Ospreys and Other Returning Birds

Spring Birds of Calgary, photographed by Tony LePrieur.

Osprey

Osprey, Fish Creek Park, April 19, 2018.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron, Fish Creek Park, April 15, 2018.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron, Fish Creek Park, April 15, 2018.

American Robin (male), Fish Creek Park, April 15, 2018. There are lots of robins back now but most are still males. The females arrive a little later.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, April 15, 2018. Migrating Cedar Waxwings don’t return until late May, so this is an overwintering bird.

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser (female type), Bowmont Park, April 15, 2018.

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

Short-eared Owls in Winter

Mar28

Short-eared Owls are scarce in the Calgary area in the winter, but sometimes a few can be found hunting meadow voles around fields that have not been cultivated for a few years. Ron Chiasson photographed these owls near Calgary this winter. Short-eared Owls are a sensitive species so we won’t give the location. They have declined in the Calgary area over the decades as native prairie has disappeared, but they have an almost worldwide distribution and their conservation status is “Least Concern.”

Short-eared Owl

You can see more of Ron’s photos at Ron Chiasson Photography.

Winter Waxwings of Calgary – Cedar and Bohemian

Mar24

Posted by Bob Lefebvre. All photos by Ron Chiasson.

One of the awesome things about winter birding in Calgary in the chance to see flocks of up to 5000 Bohemian Waxwings in flight, feeding on berries and apples, or eating snow on rooftops.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.

These beautiful birds are only here in the winter, and their relatives, the Cedar Waxwings, are an uncommon summer breeder here. Although Cedar Waxwings are a late migrant, arriving in late May, and departing in October, there are usually some that attempt to overwinter here and they can sometimes be seen mixed in with the Bohemian Waxwings.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018, .

We usually find at least a couple of dozen Cedar Waxwings on the Calgary Christmas Bird Count. They seem to be concentrated in the Elbow Valley downstream from the Glenmore Dam. This year, there were quite a few in Carburn Park in the southeast, and in the north end of the city, in Confederation Park and Queen’s Park Cemetery. In February I saw a flock of 36 Cedars in a residential neighbourhood near those north-end parks.

Here are two shots of Ron’s that show the two species side-by-side:

Waxwing

Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.

Waxwing

Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.

These shots show some of the most obvious differences between the two: Bohemian Waxwings have cinnamon-red undertail coverts whereas Cedars have white; Bohemians are larger and more round-bodied than the sleek Cedars; Bohemians have a gray body including the belly, whereas Cedars are more brownish and have a pale yellow belly (sometimes white, but never gray). In the following shots you will also see that Bohemians have white tips on their wings (as well as red and yellow on adult birds) while Cedars only have the red tips (the wax) on adult birds and never show white in the wing.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing flock, Calgary, February 6, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwings, Confederation Park, March 1, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing portrait, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.

See more of Ron Chiasson’s photos here.

Winter Swans in Calgary

Mar18

This winter, local birders have been treated to the sight of Trumpeter Swans overwintering on the Bow River. Low numbers of Trumpeters will occasionally spend the winter on the open water here, but not every year. (Tundra Swans overwinter here even less often.) This year there were four Trumpeters reported at Carburn Park, and another group of five at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Park. The Carburn group is now down to three birds. The somewhat brownish birds pictured here are immature.

All photos by Tony LePrieur.

Trumpeter Swan

Visit Tony’s Flickr page to see more wildlife photos, including photos from other parts of the world.

Birds of Carburn Park in March

Mar17

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Carburn Park has been a good place to bird all winter, and it is one the best places to visit in the spring as well. Tony LePrieur photographed these birds in the first half of March, as we began to transition to spring birding. All photos by Tony LePrieur.

Merlin

Merlin. These small falcons overwinter here in good numbers.

Merlin

Merlin bathing.

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl. These birds are early nesters, and are on the nest by mid-February. Disturbingly, there have not yet been any reports of nesting Great Horned Owls in the city. It appears that the local Meadow Vole population has undergone one of its periodic crashes, and the owls may not have enough food to raise a brood. If they don’t start soon there won’t be time to teach the young how to hunt before next winter, so they may forego breeding altogether this year.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing. They will soon be leaving the city for higher elevations or more northerly breeding locations. Most are gone by mid-April, with occasional sightings into the first week of May.

Northern Flicker

Northern Flicker. This male may be starting a nest cavity soon. They have been very vocally claiming their territories in the past three weeks or so (and drumming too). The red malar mark or mustache indicates a male. Females lack a mark there. This bird is an intergrade between the two subspecies, the Red-shafted which has a red malar mark and lacks a mark on the nape, and the Yellow-shafted which has a black malar mark and a red mark on the nape. The majority of flickers in the Calgary area are intergrades.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker (male). Like the Northern Flickers, males and females of this species are paired up and are beginning nesting behavior.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler (male). This bird, and the female below, was not reported this winter, so is likely an early migrant. An early Northern Pintail has also been reported on the river.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler (female).

To see more of Tony’s photos, see his Flickr page.

Cold Weather Bird Photos

Mar4

Well, it’s turning into a very long, cold, and ridiculously snowy winter here in Calgary. I’m sure the poor road and pathway conditions are keeping many local birders at home more than usual, but if you do go out, you may be treated to some spectacular winter sights, as the following pictures show. All photos were taken by Ron Chiasson in Calgary this winter, with the exception of the American Dipper photo, which was taken in Kananaskis.

Canada Goose

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles

Mallards

Gray Partridge

American Dipper

Downy Woodpecker

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneyes with Canada Geese

Common Goldeneye

Northern Goshawk

House Finch

Mule Deer

White-tailed Deer in chest-high snow.

Canada Goose

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan with Canada Geese

Trumpeter Swan

sunbeams

To see more of Ron’s photos, go to his website here, or follow him on Instagram.

Young Goshawk at Confederation Park

Feb25

An immature Northern Goshawk has been hanging around Confederation Park this winter, feeding on Mallards that frequent the open water there. Ron Chiasson has photographed this bird in action. All photos taken at Confederation Park by Ron Chiasson.

Northern Goshawk

To see more of Ron’s photos, go to his website here, or follow him on Instagram.

Winter Birds of Confederation Park

Feb25

Confederation Park in NW Calgary gets a lot of attention from birders during the fall warbler migration, but it is good birding spot year-round. You can see a variety of bird species even in winter, as these photos show.

The photographer is Ron Chiasson, who is a new contributor to the blog. You can see more of his photos at Ron Chiasson Photography, or follow him on Instagram here.

All of these photos were taken between November 2017 and February 2018 in Confederation Park.

Brown Creeper