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.
A determined-looking heron looking for food.
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:
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.
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.
Adult Swainson’s Hawk (left) and young in the nest. July 14, 2016.
July 14, 2016.
The adult hawk, keeping an eye on Colin but appearing calm.
July 21. Another week older, and a little closer to leaving the nest.
July 21.
July 29 – adult.
July 29 – one of the chicks.
This one looks just about ready to fly. July 29.
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.
June 28, 2016: Downy Swainson’s Hawks chicks in the nest. Photo by Colin Nakahara.
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!
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!
Male Red-winged Blackbird feeding juvenile.
American Coot babies.
Yellow-headed Blackbird feeding juvenile.
Cedar Waxwing.
Gray Catbird.
Willet in an unusual spot.
Eastern Phoebe.
Mallard with ducklings.
Hungry Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird.
Adult Black Terns.
Female Mountain Bluebird with nesting material – raising a second brood?
Male Mountain Bluebird.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Brown-headed Cowbirds are obligate nest parasites, so they do not nest or raise their own young – the female cowbird lays her eggs in a number of nests of other species. If the host birds don’t realize that they are incubating a foreign egg, they will feed the cowbird chick until it fledges and for a while afterwards, until it can forage on its own and rejoin its cowbird cousins.
Brown-headed Cowbird chick, just out of the nest and begging for food. (All photos taken by Tony LePrieur, July 1, 2016.)
Many of the songbirds that are parasitized in this way are quite a bit smaller than cowbirds, so it makes for a comical sight when the “parents” are feeding their giant “offspring”. It’s no joke for the host parents, though, as this is a great drain on their food-gathering resources, and it has a negative impact on their ability to raise their own biological young.
Tony LePrieur has recently seen a number of young cowbirds being fed by different hosts in the Calgary area. Thanks to Tony for these fantastic photos!
Song Sparrow (left) feeding a Brown-headed Cowbird chick. Sikome Lake, Fish Creek Provincial Park.
Calling for food from the host Song Sparrow.
Another cowbird being fed by a Western Wood-Pewee, not far from the Song Sparrow and chick at Sikome, Fish Creek Park. This could very well be a biological sibling of the bird being fed by the Song Sparrow.
The Western Wood-Pewee adult, probably a little worn out from trying to provide for the cowbird chick.
Two cowbirds were being fed by a pair of Savannah Sparrows at Frank Lake, also on Canada Day.
A close-up taken from the above photo.
Those of you with teen-aged boys will know how this Savannah Sparrow feels 🙁
Cowbirds also often parasitize Clay-colored Sparrows and even smaller birds like Yellow Warblers and House Wrens, so if you see any of those species carrying food, watch to see if they are feeding cowbirds.
Do you have photos of birds taken in the Calgary area? Send them to us and we may post them on the blog! birdscalgary@gmail.com
Here are some photos taken by Tony LePrieur in the Calgary region in mid-June. Many young birds have now fledged. The photos were taken in Fish Creek Park and at Frank lake.
American Avocet.
American Avocets with chick.
American Avocet.
American Avocet chick.
Great Horned Owl (juvenile).
White-faced Ibis.
Swainson’s Hawk with Meadow Vole.
Eastern Kingbird.
Western Kingbird.
Clay-colored Sparrow.
House Wren.
Least Flycatcher.
Cedar Waxwing.
Warbling Vireo.
American Coot with chick.
Do you have bird photos you’d like to share? Send them to our email address and we may post them.
Tony LePrieur got a nice variety of June birds last weekend in the Calgary area. Photos taken June 4-5, 2016 in Bridlewood, the Weaselhead, and at Frank Lake.
Wilson’s Phalaropes (foreground-female; background-male).
Pied-billed Grebe.
Yellow-headed Blackbird (male).
Cliff Swallows, collecting mud to build their nests.
American Robin (bebee).
Black-necked Stilts.
Yellow Warbler (male).
Swainson’s Hawk.
Wilson’s Snipe.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (female).
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Most birders know that Baltimore Orioles will feed on oranges, but have you ever tried this in your yard? Even if you aren’t near their nesting habitat, you may get one on migration, as I did five years ago.
Below is a re-post of something I posted originally on June 1, 2011. Since then, I haven’t had any more Orioles (and still no Catbirds) in my yard – but I’m still trying!
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Oranges for Orioles – originally posted June 1, 2011, by Bob Lefebvre.
For the last couple of years I have been putting out slices of oranges in my yard in the hopes of attracting Baltimore Orioles or Gray Catbirds. I place the oranges on my tray feeder and in suet cages. So far this has attracted only ants. Last Friday morning, I thought that perhaps the heavy rain might force some migrants down, so I put out two fresh orange halves on a flower planter. Within a half hour of arriving home in the afternoon, I looked out to see this bird feeding on the orange.
This first-year Baltimore Oriole stayed around the yard for two days, feeding on all the oranges, including the ones in the suet cage that I had placed there about two weeks before.
So if you want to see a Baltimore Oriole in your yard, putting out oranges really does work. Now I’m just waiting for that Catbird.
Posted By Bob Lefebvre
On May 15, 2016, Linda Vick photographed this bird in her yard in Cochrane. It is a Lesser Goldfinch, a very rare bird for Alberta. This is only the second record ever of this species in Alberta, the first being two years ago.
Lesser Goldfinch, Cochrane, May 15, 2016. Photo by Linda Vick.
If I saw this bird in my yard and didn’t look too closely I might think it was an American Goldfinch. Lesser Goldfinches breed in the SW United States, so I’m sure many of you, like me, are unfamiliar with it. Keep an eye out!
Lesser Goldfinch males have a black cap but can be distinguished from American Goldfinches by the greenish back (sometimes black, but unlike the yellow back of an American Goldfinch), the white at the base of the primaries, and the grey rather than pinkish bill colour. The pictured bird looks like a young male, developing its black cap.
Lesser Goldfinch, Cochrane, May 15, 2016. Photo by Linda Vick.
Lesser Goldfinch, Cochrane, May 15, 2016. Photo by Linda Vick.
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Here are American Goldfinches for comparison:
American Goldfinch (breeding male). Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
American Goldfinch (female). Photo by Bob Lefebvre.