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Birds & Beers, Friday September 9, 2022

Sep4

The fall season of Birds & Beers begins on Friday September 9th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday September 9, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Everyone is welcome. We begin at 6 pm and the presentation will start just after 7pm. This month, Caroline Lambert will speak about the Eagle Migration Monitoring project that has been ongoing in Kananaskis for 30 years:

Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle, Coyote Valley OSP, Santa Clara County, CA. Photo by Caroline Lambert

Learn about the eagle migration count in Kananaskis! This count is celebrating its 30th year as a citizen science project contributing to the knowledge of Golden Eagle migration and population dynamics. This talk will cover the history of the count, what it’s like to be out at the count, trends determined so far, and how the count fits with other raptor counts across the continent.

Learn how you can get involved in tracking the birds at this beautiful location in Kananaskis.

Mount Lorette
Mount Lorette. Photo by Caroline Lambert.

Should the Canada Jay be Named our Country’s Official Bird?

Jun17

You can help with this effort to establish the Canada Jay as our official bird!

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

There was a lot of interest locally in the recent voting for Calgary’s Official Bird, which was won by the Black-capped Chickadee. But as of today, Canada does not have an official National Bird. There is a strong movement, spearheaded by Dr. David Bird, to name the Canada Jay as our national avain representative. Dr. Bird and his team make a strong case.

Canada Jay
Canada Jay. Formerly called the Gray Jay, and known by many as Whiskyjack.
Photo by Kent Ladell, SW Alberta.

Here is the press release that details the reasons for supporting this effort.

CANADIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS CALL ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR A NATIONAL BIRD!!

On June 9, 2022, a copy of a promotional book entitled “The Canada Jay as Canada’s National Bird?” has been given to each and every one of Canada’s 338 federal Members of Parliament, including The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, and The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada.  The prime message in the classy-looking colourful book of 80 pages is to encourage the federal government to take steps to adopt a National Bird for Canada, and hopefully to take it a step further — to make that bird the Canada Jay!
 
Why does Canada even need a National Bird, you may well ask? One in five Canadians spends an average a third of their year watching, feeding, and/or photographing birds, representing big bucks for our economy!  Birds also eat pests, pollinate our plants and crops, disperse seeds; their eggs and meat (yes, chickens are birds!) feed us and their feathers keep us warm. Birds save human lives by globally warning us of environmental health hazards such as carcinogenic pesticides and industrial by-products. As for their intrinsic value, how many great writers, artists, film makers, and even aviators and astronauts have been inspired by the beauty, the song and the flight of these amazing unique creatures?! Wikipedia’s List of National Birds indicates that 106 of the world’s 195 countries have official birds. For example, the U.S. takes a lot of national pride in their National Bird — the Bald Eagle. But Canada is not in the list — we do not have one! Yet our country does have national symbols – the beaver, the maple tree, two sports and even a national horse! But alas — no official bird.

For a National Bird for Canada, one could not find a more Canadian bird than the aptly named Canada Jay! This very smart corvid breeds in every province and territory and its range almost mirrors our country’s borders. It is extremely friendly, often landing on an outstretched palm and it is extremely hardy – often incubating eggs at -20 degrees C, resides year-round in our country, and is found in all provinces! Its French name is le mésangeai du Canada and its popular name, whiskyjack, is derived from one of the largest indigenous language groups in Canada. Canada Jays have played a prominent role in both Indigenous culture and our country’s history. Importantly, unlike the Common Loon (Ontario) and the Snowy Owl (Quebec), Canada Jays are not the bird of any province!

___________________________________________________________

The Book Canada Jay, The The National Bird of Canada? can be ordered at Amazon.ca here. It will be published on July 1 (Canada Day!) but you can pre-order it now. All profits from its sales are going to non-profit bird conservation organizations.

More information on this effort can be found on the website CanadaJay.org. There is also a petition on Change.org that you can sign here. They have already surpassed the goal of 15,000 signatures, and now are trying to reach 25,000.

Birds & Beers Delayed Until March 11

Feb2

We have had to postpone the return of Birds & Beers once again, to Friday March 11. The programme remains the same:

Covid Protocols will be in place, but anyone who has a vaccine passport is welcome. If anything changes between now and then, I will post an update.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday March 11, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

We will be meeting in the smaller back rooms since the ballroom is not available. There will ba a very small charge to attend since we now have to pay for the rooms. Food and drinks are available at a reasonable cost.

Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew. Photo by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt.

The meeting begins at 6 pm. You may come early if you want to eat before most of the people arrive. At about 7 pm, a special presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt will begin.

A Visit to Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park in South-western Saskatchewan is Canada’s only national park dedicated to the presentation and protection of the Prairie Grasslands Natural Region. It is one of North America’s best parcels of mixed grass prairie habitat. In late May of 2021 we visited the Park to explore and experience the beautiful scenery, birds and other wildlife of the region. We encountered about 100 species of birds, some of which we will show you in this presentation. Bob and Dianne Leonhardt

The Return of Birds & Beers

Jan18

Depending on how things go with Covid, we plan to finally resume the Birds & Beers social events in February! Covid Protocols will be in place, but anyone who has a vaccine passport is welcome. If anything changes between now and then, I will post an update.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday February 11, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

We will be meeting in the smaller back rooms since the ballroom is not available. There will ba a very small charge to attend since we now have to pay for the rooms. Food and drinks are available at a reasonable cost.

Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew. Photo by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt.

The meeting begins at 6 pm. You may come early if you want to eat before most of the people arrive. At about 7 pm, a special presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt will begin.

A Visit to Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park in South-western Saskatchewan is Canada’s only national park dedicated to the presentation and protection of the Prairie Grasslands Natural Region. It is one of North America’s best parcels of mixed grass prairie habitat. In late May of 2021 we visited the Park to explore and experience the beautiful scenery, birds and other wildlife of the region. We encountered about 100 species of birds, some of which we will show you in this presentation. Bob and Dianne Leonhardt

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we can meet in February!

Learn About Birds With Dr. Bird

Jun1

Six-Part Virtual Speaker Series Presented by Dr. David Bird

The Wild Bird Store is presenting a six-part weekly speaker series beginning on June 17. The six lectures will continue every Thursday evening until July 22.

Dr. David Bird poster

David Bird is a respected professor, writer, and speaker with a wealth of knowledge about the birds of Canada. For more information and to purchase tickets to all six of these online presentations, go to this Eventbrite page.

The Wild Bird Store also offers many other speaker events throughout the year. Go to their website and sign up for the newsletter to keep informed of upcoming talks and events.

Brewer’s Sparrow in Calgary

Dec8

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

On November 27th Gord Smith photographed this sparrow in his yard in NW Calgary. This is a Brewer’s Sparrow (Timberline subspecies). This is rarely reported in the city, or this late in the year anywhere in its northern range. They should all be in the SW USA or northern Mexico by now.

Brewer's Sparrow

Brewer’s Sparrow, NW Calgary, November 27, 2018. Photos by Gord Smith.

Brewer's Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

 

Brewer’s Sparrows are related to Clay-colored and Chipping Sparrows which also breed locally. The similarity to these in non-breeding plumage is apparent. Had this bird been in my yard I don’t think I would have known what it was. Gord was familiar with the species, and the ID has been confirmed by Richard Klauke.

Brewer's Sparrow

Brewer’s is the smallest North American sparrow, and in this last photo you can see just how much smaller this bird is than a House Sparrow!

Sharp-tails at the Lek

May25

Tony LePrieur had an opportunity to observe Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying on a lek in southern Alberta this spring. All photos by Tony LePrieur.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Male Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Another male Sharp-tailed Grouse displaying.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Two males battling.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

A female looking for a mate.

You can see more of Tony LePrieur’s photographs here.

Boreal Owl in the City

May9

Jim Washbrook and other residents of a Northeast Calgary neighbourhood were treated to a rare sight in late March when a Boreal Owl spent a few hours posing for photographs during daylight hours. These rarely seen little owls are nocturnal and live in the Boreal forest. Many birders have never seen or even heard one.

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl, Calgary, March 28, 2018. Photo by Jim Washbrook.

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl, Calgary, March 28, 2018. Photo by Jim Washbrook.

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl, Calgary, March 28, 2018. Photo by Jim Washbrook.

Sarah Bradley also took some photos of the owl sitting in the vines. Photos below by Sarah Bradley, Calgary, March 28, 2018.

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl

Boreal Owl

The owl apparently moved on and was not seen again after that afternoon. Nice to have one of these come to you instead of having to go look for it!

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

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

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.