds in Fish Creek Park on June 23, 2018.
House Wren
Yellow Warbler with food for its young.
American Goldfinch.
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Tree Swallows Leaving a Backyard Nest
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Beryl Isaacs has been watching a pair of Tree Swallows that nested in McKenzie Lake in SE Calgary. The nest hole was in an old post in her neighbour’s yard. All photos by Beryl Isaacs.
There were four baby Tree Swallows in the nest on July 4, 2018.
Baby Tree Swallows waiting to be fed.
The young Swallows are almost ready to fledge.
A House Sparrow at the nest hole.
As the swallows fledged, one begged for food from the House Sparrow.
The House Sparrow attacked the young swallow, but no damage was done.
The House Sparrow, judging by its plumage and the yellow gape at the corner of its mouth, is a recently fledged bird itself. Adult House Sparrows sometimes kill young birds of other species if they get the chance.
Beryl was lucky to see Tree Swallows successfully nest in the city. Since House Sparrows and Tree Swallows are about the same size, they use the same size of nest holes. Aggressive House Sparrows usually harass Tree Swallows that try to nest in backyard boxes or nest holes. Tree Swallows are far more successful when nesting in city parks or outside the city, away from House Sparrows, which are almost always found near human structures.
Parent Tree Swallow feeding a fledged bird.
Still feeding during the fledging process.
By the end of the day the young swallows had all fledged and were not seen again at the nest.
Have you had any birds nest in your yard this year? Share your photos here [birdscalgary(at)gmail.com].
Happy Canada Jay!
Gray Jay by Anne Elliott.
Happy Canada Day! After being called the Gray Jay for almost sixty years, this bird will soon be known again by its previous name, the Canada Jay. There is also a movement under way to have it officially recognized as Canada’s National Bird. Read more about it and about this photo on Anne Elliott’s Flickr page.
More Birds of the Southwest
Here is another set of photos from Southwest Alberta, courtesy of Raymond Toal.
American Kestrel.
Osprey.
Killdeer.
Great Blue Heron.
American White Pelican.
Sandhill Crane.
Common Yellowthroat (male).
Swainson’s Hawk.
Brewer’s Blackbird.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle).
Priddis Valley Road Wetland
Tony LePrieur photographed these birds at the wetland just south of Priddis, on Priddis Valley Road, on May 26, 2018. The entire Priddis area is very birdy, and there are lots of wetlands to explore.
Wilson’s Snipe.
Wilson’s Phalarope.
Black Tern.
Northern Shoveler, male.
Baltimore Oriole.
See more of Tony’s photos here.
Cliff Swallows of the Weaselhead
Tony LePrieur recently captured some of the Cliff Swallow activity at their nests under the big green bridge in the Weaselhead. This is a great spot to watch them as there is a colony of up to 1000 birds there. They are often seen flying overhead hunting for insects, and you can sometimes see them gathering mud from the banks of the Elbow River to build or fix up their nests. The photos are from May 20, 2018.
Below is a bonus photo of a singing Lincoln’s Sparrow. Always lots going on in the Weaselhead!
Tony LePrieur’s photos can be seen on his Flickr page here.
Birds of Southwest Alberta
Here is a great set of photographs of birds taken in the SW corner of the province, by Raymond Toal. Raymond took all of these photos in the spring of 2018.
Ferruginous Hawk.
Western Meadowlark.
Red-tailed Hawk.
Northern Shrike.
Osprey.
Common Goldeneye.
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored).
Pine Grosbeak.
Osprey.
Long-billed Curlew.
Belted Kingfisher.
Forster’s Tern.
Yellow Warbler.
Gray Catbird.
Empidonax Flycatcher (possibly Willow Flycatcher).
Red-tailed Hawk.
Common Redpoll.
Golden Eagle.
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon).
Black-necked Stilt.
Evenings at Frank Lake
Tony LePrieur has spent a few evenings at Frank Lake recently and he took these wonderful photos.
White-faced Ibis.
American Avocet.
Wilson’s Phalaropes.
Marbled Godwit.
Willet.
Wilson’s Phalarope.
Killdeer.
California Gull with egg.
American Golden-Plover. (Originally identified as a Black-bellied Plover. Misidentifications are the fault of the poster, in this case Bob Lefebvre, not the photographer.)
Wilson’s Phalarope.
Willet.
Willet.
Tony in action, with Wilson’s Phalaropes. Frank Lake, May 27, 2018.
You can see more of Tony’s photos on his Flickr page at this link.
Catching Up With The Friends of Fish Creek
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
The Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society (FFCPPS) birding course began about twelve years ago. At that time there was a single weekly outing with about ten participants led by Gus Yaki. As more people became interested in learning about birds on weekly field trips, more outings were added, and more field trip leaders were recruited. The spring session this year had 316 people registered and 36 field trip leaders. There are several groups going out every day except Friday to learn about birds in Calgary parks.
Gus Yaki leading a field trip in winter.
This incredible growth shows just how many people are interested in becoming birders. Many of the participants who had never birded before have gone on to be active members of the Calgary birding community, taking part in the Christmas Bird Count and the May Species Count, doing Breeding Bird Survey counts, and leading field trips for Nature Calgary.
If you are a new birder and are interested in this course, the FFCPPS are now taking registrations for the autumn season. You can get more information and sign up here.
Max Ortiz Aguilar has been participating in the Spring session of the course, and here are some of his photos from the past couple of months. All photos below by Max Ortiz Aguilar.
Gray Catbird, Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Osprey, Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Lincoln’s Sparrow, Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Song Sparrow, Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Yellow Warbler, Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle subspecies), Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (left) and Tree Swallow (right), Bowmont Park, May 20, 2018.
Gray Catbird, Votier’s Flats, May 27, 2018.
Least Flycatcher, Votier’s Flats, May 20, 2018.
Song Sparrow, Votier’s Flats, May 20, 2018.
Calliope Hummingbird, Weaselhead, June 3, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Weaselhead, June 3, 2018.
American Goldfinch, Weaselhead, June 3, 2018.
Eastern Phoebe, Weaselhead, June 3, 2018.
You can see more of Max’s work here.
Birds & Beers, June 21, 2018
The next Birds & Beers event in Calgary, and the last one before a summer break, is next Thursday, June 21. We meet at the usual spot, the Royal Canadian Legion on Horton Road SW in Calgary.
Killdeer, Frank Lake. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285
9202 Horton Road SW
Thursday June 21, 2018, 6:00-9:00 pm
Birds & Beers is an informal social event where you can meet and have conversations with your fellow birders. Everyone is welcome, and food and drinks are available.