Tony LePrieur photographed these birds in Fish Creek Park on June 23, 2018.
House Wren
Yellow Warbler with food for its young.
American Goldfinch.
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Tree Swallows Leaving a Backyard Nest
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Beryl Isaacs has been watching a pair of Tree Swallows that nested in McKenzie Lake in SE Calgary. The nest hole was in an old post in her neighbour’s yard. All photos by Beryl Isaacs.
There were four baby Tree Swallows in the nest on July 4, 2018.
Baby Tree Swallows waiting to be fed.
The young Swallows are almost ready to fledge.
A House Sparrow at the nest hole.
As the swallows fledged, one begged for food from the House Sparrow.
The House Sparrow attacked the young swallow, but no damage was done.
The House Sparrow, judging by its plumage and the yellow gape at the corner of its mouth, is a recently fledged bird itself. Adult House Sparrows sometimes kill young birds of other species if they get the chance.
Beryl was lucky to see Tree Swallows successfully nest in the city. Since House Sparrows and Tree Swallows are about the same size, they use the same size of nest holes. Aggressive House Sparrows usually harass Tree Swallows that try to nest in backyard boxes or nest holes. Tree Swallows are far more successful when nesting in city parks or outside the city, away from House Sparrows, which are almost always found near human structures.
Parent Tree Swallow feeding a fledged bird.
Still feeding during the fledging process.
By the end of the day the young swallows had all fledged and were not seen again at the nest.
Have you had any birds nest in your yard this year? Share your photos here [birdscalgary(at)gmail.com].
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.
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.
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 (male), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, May 2018. Photo by Judi Willis.
Wood Duck (male), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary, May 2018. Photo by Judi Willis.
Friends of Fish Creek Birding: 68 Street Wetlands and South Glenmore Park
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
The Friends of Fish Creek birding course continues to grow in popularity, with over 300 people now going out on weekly three-hour field trips to various parks in the city. The Spring session is under way, and Max Ortiz Aguilar has contributed some photos from recent outings.
On April 22, 2018 the course went to the 68 Street SE Wetlands, east of Elliston Park. This is a fairly new area for the birding course and is excellent for spring shorebirds, gulls, and waterfowl on migration. All photos by Max Ortiz Aguilar.
American Avocet.
The wetlands (which are also called the Rotary/Mattamy Greenway wetlands since they are on that city-encircling pathway) lie just east of Elliston Lake, between 68 Street SE and Stoney Trail, just south of 17 Avenue. There is a parking lot south of 17 Avenue on the west side of 68 St.
Elliston Lake and the 68 St SE Wetlands.
Black-necked Stilt.
Two Black-necked Stilt and one American Avocet.
Black-crowned Night-Heron.
In the first week of May the course went to South Glenmore Park in search of more waterfowl and migrants. Max took the following photos on May 6, 2018.
Savannah Sparrow singing in the morning
Great Blue Heron
Group of Barrow’s Goldeneye
Male and female Common Mergansers
Winter Waxwings of Calgary – Cedar and Bohemian
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, 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, 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:
Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.
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 flock, Calgary, February 6, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwings, Confederation Park, March 1, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing portrait, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.
See more of Ron Chiasson’s photos here.
Backyard Birds: White-throated Sparrow
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
White-throated Sparrows are a common summer bird of the boreal forest, and in Calgary you can see them and hear their beautiful song in places like the Weaselhead and the west end of Fish Creek Park, where they breed. Their wintering grounds are in the eastern and southern United States and on the west coast from Washington to California, a long way from Calgary. Nevertheless, it isn’t unusual for a few to overwinter here, and if you feed birds in your yard they will come looking for seeds. I have had one coming to my yard all winter. Gus Yaki has also had one in his yard all winter, and a couple of others have been reported around the city.
White-throated Sparrow (left) and a Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco (right), Calgary, January 2018.
I first saw this bird in November 2017, feeding with a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos. I have seen it periodically up to as recently as March 2018. It is always with Dark-eyed Juncos, another native sparrow species (the two sometimes interbreed and produce infertile offspring). These native sparrows prefer to feed on a flat surface like a tray, or on the ground.
White-throated Sparrow (left) and Dark-eyed Junco (right).
The distinguishing features of the White-throated Sparrow include the white throat which has a sharply defined lower border, the yellow lores (the spot in front of the eye), and the alternating dark and light head stripes. In this individual, an adult, the stripes are black and white. First-year birds have tan and brown head stripes, and there is also another adult colour morph which has tan and brown head stripes. The two adult colour morphs occur in roughly equal numbers. Interestingly, each adult almost always mates with the opposite colour morph, so both traits persist.
White-throated Sparrow (left) and Dark-eyed Junco (right).
White-throated Sparrow (right). The other bird is a male House Sparrow.
In the above photo you can see the rufous colour in the wing of the White-throated Sparrow and the blurry streaks on the sides of the breast.
Sometimes a White-throated Sparrow will be feeding on the ground with a flock of House Sparrows. Even without binoculars you can usually pick them out by their feeding behavior. Like other native sparrows (the Dark-eyed Juncos and Lincoln’s Sparrows, for example) they tend to scratch for seeds with both feet simultaneously, jumping quickly ahead and back. House Sparrows (which are not native sparrows but an introduced European species) never do this. The White-throated Sparrow also has a longer tail than the House Sparrow.
White-throated Sparrow foraging for seeds in the snow.
Here is the song to listen for in the spring:
(Song is from the Xeno-Canto website.)
Winter Swans in Calgary
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.
Visit Tony’s Flickr page to see more wildlife photos, including photos from other parts of the world.
Birds of Carburn Park in March
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. These small falcons overwinter here in good numbers.
Merlin bathing.
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. 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. 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 (male). Like the Northern Flickers, males and females of this species are paired up and are beginning nesting behavior.
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 (female).
To see more of Tony’s photos, see his Flickr page.
Cold Weather Bird Photos
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 Eagles
Mallards
Gray Partridge
American Dipper
Downy Woodpecker
Common Goldeneyes with Canada Geese
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Northern Goshawk
House Finch
White-tailed Deer in chest-high snow.
Canada Goose
Canada Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan with Canada Geese
Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter Swan
To see more of Ron’s photos, go to his website here, or follow him on Instagram.