Lafarge Meadows – Finally!

Posted byDan Arndt

The final Sunday Morning excursion by the Friends of Fish Creek Winter Birding Course took us to Lafarge Meadows. After going there for the first time with the Fall course, I was looking forward to getting back there as the spring migrants began to filter through, and what a visit it was!

One of the birds that most non-birders consider a sure sign of spring, is the charismatic and well known American Robin, many of which were present and singing their spring song.

Another of the early migrants we were treated to at the beginning of the walk was the ever beautiful song of the aptly named Song Sparrow.

While the field marks weren’t easy to see from that distance, the song was so distinctive that there was no way you could mistake this bird for any other. Over at the boat launch we had some decent views of Common Mergansers (pictured below) and a pair of Lesser Scaup.

We then turned southward to head into LaFarge Meadows proper, checking a few of the ponds near the bridge where we found a few close-ups of some Lesser Scaup and American Wigeon.

As we edged further south along the river, we took note of the huge numbers of gulls both along the river, and in the ponds along the west side that were still frozen, and were greeted by some nicely posing Herring Gulls on a gravel bar in the Bow River, as well as a small number of another new bird for the year, the Franklin’s Gull.

Finally, as we headed back north toward the beginning of our route, I spotted a small bird atop a nearby tree, thinking it may be another sparrow, or maybe even an early swallow species, but was immediately alerted to its identity by the single sharp note of its call, identifying itself as a Northern Shrike!

As we reached the vehicles, all of us were forlorn at the prospect that this was our last walk of the season with that particular group, but all attendees were looking forward to the next round of courses, starting up immediately the following week! Travel will keep me away for the first two weeks of the course, from which I will post some photos on my regular schedule, and but until then, good birding!

Famous Birders: Roger Tory Peterson

Apr7

Posted by Matthew Sim

In this Famous Birders post, we take a look at one birder who completely changed the face of birding as we know it today.

Roger Tory Peterson, is one of the most famous birders ever to have lifted a pair of binoculars. Except that a lot of the time, he didn’t even need binoculars. As he once said, “I can recognize the calls of practically every bird in North America. There are some in Africa I don’t know, though.” A master of ornithology, Peterson is best known for his revolutionary field guides which were “the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching.”

Roger Peterson was born in Jamestown New York in 1908, the son of european immigrants. At the age of 11, birds became a part of his life when his 7th grade teacher taught the class about these remarkable little creatures. From that point on, Roger’s passion for birds and all other aspects of nature grew and grew. After finishing high school, Roger Peterson got a job painting furniture, working hard and saving his money for art school, which he hoped to attend. In 1925, Roger saw a notice about the next American Ornithologist’s Union meeting, to be held in New York City. He also saw that there would be an art show, to which he promptly submitted two paintings of his (both were accepted). At the meeting, Roger met many of the birders and bird artists of the time. Within a year of the meeting, Roger had two more paintings shown at the first American bird art exhibit and was soon meeting the big names and got involved in the big organizations of birding at the time. Within a few years, Roger was even writing his first field guide.

In the year 1933, Roger’s A Field Guide to the Birds found it’s way to Francis H. Allen’s desk, an editor for the publisher Houghton Mifflin. From that point on, there was no turning back. At first, only 2,000 copies were made, sold for 2.75$ a piece. Roger Peterson’s first field guide was a huge hit and within the first week, all 2,000 copies were sold, prompting more copies to be published. This was only the beginning of a very illustrious career for Roger and as of today, he has sold 7 million copies and 52 field guides make up the Peterson Field Guide System. In a time when shooting birds was as close to birding as it got, Roger’s field guides revolutionized the way people saw the natural world around them. What made Peterson’s field guides so successful is that they are simple to look at, with arrows pointing to distinguishing field marks that might help in identification. This simplicity helped many potential birders easily understand and identify what they were looking at.

Roger Peterson became one of the leading birders, nature artists and natural writers of his time and it is in part thanks to his work that so many people are involved in birding today; he truly was a great birder, perhaps, some argue, the best that there has ever been.

Photos courtesy wikipedia.

Sunday Showcase: Northern Hawk Owl Courtship

Apr1

Photos by Rob English. Thank you for sending this fantastic sequence of pictures!

A Downtown Sanctuary in Inglewood

Mar26

Posted by Dan Arndt

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is quite probably the most well known birding locale within the city limits. As a new birder, it was an old standby for me, and helped me learn more about birds, and photography, in my starting years than any other place in the city. In the summer, barely two weeks would go by between visits, but I never found much to see in the winters. This course with the Friends of Fish Creek has opened my eyes to many more places within the city limits, but this place is one of the best “stand-by” locations I know of in a pinch, and quite often has a wide variety of unusual or first sightings within the city during migration, but also throughout the year.

Last weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday. I joined the Friends of Fish Creek birding course to assist Gus Yaki. Both days I saw new birds for the year, and had some great sights of old favourites.

I’d definitely have to count among the highlights the Snow Goose I saw the first morning out. Though it wasn’t much more than a speck on the horizon, it was a new one for me. Nothing more than a recording shot of the sighting, but I loved it.

Snow Goose on left, flying far and fast away from me.

The Canada Geese were numerous on the river, but there were many new arrivals that were exciting to see, such as Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, and the first Ring-billed Gulls of the season.

Canada Goose

Northern Pintail (top right)

American Wigeon

Ring-billed Gulls

Another of the great sights to behold was the beautiful male Harlequin duck, which had successfully overwintered on the open water at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. It seemed that it was very enthusiastic with its mate choices though, as it has been seen chasing a female Mallard or two occasionally.

Harlequin

Harlequin chasing female Mallard

A few other old standbys were on hand each day at the sanctuary. The iridescent and beautiful European Starlings, the nest building Red-breasted Nuthatches, the vocal and displaying Northern Flicker, and of course the charismatic and always enjoyable Richardson’s Ground Squirrels, poking their heads out for the first time this year.

European Starling

: Red-breasted Nuthatch

Richardson's Ground Squirrel

Sunday added again to the rogues gallery of fauna on display, from the Greater White-fronted Goose on the Bow River north of the Sanctuary, to the much better views of Northern Pintail, along with Herring Gulls, and a juvenile Northern Goshawk making quite a show of it.

Greater White-fronted Goose

Northern Pintail on Sunday

Northern Goshawk

Herring Gull (middle rear) among California and Ring-billed Gulls

Another great week of birding! I’ll be back again this week to post the results of our excursion to Mallard Point yesterday, and the wonderful birds we saw there as well!

Good birding!

Postcards from Texas: Adventures in Big Bend (Part 1)

Mar16

Posted by Matthew Sim

Great scenery, pristine skies, rugged wilderness, abundant wildlife, all of this found in Texas- add these all up and what do you get??? The answer- Big Bend National Park in west Texas.

Spanning a huge 801,163 acres, Big Bend is the 14th largest national park in the U.S. and covers 3 different environments; mountain, desert and river. This huge area attracts about 350,000 visitors each year and is immensely popular, with spring break being the most popular time to visit the park. This year, my family and I went to find out why the park is as popular as it is.

We left Houston early in the morning in preparation for the 11 hour drive that lay ahead of us. For a good 5 hours of the trip, we drove through heavy rain and saw no break in the clouds. Once we arrived at our campground however, about 20 miles out of the park, we stepped out of the car beneath cloudless skies and almost immediately saw several bird feeders. Right after we found the bird feeders, we found the birds. Suddenly, we were surrounded by at least a dozen birds; Cactus Wren! Curve-billed Thrasher! Black-throated Sparrow! Pyrrhuloxia! Ladder-backed Woodpecker! House Finch! White-winged Dove! The birds were everywhere!

Black-throated Sparrow; a common yet beautiful sparrow of the southwestern U.S.

A conspicuous looking (and sounding) wren of southwestern deserts, the Cactus Wren is also the largest species of wren

Pyrrhuloxia; a distinctive songbird related to the cardinal

We soon had to leave the feeders though to pitch our tent as darkness was settling fast over the desert. As we set up our tent underneath the setting sun, I couldn’t help but feel excited for what I might see in the morning.

The sun rises over the hills around our campground.

After spending a somewhat chilly night in our tent, beneath countless stars, we awoke to the beautiful sound of a singing Pyrrhuloxia, which bears a striking resemblance (both in looks and sound) to a Cardinal. We headed to the nearby bird feeders to see what was about, and nearly immediately ran into a huge surprise- a covey of 35 Scaled Quail, dashing here and there.

We continued birding around the feeders and a small water dish, finding a Sage Thrasher, a single Lark Bunting, a Rock Wren and a pair of Canyon Towhees.

Canyon Towhee; a small drab sparrow-like bird with a very bright cinnamon rump (just visible in this shot)

By late morning, we decided to head to the Chisos Basin, a small valley surrounded by mountains, to do a little hiking. While hiking down into a valley on the Window trail, we were happy to see White-throated Swift, Pygmy Nuthatch, Spotted Towhee and Mexican Jay. This national park was really starting to amaze us by the sheer beauty of it all, nature and scenery standing out above the rest. Upon finishing the hot hike, we made a quick decision to check out the Rio Grande Village after getting a tip that a Common Black-Hawk, a rare bird in the U.S. but one that has nested here for several years, might be hanging around.

Unfortunately, no hawk for us. We were treated to fantastic views of several species though; Vermilion Flycatcher, Western Bluebird, Brewer’s Sparrow and Marsh Wren, all while being merely 50 feet away from the border with Mexico (which, by the way, several Common Ravens flew across without any security checks!).

The absolutely gorgeous Vermilion Flycatcher.

After birding the Rio Grande Village, we brought an end to our fun-filled (and bird-filled) day and headed back to the campground beneath a beautiful setting sun. We were already looking forward to Day 2!

Part 2 of our Adventures in Big Bend coming up tomorrow!

Spring has Sprung at Sikome Lake

Mar12

Posted by Dan Arndt

It was quite evident by the bird activity last week at Carburn Park that spring would be arriving soon, and it became even more clear by the presence of two pairs of nesting Great Horned Owls at the East end of Fish Creek Provincial Park. One of our longest walks to date, at over 7km, we covered a huge amount of ground and saw some amazing sights.

Bow Valley Ranch to Lafarge Meadows and back

Meeting at Bow Valley Ranch, we headed along the hillside on the north edge of the lot to attempt to find a Ring-necked Pheasant which had been seen and heard just before my arrival, but to no avail. Heading southward towards the creek, we found the first male Great Horned Owl guarding a nest, and female, that remained undiscovered by our group. A success in the eyes of any parenting owl, but it would be a great find in a month or two once the eggs hatch and babies begin to fledge, and even moreso if someone were there to get some photos! On the other hand, a well hidden nest keeps away those who wouldn’t treat it with the proper respect.

Great Horned Owl - Male 1

Great Horned Owl - slightly irritated

As we headed across the road through the park, and further south, we were constantly serenaded by the drumming and calling of the incredibly numerous Northern Flickers and Downy Woodpeckers in the area, both of which numbered at least twenty individuals through the course of our walk.

Downy Woodpecker - male

Downy Woodpecker - female

Male Downy Woodpecker digging for a morsel

One of the many male Northern Flickers seen yesterday.

One of the most common questions of the day was, quite honestly, not surprising. With the incredible numbers of European Starlings coming in, many of those on our walk simply had no idea just how wide the range of Starling vocalizations truly was, and almost every variation of their call drew at least one question of “What bird made that call?” To which my answer usually was: “This one.”

The scourge of those who bird by ear.

We headed toward the south end of the park, and stopped briefly by the river to see if there were any unusual birds on the ice, on the shores, or in the water, but surprisingly, there were very few waterfowl at all on the Bow River. Directly on the river were a few Mallards, and on one pond just to the west, a few more Mallards and a pair of Common Goldeneye.

Mallard ducks. (Female on left, male on right)

Common Goldeneye (male left, female right)

Turning back towards Sikome Lake, we came across the second pair of Great Horned Owls. The male appeared slightly agitated, and as we approached, actually flew closer to the nest to better guard it. It also appeared that this pair was much better known, as there were quite a few others viewing the pair as well. The female, though well hidden, was barely visible sitting atop the clutch of eggs.

A slightly more agitated and alert male Great Horned Owl, guarding his mate.

Male Great Horned Owl

Female Great Horned Owl on nest. Nope, I can't see it either.

Not too far away from this pair was another alert parent guarding his potential offspring. I wonder how many of his offspring will help feed the developing owlets in the coming months.

Canada Goose on nest

After stopping to watch this Canada Goose for a bit, we headed back north towards the vehicles, but first stopped to see just a few more woodpeckers in action. Both the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers in this part of the part are incredibly tolerant to people walking only a few meters away.

Male Hairy Woodpecker

Feeding female Downy Woodpecker

And with that, we headed back to the vehicles, and home. It’s quite an exciting time here during spring migration, and one of the things every birder looks forward to with great anticipation. What will the coming week bring? I suppose I’ll just have to wait until next Sunday to find out!

Springtime in Carburn Park

Mar8

Posted by Dan Arndt

Once again the Friends of Fish Creek Birding course made its way to Carburn Park, without the lure of the Northern Saw-whet Owl back in January. Since then, the weather has warmed, the birds have begun preparations to nest, and while most have chosen their mates, others are still in the process of defining their territory and competing with their rivals for the few mates still unspoken for. We were gifted with a few wonderful displays of an incredible number of Northern Flickers all throughout the park, as well as the beautifully crimson male House Finch, and huge numbers of Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Mallards, and Canada Geese.

Carburn Park Route

This time around, we headed south from the parking lot to the bridge over the Bow River, which is one of the best places in the city to get good views, and good photos, of birds in flight. Both Canada Geese and the juvenile Bald Eagles came low over the bridge, almost posing as they flew by.

View from the bridge at Carburn Park

Canada Geese

Juvenile Bald Eagle

From there, we headed further south along the river to get views of the duck species present, and were allowed particularly good views of Buffleheads, Mallards, Common Goldeneye, and even my first female Common Merganser of the year.

Buffleheads & Mallard

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

We headed east about a hundred meters before heading north along the back fences of the community adjacent to the park. Here we were greeted by the melodious sounds of House Finches and Black-capped Chickadees at the feeders.

House Finch

Black-capped Chickadee

Cutting back over to the river bank, the overcast skies opened up to let the blue shine through, and the light was absolutely incredible for the better part of an hour. Along this stretch of river, we were constantly hearing the drumming and calling of the Northern Flickers, and across the river, a family of Bald Eagles was down on the ice. Overhead, the Canada Geese continued their flyovers before heading eastward to the outlying fields for the day.

Canada Geese

Northern Flicker

Bald Eagles

From there, we headed along the shoreline in a clockwise direction. While the light remained good, we came across a curious Black-billed Magpie, and a group of Common Mergansers also swam in close, the males showing off their beautiful green head plumage.

Black-billed Magpie

Common Merganser

Common Mergansers

While the number of ducks and geese was incredibly high, the evidence of their predation by the ever present Bald Eagles was apparent.

Juvenile Bald Eagles

Mallard Carcass

We continued to trek onwards, and in our search for the Northern Saw-whet Owl seen here in January that came up empty, we almost literally stumbled upon a herd of twenty or so White-tailed Deer, spread out along the trails in the northwest section of the park.

White-tailed Deer

While the remainder of the walk was a little rushed, it remained relatively relaxing, as the birds had quieted down quite a lot, and none really seemed to pay us any mind as we strolled the interior of the park along the pond, back to our vehicles, and then home.

See you next week!

Lost Forever?

Mar8

Posted by Matthew Sim

Back in November, the Calgary Herald ran an article on the Sage Grouse, a large and impressive grouse that faces a bleak and dismal future. For me, this was a depressing article; it opened my eyes to a species I never knew even lived in Alberta, only to present very pessimistic prospects for the bird here.

Image courtesy Wikipedia

A scarce permanent resident with a very limited distribution in our province, the sage grouse needs large stands of sagebrush as well as wet meadows, river bottoms or green areas for foraging. This habitat is crucial for the bird and without it, the grouse cannot survive. It is for exactly this reason that population levels have decreased in Alberta since the 1960’s, in fact, the sage grouse population in Alberta is down to just 13 males. Many experts have already given up any hope of saving Alberta’s prairie sage grouse, however, led by the Alberta Wilderness Association, 12 environmental groups are acting to save the species. These groups have asked that the federal government enact an emergency protection order, which would force Environment Canada to do whatever it can to save this species’ habitat. Though it may be too late, let this species plight be a lesson to all of us, and let us ensure that this never happens again.

To read the Herald’s article, follow the link below:

Iconic prairie Sage Grouse facing local extinction

Wednesday Wings: Horned Larks

Mar7

If you’ve taken any pictures of interesting birds in the Calgary region, you can share them with us by emailing birdscalgary@gmail.com and we may post them on the blog.

We received these amazing photos of Horned Larks from Joe Harley. Horned larks have been returning to the area for the past few weeks and can be seen along rural roads. They can be very hard to photograph but Joe got a few great shots.

Joe writes:

We’d like to compliment the writers of the blog; we enjoy all the articles (and photos). Thought I’d share the Lark family, photographed on Family day [February 20], not far from Kinbrook Marsh. That’s all I was able to get of the Larks. We were in the midst of photographing Pronghorns when the Lark opportunity occurred.

(click photos to enlarge)

Spring Birding Course 2012

Mar3

The Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society is once again offering a spring birding course which will run for twelve weeks, from April until late June. The course consists of weekly field trips to many parks and natural areas within Calgary. There are sessions offered on almost every day of the week.

For more information or to register, email chris@friendsoffishcreek.org or phone 403-238-3841.

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Archives

Lafarge Meadows – Finally!

Famous Birders: Roger Tory Peterson

Sunday Showcase: Northern Hawk Owl Courtship

A Downtown Sanctuary in Inglewood

Postcards from Texas: Adventures in Big Bend (Part 1)

Spring has Sprung at Sikome Lake

Springtime in Carburn Park

Lost Forever?

Wednesday Wings: Horned Larks

Spring Birding Course 2012

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