Join the 2024 Calgary Christmas Bird Count!

Please register to take part in the field or at home

The Calgary CBC will be on Sunday December 15. We need birders to take part out in the field counting birds, as well as Feeder Watchers counting in their yards. All participants, whether new or returning birders, must register so we have up-to-date contact information, and, for Feeder Watchers, correct addresses.

Redpoll (at the time, Common Redpoll) taken by Lou Zaganelli on the 2023 Count.

Here is everything you need to know about the Christmas Bird Count, from organizer Matt Wallace:

I am inviting you to take part in the upcoming 2024 Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC) happening on December 15!

As you likely know, the CBC is the longest-running citizen science project which began in the year 1900 as a way to encourage people to appreciate birds while helping to conserve them through data collection. The Calgary event began in 1952 and is one of the largest CBC events in Western Canada with nearly 400 people participating annually.

Consider this event to be the annual census of our winter birds in Calgary! It requires lots of people and effort to conduct this event, so we are always looking for birders of all experiences and abilities to take part. We really aim to use this event as a way to build up our community of nature enthusiasts and would love for you to share the event information with your friends, family, colleagues, and community.

Skip the details below if you’re ready to sign up and hit the registration form here: https://forms.gle/cNMoCPZZ9FNNrq3Q8

There are a few ways to participate:

Field Teams:

We have 38 circle sections and assign people to survey designated sections. All birds are identified and counted, and it usually runs the entire day depending on our participant’s availability. Bird submissions are made via eBird and shared with our CBC Compiler account. We also accept field templates from people who prefer to use them.We have section leaders who work with their groups to determine meeting locations, targeted areas, summarize effort data, and submit it back to our compilation team. We are looking for both field participants and field leaders (both returning and new).

Feeder Watchers (FWs):

People (individuals and families) observe birds visiting their yards and feeders for a minimum of 30 minutes on count day. FWs submit their data using a pre-formatted template which we provide. FWs are very important for our count as they help to fill in the data gaps where our field teams can’t access due to time or privacy. FWs must reside within the count circle, but we will confirm your address to ensure you are eligible to participate.

Data Entry/ Analysis:

Anyone interested in helping us to compile data is welcome! I often receive hundreds of emails with data templates, photos, and stories of the CBC. I manage but would love to have an assistant to help with this!
We continue to expand on our ways of showcasing the hard work of our volunteers. We have approximately 20 years of data (30 binders or so) which includes the detailed “section data” for the Calgary count. Yes, we submit all of the cumulative count “Circle” data to Audubon each year, but the section data is of interest to us on a local scale for showing how changes in our landscape and may influence bird populations.We would like to get all of this data entered prior to the 2024 count so that we can provide some additional infographics and analysis at the results presentation in January 2025.
In addition to the data entry, we would love anyone with skills in GIS and data visualization to join our compilation team in producing the final report (for media and the community).

So, all that’s left to do is register so I have your contact information, and we will be in touch soon! We look forward to you joining our CBC and thank you! Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions citynatureyyc@gmail.com.

Naturally, Matt

Moulting Is Not Revolting

Oct27

By Cathy Warwick

No! Of course moulting is not revolting, it is a natural part in the seasonal cycle of being a duck. No need to be embarrassed and hide away. Wait a second, maybe there is a need, since they can’t fly anymore to get away from predators!

Did you know many ducks moult once a year, in late summer or early fall? This means they shed most of their primary feathers all at once to grow new ones. The process can take about 20-30 days and during that period they lay low since they become flightless. If you have ever seen a pile of feathers and thought a coyote had lunch, it may not be so. The duck feathers can come off quickly and dramatically.

Not only do they become flightless, they become difficult to identify. Their beautiful and colourful plumage becomes a beige-gray bore before moulting begins. Typically this is in the summer months. This outfit is called their ‘eclipse plumage’ and it isn’t a favourite of birders. The term eclipse refers to the boring plumage darkening their usual colours. If you do an internet search for any type of waterfowl the pictures will show them in their breeding plumage, striking and unmistakable. Meanwhile you are peering through the binoculars at a beige lump wondering why birding is so difficult. We’ve all been there. At that point you can start looking for eye rings and tail shapes, which gets challenging. Or you also have the option of saying ‘oh a duck’ and watching them paddle around a bit.

Mallard
Moulting — A photo by Diane Stinson showing a Mallard that is moulting. Mallards are easy to identify at this stage of moulting.

I was surprised to learn that the Blue Jay moults all its head feathers at once. I have never seen that out in the wild and I suspect it’s because they hide away during this phase. It is such a radical difference from their usual spiky crown, They look like a tiny vulture with bugged out eyes. It only lasts for a week but you get the feeling if any bird were vain, it would be the Blue Jay. It’s amazing how much shape and bulk the feathers give birds, look at the difference between the two pictures of the Blue Jay, it’s hard to believe it’s even the same bird.

Blue Jay
Moulting — Blue Jay: Before on left (moulting) and After (beautiful crown feathers are grown in) Photos: Diane Stinson.

The larger birds and waterfowl are more inconvenienced by their moult season than smaller birds. Their feathers take longer to grow in. They often moult right before migration to have a nice strong set of new feathers to take them south. I imagine they are in the air now with their new outfits, ready to party in Mexico.

A Fiesty Hummingbird

Sep22

By Cathy Warwick

The Rufous Hummingbird is one of several hummingbirds that visit Calgary, and certainly the most feisty. They are very territorial and are known to chase away other hummingbirds from feeders, and have also been seen chasing squirrels and chipmunks. Although the idea that such a cute, eight centimeter bird can be frightening is comical, their shocking speed and poky looking beak would have me running for cover!

This summer I had the good luck to watch a Rufous Hummingbird for a solid ten minutes. I watched it stretch its tail feathers and stick its tongue out while it was perched on a branch. Prior to that I had been chasing after it as it flitted around, finally I just decided to sit down and see if it would show itself, a wise decision as they can go about 45 km/hr. I managed to look at it while it took a break from its endless battle with another Rufous Hummingbird. I saw that it had some green on it, as well as the rufous red, it was a female or immature male. The fully grown male is a nice coppery colour all over with a shimmery chin. Hummingbirds are hard to identify, firstly they are so fast you are lucky to see any markings and secondly they often have a range of plumage that is shared with other hummers. I used the Merlin app to be sure.

These tough little birds travel up to 3000 miles during migration. All the way from Southern Mexico to Alaska, so far for a tiny bird, maybe it can just soar on the winds. It doesn’t seem to be the type to let the wind do all the work though, the one I saw was constantly beating its wings while flying. According to All About Birds they fly up through California, then Washington and BC. After that they go east and fly down the Rockies, completing a clockwise circle. So for Calgary they will come through on their way south especially during August.

Rufous Humminbird — A female or immature male Rufous (Photo from Wikimedia Commons/Tom Koerner).

To attract a Rufous Hummingbird to your yard consider planting Honeysuckle, like my sister-in-law who saw them frequently this summer. They will take a while to find it but once they do they will come back yearly. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of British Columbia mentions that they will band Rufous and note the same bird at the same feeder on the same day, year after year! Our Honeysuckle died over the winter and we had a Hummingbird on our deck looking in the back window, as if it wanted to complain to the manager.

A Hummingbird feeder is also an option. There are a lot of resources on the internet that explain how to set one up and what to use as a solution. I’ll just mention that you need to change the solution at regular intervals to provide optimum fuel for them. A Hummingbird is a finely tuned organism whose heart beats 1,260 times per minute, vs. a human’s 80ish beats. Perhaps consider putting out multiple small feeders so the Rufous lets other hummingbirds also feed.

I hope you had a chance to see this small bird with an outsize personality this summer!

Rufous Hummingbirds can been seen on their breeding grounds in Calgary in the Weaselhead Nature Area, Griffits Wood Park, and other parts of the west end of the city. They arrive here on about May 10 and can be seen until September.

Birds & Beers, Thursday September 12, 2024

Sep5

With a presentation on Birding in Northern Tanzania and the Serengeti, by Gordon Sick.

Grey Crowned-Crane, photographed at night by Gordon Sick.

Our monthly Birds & Beers meetings resume next Thursday, September 12. All meetings take place in the big ballroom at the Horton Road Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. Everyone is welcome to attend these free meetings (we have to collect a small fee for the room, but this amounts to less than a dollar per person and it is optional to contribute). The Legion has food and drinks available for reasonable prices, so you can come early, anytime after 5 pm, if you want to eat or just to spend more time socializing. It is a completely informal social gathering for birders.

We will have a presentation at each meeting on a birding or nature topic. These begin just after 7 pm, so it is fine to arrive at 7 if you can’t make it earlier. This month, Gordon Sick will present on birding in northern Tanzania and the Serengeti.

Here is Gordon’s summary of the talk:

In February, 2024, a group of us took a 12 day Safari in Northern Tanzania. The group included two photographers, whose pictures we will present. We had two 4×4 safari vehicles, each with an African guide who was knowledgeable about birds (most African guides aren’t), and a Canadian naturalist, who was also knowledgeable about birds. We photographed 186 bird species, and 37 mammal species. People who go to this area to see the famous mammals have a lot of quiet time when they see nothing, so looking for birds makes the safari much more interesting. The trip started at the town of Arusha and proceeded to Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, and finally using the Ndutu Lodge as a base to visit Serengeti National Park.

Saddle-billed Stork (female). Photo by Gordon Sick.

Please join us for another fun and informative year of Birds & Beers!

Upcoming Meetings:

Thursday October 24: A presentation by Myrna Pearman.

Thursday November 28: John Gapp will present on Trees in Fish Creek Provincial Park.

After the December break, we resume with meetings from January through June. The dates have not yet been set.

Birds & Beers, June 13th, 2024.

Jun9

With a presentation on a trip to Belize and Guatemala, by Bob and Diane Leonhardt.

The final Birds & Beers of the 2023-2024 season is this coming Thursday, June 13th. As usual, we meet from 5 to 9 pm in the big ballroom at the Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. We will feature a presentation by Diane and Bob Leonhard about their recent trip to Central Amercia.

Here is the presentation description:

Between January 28 and February 7, 2024, we spent ten days with Eagle Eye Tours in Belize and
Tikal National Park, Guatemala. During this time we saw approximately 270 species of birds,
including 75 lifers. After starting in Belize City, our first few days were spent at The Jungle
Lodge in Tikal where we encountered some incredible birds, such as the Ocellated Turkey, Boat-
billed Herons, several wood-creepers, the rare Orange-breasted Falcon, the spectacular Agami
Heron and numerous others. We then returned to Belize, where we spent three nights at the
Jade Jungle Lodge in the hills of western Belize. Here the highlights included the fabulous food
and an incredible look at a spectacular Spectacled Owl. In the Mountain Pine Ridge area we got
a good look at the huge King Vulture and excellent views of a very co-operative Rusty Sparrow.
Our final few days were spent at Birds Eye View Lodge in the Crooked Tree area north of Belize
City. Here we got great looks at many new birds including, Yellow-lored Parrots, Yucatan Jays,
Yellow-headed Parrots, Aplomado Falcons, Black-collared Hawks, Snail Kites and many more. A
real treat was the excellent look at the scarce and secretive Yellow-breasted Crake. It was a
wonderful tour with two excellent guides and a nice group of participants.

This presentation, with many photos of the birds, will begin at about 7 pm. Come early if you want to visit or have a meal and a drink. Everyone is welcome!

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Osprey in the City

Jun1

By Cathy Warwick

Our sports fans are back in town. There is a pair of Osprey in Calgary’s southwest that have a nest overlooking an athletic centre and parking lot. The hustle and bustle of sports surrounds them and they appear to be used to it. I went and checked them out on a spring morning and watched one eat some fish while perched on top of a pole. As I watched the big bird with my binoculars surveying her territory, she was probably counting the breakfast crumbs on my sweater, her eyesight is that good.

The Osprey is also called a fish hawk because of its strict diet of fish. The pair of Osprey I visited fly over to Sandy Beach and patrol the river. For every hunting trip an Osprey makes it is estimated that they are successful 70% of the time. According to Cornell, the Osprey spends an average of only twelve minutes hunting per trip! Human anglers should take note of their tactics.

They spot a fish and then dive in with their sharp talons, which have a ‘opposable thumb’ type of claw at the back. Their talons also have scales going in a direction that snags the fish onto them. This feature, coupled with their strong grip, means they can be dragged under the water by a larger fish, if they get too greedy. They have also been known to dive under the water to get a fish, then to get out they ‘swim’ with their wings. These skills, coupled with their amazing vision, make them fishing machines. It’s enough to make the average angler throw their little pole and string in the bushes and march off in disgust.

Ospreys are often used to illustrate the effects DDT and PCBs had on our ecosystems, since they are the pinnacle of their food chain. Being at the top, they end up absorbing all the bad stuff in our waterways and DDT causes their eggs to have thin shells. This had catastrophic effects back in the 70’s – Ospreys were actually endangered in some areas. It’s heartening to see how they have rebounded and now have a status of ‘Least Concern’. Ospreys are all over the world, on every continent except Antarctica, and who would want to live there and hang out with a bunch of silly penguins.

During nest building the male Osprey usually gathers the materials and the female arranges it to make a nest. Last year the male had brought his mate a pair of black athletic shorts and they were acting more as a flag, hanging from the bottom. Perhaps from their favourite team? This year it looks like they are making use of a rope and an unidentified piece of cloth. I couldn’t really tell, with all the sticks and extras making up its nest, but it looked like there was no actual nesting platform for this pair. It brings up the question of why the Osprey don’t like the very sturdy nest platforms in Weaslehead. I have never seen an Osprey nest on those ones in all the years they have been there. Perhaps it is about the fishing opportunities down there? Maybe we need to organize some sporting events for them to watch?

Below are some photos of Osprey from another well-known nesting site in the city – the art sculpture on St. Patrick’s Island by the zoo downtown. The photos were taken by Onkar Kadim in summer 2023.

The Birds Of Alberta Podcast

May15

Chris Fisher’s new podcast is entertaining and informative.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

I listen to a lot of podcasts, and recently I stumbled upon a new one from the Alberta naturalist Chris Fisher. Chris is probably best-known as the co-author (with John Acorn) of the excellent Birds Of Alberta field guide. The new podcast, also called Birds of Alberta, began on March 28, and there have been sixteen episodes so far. Each one focuses on a single wildlife species that can be found in Alberta. This is usually a bird, but there was also a really good episode about Wood Frogs.

Each episode is fairly short, ranging from eleven minutes to twenty-two minutes. As the description above says, they are about “the special experiences that the birds have while in this province to the special experiences that Albertans have with their birds”. It is not an interview format, but just Chris sharing his wide knowledge of Alberta wildlife.

I really enjoyed all the episodes so far, and I’m looking forward to more.

Check out the Birds of Alberta podcast – it is a welcome addition to Alberta’s wildlife media.

Buy Bob a Coffee.

Great Horned Owlets

May12

Happy Mother’s Day from Birds Calgary!

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

A pair of Great Horned Owls have nested on Ramona Casault’s acreage west of Calgary for several years. Ramona calls the adults Winnie and Waldo. There are three chicks this year, the last of which hatched just last week.

According to Ramona, both parent owls have taken turns brooding the chicks, and now sometimes will both be outside the nest tree and leave the chicks for a while.

Cuteness overload! Happy Mother’s Day!

Video by Ramona Casualt.

Bob needs birdseed!

Or coffee. Thanks for your support!!

Calgary May Species Count

May4

Volunteers needed for May 25-26, 2024

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The May Species Count covers a huge area in the Calgary region. Volunteers go out to their designated routes on either the Saturday or Sunday (or both) and record all the bird species they see, and the numbers of each. There will likely be several routes available in the city and in rural areas. You should have a choice of a small or large city area, or a large rural territory or a part of one.

The birds above were seen on the 2023 May Species Count in the Longview Area, May 28, 2023. Photos by Bob Lefebvre.

Results are submitted by eBird and you are encouraged to get some photographs too. If you are inexperienced and not confident to go out on your own, you may be placed with an existing group.

The routes available will be known soon and I will post updated information. If you are not already slated to take part and are interested to join us, or for more information, email the organizer Andrew Hart at andrewhartch[at]icloud.com. Andrew is out of the country right now so if you just want more information about the count, email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com.

American Coot — Ruddy Duck “blowing bubbles”

The photos above were taken on the May Species Count in 2021 on the Bridlewood Pond in Calgary. Photos by Bob Lefebvre.

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Archives

Join the 2024 Calgary Christmas Bird Count!

Please register to take part in the field or at home

Moulting Is Not Revolting

By Cathy Warwick

A Fiesty Hummingbird

By Cathy Warwick

Osprey in the City

The Birds Of Alberta Podcast

Chris Fisher’s new podcast is entertaining and informative.

Great Horned Owlets

Happy Mother’s Day from Birds Calgary!

Calgary May Species Count

Volunteers needed for May 25-26, 2024

Please register to take part in the field or at home

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By Cathy Warwick

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With a presentation by Myrna Pearman.

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By Cathy Warwick

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With a presentation on Birding in Northern Tanzania and the Serengeti, by Gordon Sick.

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With a presentation on a trip to Belize and Guatemala, by Bob and Diane Leonhardt.

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Chris Fisher’s new podcast is entertaining and informative.

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Happy Mother’s Day from Birds Calgary!

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Volunteers needed for May 25-26, 2024

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