The 69th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count will take place this year on Sunday December 20th. This is one of over 2,000 counts that will take place in the Western Hemisphere this year. Teams spread out within a predetermined count circle and count every bird they see or hear on count day. The information gathered by thousands of volunteers over the years has been an invaluable source of information about population trends in the bird world.
A Bald Eagle seen on the count in 2014. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
There are two ways to participate in the count: By joining a team in the field, or by watching and counting birds at the feeders in your yard. Covid restrictions will apply to the field counters.
Counting waterfowl on the river for CBC 2019. Photo by Kathleen Johnson.
The Calgary CBC was started in 1952 and the Feeder Watchers were added in 1984. The Feeder Watch is the component of the CBC that gets those involved that either don’t want to go out in the field, or are unable to. There is a wealth of bird life to be found regularly at feeders and these feeder counts are added to the counts from in the field. Birds may be counted at your residence within the count circle – a circle 24 kilometers in diameter centred on the Louise Bridge. In the 2019 CBC over 49,000 birds were counted in Calgary, of sixty-three different species. Feeder watchers recorded thirty-five species. The feeder watcher role is an important one.
We are no longer taking registrations for the 2020 count, but if you are interested in participating next year, or if you want more information, email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com. Next year’s Calgary Christmas Bird Count is on Sunday December 19, 2021.
A Varied Thrush that overwintered in my yard in 2011-12. It’s a possibility for Feeder Watchers on the Christmas Bird Count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.Mammals are counted too. A porcupine found on the 2012 count. Photo by Troy Bourque.
Free Zoom meeting this Wednesday December 9 includes a presentation about the upcoming Calgary Christmas Bird Count.
Common Redpoll, Weaselhead, January 8, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
The Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and restoring the ecosystems of the Weaselhead Nature Area and surrounding parks, as well as providing educational programs for the public. (See their webpage here).
This Wednesday, December 9, will be the Annual General Meeting of the Society, from 6:50 to 8:30 pm. Everyone, whether a member or not, is welcome to attend this online Zoom meeting. It will feature a presentation about the Christmas Bird Count program by Yousif Attia, the Bird Canada national CBC Coordinator, and Phil Cram, who coordinates the Calgary CBC. The Calgary CBC will be held on Sunday December 20 this year, so if you are interested in this annual event, sign up for this presentation.
The event is free but you do have to register so you will be sent the sign-up code for the meeting. See this page to register.
After hearing about the great work that the Society does, you may want to become a member. It is only $25 for a lifetime membership! Join here.
The Winter session of the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society (FFCPPS) Birding Course begins on January 11, 2021. They are now taking registrations for this 11-week series of once-weekly field trips to parks throughout Calgary.
Bohemian Waxwing. Photo by Dan Arndt.
This course is a great way to learn about the birds and the natural areas of Calgary. In winter, many birds are in large flocks, and are easier to find in the bare trees.
Some of the sessions are beginning to fill up but there are still many options. Here is more information from the FFCPP website:
Winter is one of the best seasons for getting outside to learn about birds and other wildlife. Brave the cooler weather and explore the world of birds in Fish Creek Provincial Park. The 11 week Winter Birding Course is perfect for anyone who wants to see and learn about birds in their natural habitat, and it provides an amazing opportunity for families to get together and experience nature here in Fish Creek.
The number of course participants will be limited and health and safety precautions will be in place. (Note: The participants are split into two or three smaller groups each day.)
Monday – Thursday course, limit of 27 participants – Please Note that the Tuesday class is now full to capacity
Saturday and Sunday mornings, limit of 25 participants
Sunday afternoon, limit of 20 participants
Each session lasts approximately 2.5 hours and participants can sign up for 1 or 2 outings per week.
Start times Monday – Thursday: 9:15 am. Saturdays: 9:00 am, Sundays: 9:00 am and 1:15 pm Fee: Once a week outing, Friends of Fish Creek Members: $60.00, Non-members: $100.00 Twice a week outings, Friends Members: $100.00, Non-members: $150.00
Back in April, Calgarians participated for the second time in the City Nature Challenge. This year, with better weather and the addition of participants in Cochrane, Airdie, Okotoks, and Chestermere, we exceeded all of the 2019 results. This was despite the inability, due to Covid-19, of having organized field trips with many observers. Participants were more or less on their own, but nevetheless 248 observers submitted 5,557 observations, from which 759 species have so far been identified.
A Downy Woodpecker I photographed on April 24, 2020 for the City Nature Challenge. Calgary, photo by Bob Lefebvre
You can view the Project Page on iNaturalist to see all the local observations. Some highlights include a bobcat with prey, a raccoon seen downtown, and a moose in Fish Creek Park. There were 110 bird species reported, including uncommon species like Steller’s Jay, Turkey Vulture, and Wild Turkey (the local celebrity Ramsay Turkey).
Calgary was one of eleven Canadian Cities that took part in the Challenge, and led them all in number of particpants, number of species reported, and number of observations made.
There were 244 cities worldwide which took part in 2020. See the Project Page on iNaturalist to view all the results. The most observations made was 34,474 in Cape Town, South Africa. San Francisco had the most people making observations with 2,678. The highest number of species reported was 2,937 in Houston-Galveston. In all, over 33,000 species were reported.
Congratulations to Matthew Wallace for his efforts in organizing and promoting the Calgary City Nature Challenge. I look forward to next year’s event!
Here are some birds seen recently by local birders in their yards. Lots of great birds can still been seen while staying at home! Some of these are migrating and won’t be seen in the summer, but others are year-round residents.
Mountain Bluebird, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.Black-capped Chickadee, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.Blue Jay, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.American Robin, Okotoks, April 2020. Photo by Lloyd Bligh.Downy Woodpecker, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.Northern Flicker, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.Red-breasted Nuthatch, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.House Finches, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.
Finally, here is a photo of a Varied Thrush that Karen Bout photographed in her yard in April. I have heard of three or four reports of Varied Thrushes passing through the city this spring, and there were at least three that overwintered here this year.
Varied Thrush, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Karen Bout.
May can be even better for migrants passing through city yards, so if you are isolating at home, keep an eye open!
I mentioned before that a smartphone is the best tool for taking photos of insects and getting close-ups of plants, but not great for birds since they are usually too far away. But many of you birders carry cameras these days, and you can submit your bird photos for the City Nature Challenge. They can easily be uploaded to the iNaturalist website on your desktop computer.
So if you are out this weekend (anytime until Monday at midnight), take lots of bird photos to upload later. You have until May 3rd to upload them, and if they are taken in the city, in Airdrie, Chestermere, or Cochrane, they will be added to the Calgary Challenge.
If you’re lucky you might find an unusual species. Last year I found a Fox Sparrow at Carburn Park.
Fox Sparrow, Carburn Park, Calgary, April 28, 2019. Photo by Bob Lefebvre
But remember, iNaturalist and the City nature Challenge is about documenting all living things, so don’t neglect common species, and get them in multiple locations too. You may also see some mammals, trees, and other things you can photograph. You can also photograph evidence of life, such as feathers, nests, spider webs, hare forms, and so on.
Check out this page to see how many species and observations have been submitted so far in Calgary. We are at over 1000 observations and 300 species reported already by 10 am Saturday morning!
The second annual Calgary City Nature Challenge will go ahead on April 24-27, 2020. Once again, Matthew Wallace is doing a great job of organizing and promoting this valuable citizen science project.
This year, an expanded Calgary metropolitan area will include Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks, and Chestermere. Calgary will be competing with over 200 other cities around the world to try to identify as many species of wildlife as possible.
Last year there were many organized group activities in the CNC, but due to Covid-19 these will not be taking place this year. However, people can easily participate by themselves by taking photos of any living thing and uploading it to the iNaturalist website or app.
Download the iNaturalist app or sign up on the webpage. Then start taking pictures of wildlife and uploading them. There is no need to wait until April 24 to get started, but please try to help out on that weekend!
With spring finally in the air and migrants starting to arrive in numbers, this is the time of year that birders anticipate the most. This year was especially exciting for Calgary birders who were involved in the 2020 Challenge, a year-long effort to see as many species as one could within the city limits.
Harlequin Ducks, seen by many birders in the city this winter. Photo by Andrew Hart.
However, the Covid-19 crisis has made it impossible to continue group outings, and we really want to encourage people to stay home as much as possible. As you may know, Nature Calgary outings and the Friends of Fish Creek birding course have also been suspended. Reluctantly, the Challenge has been suspended. We have a few ideas as to how, if, or when to resume, which I’ll address at the end.
It’s too bad, because we were lucky enough to find quite a few great birds in the city for the winter months, and several birders had recorded over 60 species already. The WhatsApp Rare bird Alert (which has been suspended) enabled participants to rapidly re-find rarities as they were reported. One example is Gyrfalcon, a very unusual bird to get in the city limits. But many participants were able to find one that was feeding on Mallards inside the city, after it was reported on the app. (There may have been as many as three Gyrfalcons in the area over the course of a week a couple of months ago.)
Gyrfalcon, near Maycroft in SW Alberta, January 30, 2020. Photo by Raymond Toal.
Here is the statementfrom Howard Hefflerabout suspending the Challenge:
The BirdYYC2020 began as idea to repeat, taking advantage of modern online tools, the big year birding competitions previously held in Calgary in 2000 and 2010. Andrew Hart, Bob Lefebvre, and – later, gratefully, joined by Gavin McKinnon – agreed we would organize and promote the event.
We hoped to create enthusiasm in the Calgary birding community to “get out there and go birding”. AND, to share your sightings with others. We also hoped to collect the data to allow comparison with what had be done 10 and 20 years previously.
Modern digital tools, eBird being the main one, but also smart phones and a variety of in-the-field tools to assist birders of all levels, have changed the landscape. What fun to compare the new with the old. The best example is Gavin setting up the WhatsApp Rare Bird alert that allows anyone to instantly receive notification of a rare bird reported by other participants.
But the fun is over. For the foreseeable future at least.
The four of us have come to the unhappy decision that what we are doing is promoting unnecessary and unwarranted social contact at a time when the entire society is relying on each other to act responsibility.
We have decided to stop supporting any BirdYYC2020 initiatives. The first step has been to shut down the WhatsApp Rare Bird Group.
I sincerely hope that the actions being taken by our federal and provincial governments will slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is a threat to our global culture and economy that we are only just beginning to understand.
The best – and honestly ONLY – defense against community spread at this time is to minimize infection by strict social distancing and, where warranted, self-isolation.
A couple of days ago I “chased” a reported sighting of a Eurasian Wigeon at Carburn Park. When I arrived, I walked briskly to the likely observation spot. I interacted with other people, some were birders, and some were not. Some I knew. And some I did not. I set up my scope. Within minutes there was a small group of interested passersby. To the best of my knowledge I am not infected. I expect everyone else in that small group also felt the same way. I, and they, would hate to think that we are contributing to the spread of the virus.
But we are. So, I for one, am going to stop. The other three (Andrew, Bob, and Gavin) feel the same.
We are not going to participate in a forum that promotes unnecessary social contact.
At this time, there is no government directive to not go outdoors for a walk etc. That may change. For me, the potential public health risk resulting from random, unnecessary excursions from your home is best described in an article by a very reputable medical reporter, Andre Picard. See: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-to-tackle-coronavirus-walk-and-act-this-way/
This is really unfortunate. The BirdYYC challenge was generating a lot of interest. There are over 60 people registered and a similar number who have established the BirdYYC2020 patch. I feel we were headed toward a truly “big year”.
What shall we do? Here is one idea. We could select a date, such as March 31st , and declare the end of this birding year. Then, next April 1st, 2021, we all start again. A bit unorthodox, I know. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
We will immediately stop promoting BirdYYC2020. We have shut down the WhatsApp group.
Stay tuned. Over the next weeks things may change.
Personally, I am still in a quandary if and how to continue birding this year. I have decided, it will not be in a group.
As Howard mentioned, eBird is of course still operational, and any Patch Lists are still valid, so you can add to your lists. I added one in my yard yesterday. Some people are still (very carefully) going out birding, although many parks are now closed.
So how do we continue the Challenge? Howard made one suggestion, and I’ll add a few. If you are a Challenge participant please email me at birdscalgary(at)gmail.com, or Howard at hheffler(at)shaw.ca.
Suspend the current Patch Lists on March 31, and resume the Challenge on April 1 of 2021. This presents some logistical difficulties, since eBird won’t be tracking the totals for a split year. It would take a little more work on the part of the organizers. I also think that birders are pretty attached to one-year lists and may not like a split year either.
When safe, resume the Challenge in 2020. For example, we could resume on July 1 and continue to December 31. This would mean that the entire spring migration would be missed (individual birders can of course still add species in the spring but there would be no group outings and much would be missed by most participants). Many species missed in the spring can be found again in the fall, but not all.
Cancel the Challenge for this year, but start over from scratch in 2021. Our experiences this year would be a sort of trial run. This would mean there is an 11-year gap between this Challenge and the 2010 one, and (presumably) a 9-year gap until the next one, instead of the intended 10 years. A minor point in my opinion.
Cancel the Challenge. The next City Challenge would be in 2030.
Of these, I favour re-starting the Challenge from scratch in 2021. If you have an opinion, or any other ideas on how to resume, please let us know.
The 2020 birding challenge is well under way! About sixty local birders have begun to build up their year lists, trying to find as many species as they can within the city limits in 2020. Here is an update on how things have gone so far.
First of all, I should mention that it is not too late to join. If you were away, if you didn’t get around to joining, or if you don’t get out much in the winter, there is no reason you can’t start now and still have a big year. Even if you miss all the winter birds you will have another crack at them in November and December.
To get started, just send your name, eBird name and email address to Howard Heffler at: hheffler[at]shaw.ca. For more information, see this post.
If you are already an eBirder it is easy to get started. Just register with Howard, then set up your city patch. If not, there is still time to begin using eBird to record your sightings and have a big year. Here are the posts that will get you started.
At the end of January the leader in the challenge had recorded 52 species inside the city limits. There were 86 species seen by all eBirders in Calgary county in January. The county is larger than the city, so Howard Heffler has attempted to determine which ones were seen in the city, and it looks like there were 73 species seen collectively. You can see the list of species on Howard Heffler’s summary on Albertabird here.
In addition to the usual winter birds, the list has quite a number of overwintering birds that most birders will be able to get in the spring, summer, or fall if they don’t see them now. These include the Trumpeter Swans at Carburn Park and the Tundra Swan at Griffith Woods Park, the Lesser Scaup, Redheads, and Ring-necked Ducks at Carburn, American Robins, American Crows, and many others.
Trumpeter Swan, an overwintering adult at Carburn Park. Photo by Andrew Hart.
There are also many of the usual winter-only species that that participants should make an effort to find in the next month or so, or else have to wait until next winter. This would include Northern Shrike, American Dipper, Townsend’s Solitaire, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, and Common Redpoll (Hoary Redpoll has not yet been reported). Redpolls are very scarce so I hope we get a bigger influx next winter.
In addition there are quite a few species that are much easier to find in the city in the winter, though they are in the Calgary region year-round. Examples are Northern Pygmy-Owl (seen lately in Shannon Terrace), American Three-toed Woodpecker and Black-backed Woodpecker (Votier’s Flats and Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Park), Barrow’s Goldeneye (lower Bow River), Northern Saw-whet Owl (various locations, and really hard to find, though they are beginning to sing now and may be heard in forested areas in the next month or two).
I would also make an effort to see Harlequin Ducks – there are a few on the Bow this winter but you never know if any will be there next winter. They have been seen most reliably at Carburn Park and Beaverdam Flats. The Greater Scaup at Carburn are worth seeing too. They can be here on migration but are not common in the city. This overwintering pair is more reliable (although I haven’t seen them in four attempts). Northern Goshawk seems to be reported more often in the winter as well. I don’t know if they are more numerous in the winter or just easier to spot with no leaves on the trees.
Harlequin Ducks. Photo by Andrew Hart.Greater Scaup. Photo by Andrew hart.
There have also been a few rare birds (for the city). A single Snowy Owl was reported on Nose Hill, and a Barred Owl in Griffith Woods Park. These were unusual one- and two-day sightings. But the Clark’s Nutcracker in Quarry Park has been there for a while, and they are almost never reported in the city. Go find it – I wouldn’t count on another being seen past the spring. Gyrfalcon has been seen in the city by many participants, and that may not happen again either.
Here are the Challenge leaders at the end of January:
BirdYYC2020 Leaders, January 31
Name
Species
1
John Thompson
52
2
Blake Weis
50
3
Tony Timmons
48
4
Dave Russum
47
5
Lorrie Anderson
46
5
Evan Walters
46
5
Christopher Law
46
8
Howard Heffler
45
9
John Anderson
44
10
Alan Knowles
43
Quite a few local birders are getting out this year!
Here is an update to the leaders as of today, February 16th:
1
Tony Timmons
59
2
John Thompson
56
3
Howard Heffler
55
4
John Anderson
54
4
Lorrie Anderson
54
6
Blake Weis
53
7
Andrew Hart
52
8
Alan Knowles
50
9
Dave Russum
49
9
Evan Walters
49
11
Jim St. Laurent
48
11
Gavin McKinnon
48
11
Christopher Law
48
14
David Mitchell
47
15
Lorna Aynbinder
45
15
Tim Bandfield
45
17
Daniel Arndt
43
17
Michelle Schreder
43
17
Kerry Korber
43
20
Keith Miles
42
Mountain Chickadee. This is a species that is often in the city in winter, but not every winter. Go find it now. Photo by Andrew Hart.
For many years Richard Klauke has maintained a list of bird species reported in Alberta during the winter birding season, December 1 to the end of February. This list shows us which species we can expect here every winter, which ones are not here every winter, and which ones are rarely seen in winter. It also allows us to monitor trends over time.
The Edmonton Nature Club has also maintained a winter list for their 80-km radius birding region for the past several years. A couple of years ago I started doing the same for our Calgary region, and Caroline Lambert has added a list for the Bow Valley birding area. Caroline has been maintaining a site where you can see all four lists, and she has been doing almost all of the updating of both the Calgary and Bow Valley lists this year.
Eared Grebe. One has been seen at Frank Lake this winter – a new bird for our Calgary winter list. Photo by Dan Arndt, Glenmore Reservoir, November 3, 2016.
The Calgary list stands at 93 species. Last year’s total at the end of February was 100, and it was 103 the year before. It might seem like we’re getting close to those numbers, but it gets pretty hard to add new species from here on. Have a look at the lists and see if you know of any missing birds that were seen in each region. You can report your sightings on eBird or on Albertabird.
The Pacific Wren that was reported in Bowness in Calgary has been removed for now, since there is no agreement on whether it is a Pacific or a Winter Wren. It was seen and photographed several times, but no definitive conclusion has been reached, as far as I know.
Some recent additions to the list are Gyrfalcon (photographed in North Calgary on December 23), American Tree Sparrow (four birds seen at a feeder NW of Calgary on December 23, and seen and photographed again today), and American Kestrel (reported in the Strathcona neighbourhood on December 28).
American Tree Sparrows, NW of Calgary, December 29, 2019. Photos by Glenn Alexon.
New species for the three years the list has been maintained are Tundra Swan, White-winged Scoter, Eared Grebe, and Boreal Owl.
Notable species which were seen in the two previous winters but not reported yet this year (and which should be around somewhere) are Wild Turkey and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. Harris’s Sparrow has also not yet been reported, and there could be one lurking somewhere in the 20,000 square kilometers of our circle.
The Bow Valley List now stands at 54 species. Last year’s total was 67. No Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches have been seen here either, and surprisingly, no Great Horned Owl. If you see these, or any other species not listed yet, report it on eBird, Albertabird or to the Bow Valley Birding Facebook Group. The Bow Valley region is not a circle, so see the Winter Bird List page linked above to read the description of the area.
The Edmonton list is at 70 species. Although they have some excellent birds this year, they had a record year last winter, with 91. You can follow the progress of the Edmonton list on the ENC Nature Talk group.
Finally, the Alberta Winter Bird List is one you can contribute to from anywhere in the province. The total right now is 126, with 6 of those not confirmed. Last year was a record total of 166. This includes some subspecies that may not have been on the list in earlier years (or were not yet recognized as subspecies). The important thing is what hasn’t yet been seen. Of the 110 “core” species (seen every winter, or are elusive winter residents) only Wood Duck, Ruddy Duck, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Mourning Dove, Long-eared Owl, and possibly Cooper’s Hawk have not yet been reported in the province.
Have fun trying to add to these lists in your region!
