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When Migration Meets Modern Architechture

Nov8

A Morning with the Calgary Urban Species Response Team.

By Cathy Warwick

The last time I was hiking in the hills of Kananaskis south of Calgary I could see the downtown core, an island in the middle of an ocean of prairie. Hearing that birds tend to die in Calgary downtown I look at all the space to the left, and all the space to the right. Why don’t they just go around?

I had the pleasure of tagging along with Calgary Urban Species Response Team (CUSRT) volunteer Jenny for the post-dawn shift. I have since learned that, in fact, the birds are migrating 1-3 km up so they go over. 

CUSRT is a team of volunteers who survey the downtown for any birds or bats affected by architectural hazards. They go out in shifts throughout the day. The team is most active during spring and fall migration. Roughly 80% of birds migrate at night so the morning shifts are most popular. 

The birds will descend from their flight 1-3 kilometers up to roost and then become active during the day to forage. When they descend you can imagine that the downtown core becomes an island of light in the darkness. So birds may collide with glass as they enter the city at night. They also get into trouble during the day as well, when they find themselves in a confusing glass maze. 

Bird Collisions
Image from the Global Bird Collision Mapper showing bird collisions, downtown Calgary, circa Oct 22, 2026.

Prevention is Key

A major takeaway from my tag-along is that birds and glass don’t mix well. This completely obvious statement needs to be said because many of the high kill spot buildings in downtown Calgary are covered in reflective glass. Perhaps designers should make a left turn and go back to brutalist architecture? I used to like glass, somehow it looked more natural. I don’t like glass anymore! Bring on the concrete I say.

Calgary
Downtown Calgary

Many of the collisions in downtown Calgary happen in the northern part of it. The theory is that birds drop down to the vegetated area around the river for a rest. Once rested they attempt to continue their migration. Many follow the vegetation that continues south. The reflective buildings could be disorienting, causing them to collide with the glass as they try to continue. 

The +15’s (pedestrian overpasses) found downtown garner their fair share of the kills. The bridges that cross the road are usually all glass, so people can see out.  Just as reflections are hazardous to birds, so too are “fly throughs”.  A fly through is a situation where clear glass may have an attraction on the other side, such as a tree, a clear route or an inside plant. Birds don’t see the glass – so they try to “fly through” and collide.   

Sure, the glass is a nice design choice, it makes you feel like you’re outside. However, I don’t think that the people walking the +15 level would even notice some ‘Feather Friendly Film’ on the windows. These are little dots at regular intervals which are shown to improve bird safety. This film would improve the safety of all windows, residential and secondary homes included. There are also many other options for making glass safe, such as using art or well-spaced strips of readily-available bus wrap.

Most birds die if they collide with a window. If you see one and it seems to revive and fly away, unfortunately studies show that they actually don’t recover.  It’s critical that injured birds are secured right away, and taken to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic for appropriate examination, diagnosis and treatment.  Prevention of those strikes really is key.

Feather-friendly film
Feather-friendly film, FLAP Canada

During our survey I noticed Magpies starting to follow us, watching what we were doing. We had flashlights and were looking in the corners of the building and in planters. Once you notice Magpies around these buildings they are hard to un-notice. They are the clean up crew for deceased migratory birds. Often the CUSRT volunteers will document a pile of feathers, instead of an actual bird.

The other clean up crew are the human cleaners that work in the buildings. These hard working folks are up early looking and tidying around the buildings. The CUSRT volunteers have developed relationships with the workers. The survey team asks if staff can please put the dead birds in planters for the team to document and collect. 

Bird Collisions
More bird collisions, downtown Calgary.

Bright Lights, Bird Unfriendly

At night some buildings are all lit up with spotlights. This attracts the bats as well as birds. They use lights as a cue to their navigation during migration. If there are lights bright enough to rival the sun it’s no wonder issues occur.

The Bird Friendly Calgary group has a ‘Lights Out for Birds’ initiative that is aimed at spring and fall. From March 15 to May 30 and August 15 to October 31 they ask that we turn out lights at night. Particularly from 11 pm to 6 am. Light pollution affects many species including plants, trees, fish and people so reducing lights is wise year-round.  

Lights out campaigns are critical for many reasons, certainly including birds during migration.  The team points out that this isn’t enough action, though. After all, it’s the glass that actually kills the birds.

Roosting Crows

On the morning of my migration season tag-along we didn’t find any small songbirds deceased, however we did find two dead crows. Interesting fact, crows have chosen to roost around the southern edge of downtown – on 8th Ave and 9th Ave. One look at the white-splattered sidewalk and you can guess there are a lot of them. Jenny has counted 120 live roosting crows here before.

Jenny wrapped up the Crows and recorded them. 

CUSRT
CUSRT volunteer collecting deceased American Crows.

Jenny is a knowledgeable and hard working volunteer. Her reasons for joining CUSRT include seeing birds up close and getting closer to wildlife. 

This Fall season the CUSRT team has documented over 460 birds and bats as of October 25th. Forty-six different bird species are included in this statistic, many birds that you would never associate with downtown, including Sora, Varied Thrush, Townsend Solitaire, and Mourning Warbler.

Mourning Warbler
Mourning Warbler found in southern downtown. (Jenny)
Chipping Sparrow
Chipping sparrow. The most common deceased migratory bird found.
Chipping Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow

Bats in Downtown 

The downtown core provides habitat for several species of bats, including migratory and non-migratory bats, some of whom are thought to roost there permanently.  There is still a lot to learn about bats in cities, such as what attracts bats into the downtown, how light affects bats, how often do they actually collide with glass and what causes them to become grounded.   For whatever reason they are there. Becoming grounded in an unnatural setting leaves bats vulnerable.  

Bat
A bat grounded in downtown Calgary.

I enjoyed looking in the corners of downtown buildings, wielding my flashlight like a misguided cat burglar. After a couple of large coffees I went to my job with a feeling of accomplishment. It felt good to help out documenting a problem humans have created.

More information from Kathleen Johnson, Co-Founder – CUSRT 

  • Highrises , like Calgary’s downtown core, are indeed problematic for birds.  Research shows that 99% of collisions occur outside of the core.  This means it’s important for every one of us to make our homes, schools and offices bird-safe.
  • Collision birds do not “shake it off”. When YOU find a surviving collision bird, please get them to a wildlife rehab asap.  Please see the poster below for detailed instructions.
  • Window treatments – they need to be effective. Treatments need to be on the exterior of the glass, be spaced appropriately (no more than 2” apart if direct on glass or 4” apart for parachords), be visible (be wary of the over-the-counter UV products) and cover the whole surface.  

The family-friendly videos below share accurate information about window collisions and are great for all ages, including adults!

“Fun Birds Calgary fact… when I first went out in Spring 2019 to explore this situation for Calgary, Bob Lefebvre and Chris Fisher did our very first bird ID’s via Twitter!  Two Chipping Sparrows and one Orange-Crowned Warbler. Bob of Birds Calgary has always been a wonderful support and is so very much appreciated.  I’m so glad you got to go out with Jenny.  She’s tremendously knowledgeable and will have been a fantastic host on your survey walk. Big shout out to Sara, Jenny and each of the team for all you do ” – Kathleen Johnson

Information about what you should do if you find a Bird or Bat

If you have found a live bird:

Bird collisions

If you have found a deceased bird you can add to the data by logging it at the Global Bird Collision Mapper Or iNaturalist.

More Links:

Calgary Urban Species Response Team: https://www.calgaryurbanspecies.ca/

iNaturalist Bird Strike Reporting: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/calgary-bird-and-bat-window-strikes 

Bird Friendly Calgary: https://www.birdfriendlycalgary.ca/

Digital Bird Migration Explorer: http://www.birdmigrationexplorer.org/

Wildlife emergency?  CUSRT are not a rescue service or rehab. Please contact: 

To prevent death and suffering, birds affected by collisions require rehab care, even if they appear to be okay!

World Migratory Bird Day

May8

Tomorrow, Saturday May 9th, Is World Migratory Bird Day and the Cornell Global Big Day

American White Pelican
American White Pelican. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

It’s time again for the annual spring Big Day to celebrate migratory birds. There will be events in Calgary on both Saturday May 9th and Sunday May 10th at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. On Saturday there is a guided birding tour led by John McFaul of Nature Calgary. See this page to register. On Sunday there is a free family-friendly all-ages event from 1 to 4 pm. There will be guided walks, informative displays, games, and shows for elementary-aged children. See here for more information.

Canada Goose
By now there should be Canada Geese with their young goslings at the bird sanctuary. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
Canada Goose
Goslings at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Saturday is also the annual spring Global Big Day celebrated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (click the link for more information). Anyone can particpate anywhere in the world by submitting birding checklists to eBird. Last year, over 7,900 bird species were reported by over 1.7 million observers. So get out if you can, and submit as many checklists as you like, to help record the state of the birds in the Calgary area. And you can watch the results come in on this Global Big Day page. As of noon Friday in Calgary, results are already begining to come in from the far east where it is early Saturday morning.

Osprey
Osprey. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Special Event – Book Launch!

May6

Field Guide To The Birds of Alberta book launch and signing, Saturday May 16th.

As I wrote in December, there is a new field guide to Alberta birds being published on May 12th. On Saturday May 16th there will be a special Book Launch and signing event held at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW (the Birds & Beers venue). The doors will open at 5 pm, and both co-authors, David R. Scott and Gavin McKinnon, will be on hand to sign your copy! (You can pre-order a copy here, but they willl have some available for sale at the venue.) The authors will speak on how this project came about, and what the process of writing it was like. The book is beautifully illustrated with photos by many local birders.

Birds of Alberta

Everyone is welcome to attend! Minors are welcome if accompanied by an adult. There will be time if you arrive early for you to visit and have something to eat and drink before the book is launched at about 6:30 pm.

We have to pay a small fee for the room so we ask attendees for an optional donation of a dollar. Any money collected over and above the fee is donated to the Legion.

If it is more convenient for you, there will be another book launch event on Tuesday evening, May 19th, at the Alberta Wildnerness Association office.

The book is also available on Amazon. In the near future there will be another book signing at the Wild Bird Store in Calgary, and they will have the book in stock there as well. Watch their Calendar for details of this upcoming signing.

Here is the book description:

Situated at the convergence of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and North America’s vast boreal forest, Alberta boasts a great diversity of landscapes and habitats. From turquoise glacier lakes nestled between towering peaks, to spruce- and sphagnum-dominated muskeg, to labyrinthine badland canyons, to expansive grassland dotted with sagebrush, to islands of green space amidst sprawling cities, this province has much to offer outdoor enthusiasts, including birders! More than 300 species of birds occur every year in the province, and well over 400 have been observed at least once within its borders. This guide aims to assist those who wish to find, observe, identify, and better understand the birds around us—whether it be an American Robin nesting in a city park, a White-tailed Ptarmigan foraging in the alpine tundra, or a Turkey Vulture soaring over the badland hoodoos. With clear descriptions designed to be accessible for beginner and intermediate birders, this extensive guide is also useful for experts in the field. It comprises 305 full-page species accounts for regularly occurring species and 29 abbreviated accounts for more rarely occurring birds. With so many birds to see and hear in every region of the province, A Field Guide to the Birds of Alberta is the definitive guide for locals and visitors alike.

The authors are donating all royalties from sales of this book to Birds Canada to support their conservation efforts.

[A reminder that before this event, we have our monthly Birds & Beers event at the same venue on Thursday May 14th. More on that in the next post.]

Birds & Beers, March 12, 2026

Mar5

Next Thursday’s meeting features the return of Jody Allair!

Calgary Birds & Beers resumes next Thursday, March 12th, at the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW. Jody Allair of Birds Canada will deliver a presentation called Inspired By Birds – An engaging look at the captivating world of birds and their uncanny potential to motivate people to make positive changes for nature.

Bald Eagle Jody Allair
Jody Allair with a Bald Eagle. Photo courtesy of Jody Allair.

The doors to the ballroom at the Legion will be open for us at 5 pm. Come early if you wish, and dine, drink and visit. Jody’s presentation will begin at about 7 pm.

Jody Allair bio:

Jody is an avid birder and naturalist who enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the natural world. He has been birding and banding since his teens, when he began volunteering at Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) in Southern Ontario. He is now the Director of Communications at Birds Canada where he manages the organization’s public relations and media, is the co-editor of BirdWatch Canada Magazine, producer of the Warblers Podcast and a coordinator of eBird Canada.

Over the years Jody has coordinated a variety of different bird-related projects including the Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Program, the Ontario Nocturnal Owl Survey, Birds Canada’s Youth Education Program, and the Southern Ontario Forest Birds at Risk Program.

White-tailed Ptarmigan
White-tailed Ptarmigan. Photo by Jody Allair.

Jody regularly speaks about birds and conservation to audiences across Canada and has written numerous articles on birds, birding and connecting with nature. He is the monthly birding columnist for CBC Radio’s Daybreak Alberta, has appeared on CBC’s Rick Mercer Report, presented at Ideacity, was a featured bird expert on Season 2 of the Love Nature Television series ‘Battle of the Alphas’ and is a regular guest, and occasional guest host, on the American Birding Association podcast.

In addition to his 20+ years at Birds Canada, he has been leading birding tours with Eagle-Eye Tours since 2008. 

Jody Allair
Jody guiding a tour in Yellowknife. Photo by Jody Allair.

Everyone is welcome to join us at Birds & Beers, including children if accompanied by an adult. There is a small fee to pay for the room, so we ask for an optional donation of $1 per person. Any extra money beyond the room cost is donated to the Legion. See you there!

Birds & Beers meetings are held monthly at the same time and location, on the second Thursday of each month, except July, August, and December.

[Subscribers who recieve these posts by email can click on the title above, or here, to go the Birds Calgary website for more content.]

2025 Calgary Christmas Bird Count

Nov3

Register now to take part on Sunday December 14th!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Birds Canada: The CEL roles are defined as:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2025 City Nature Challenge Events

Apr21

Take part from Friday April 25th to Monday April 28th.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

This coming weekend is the 7th annual City Nature Challenge in the Calgary area, organized by Matt Wallace. During this four-day event, particpants will document urban biodiversity on the iNaturalist app and website. Anyone can take part anywhere within the competition area:

City Nature Challenge Map
The Calgary CNC area.

Although this is a fun and educational activity, and a friendly competition between hundreds of cities around the world, recording our biodiversity is critically important to the cause of conservation. As birders, many of us record our sightings on eBird, which is great for research into bird populations. But when it comes to governments and industry making changes to the environment, iNaturalist is the database that is most often used, as it provides a critical understanding of our complete biodiversity so that we can make responsible development decisions. In the first six years of the Calgary CNC, over 40,000 observations have been made. This is a great start, but we can do much more to fully document our species and to fill in the map with observations. Go to the Calgary CNC website for more information, and watch the video below:

Anyone can use the iNaturalist app on their smart phone or the iNaturalist website on their computer at any time of year to contribute to our biological knowledge. But the CNC is a great time to learn how to do this. There are many resources on the CNC website about how to use iNaturalist, how to take good identifiable photos, and how to upload your observations (you have until May 4th to upload your observations for this project, so you can use this weekend to just make as many observations as possible, and upload them later). See the detailed page about iNaturalist too.

There are many events planned for the upcoming weekend as well:

Friday April 25 – Frank Lake Bird Walk, Nose Creek Bioblitz Walk.

Saturday April 26 – Nature Walk at North Glenmore Park, Guided Photo Walk in the Weaselhead, Bragg Creek Bioblitz, Documenting Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park.

Sunday April 27 – St. Patrick’s Island Nature Walk, Nose Hill Community Pollinator Walk.

Monday April 28 – The Plants of Britannia Slopes.

Please see the CNC Events page here for more information and to register for any of these events. Bring your camera and phone, learn about our natural areas, and help us reach our goal of 15,000 observations this weekend.

Birds & Beers, April 10, 2025

Apr4

Featuring a presentation by Jody Allair on the state of Canada’s Birds.

The next Birds & Beers meetup is next Thursday, April 10th. This is a social get-together of birders, open to everyone. We meet at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW in Calgary. Doors to the big ballroom open at 5 pm. If you can, come early to socialize, eat and drink.

Jody Allair of Birds Canada.

At about 7 pm there will be a presentation by Jody Allair of Birds Canada. The topic is “The State of Canada’s Birds and actions we can take to help our feathered friends.”

Jody Allair with a Bald Eagle.

About Jody Allair:

Jody is an avid birder and naturalist who enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the natural world. He has been birding and banding since his teens, when he began volunteering at Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) in Southern Ontario. He is now the Director of Communications at Birds Canada where he manages the organization’s public relations and media, is the co-editor of BirdWatch Canada Magazine, producer of the Warblers Podcast and a coordinator of eBird Canada.

Over the years Jody has coordinated a variety of different bird-related projects including the Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Program, the Ontario Nocturnal Owl Survey, Birds Canada’s Youth Education Program, and the Southern Ontario Forest Birds at Risk Program.

Jody regularly speaks about birds and conservation to audiences across Canada and has written numerous articles on birds, birding and connecting with nature. He is the monthly birding columnist for CBC Radio’s Daybreak Alberta, has appeared on CBC’s Rick Mercer Report, presented at Ideacity, was a featured bird expert on Season 2 of the Love Nature Television series ‘Battle of the Alphas’ and is a regular guest, and occasional guest host, on the American Birding Association podcast.

In addition to his 20+ years at Birds Canada, he has been leading birding tours with Eagle-Eye Tours since 2008.

See you on Thursday!

Birding Brooks-Lake Newell and Milk River-Writng-on-Stone 2025

Mar9

Register now for these two southern Alberta May Species Counts.

Spring is almost here, so it’s time to prepare now for the Alberta May Species Counts, which take place in May, when many migrating birds are back or passing through. Two long-running counts are the Brooks-Lake Newell Count in the SE part of the province, and the Milk River-Writing-on-Stone Count in the far south of Alberta.

Common Nighthawk
Common Nighthawk in the Brooks area. Photo by Dan Arndt.

Many birders from Calgary, Edmonton, and other parts of the province travel to these counts, so it’s important to make accomodation arrangements ahead of time. Here is the information about the counts from the organizers:

We are pleased to announce that our two SE Alberta May Species counts will take place on the following dates:

Brooks – Lake Newell Bird Count: Sat. May 17 and Sun. May 18

Milk River – Writing-on-Stone Bird Count: Sat. May 24 and Sun. May 25

Looking for accommodation for the Brooks-Lake Newell and Milk River-Writing-on-Stone Bird Counts? The Brooks Heritage Inn and Suites, where we will hold our Brooks count meetings, is offering a discount rate of $125 per night for count recipients. To book, call 403-362-8688 and mention you are a bird count participant.

See brochure (below) for hotels in the Milk River area.

All of the campsites reserved for bird count participants have been allotted. Tillebrook Provincial Park general reservations for the nights of Friday May 16 through the May long weekend and Writing-on-Stone campsite reservations for May Friday May 23 through the count weekend are open. To book: shop.albertaparks.ca, 1-877-537-2757.

Note: a non-refundable fee of $15 per person will be charged to all Brooks participants to help cover the rental of the meeting room.

A reminder to plan to attend the pre-count meetings on the Fridays before each count. The 2025 Brooks WOS Bird Counts Brochure contains more information on the schedule for each weekend. Read/download the brochure here or see below.

Registration for the Brooks-Lake Newell and Milk River-Writing-on-Stone Bird Counts will open on March 1. A link to the registration form will be emailed starting March 1. If you wish to register for either or both of the counts please contact Donna first so we can get you on the email list to receive the link! Registration is open until May 1st.

We look forward to seeing you — and thousands of migrating birds — at the end of May!

Donna Wieckowski *astolat@shaw.ca*  403-870-6222

Debra Hornsby *debra.hornsby.banff@shaw.ca*  403-431-2447

(Note: remove * before emailing)

Please contact the orgainzers if you are new to the counts and would like more information!

Brochure – use the scrollbar on the right to see more.

2025 Brooks WOS Bird Count Brochure FINALDownload

Wetlands Cleanup/American Avocet

Mar2

By Cathy Warwick

Last spring I volunteered to help clean up the Wetlands just east of Elliston Park, in the Forest Lawn area. It was organized by Nature Calgary. I also “volun-told” my teenage son Finn that he was helping. What could be better than a bit of birding with another purpose layered on top! We showed up on a sunny May day and were given capacious black garbage bags and a map of an area to clean. Our area was a large field that basically looked like a bunch of nothingness. Wetlands are like that, to our human eyes there is nothing there, not true! To a bird it is a great place to feed, breed and live.

68 St Wetlands
There are many ponds in the 68 Street wetlands east of Elliston Lake. It is a great birding spot once the ice is off in April.

Making a circuit around our large area we slowly filled our garbage bags with Tim Hortons cups. We got to a stand of trees and stopped, these trees were, unfortunately, filled with garbage, big garbage. Our black bags suddenly appeared tiny. A dumpster truck was needed in that area. I toyed with the idea of putting a diaper genie in my bag, or carrying out a car windshield. Instead we backed away slowly and made our way to the pond.

The secret to getting teens birding is to plonk them down in a big field with a garbage bag and binoculars. There are only two options, birds or garbage. Finn suddenly became interested in looking at the birds through the binoculars. In the pond we saw a large group of American Avocet, the ballerinas of the bird world. These dainty and elegant wading birds were dipping their long thin bills in the pond, waving them side to side to catch small invertebrates.

Shorebirds
Two Black-necked Stilt (left) and one American Avocet (right), 68 Street Wetlands. Photo by Max Ortiz Aguilar, April 22, 2018.

The American Avocet is fairly unmistakeable to identify: they have a rusty coloured head, black and white wings and a long upturned bill. They stride through the water on very long legs.

The Avocets’ pond was lined with a surprising amount of electronics equipment, probably something to do with the electronics recycling facility just south of their wetland. It felt good to untangle extension cords from the bushes and gather up all the small appliances.

Avocets lay their eggs out in the open, which doesn’t seem wise but they seem to know what they’re doing, their species has the best conservation rating of ‘Low Risk’. Their chicks leave the nest at only one day old, at that point they can walk, swim and even dive. Oh to have it as easy as an Avocet parent.

American Avocet
American Avocet with young, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Avocets nest in east Calgary wetlands.

Finn and I walked back along the road, collecting what appeared to be auto parts along the way. Either they fell off a truck or the city trucks are actively falling apart as they drive. Our bags were completely full either way. I focused on all the wire, seeing that as more harmful than pipes.

At the parking lot we delivered our completely full garbage bags to an already large pile. Somehow it still felt like we had missed so much, but at least the Avocet pond was a bit better. Our inaugural Wetlands clean up was celebrated with a Chinese Food feast. We plan on doing the exact same this year! Maybe Finn can learn how to drive a dump truck to make a dent in the pile by those trees. That would probably cost me three orders of Ginger Beef instead of the usual two.

Check the Nature Calgary “Field Trips” and “Events” pages for trips to the 68 Street wetlands, including their annual clean-up.

“Every Little Thing”

Nov22

An inspiring film about Hummingbird rescue showing this weekend in Calgary – free tickets available!

The Calgary Underground Film Festival’s (CUFF) Documentary festival is on now, from November 20-24. This Sunday, November 24, they will feature the film “Every Little Thing” which is about a woman in Los Angeles who nurtures injured Hummingbirds.

Hummingbird

Film Description–

Amid the glamour of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds.

A film of joy and wonder, EVERY LITTLE THING offers profound truths in a deceptively simple story. In tending to these fragile yet resilient hummingbirds, Terry Masear finds a sense of healing from her own past. Follow Cactus, Jimmy, Wasabi, Alexa, and Mikhail, celebrating their small victories and lamenting their tiny tragedies. The compassion and empathy that Masear shows her Lilliputian charges serves as a lesson to us all — a reminder that in the smallest of acts, and in the tiniest of creatures, we might find grace.

The movie will play at the Globe Cinema at 4 pm on Sunday, November 24. You can buy tickets and read all the details here.

I have a few tickets to give away so if you are interested, email me at birdscalgary@gmail.com.

Enjoy!