Sunday Showcase: Long-eared Owls

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Adult Long-eared Owl. Photo by Tony LePrieur, Calgary, June 26, 2016.

Long-eared Owls are fairly common in the Calgary area and breed in and around the city, but they are nocturnal and so secretive that many birders go years between sightings. In early summer I was told of a Long-eared Owl nest in the city with young in the nest. Here are some photos of this family taken by several local birders.

(Note: The birds are secretive since they are vulnerable to predation from Great Horned Owls, magpies, ravens, crows, porcupines, and hawks. It is very important when observing them to not give away the location of the nest. This nest was very close to a public pathway. Although the young have fledged long ago now, the owls may nest in the same area again next year, so I won’t reveal the location. I did share it with Dan Arndt, Andrew Hart, and a couple of young birders who had never seen this species before, but we didn’t want to put undue stress on the birds or draw attention to the location by having too many people go to see them.)

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Adult Long-eared Owl, Calgary, June 9, 2016. Photo by Dan Arndt.

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June 9, 2016, Calgary. Four young were in the nest. Photo by Dan Arndt.

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June 11, 2016. Only one young remained in the nest. We were concerned that they had been predated, so stopped visiting for a while. But later on we saw two fledged young together near the nest, so they may just have fledged at slightly different times. Photo by Dan Arndt.

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Another adult on June 9. They are about 14 inches (36 cm) tall. Photo by Dan Arndt.

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A close-up of one of the young in the nest, June 9, 2016. Photo by Dan Arndt.

On June 26 Andrew Hart and I went to see if the last of the owls had fledged. The nest was empty, but we found two very vocal and active young owls nearby.

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Recently fledged Long-eared Owl, Calgary, June 23, 2016. Photo by Andrew Hart.

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Photo by Andrew Hart.

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Vocalizing fledgling. Photo by Andrew Hart.

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Photo by Andrew Hart.

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Photo by Andrew Hart.

Tony LePrieur had found this same nest independently and visited it a couple of times.

Long-eared Owl, Calgary, June 26, 2016. This looks like a younger owl than the ones Andrew and I saw three days previously. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Vocalizing adult Long-eared Owl, Calgary, June 26, 2016. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Sunday Showcase: Summer in Alberta, Part 4

Aug21

More summer bird photos from Tony LePrieur, taken in and around Calgary, except for the Western Kingbirds, which were near Brooks in SE Alberta.

Horned Grebe with chick.

Tennessee Warbler.

White-throated Sparrow.

Western Kingbird (adult).

Western Kingbird (very young bird, just fledged).

Warbling Vireo.

Savannah Sparrow.

Song Sparrow.

Swainson’s Hawk.

Sunday Showcase: Summer in Alberta, Part 3

Aug21

Birds and Mammals photographed by Tony LePrieur on August 7, 2016 in Fish Creek Provincial Park and in Carburn Park in Calgary.

Juvenile American Robin feeding on Chokecherries.

Black-crowned Night-Heron (adult).

Black-crowned Night-Heron (a first-summer bird, not yet in adult plumage).

Eastern Kingbird.

A wet Black-billed Magpie.

Orange-crowned Warbler.

White-tailed Deer.

North American Beaver.

Sunday Showcase: Summer in Alberta, Part 2

Aug21

Tony LePrieur took these photos on the weekend of July 23-24, 2016. The Stilts were at Frank Lake; the rest in Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary.

Black-necked Stilt chick.

Black-necked Stilts are a relatively new arrival in Alberta. They were first observed to breed in Canada in 1977, and are now found in several provinces. They breed as far north as the Edmonton area now. We are lucky to be able to see them breeding at many areas in the region, including at Frank Lake and Weed Lake.

Black-necked Stilt adult.

House Wren.

This looks like a young LeConte’s Sparrow.

And some mammals: North American Beaver…

… and White-tailed Deer fawn.

Sunday Showcase: Summer in Alberta, Part 1

Aug21

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Tony LePrieur has been generously sharing photos with us every week, and I sometimes get a little behind in posting them. Today I want to catch up a bit by posting several sets of his summer pictures of birds from the Calgary region.

The first set is of young birds and their parents from Fish Creek Provincial Park, taken on July 16.

Juvenile Western Wood-Pewees waiting to be fed.

Western Wood-Pewees, three young with an adult.

I think this is another Western Wood-Pewee.

Eastern Kingbird parent with three juveniles.

Eastern Kingbirds.

I think this is a VERY young Yellow Warbler.

And this Warbling Vireo may be even younger – just fledged!

Great Blue Fisher

Aug20

Judi Willis took these photos of a Great Blue Heron fishing in the Stormwater pond in Votier’s Flats, Fish Creek Park, in early August.

Angry Heron

A determined-looking heron looking for food.

Heron with Fish

Success! A good-sized meal.

Does anyone know what species the fish is? The down-turned mouth suggests a sucker or other bottom-feeder.

Bonus photo: an American White Pelican landing on the water:

Pelicn landing edited

Sunday Showcase: Fish Creek and Carburn Parks

Aug7

Some birds and Mammals photographed in Fish Creek Provincial Park and Carburn Park on the weekend of July 2, by Tony LePrieur.

Yellow Warbler (male).

Great Blue Heron.

Gray Catbird.

Franklin’s Gull.

Ruddy duck (male).

Another male Yellow Warbler.

Mule Deer fawns.

Update on Swainson’s Hawk Chicks

Jul30

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Here are some more photographs, taken by Colin Nakahara, of the Swainson’s Hawk and chicks at a nest in SE Calgary. This post from last week showed the downy young in the nest. Today’s photos, taken on July 14, 21, and 29, show the growing chicks. Unfortunately one chick didn’t make it.

All photos by Colin Nakahara.

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Adult Swainson’s Hawk (left) and young in the nest. July 14, 2016.

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July 14, 2016.

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The adult hawk, keeping an eye on Colin but appearing calm.

July 21 (23)

July 21. Another week older, and a little closer to leaving the nest.

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July 21.

July 29 (3)

July 29 – adult.

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July 29 – one of the chicks.

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This one looks just about ready to fly. July 29.

Sunday Showcase: Swainson’s Hawk Chicks

Jul24

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Swainson’s Hawks commonly nest right in the city, but since the nests are high in the treetops it is usually difficult to see the young birds before they fledge. Here are some photos taken from the rooftop of a business in the Highfield industrial area of Calgary. They were sent to me by Mark Dann, and the photographer is Colin Nakahara.

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June 28, 2016: Downy Swainson’s Hawks chicks in the nest. Photo by Colin Nakahara.

July 7 (24)

July 7, 2016: The young birds are beginning to show their colours. Photo by Colin Nakahara.

The adult bird is aware of Colin when he is on the roof and keeps an eye on him but has not been threatening or agitated. I hope to post more photos to show the growth of these beautiful birds!

Sunday Showcase: Baby Birds, Summer Adults

Jul17

Photos taken by Tony LePrieur on the weekend of June 26, 2016, at Fish Creek park and Bridlewood Wetlands in Calgary, at Frank lake, and in the Priddis area. There are lots of juvenile birds being fed out there right now!