Here is another set of photos from Southwest Alberta, courtesy of Raymond Toal.
American Kestrel.
Osprey.
Killdeer.
Great Blue Heron.
American White Pelican.
Sandhill Crane.
Common Yellowthroat (male).
Swainson’s Hawk.
Brewer’s Blackbird.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle).
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 Phalarope.
Black Tern.
Northern Shoveler, male.
Baltimore Oriole.
See more of Tony’s photos here.
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.
Below is a bonus photo of a singing Lincoln’s Sparrow. Always lots going on in the Weaselhead!
Tony LePrieur’s photos can be seen on his Flickr page here.
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.
Western Meadowlark.
Red-tailed Hawk.
Northern Shrike.
Osprey.
Common Goldeneye.
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored).
Pine Grosbeak.
Osprey.
Long-billed Curlew.
Belted Kingfisher.
Forster’s Tern.
Yellow Warbler.
Gray Catbird.
Empidonax Flycatcher (possibly Willow Flycatcher).
Red-tailed Hawk.
Common Redpoll.
Golden Eagle.
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon).
Black-necked Stilt.
Tony LePrieur has spent a few evenings at Frank Lake recently and he took these wonderful photos.
White-faced Ibis.
American Avocet.
Wilson’s Phalaropes.
Marbled Godwit.
Willet.
Wilson’s Phalarope.
Killdeer.
California Gull with egg.
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.
Willet.
Willet.
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.
Vincent Tolley photographed this Mountain Bluebird pair just after the male had brought a meal to the female.
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 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 (male), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, May 2018. Photo by Judi Willis.
Wood Duck (male), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, May 2018. Photo by Judi Willis.
Tony LePrieur had an opportunity to observe Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying on a lek in southern Alberta this spring. All photos by Tony LePrieur.
Male Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying.
Another male Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying.
Two males battling.
A female looking for a mate.
You can see more of Tony LePrieur’s photographs here.
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, male.
Northern Pintail, male, with female Mallard in background.
Northern Pintail, male.
Northern Pintail, male.
Ring-necked Duck, male.
Ring-necked Duck, female.
Ring-necked Duck, male.
Northern Shoveler, male.
Northern Shoveler, male.
American Wigeon, male.
American Wigeon, male, with Mallards in background.
American Wigeon, male.
American Wigeon, male (front), with male Northern Pintail (middle), and male Mallard (back).
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Hooded Merganser, Confederation Park, Calgary, April 14, 2018. Photo by Ron Chiasson.
As I mentioned in a previous post (Winter Birds of Confederation Park), this NW city park is under-appreciated by many local birders, who only go there for the fall warbler migration.
Confederation Park runs on both sides of 10 Street NW but the best birding is along the creek and around the pond that is in the western half, between 10 Street and 14 Street. There is a parking lot at the Rosemont Community Association, and plentiful on-street parking on Roselawn Crescent, near the pond, and on other nearby residential streets.
Confederation Park between 10 Street and 14 Street NW.
Here are some of the many waterfowl species that can be seen during the spring migration on the pond. More will follow in part 2.
All photos are by Ron Chiasson, and were taken in March and April of 2018.
Common Goldeneye, female.
Common Goldeneye, female.
Common Goldeneye, male.
Common Goldeneye pair.
Hooded Merganser, male.
Hooded Merganser, male.
Mallard dabbling.
Mallard (male) landing. Northern Pintail in background.
Mallard, female.
Mallards mating.