Where to Find the Hummingbirds

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Many readers of Matthew’s recent post about the Hummingbirds of the Weaselhead would like to know where to find these birds. There are two species that breed there, and they are reliably in the same two areas every year, from mid-May to early September.

To get to this area, park in the lot in North Glenmore at 37 Street and 66 Avenue SW, in the community of Lakeview. This is marked with a red “P” in the satellite map below. The white x’s show where the Calliope Hummingbirds are typically found, and the yellow x’s show the location of the Rufous Hummingbirds.

Calliope Hummingbirds: From the parking lot, go down the hill on the paved trail, and cross the big bridge over the Elbow River. Then turn right immediately and follow the trail over a wooden bridge that spans a side channel (Eastern Phoebes nest here). After the wooden bridge, turn left onto a new boardwalk trail that runs along the west side of that channel. After the boardwalk ends, the trail turns away from the channel, and you soon come to a more open area with a few small trees. Look for these tiny birds at the top of dead branches or spruce trees. Another trail branches off and goes north along the west side of this open area, and we have seen the Calliopes here too. The red x’s on the map below show where to look. Please stay on the trails – there is no need to go off them to find the birds.

Rufous Hummingbirds: From the main parking lot, take the paved trail down the hill. There are several trails you can take to the area where the birds are on the south-facing slope along the river. It can be quite muddy in wet conditions, and you should stay well away from the river when the water is high. One dirt trail begins right where the paved path makes a big turn, before going down the steep hill (the uppermost red T below). This one is difficult when it is wet since there are steep sections. Another runs right along the river bank (the lowermost T). This trail is unusable and dangerous when the water level is high, as it is now. The middle T indicates a trail that begins at a wooden railing just north of the big bridge. This is the best way in wet conditions (the trails all converge when you are about halfway there). Follow the dirt trails through the woods, staying down low near the river, until you get to a stormwater drain into the river. The hillsides here are covered in Caragana bushes (Siberian Peashrub). You usually don’t have to go farther than this to find the birds (though the trails continue on for quite a distance). The location is marked with red x’s below. Again, look at the tops of small dead branches, or the tips of spruce trees.

To return, you can backtrack, or climb the steep hill to the boundary fence above, and follow it back. (In dry weather you can go in this way, along the top, but it is a steep hill down to where the birds are, and very slippery.)

Good luck, and be careful!

A Big Day in Fish Creek

Jun10

Posted by Matthew Sim

This past Friday, I did a Big Day in Fish Creek. For those of you who do not know what this is, a Big Day is when you try to see and hear as many species as possible within a 24 hour day. For my Big Day, I spent more than 10 hours in Fish Creek, doing the entire day by bike, riding about 74 kilometers (46 miles) throughout the park and recording 93 species of birds, falling short of my goal of 100. Temperatures ranged from 6-15 degrees Celsius and there were a few showers. I started at about 5am and took a 2 hour weather break at lunch time, hoping for some of the rain to blow over, before returning at 2 and counting for another 3 hours. A full list and a more detailed report of the day can be seen here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/message/20841

Here are some photos from the day:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-necked Grebes

Blue-winged Teal

Tennessee Warbler

Ruddy Ducks

Male Common Yellowthroat

May Species Count – Day 2 – Weaselhead, North Glenmore Park, and Pearce Estate Park

Jun4

Posted by Dan Arndt

I thought I was prepared for a second long day in a row of birding, but I was nowhere near as prepared as I thought. An early start at the Weaselhead at 5 AM netted us great looks at a couple of Veery, the haunting and somewhat creepy calls of a Swainson’s Thrush, and two mystery calls which completely stumped us. I just wish we’d had the foresight to record them so we could get some expert advice!

We joined up with a small group for our regular Sunday group, with some out of town, others sick, and still others not quite up for the grueling day ahead. 16 km and 6 hours later (map below), we emerged with a whole lot of really great birds, a couple of awesome sightings, and expressions of nothing less than pure joy at some folks’ first close sightings of both Calliope and Rufous Hummingbirds in the wild.

Weaselhead Natural Area

The Weaselhead Nature Area encompasses both the mudflats of the Glenmore Reservoir, the boreal forest of the central woods and meadows, the riparian environment lush with warblers, sparrows, finches and the odd duck or three and even a few large ponds stocked with waterfowl and shorebirds. It’s funny that as a native Calgarian of over 30 years, my first visit to the Weaselhead was late last fall. It’s such a beautiful, scenic, and massive natural area that rivals Fish Creek Provincial Park for diversity, and again, right in the heart of the city. Most people, myself included, have a relatively limited experience with it, as the multi-use pathway that runs down the middle of it links North Glenmore Park to South Glenmore Park, but the unpaved path network is simply massive.

Some of the best sightings in the Weaselhead included the Veery, Eastern Phoebe, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, a very brave Yellow Warbler that nearly landed, comedy-style, on the binoculars of another birder, and a Northern Waterthrush that was heard long before it was seen.

Over on the Glenmore Reservoir we were given great directions to a resident Brown Thrasher that has been seen there for a few years now, and had great views through the scope of a Common Loon, Western and Clark’s Grebes, and a slightly lost Surf Scoter.

The day wore on, and the visit to Pearce Estate Park loomed on the horizon, but it was far less painful than it could have been. The recently rebuilt park now has a wonderful boardwalk and blinds over the ponds, which allowed us to get very close looks at the often frustratingly cautious Belted Kingfisher. We heard quite a few Warbling Vireo, and I got my first ever looks at juvenile Common Goldeneye, which are even more adorable than any gosling or Mallard chick that I’ve ever seen before.

Veery

Eastern Phoebe

Calliope Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Yellow Warbler

Northern Waterthrush

Brown Thrasher

Clark’s (far left) and Western Grebes

Warbling Vireo

Belted Kingfisher

Goldeneye and chicks

May Species Count – Hull’s Wood to Lafarge Meadows – Highlights

May31

Posted by Dan Arndt

One of the birding events that I have wanted to take part in since learning of it last year was the May Species Count. This is one of the many events that contribute to real science research on behalf of Bird Studies Canada. I was a little worried when taking on an entire area of my own, since I was certain that I’d miss some calls that a more experienced birder would have picked up and identified in seconds, or that I’d misidentify warblers, sparrows, or other shorebirds. Thankfully, I didn’t hear anything that really threw me for a loop (aside from a Western Meadowlark that sounded like it was a little confused) and didn’t see anything that I couldn’t readily identify with a quick reference to my Sibley Guide or Audubon’s Field Guide to Birds app.

Starting at about 5 AM, we hiked from the parking lot at Bow Valley Ranch, meandering south to 194th Avenue, then back north to the Ranch, which I’ve mapped below.

Hull’s Wood to Lafarge Meadows – May Species Count Route

Paul Turbitt came along both for the photo opportunities as well as to help out with spotting birds, but I always find the viewpoint of an experienced hunter and photographer incredibly valuable in the field. That, and having someone else around to see and hear birds that you might otherwise miss is indispensible. We racked up a total of 70 species, which included 3 new year birds for me, and something like 10-12 for Paul. It’s always great to show people new birds that they’ve never seen before, but also to get better views (and photos) of birds that you’ve seen dozens or hundreds of times before. Below are a few of my favourites from Saturday’s portion of the May Species Count.

Spotted Sandpiper

Alder Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

Great Horned Owls eating breakfast

Northern Shoveler

American Wigeon

Killdeer

Blue-winged Teal

Eastern Kingbird

Great Blue Heron

Red-winged Blackbird and Heron

: Great Horned Owl Fledgeling

Sunday’s photos and recount of the May Species Count from the Weaselhead, North Glenmore Park and Reservoir, and Pearce Estate Park to come soon…

May Species Count – Longview Area

May30

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

On Saturday May 26, 2012 I surveyed the Longview area for the May Species Count. This is the fifth straight year I have done this area, and I’m getting to know it pretty well. I counted 73 species, down two from last year.

A rocky hillside west of Longview.

These large rural count areas take a long time to cover. It is mostly driving, stopping regularly to record birds and to listen. There are only a few short walks. I started at 5:30 a.m. and had made a first pass through the area by about 4:30 p.m. You have to record the numbers of each species of bird and mammal you see, being careful not to over-count, which makes for some tricky record-keeping as you go down a road for the second time. After going quickly over my checklist, I continued until 8:15, searching for species I missed earlier, and adding to some of the numbers. It seems there are always a few birds you just can’t find. Once again, there were few shorebirds in this area, because there just isn’t enough good habitat for them. But there should be Bald Eagles, and I couldn’t find one. I was compensated with two Golden Eagles. I never had a Gray Catbird, and spent the last half hour of the day searching dense thickets for one of these birds (unsuccessfully).

Here are a few of the species I photographed.

Female Mountain Bluebird. There were good numbers of bluebirds.

This Killdeer was doing its “broken-wing” display, and likely had made its nest right on the gravel road.

I don’t get Pied-billed Grebes here every year. This was the only grebe I saw.

Lincoln’s Sparrows were common.

There were dozens of black birds in mixed flocks in livestock fields. It was difficult to separate the Brewer’s Blackbirds (above) from all the Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings.

I had two male Northern Harriers, which seems to be a scarce species around Calgary this year.

Wilson’s Snipe. More often heard than seen, but will sometimes sit on fence posts.

A mixed flock of about 60 Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches settled onto this field, and practically disappeared. I can see four goldfinches in this photo but there were many more.

I was quite entertained by this bird, which was trying to collect nesting material. Unfortunately for the Oriole, the rope was too tough, and it left empty-handed.

Here are a few of the mammals I saw:

I think this is the same Red Fox I saw last year, in almost the same place. (See last year’s post.)

Most of the ground squirrels are Columbian, not Richardson’s as in Calgary.

These Elk kept a close eye on me as I explored a dirt trail where a Nashville Warbler had been heard a few days before. I didn’t find the warbler.

Can you see the Bighorn Sheep in this photo? Taken with a 400 mm lens. I saw one in the same spot three years ago so I was looking for it, but nevertheless was surprised to find one there.

A cropped version of the photo above.

The May Species Count can be gruelling (I started at 5:30 again on Sunday and did another 13 hours in the city) but it is rewarding. There are lots of interesting birds out there at this time of year. Stay tuned for Dan’s post about our count in the Weaselhead.

Victoria Day Big Day 2012

May28

Posted by Dan Arndt

Long weekends are always a great time to get some extra birding in, and this one was no exception. I had initially intended on just making a morning of it with Gus Yaki’s Monday morning group with the Friends of Fish Creek Birding course at Mallard Point, but those plans went by the wayside when I was invited to join the annual Victoria Day Big Day.

What is a “Big Day”, you ask? The idea behind a Big Day is to get as many species as possible in 24 hours of birding. Some really hardcore birders begin at 12:01 AM and go all the way through until 12:00 AM the following morning, covering a huge area and generally getting a very high number of species. For instance, the current record for an Alberta-wide Big Day is somewhere around 235, and the participants started up around Cold Lake, Alberta and trekked all the way south to the SE corner of Alberta. When I heard that number, I was absolutely stunned. Not only by the magnitude of species seen, but also by the huge distance covered.

Traditionally, the Victoria Day Big Day is restricted to the Calgary city limits, and is organized by locally well known birder Tony Timmons. Instead of a competition style event, like some can be, this one is attended by all participants, with some coming and going throughout the day. This year, we started at 5:30 AM at Votier’s Flats and spent most of our time in the south end of the city, finally finishing up at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary around 6:30 PM. A long day, that’s for certain.

Both Bob Lefebvre and myself participated, and due to a bit of luck and determination, we were able to count the full 116 species reported by the group as a whole, along with 2 bonus species. One seen on the way down to Votier’s Flats, and the second in Confederation Park before Bob dropped me off at home.

I’ve posted the map and rough timeline of our locations below, along with the new species that we added to our total at each location. Oh, and of course I’ve added some photos as well!

Enjoy!

Victoria Day Big Day Locations

Crowchild Trail & Memorial Drive – Incidental – 5:15 AM

– Osprey

Votier’s Flats – 5:30 AM

– Canada Goose
– American Wigeon
– Mallard
– Blue-winged Teal
– Bufflehead
– Common Merganser
– Ring-necked Pheasant
– Sharp-shinned Hawk
– Spotted Sandpiper
– Belted Kingfisher
– Downy Woodpecker
– Northern Flicker
– Least Flycatcher
– Black-billed Magpie
– American Crow
– Northern Rough-winged Swallow
– Tree Swallow
– Bank Swallow
– Barn Swallow
– Black-capped Chickadee
– Boreal Chickadee
– Red-breasted Nuthatch
– House Wren
– American Robin
– Gray Catbird
– European Starling
– Cedar Waxwing
– Tennessee Warbler
– Yellow Warbler
– Spotted Towhee
– Chipping Sparrow
– Clay-colored Sparrow
– Song Sparrow
– Lincoln’s Sparrow
– White-throated Sparrow
– Red-winged Blackbird
– Brown-headed Cowbird
– Baltimore Oriole
– House Finch
– White-winged Crossbill
– Pine Siskin
– American Goldfinch
– House Sparrow

Weaselhead – 7:30 AM

Common Goldeneye
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
California Gull
Rock-pigeon
Rufous Hummingbird
Calliope Hummingbird
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
Common Raven
Cliff Swallow
White-breasted Nuthatch
Swainson’s Thrush
Savannah Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow

Cliff Swallows collecting mud for nests

American Goldfinch

North Glenmore Park & Glenmore Reservoir – 9:30 AM

Gadwall
Lesser Scaup
American Coot
Killdeer
Baird’s Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Bonaparte’s Gull
Franklin’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Red-necked Grebe

53rd St and 22X – 10:45 AM

Snow Goose
Green-winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Eared Grebe
Sora
Wilson’s Snipe
Vesper Sparrow

Snow Goose

Sora

Spruce Meadows Slough – 11:20 AM

Cinnamon Teal
Redhead
Northern Shoveler
Pied-billed Grebe
Black Tern
Marsh Wren
Common Yellowthroat

Marsh Wren

South Calgary Bluebird Boxes – 11:45 AM

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

South Calgary Ravine – 12:00 Noon

Cooper’s Hawk
Mourning Dove

Sikome Lake – 12:45 PM

Horned Grebe
Great Horned Owl
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo

Shepard Slough #1 – 2:20 PM

Northern Pintail

Shepard Slough #2 – 2:32 PM

American Avocet
Willet
Wilson’s Phalarope

Shepard Slough #3 – 2:37 PM

Western Meadowlark

Shepard Slough #4 – 2:41 PM

Canvasback

Shepard Farmhouse – 2:51 PM

Brewer’s Blackbird
Common Grackle

Brewer’s Blackbird

Ring-necked Pheasant

Shepard Slough #5 – 3:07 pM

Lesser Yellowlegs

Shepard Slough #6 – 3:30 PM

Black-necked Stilt
Least Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper

White-faced Ibis Flyover – 4:07 PM

White-faced Ibis

Main Shepard Slough – 4:11 PM

Double-crested Cormorant
Stilt Sandpiper

Shepard – 4:31 PM

Eurasian Collared Dove

Eurasian Collared Dove

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary – 5:33 PM

Wood Duck
Harlequin Duck
Hooded Merganser

Confederation Park – 7:45 PM

Alder Flycatcher

Alder Flycatcher

Griffith Woods – New surprises at every turn

May21

Posted by Dan Arndt

As I wrote in my original post about Griffith Woods with the Winter Birding course, I haven’t had much opportunity to visit this beautiful park on the edge of the city, and Sunday morning was only my second visit. The route we took this week was almost identical to the one we took in March, but the birds we saw were vastly different.

Griffith Woods – 5km Walking Route

We started by walking east from the parking lot, where we were inundated by a huge number of birds singing. Not only new birds for the year for many of us, but for myself at least one new life bird, and great views of others that I’d only seen in the distance or through foliage. Both White-crowned and White-throated Sparrow species were present and singing, but we also heard and saw a single male Purple Finch.

White-throated Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

On the river itself, a few Spotted Sandpipers searched for food along the shore, while a pair of Belted Kingfishers patrolled the river in search of small fish.

Spotted Sandpiper

Belted Kingfisher

Further east, on the banks of the large eastern ponds, we had great views of an adult and a juvenile Red-naped Sapsucker, a House Wren at the entrance of a nest hole, and a Gray Catbird who flew in for a closer inspection as we played back a recorded call.

Red-naped Sapsucker

House Wren

Gray Catbird

To top off those great views, we also spotted a pair of what we identified as Least Flycatchers along the edge of the ponds before they disappeared into the deeper brush.

Least Flycatcher

We left the ponds after searching a bit longer for some other birds that we could hear nearby, but only the briefest glimpses confirmed the songs of the Yellow Warbler, Lincoln’s and Song Sparrows, and the ever present Clay-colored Sparrows buzzed in the background.

Turning back west, we continued past the parking lot and deeper into the spruce forest of Griffith Woods, which meanders through a number of small tributary channels of the Elbow River, very small ponds and wetland areas, but is dominated by the White Spruce that make up a significant portion of the foliage. The birds were heard more than seen, and while we heard a number of Pine Siskins, White-winged Crossbills, Boreal Chickadees, and both Hairy and Downy Woodpecker species, it was hard getting our binoculars on them, let alone the camera lens!

Coming to one of the first bridges, we saw a pair of sandpipers, which initially we thought were also Spotted Sandpipers, as before, but the white breast, greenish legs, and drastically different demeanor identified them as Solitary Sandpipers, which can sometimes nest in trees, as we noticed a few minutes after this shot was taken.

Solitary Sandpiper

We meandered for the next half hour with very few birds seen, but heard Chipping Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and what we thought was a flock of Black-capped Chickadees mobbing a predator, but turned out only to be an unusually vocal flock. A moment later, the call of the Audubon’s subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler was heard only a few meters away. Once again, we had great views of it as it was protective of its territory, indicating that it would very likely be breeding in the area if it can find a mate this season.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s subspecies)

Our last really great views were of the male Pileated Woodpecker that we originally saw back in March, once again protecting the nest hole in an abandoned power pole near the condominium complex.

Pileated Woodpecker

On our way out, we did get one other new bird on the year in Calgary. High above us soared a juvenile Golden Eagle, with bright white patches under the wings, and that incredible golden brown hue over the rest of its body. While my camera couldn’t quite zoom in far enough to get a decent shot of it, my binoculars gave me good enough views that I’m looking forward to getting back out into the country to see these birds up close again. As for Griffith Woods, I look forward to exploring it once again this summer, and into the fall once the warblers begin heading south once again.

Pine Creek Water Treatment Facility to Lafarge Meadows – The road less travelled.

May14

Posted by Dan Arndt

I attempted a trip earlier this year to the Pine Creek Water Treatment Plant on the south end of Calgary, and very nearly reached the facility just as my time was running short and I was forced to head back. At the time, a pair of Northern Saw-whet Owls was reported down on the river on the island adjacent to the plant, but I dipped on finding them. This time, the trip to the facility was successful, but sadly, no Northern Saw-Whet Owls were found. Even so, the number of species we saw and heard was astounding, and we even managed to observe not one, but two mating rituals in the few hours it took us to walk from the south end of our route, back to our vehicles at the entrance to the Inland Concrete Site at the east end of 194th Avenue SE, on what would turn out to be one of the warmest and nicest days of the year so far.

Pine Creek Water Treatment Plant to 194th Avenue SE

The rogues gallery of usual suspects was generally present on the route, with the usual Mallards, Canada Geese, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Flickers and even Red-breasted Nuthatches. What I was not prepared for was the sheer number of new species on and around the river! The highlight of the day I think would have been the three Spotted Sandpipers that we saw throughout the day. I’m sure I have better shots than this from previous outings, but this was the closest I was able to get to any of these three.

Spotted Sandpiper

Two other old faithful birds that I have somehow missed so far this year are the Green-winged Teal and Gadwall, both of which were viewed down along one of the back-channels of the Bow River, in the shallow, slow waters in the gravel laden meanders behind the main series of islands. The Gadwall were one of the species we were able to observe “The Beast With Two Backs”… or in other words, the mating of the ducks. It really is quite an unceremonious event for birds in general. I think the whole encounter lasted less than a minute.

Green-winged Teal (m)

Male (top) and female (bottom) Gadwall

I’m always happy when an outing includes good views of Killdeer. One of our first sightings was across the back-channel, in the shade, with the Killdeer disappearing among the rocks, but near the end of our walk, we also caught this species in the act of attempting to procreate. I wish these future parents good luck! At least the male didn’t attempt to drown the female during the copulation!

Killdeer

Male (top) and female (bottom) Killdeer mating

One of the biggest surprises that I should have been prepared for, but always takes me aback every year, is the sheer number of Savannah and Clay-colored Sparrows that invade the grasslands and brush-lands on the outskirts of Calgary. By far these two were the most numerous species of the day, and their calls provided the constant background theme music for our outing along the river, interrupted by the odd Song Sparrow, Lincoln Sparrow, and even a distant Vesper Sparrow that we heard, but did not get close enough to see.

Savannah Sparrow

Clay-colored Sparrow

And while I’m on the topic of surprises, these two were great additions to the outing; a small raft of Red-necked Grebes at the pond at the far south end of Lafarge Meadows, and a Great Blue Heron that flew by on at least three separate locations.

Red-necked Grebe

Great Blue Heron

When we had first arrived, we noted a swallow up on one of the nearby powerlines, and while we thought it may be a Northern Rough-winged Swallow, we couldn’t be sure due to the bad light. We got lucky though, as the little swallow decided to stick around and wait for us to come back, confirming our original ID. The browns and greys of the Rough-winged Swallow provides stunning contrast to the iridescent blue and bright white Tree Swallows we saw further down the path guarding a nest hole.

Rough-winged Swallow

Another great week of birding down, and at least 6 more to go before the Spring Birding course wraps up for the year.

See you next week!

Migration hits Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

May12

Posted by Dan Arndt

Last weekend the Friends of Fish Creek Spring Birding course visited the always familiar and great stand-by that is the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. The air was filled with new songs, and the sky was filled with plenty of new birds for the year, along with a great many old faithful birds that have stuck around all winter.

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

The first new bird we saw was almost immediately spotted when we entered the sanctuary. This American Kestrel was hovering about ten meters up before diving down into the grass and flying away with a freshly caught field mouse or meadow vole.

American Kestrel

As we turned down the pathway into the wooded area at the west end of the ponds, we were alerted to the presence of Yellow-rumped Warblers, as they flitted around through the trees. Not a new bird, but certainly the number of these birds was something to write home about. We estimated about 25 individuals, but there were likely many more that we didn’t see in the low brush throughout the sanctuary.

As we came out onto the bridge, we were greeted by a small flock of Tree Swallows with their aerobatic flights and high pitched trills, and later on throughout the day they were present almost everywhere we turned.

Tree Swallow

As we came to the pond, the high pitched call of a single Lincoln’s Sparrow was heard over the din, and once we narrowed down its location, playing a few calls on my iBird app brought it out in search of the intruding male, but also into better view for everyone in the group.

Lincoln’s Sparrow

As we walked along the river bank, we spotted an early male Brown-headed Cowbird that seemed to follow our group around the pond before posing on a nearby branch for some very good views, and then disappeared into the brush.

Brown-headed Cowbird

A very irate Redhead pair also being harassed by a male American Wigeon, who was displaying and approaching the female time and time again. Or so it seemed. Interesting that a brood parasite like the Redhead would be so possessive of its nesting site!

Redhead

Further down the path we came across a female Canada Goose nesting in a small cavity in a dead tree. I was more surprised that the male didn’t attempt to dive-bomb us since we were so close to his mate, as that has happened to me a few times before at this particular nest site!

Canada Goose on nest

As we crossed the pair of bridges at the south, we saw a small number of Wood Ducks, Mallards, and Canada Geese, along with a display of a Red-tailed Hawk chasing down a Bald Eagle, while an Osprey flew over on our left. Moving north past the Walker House, we were notified by Gus Yaki’s group that there was a Palm Warbler in the bushes just ahead of us, along with a large number of Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Orange-crowned Warbler

While it’s nowhere near my best shot of the day, it was the highlight when I spotted the Palm Warbler before it headed further back into the trees. Remember, some photos are worth a million bucks, but others are only for recording the sighting… I think this one is most definitely the latter, but shows enough detail to decidedly be identifiable.

Palm Warbler

Wednesday Wings: Swainson’s Hawks

May9

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

On Monday I was in north Glenmore Park, and there was a pair of Swainson’s Hawks there. There was a stiff wind from the south, so I was able to get pictures as they soared almost motionless over my head. One of the birds is an intermediate to dark adult, and the other is a light hawk that looks like it is just coming into its adult plumage.