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More Birds of the Southwest

Here is another set of photos from Southwest Alberta, courtesy of Raymond Toal.

American Kestrel.

Osprey

Osprey.

Killdeer

Killdeer.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron.

American White Pelican

American White Pelican.

Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane.

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat (male).

Swainson's Hawk

Swainson’s Hawk.

Brewer's Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle).

Priddis Valley Road Wetland

Tony LePrieur photographed these birds at the wetland just south of Priddis, on Priddis Valley Road, on May 26, 2018. The entire Priddis area is very birdy, and there are lots of wetlands to explore.

Wilson's Snipe

Wilson’s Snipe.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope.

Black Tern

Black Tern.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler, male.

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole.

See more of Tony’s photos here.

 

Cliff Swallows of the Weaselhead

Tony LePrieur recently captured some of the Cliff Swallow activity at their nests under the big green bridge in the Weaselhead. This is a great spot to watch them as there is a colony of up to 1000 birds there. They are often seen flying overhead hunting for insects, and you can sometimes see them gathering mud from the banks of the Elbow River to build or fix up their nests. The photos are from May 20, 2018.

Cliff Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Below is a bonus photo of a singing Lincoln’s Sparrow. Always lots going on in the Weaselhead!

Lincoln's Sparrow

Tony LePrieur’s photos can be seen on his Flickr page here.

Birds of Southwest Alberta

Here is a great set of photographs of birds taken in the SW corner of the province, by Raymond Toal. Raymond took all of these photos in the spring of 2018.

Ferruginous Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk.

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk.

Loggerhead Shrike

Northern Shrike.

Osprey

Osprey.

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye.

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored).

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak.

Osprey

Osprey.

Long-billed Curlew

Long-billed Curlew.

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher.

Forster’s Tern.

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler.

Gray Catbird

Gray Catbird.

Empidonax Flycatcher

Empidonax Flycatcher (possibly Willow Flycatcher).

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk.

Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll.

Golden Eagle.

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon).

Black-necked Stilt

Black-necked Stilt.

 

Evenings at Frank Lake

Tony LePrieur has spent a few evenings at Frank Lake recently and he took these wonderful photos.

White-faced Ibis

White-faced Ibis.

American Avocet

American Avocet.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalaropes.

Willet

Marbled Godwit.

Willet

Willet.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope.

Killdeer

Killdeer.

California Gull

California Gull with egg.

Black-bellied Plover

American Golden-Plover. (Originally identified as a Black-bellied Plover. Misidentifications are the fault of the poster, in this case Bob Lefebvre, not the photographer.)

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope.

Willet

Willet.

Willet

Willet.

 

Black-bellied Plover

Tony in action, with Wilson’s Phalaropes. Frank Lake, May 27, 2018.

You can see more of Tony’s photos on his Flickr page at this link.

Courting Mountain Bluebirds

Vincent Tolley photographed this Mountain Bluebird pair just after the male had brought a meal to the female.

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebirds near Madden, north of Calgary, May 25, 2018. Photo by Vincent Tolley.

You can find Mountain Bluebirds at their nestboxes along rural roads all over the Calgary region this month. The best areas are NW, West and SW of town. Many of the boxes host Tree Swallows but if you are persistent you can find bluebirds.

On Thursday June 28 you can join Nature Calgary as Don Stiles leads a trip along his Bluebird Nestbox trail. See baby Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows and learn about the nestbox program. For more information see this page.

You can see more of Vincent Tolley’s photos on his Flickr page.

Wood Ducks at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

Wood Ducks are probably our most spectacularly beautiful duck species. They are quite uncommon in southern Alberta, but the one reliable place to see them is on the lagoons at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Up to 40 birds can be seen there at times. The males are in their breeding plumage now. Judi Willis took these shots in Early may.

Wood Duck

Wood Duck (male), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, May 2018. Photo by Judi Willis.

Wood Duck

Wood Duck (male), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, May 2018. Photo by Judi Willis.

Sharp-tails at the Lek

Tony LePrieur had an opportunity to observe Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying on a lek in southern Alberta this spring. All photos by Tony LePrieur.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Male Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Another male Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Two males battling.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

A female looking for a mate.

You can see more of Tony LePrieur’s photographs here.

Spring Waterfowl at Confederation Park, Part 2

More duck species photographed at Confederation Park in NW Calgary in March and April 2018 by Ron Chiasson. See Part 1 for more photos and a map of the park.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male, with female Mallard in background.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, male.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, female.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, male.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler, male.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler, male.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male, with Mallards in background.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male (front), with male Northern Pintail (middle), and male Mallard (back).

You can see more of Ron Chiasson’s work here.