Birds & Beers, March 12, 2026

Next Thursday’s meeting features the return of Jody Allair!

Calgary Birds & Beers resumes next Thursday, March 12th, at the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW. Jody Allair of Birds Canada will deliver a presentation called Inspired By Birds – An engaging look at the captivating world of birds and their uncanny potential to motivate people to make positive changes for nature.

Bald Eagle
Jody Allair — Jody Allair with a Bald Eagle. Photo courtesy of Jody Allair.

The doors to the ballroom at the Legion will be open for us at 5 pm. Come early if you wish, and dine, drink and visit. Jody’s presentation will begin at about 7 pm.

Jody Allair bio:

Jody is an avid birder and naturalist who enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the natural world. He has been birding and banding since his teens, when he began volunteering at Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) in Southern Ontario. He is now the Director of Communications at Birds Canada where he manages the organization’s public relations and media, is the co-editor of BirdWatch Canada Magazine, producer of the Warblers Podcast and a coordinator of eBird Canada.

Over the years Jody has coordinated a variety of different bird-related projects including the Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Program, the Ontario Nocturnal Owl Survey, Birds Canada’s Youth Education Program, and the Southern Ontario Forest Birds at Risk Program.

White-tailed Ptarmigan. Photo by Jody Allair.

Jody regularly speaks about birds and conservation to audiences across Canada and has written numerous articles on birds, birding and connecting with nature. He is the monthly birding columnist for CBC Radio’s Daybreak Alberta, has appeared on CBC’s Rick Mercer Report, presented at Ideacity, was a featured bird expert on Season 2 of the Love Nature Television series ‘Battle of the Alphas’ and is a regular guest, and occasional guest host, on the American Birding Association podcast.

In addition to his 20+ years at Birds Canada, he has been leading birding tours with Eagle-Eye Tours since 2008.

Jody guiding a tour in Yellowknife. Photo by Jody Allair.

Everyone is welcome to join us at Birds & Beers, including children if accompanied by an adult. There is a small fee to pay for the room, so we ask for an optional donation of $1 per person. Any extra money beyond the room cost is donated to the Legion. See you there!

Birds & Beers meetings are held monthly at the same time and location, on the second Thursday of each month, except July, August, and December.

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The Bohemian Waxwing – A Social Showstopper

Jan23

By Cathy Warwick

There is a large flock of Bohemian Waxwing flying around the North Glenmore Park, it’s great to see them back! These social birds are usually found in a tight flock that is full of non-stop trilling and fluttering. Their flocks can number in the thousands, however the one I saw looked to be about 150 birds. The best way to guarantee the number of birds is to be the only one around to count them. In this case I didn’t have much time because a car honked and they took off in a moving cloud, trilling away.

Bohemain Waxwing — Bohemian Waxwings are primarily fruit-eaters in the winter, and in Calgary they usually eat Mountain Ash berries. *Wikimedia commons, no restrictions, Lisa Hupp/USFWS*.

I have a soft spot for masked birds, so the Bohemian and Cedar Waxwings are always a welcome sight. These two birds are very similar to one another. However looking at their bar chart on eBird for Calgary it’s like they have two shifts, a Winter shift and a Summer shift. That makes it easy to guess which species you are looking at. The Bohemian Waxwing summers in the north, they must feel right at home in the cold, so they took the winter shift. You can also see from this chart that a few hardy (and perhaps not very bright) Cedar Waxwings stick it out here in Calgary over the winter.

How to tell if a stray Cedar is in a flock of Bohemians? The Bohemian Waxwing can be identified by its Cinnamon undertail and they are plumper and more jolly looking, than their sleeker cousin. Both birds have the sweet black mask and funky head plumage, as well as bright colors at the end of their wingtips and tails. This is where they get their name from, previous generations thought their wingtips looked like they had been dipped in wax. This is another example of how much day-to-day life has changed, the importance of wax has plummeted in the modern era.

The trilling sound they make is not a true song but a high-pitched sound that is nevertheless very distinct. I’m sure they are discussing something of great importance, probably where the dried berries are, which is their winter food. The abundance of Mountain Ash in Calgary would make you think they have it made here, however their populations see wild fluctuations. For example in the below chart we have the eBird total sightings for the winter months in Calgary. The numbers have dropped drastically, especially in 2025. As their name suggests they are wanderers at heart so we can only hope there is a berry laden place somewhere else in Alberta where they are all congregating.

Total birds on eBird checklists, Winter months. 5 year comparison:

Even if there is some other factor, like a Bohemian Waxwing loving birder has moved from Calgary, the numbers are telling us these birds aren’t around as much. In fact, although these birds are considered ‘common’, the “Partners in Flight” organization has identified them as a “Species in Steep Decline”. This organization is made up of a network of more than 150 partner organizations in the Western Hemisphere, concerned with landbirds specifically.

If you see the Bohemian Waxwings in North Glenmore, take a moment to admire them, I know I did until the horn honked, a clear warning in the cold winter air.

See also Winter Waxwings of Calgary – more photos by Ron Chiasson.

(email subscribers – Click on the post title to go to the blog website.)

New Field Guide to the Birds of Alberta

Dec24

Pre-order your copy of this new guide now!

David R. Scott of Lethbridge and Gavin McKinnon from Calgary have produced a beautiful new field guide to the birds of our province. This is really exciting for anyone who birds in Alberta. Bird populations and ranges are constantly changing, and our knowledge of the birds continues to increase. There have also been quite a few name changes, lumps, and splits since the last Alberta field guide was published.

The book will be published on May 12, 2026, but you can pre-order your copy now. Go to Gavin’s Meadowlark Birding Tours site here to pre-order. This will make a great gift for any birder you know!

Below is the book description:

Situated at the convergence of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and North America’s vast boreal forest, Alberta boasts a great diversity of landscapes and habitats. From turquoise glacier lakes nestled between towering peaks, to spruce- and sphagnum-dominated muskeg, to labyrinthine badland canyons, to expansive grassland dotted with sagebrush, to islands of green space amidst sprawling cities, this province has much to offer outdoor enthusiasts, including birders! More than 300 species of birds occur every year in the province, and well over 400 have been observed at least once within its borders. This guide aims to assist those who wish to find, observe, identify, and better understand the birds around us—whether it be an American Robin nesting in a city park, a White-tailed Ptarmigan foraging in the alpine tundra, or a Turkey Vulture soaring over the badland hoodoos. With clear descriptions designed to be accessible for beginner and intermediate birders, this extensive guide is also useful for experts in the field. It comprises 305 full-page species accounts for regularly occurring species and 29 abbreviated accounts for more rarely occurring birds. With so many birds to see and hear in every region of the province, A Field Guide to the Birds of Alberta is the definitive guide for locals and visitors alike.

When you pre-order you can arrange for local pickup or drop-off in Alberta and Southern Ontario. Shipping can also be arranged.

Watch for some book launch events coming in May 2026!

Winter Birds Update

Dec13

The Calgary List as of December 12, 2025

There have been some good species found in the Calgary area this year, and still many more to find. Christmas Bird Counts are taking place on December 14th in Calgary, and on several other dates until January 5 in the area. We should add some of the regulars then, and with a little luck, some more rarities.

The star of the show so far is the Northern Mockingbird in the city – only the second one since this count started in 2017. The bird is still here and being seen regulary in Rotary Park near Centre Street and Memorial Drive.

A Peregrine Falcon seen on December 3rd in Downtown Calgary was the first one we’ve had. These birds nest downtown and one is quite late in departing. I don’t know if it’s still around.

A Mourning Dove seen along the Bow River in Cranston Meadows was the 4th in 9 years.

It’s been a really good year for Short-eared Owls east of the city, and there have been a few Long-eared Owl sightings as well. Snowy Owl sightings have been concentrated NE of the city in the Irricana/Beiseker area. We added a Prairie Falcon and a Northern Harrier in that region as well.

Gyrfalcon, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Wild Turkey, and Sharp-tailed Grouse have each been reported on Facebook groups, or directly to me.

The Alberta province-wide list has some rarities in its 114 species. In addition to the Mockingbird (reported for the third time in the last ten years), there was also a recent Barn Owl in central Alberta (2nd in ten years) and a Double-crested Cormorant near Stavely, just outside of the Calgary circle (6 of the last 10 years).

On December 12th, the Calgary list was at 89 species. Our eight-year average is 113, and the high count was 120. Here are some species that are usually found that haven’t yet been reported:

Greater Scaup (seen 8/8 previous years; often seen at Carburn Park in the winter), Northern Hawk-Owl (8/8), Harris’s Sparrow (6/8), Varied Thrush (7/8), and Common Grackle (7/8). Some regulars that we don’t have yet that are usually found in the foothills west of the city are Northern Pygmy-Owl, Barred Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, and American Dipper. Dippers are usually seen in the city as well, on the Elbow River or Fish Creek.

Good luck finding these elusive winter birds! Here is a link to the lists.

2025 Calgary Christmas Bird Count

Nov3

Register now to take part on Sunday December 14th!

One of the Field Teams at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary during the 2024 CBC. Photo by Paul Dang.

The 74th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC YYC) will take place on Sunday, December 14, 2025. Here is a message from Coordinator Matt Wallace:

As you may know, Calgary hosts one of the largest CBCs in Alberta and Western Canada. In 2024, we had a total of 141 field participants and 163 feeder watchers, documenting 71 species and counting 39,446 individual birds. It’s a big job that takes an army of people to ensure its success each year. We hope you’ll join us again this season—no matter your experience or birding skills. Each one of you plays an important role, and the data we collect helps us understand long-term trends in our winter birds.

We’ve set up a Google Form that we kindly ask everyone to fill out so we have your most up-to-date information for analysis and team assignments. Please share the registration form widely with your network of neighbours, friends, family, and colleagues. Register Here. Once you submit your registration you will receive an acknowledgement email from us, followed by further instructions in mid-November.

A quick note: This year, I am seeking a “shadow” assistant (or assistants) to work with our organizing team. I plan to hand off the CBC Coordinator role to an inspired member of our community for the 2026 Calgary event, as I may be relocating in the new year. Finding a suitable successor will help ensure the continued success and legacy of this long-running event.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk from the 2024 Count. Photo by Ken Pride.

Birds Canada has also launched a pilot project encouraging CBC circles to have Community Engagement Leaders (CELs). Calgary has been ahead of the curve in this regard—this has essentially been my role in recent years, while Lara Fitzpatrick has handled much of the data analysis for our circle. Bob Lefebvre is another key member of our team, overseeing feeder watcher outreach and following up on notable or unusual bird reports.

Birds Canada: The CEL roles are defined as:

Participant recruitment and community outreach
Helping manage sector/section/zone assignments and coordination
Onboarding new participants and facilitating mentoring
Coordinating communications with participants

This pretty much sums up what we are looking for in the “Shadow Assistant” Role with this person leading the charge next year. If you’re interested in taking on the coordinator role, there’s an option on the registration form where you can indicate your interest and provide a few details. We’ll be in touch right away to include you in this year’s planning. We encourage anyone with an interest to apply!

Bald Eagle — A Bald eagle from the 2024 Count. Photo by Andrew Hart.

Please watch for more information in November, including data submission instructions and templates.

A quick reminder that our CBC is open to anyone with an interest in the outdoors including experienced birders, novices, and the public. We try to accommodate all abilities and ages to grow and support our community, so please let us know if you need any assistance or have any requests using the comment section of the form.

Gadwall, from the 2024 Count. Photo by Andrew hart.

Register for the Calgary CBC here: https://forms.gle/pcAU6tH7Vcfk63sV9

Thank you very much for your attention—we’re looking forward to connecting with you all for our big count day!

No Costume Needed: Meet the Northern Shrike, the Bird of Halloween

Oct19

By Catherine Warwick

The most “Halloween” bird around is the Northern Shrike, aka, the “butcher bird”. Although it is a Passerine, which is a perching songbird, it has rejected the usual cutesy song-bird personality and instead is a merciless hunter. Not only does it hunt other birds, but it is known to rip its kill to shreds and impale pieces of the body on barb wire fences and tree branches. I don’t think a bird can get more grisly than that, it would even make a Crow shudder. It needs no costume to strike fear in a little bird’s heart, however it does sport a small black mask and a heavy hooked beak.

The Northern Shrike will scout out a nest or mouse hole and wait to strike. If it’s after a flying bird it may force it to the ground with its feet. Then it makes the kill with its hooked beak. In its upper bill (at the front) it has a vampirish toothlike spike, called a tomial tooth, that it uses to break the necks of its prey.

The Shrike spends its summer in the far north and just comes to Calgary for the winter, that’s how tough it is. Apparently, it finds our “balmy” -20°C days pleasant.

Ron saw the pictured Northern Shrike at Carburn Park last winter. Shrikes are known to return to the same winter territory year after year, so keep an eye out; you might see this tiny terror perched high atop a tree, scanning for its next victim.

In the summer they will head back to the far north to nest. One sweet fact about this bird – their nest is a deep cup that, when the female is in it, only her tail can be seen.

This winter get your binoculars ready to see a real horror icon: the Northern Shrike.

-Cathy

Note: The Northern Shrike has a summertime lookalike, the Loggerhead Shrike. Northern Shrikes are in our area from early October to late April. Loggerheads arrive in mid-May and can sometimes be seen into September. There is the possibility of a little overlap in May and September. Loggerhead Shrikes are a little smaller than Northerns, and have a clear breast without the barring of the Northern. They have a smaller bill with a tip that is less hooked, but they share the feeding habits of the Northern Shrike. -Bob

Ghosted By A Sora

Sep8

By Catherine Warwick

One of the birds leaving Calgary this September is the Sora. Were you one of the lucky few who saw it at the North Glenmore storm pond?

A few years ago I saw one of these charismatic birds at Inglewood, I was with my sister who is not really a birder. The conversation went like this:

(a Sora just casually standing in a pond in full view)

Me: Holy Cow! A Sora! Wow I can’t believe it, look at it! Wow! We are so lucky, how rare!

Sister: That’s nice.

Me: We are so lucky! This is amazing!

Sister: Uh huh (starts walking).

And yet if she became a birder and started looking for a Sora it would probably take years to see one. I trolled that North Glenmore Storm pond so many times this summer and nothing! The Sora is one of those birds only birders know about. Even though they are common they are really good at hiding in the reeds.

The Sora is a plump little chicken-like bird that belongs to the Rail family. They frequent ponds and wetlands. The Sora has very long toes that help them walk on floating mats of vegetation. They are grey and brown with an impossibly yellow triangle beak. The first time I saw one at the storm pond I thought it was floating because it was standing in water that came up to its undercarriage. I was flipping through my Sibleys looking for a duck with a yellow triangle beak. The most obvious identifier is their call, a descending laughing sound. Although lately I feel like the Red Winged Blackbirds around the storm pond are mimicking it which has caused me a lot of disappointment. Birding – what a roller coaster!

When a Sora walks it puts its head forward with each step as it looks for aquatic plant seeds or bugs to eat. It’s been known to use its long toes to rake the vegetation. Their long legs are great for running away really quickly, often you will just get a glimpse of them. A brown blur with a yellow streak.

Now that it’s September our little storm pond Sora will be departing on a very long journey, possibly as far as South America. They fly further than any other Rail despite their circular form and long legs. Hopefully it is back next year and I can have another season of attempting to spot the beguiling Sora.

Birds & Beers, June 12th, 2025

Jun4

Next Thursday, June 12th, join us for The Big Birding Quiz of the Year!!

For the last Birds & Beers of the spring/summer season, we will be meeting as usual at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW, from 5 to 9 pm. Instead of a presentation this time, we will have a birding quiz starting at about 7 pm.

Come early if you want to eat, drink, and socialize, and then at about 7 pm Joan Walker will host a special Trivial Pursuit-style “Wing and Feather” Night. A night when we can share our knowledge of our feathered friends, and perhaps gain some new insights into their unique habits and behaviors.

This promises to be a lot of fun! Each table, whether four, five, or six people, will be a team, and the teams compete to get to a certain number of correct answers. Questions will be on any birding topic, but weighted towards local birds. Songs and calls may be involved! And there will be some surprises too!

Joan introducing last month’s talk at Birds & Beers. (This shows about half of the 96 attendees.) This time, we will stay at our tables and take part in a birding quiz.

Everyone is welcome to join us, even children if accompanied by an adult.

Birds & Beers takes a break in the summer and will resume in September. I will post the schedule and upcoming presentation topics once they are booked.

Calgary and Area May Species Count

May4

There are still some areas that need observers. Please volunteer to help count on May 24th and 25th.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

A Bobolink I photographed on the May Species Count near Longview in 2023. I was shooting through some trees, and the leaves caused an unusual bokeh. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

The last weekend in May is the annual May Species Count in the Calgary region. The count covers a huge area – a circle 80 km in radius centred in downtown Calgary. The circle is divided into about 50 territories that each need to be covered by a birder or birders.

Calgary May Species Count map — The Calgary May Species Count circle.

As of today, there are still some areas that are in need of observers. This includes some smaller areas within the city, as well as some longer walks such as the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Elliston Lake, and the 68 Street Wetlands east of Elliston. These are great territories!

All that is required is that you try to cover your area as fully as possible, and record all the birds you see on eBird.

If you are interested in helping out, please contact Andrew Hart at andrewhartch[at]gmail[dot]com or call 403.608.8918. Andrew will provide detailed but simple instructuons, and can assist you with eBird if you are new to it.

In addition to the areas that have no coverage, if you would like to join an existing group with experienced leaders to show you how the count is done, Andrew may be able to place you in one of these.

Please volunteer so that we have complete coverage of the count circle!

Oh Canada Jay!

Apr20

By Cathy Warwick.

Canada has an unofficially “official” bird and it is the Canada Jay, also known as the Gray Jay. It was chosen after an online poll by the Canadian Geographic Magazine in 2016 but our government never formally adopted it as our national bird. The Canada Jay definitely lives in Canada, if you look at the range map of this bird it looks like someone, very poorly, highlighted our country on a map. It is in every province and territory from sea to shining sea.

If you have ever been hiking in our beautiful mountains you probably have seen the Canada Jay in the forested areas. As you walk you may have noticed some swooping shapes following you in the trees. You sit down for lunch and remark on the sweet birds watching you from the trees. Look at those expressive eyes! Its head will dart around, appearing to size you up. You may have thought you were having a special nature moment. Then you may have noticed your sandwich fly off, as I have at Chester Lake, never to be seen again. Nicknames for the Canada Jay include “camp robber” and “venison-hawk”. Now when I see one on a hike I yell as if we are under attack, “Incoming!”

The latin name of this bird is “Perisoreus canadensis”, the nod to Canada was built right into the name and it was originally called a ‘Canada Jay’. However in 1957 the American Ornithological Society changed this bird’s name to the americanized “Gray Jay”. They righted this wrong in 2018, flip flopping it back to Canada Jay at the urging of Dan Strickland, famed Algonquin Park naturalist. Another name is the anglicized ‘Whiskyjack’ which comes from the names used by Indigenous Tribes. The Whiskyjack is the star of many legends and stories passed down through generations of First Nations people.

The Canada Jay is very loyal to Canada, it sticks with us all winter. Dan Strickland was instrumental in discovering one of the strategies that helps it through the cold days. It stores food in the summer months by using sticky saliva to glue it to high tree branches. This bird also has feathers all over its body, including its nostrils, and can puff them up to make a cosy full body parka. It also helps that it will eat almost anything: seeds, insects, frogs, small mammals, trail mix, sandwiches, you name it.

With their expressive black eyes and fluffy grey feathers they are ‘deceptively cute’ according to All About Birds, which really could describe Canadians also. So to the Canada Jay: “We Stand on Guard for Thee” – if we don’t stand guard you will probably steal our sandwiches.

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Archives

The Bohemian Waxwing – A Social Showstopper

New Field Guide to the Birds of Alberta

Pre-order your copy of this new guide now!

Winter Birds Update

The Calgary List as of December 12, 2025

2025 Calgary Christmas Bird Count

Register now to take part on Sunday December 14th!

No Costume Needed: Meet the Northern Shrike, the Bird of Halloween

By Catherine Warwick

Ghosted By A Sora

By Catherine Warwick

Birds & Beers, June 12th, 2025

Next Thursday, June 12th, join us for The Big Birding Quiz of the Year!!

Calgary and Area May Species Count

There are still some areas that need observers. Please volunteer to help count on May 24th and 25th.

Oh Canada Jay!

Next Thursday’s meeting features the return of Jody Allair!

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Pre-order your copy of this new guide now!

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The Calgary List as of December 12, 2025

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Register now to take part on Sunday December 14th!

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By Catherine Warwick

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By Catherine Warwick

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Next Thursday, June 12th, join us for The Big Birding Quiz of the Year!!

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There are still some areas that need observers. Please volunteer to help count on May 24th and 25th.

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