Travel Tuesday – Elk Island National Park

Posted by Dan Arndt

While this blog usually focuses on the birds in and around Calgary, many folks travel for work, for pleasure, or just to see new great birds in other areas of the province. In the last year, I’ve been up to Elk Island National Park twice, and each time has been absolutely amazing. I look forward to my next visit, and hope it’ll be sooner than next summer, but time is always fleeting and it can be hard to justify a trip without other things to do up there. Plus, with the Friends of Fish Creek Autumn Birding Course starting up in a few weeks, many of my weekends are spoken for!

The Beaver Hills region of Alberta, which includes Elk Island National Park, are a unique topographical area formed by the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last ice age. As they melted and stagnated, they formed what is known as “kame and kettle topography”. Why is this important to birds, you might ask? These kettle lakes are home to tens of thousands of gulls, shorebirds, and a water source for the surrounding boreal forest that established along the top of the “kames” which are regional topographical highs. In many cases, these are up to a hundred meters higher than the surrounding landscape, and gently sloped on either edge, forming something similar to the foothills style landscape that we’re so used to around Calgary.

Over Heritage Day long weekend, we spent three days up there relaxing by the lake, enjoying the calm, serene waters, and weathering the sometimes frighteningly extreme weather.

This storm cell over Astotin Lake was so severe that we were asked to evacuate our campsite and take shelter in our vehicle.

Thankfully, the weather lightened up over the next two days allowing for some good sightings of some beautiful and amazing birds, some of which paid us many visits at our campsite over the weekend. This juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was part of a family group that spent every day in the trees nearby.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Western Tanagers are some of the most colourful birds we get in Calgary, and it was great to find not one but two breeding groups on hiking trails in the park.

Western Tanager

The main campground is located a stone’s throw from Astotin Lake, which is home to dozens of Red-necked Grebes. Last year, there must have been nearly two-hundred just near the shoreline in late September, but this year, since it was a bit earlier, the numbers weren’t quite so high. The population was still healthy this August, as this adult shows.

A Red-necked Grebe finds his favourite fish breakfast.

Shorebirds were present in small numbers as well, though I would expect by this time, their numbers are much higher, and will continue to climb until late September as migration steps on its perpetual course. A few Semipalmated Sandpipers and Least Sandpipers seemed to be flocking with, and stalking, this Long-billed Dowitcher, who in turn followed around a Greater Yellowlegs every time it was startled and flew off in another direction.

Long-billed Dowitcher

Greater Yellowlegs

Semipalmated Sandpipers (centre, left) and Least Sandpiper (front right).

One of my favourite shorebirds was present on the shores of Astotin Lake, and seemed to be the mother (or maybe father?) of at least three juveniles that tentatively poked their heads out of the long grasses every few minutes. This Killdeer kept a wary eye on me and would fly away any time I moved toward it, or toward the young ones, so I simply sat on a picnic table and waited for him to come to me.

Killdeer

Some of the other birds present in good numbers were a couple of flocks of American White Pelicans, Song Sparrows, and even a few Eastern Phoebe made their presence known.

American White Pelican

This Eastern Phoebe looks downright evil with the flash reflection in its eye!

By far though, the flocks that outnumbered all other birds combined were the huge numbers of Barn Swallows swarming over the lakes, and the massive flocks of Franklins and Bonaparte’s gulls, both quickly losing their breeding plumage and entering their winter molts.

Mostly Bonaparte’s Gulls with a few Franklin’s Gulls thrown in just to make things interesting (and confusing!).

Good birding!

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Aug 16

Aug19

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary?

If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.

Compiled by Terry Korolyk

Aug 13:
PURPLE FINCH, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (3), ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK , HERRING GULL at Inglewood BS, Bill Wilson.
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER by bridge 5 , Marshall Springs, FCPP, Al Borgardt.

Aug 14:
WILSON’S WARBLER (8), AMERICAN REDSTART, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, SOLITARY SANDPIPER (2), Confederation Park, BW.
WESTERN SANDPIPER, slough at 304 St SE, 2km S of Hwy 552, and 19 species of SHOREBIRDS, slough at Hwy 560 W of Hwy 24, Richard Clarke.

Aug 15:
AMERICAN REDSTART (7), ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, WILSON’S WARBLER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, Willow Pk, Matthew Sim.
TENNESSEE WARBLER (6), NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH at Hull’s Wood, FCPP, MS.
CANADA WARBLER, S end IBS, Pat Mitchell.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday Aug 20.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Aug 6

Aug8

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary?

Compiled by Terry Korolyk

Aug 2:
LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE (2) SW of Linden, Twn Rd 302 on Rnge Rd 260, Corinne Griffin.

Aug 4:
RED PHALAROPE, 4 juveniles in a flock of 400-500 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, BrantHutterite Colony Slough, W of Hwy 804, Tony Timmons, Al Borgardt, Howard Heffler.
CLARKE’S GREBE, 1 at Basin 1 Frank Lake, and 1 with 2 young at Basin 2, TT, AB, HH.
PEREGRINE FALCON, Basin 2 as above.
PEREGRINE FALCON at the lookout, Brown-Lowery PP, Andrew Hart and CFNS Field Trip.

Aug 5:
RED PHALAROPE, 1 juveniles in a large mixed flock of shorebirds, in a slough on 304 St SE, 2 km S of Hwy 552, Terry Korolyk.
WESTERN SANDPIPER, juvenile, as above.
WESTERN SANDPIPER, SANDERLING, HUDSONIAN GODWIT (5) at Weed Lake, Langdon ,TK.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday Aug 9.

Travel Tuesday – The Many Faces of Frank Lake

Aug7

Posted by Dan Arndt

Frank Lake has been one of my absolute favourite standby birding areas since I started seriously committing myself to the hobby. It’s been a little over a year now, and I must have visited the lake at least twenty times or so, in all seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn, though I’ll admit, I missed out on some great birds down there last fall as I was finishing up my degree, this year will be a very different story!

While shorebirds and waterfowl are the primary draw, sparrows, wrens, falcons, hawks, and even owls are also regularly seen down there.

Frank Lake is located about an hour south of Calgary, and east of High River on Highway 23. 2012 marks the 60th year of activity at Frank Lake by Ducks Unlimited Canada, and is considered one of almost six hundred of Canada’s Important Bird Areas, and you can find a ton of useful information about Frank Lake (and other Ducks Unlimited projects in Alberta) at the Ducks Unlimited website.

The areas most visited by birders are detailed in the map below, with Basin 1 being by far the most popular location, with a blind, driving loop, and water outflow which provides open water even in the coldest winter months.

Frank Lake Map

Winter –

Horned Lark – March 2012

Northern Pintail – March 2012
In late winter/early spring, these Northern Pintail are some of the first migrants back at Frank Lake.

Spring – It’s hard to gauge when winter ends and spring begins out at Frank Lake, as it sometimes seems that the water will thaw completely overnight… but the arrival of some of these favourites is a good indication.

White-faced Ibis – May 2012
Probably my absolutely favourite bird at Frank Lake.

Eared Grebe – May 2012
These beautiful little divers can be found at Frank Lake in the hundreds in early spring.

Northern Shoveler – May 2012

Red-tailed Hawk – May 2012
A little more white in this one than usual, another of the predators that patrols the lake.

Summer –

One of the more common birds of prey at Frank Lake are the always stunning Red-tailed Hawk.

Black-crowned Night Heron – July 2012
Less commonly found at Basin 1, almost every summer trip I’ve taken to Basin 3 has turned up at least Black-crowned Night Heron.

Wilson’s Phalarope – June 2011
A regularly seen species at Frank Lake, they often nest around the shores of the southern basins.

Marsh Wren – July 2012
My lifer Marsh Wren was found near the blind at Basin 1 of Frank Lake.

Willet – July 2012
Another of the great summer resident shorebirds at the lake.

Long-billed Curlew – July 2012
By midsummer, some of the earliest southern migrants begin to make their appearance around the lake.

Autumn –

Black-bellied Plover – September 2011
One of the many southbound shorebirds that stop over at Frank Lake on their fall migration.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: July 30

Jul31

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary?

Compiled by Terry Korolyk

July 26:
–SAY’S PHOEBE, Fish Creek Prov. Prk., near bridge #9, by Matthew Simm.

July 27:
–RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD(f) and young on nest, Votier’s Flats, FCPP, by MS.

July 28 and July 29:
–WESTERN SANDPIPER(1), slough along Hwy.560, just W.of Hwy.24, by Terry Korolyk.

–SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER(1), same location as above, by TK, and two seen there on July 29 by Andrew Slater’

–BLACK-HEADED GULL, adult,seen first on July 20 at Pakowki Lake, on the causeway through the NW arm of the Lake, and then flying towards main Lake, Jukka Jantunen (photos taken). Seen there the next morning(July 21) and July 23. Likely Alberta’s first record. Last reported by Ken and Chris Havard on July 29.

–AMERICAN BITTERN, Calgary Zoo private ranch, by Dwight Knapik.

–PEREGRINE FALCON, west end Weed lake off Twp.Rd. 240, by AS.

Next report of the Rare Bird Alert Thursday Aug 2.

Calgary Birds and Beers #3 – August 28, 2012

Jul29

Posted by Dan Arndt

Once again, it’s time for our eager birders to assemble, share stories, share a few drinks, and bask in each other’s company and the glory of all our accomplishments of this all-too-short summer. Pat Bumstead has once again volunteered her yard as the venue for this upcoming Birds and Beers event, scheduled for August 28, at 6:30 PM.

If you are planning to attend and need directions or any more information, send us an email at birdscalgary@gmail.com

Hope to see many of you out there!

My personal eBird Calgary Challenge – 202 and counting!

Jul28

Posted by Dan Arndt

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I made a New Years resolution to use eBird on each and every one of my outings, in order to better track my lists, and better track the birds that I have or haven’t seen. I also challenged myself to finding 200 bird species in the Calgary “county” area on eBird.

On Sunday, July 22, I ticked my 200th species off (along with 201 and 202) in the Calgary area, and I felt quite accomplished. At that time, there had only been 247 species seen in Calgary in total, and giving me the lead spot for Calgary birders.

At this point, I’m curious as to just how high my list will get for the year, and am hoping that I end up around 250 or so, but I know that’s very likely to be wishful thinking. With fall migration beginning, we’re starting to see shorebirds in sloughs and lakes around Calgary that are on their way back south for the winter. Long and Short-billed Dowitchers, Long-billed Curlews, Greater Yellowlegs, Baird’s, Pectoral, and Stilt Sandpipers, and even a Semipalmated Plover or two have all been reported back in the area. Soon, the wood warblers will be back from their breeding grounds in the boreal forests and higher latitudes, which gives me some potential additions, such as the Black-and-White Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Ovenbird, Nashville Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, and maybe even a Canada Warbler may find their way onto my list.

This post is more about what I’ve seen and some of the highlights and amazing additions that I’ve had this year, with some arbitrary milestone birds as well.

Bird #1 – Downy Woodpecker – January 2 – Bebo Grove

Bird #25 – Bufflehead – January 14 – Hull’s Wood

Bird #50 – Belted Kingfisher – February 26 – Griffith Woods
(Photo taken in 2011 at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary)

Bird #75 – Peregrine Falcon – March 28 – University of Calgary Campus
(Photo taken in 2008 at the Calgary Zoo)

Bird #100 – Yellow-rumped Warbler – April 29 – South Glenmore Park

Bird #125 - Green-winged Teal - May 13 - Lafarge Meadows

Bird #125 – Green-winged Teal – May 13 – Pine Creek Water Treatment Plant

Bird #150 – Swainson’s Thrush – May 21 – Weaselhead Natural Area – No Photo

Bird #175 – Northern Waterthrush – May 28 – Weaselhead Natural Area

Bird #200 – Upland Sandpiper – July 22 – 320th St and 334th Avenue SE

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: July 26

Jul27

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary?

Compiled by Terry Korolyk

July 20:
BLACK-HEADED GULL, adult, at Pakowki Lake, on the causeway through the NW arm of the Lake, and then flying towards main Lake, Jukka Jantunen (photos taken).
It was seen there next morning (July 21), Mike Mulligan, and on July 23, Greg Wagner. Likely Alberta’s first record! No new reports since then.

July 22:
SAY’S PHOEBE, Fish Creek Prov. Park, near bridge 8, by Matthew Simm.

July 23:
LEAST SANDPIPER, BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS AND RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, Pakowki Lake, NW corner, by Greg Wagner.

July 24:
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER(1),STILT SANDPIPER(15),RED-NECKED PHALAROPE(80), S.end Weed Lk, E. of Langdon on Hwy.560, by Bill Wilson.
WESTERN SANDPIPER(1), a slough on Hwy.560, just W. of Hwy.24, by Bob Storms.
HERRING GULL(imm), Bow River, Bowness Park, by Janet Gill and Bernie Diebolt.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday July 30.

RBA July 23

July 19:
UPLAND SANDPIPER, Twp Rd 250 just east of Rnge Rd 282, Ron Kube.
VEERY (6), HERMIT THRUSH (2), in Glenmore/Weaselhead Pk, Bill Wilson.

July 22:
CLARKE’S or CLARKE’S/WESTERN GREBES, 1-3 with young, Basin 1, Frank Lake, Terry Korolyk.
WHITE-FACED IBIS, 110 including 90 juveniles, as above.
NELSON’S SPARROWS, SE corner of Basin 2, Frank Lake, TK.
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS (12) Rnge Rd 284, Twp 231 SE of Shepard, TK.
SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER Rbge Rd 282, north of Hwy 560, BW.
SWAMP SPARROW, Many Springs Trail, Bow Valley PP. Andrew Hart with Nature Calgary FT.
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE, (2), Calgary North Haven, Steve Kassai.

A trip to Waterton

Jul25

Posted by Matthew Sim

Recently, the Fur & Feathers 500 team ( a group of 4 birders/ naturalists from Calgary attempting to see 500 species of birds and mammals in Canada in 2012) visited Waterton Lakes N.P. in the hopes of adding several species of birds and mammals to their year totals and they kindly invited me along. We left the afternoon of Wednesday July 18th and came back the next evening after a great trip. You can see the full story on the Fur & Feathers 500 blog here.

Cameron Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park

Barn Swallow; en route at Frank Lake near High River

Travel Tuesday – Birthday Birding with Bob

Jul24

Posted by Dan Arndt

As I have done for a few years now, I decided this year that I would take a day off around my birthday and get a few new life-birds and a few other target species off my list. As the week came closer, the weather looked more and more like it simply was not going to cooperate, and when my birthday arrived, it rained straight through the day. Two days later, the clouds cleared long enough for Bob Lefebvre and I to get out and find some birds. While the wind was more active than I would have liked, the day turned out quite nicely, topping out at 27 degrees C, (or about 81F for our readers south of the border).

We planned our route a few days before to tie in with Bob’s scheduled trip on the Loon survey. We would hit the entrance to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park, then go over to Horse Creek Road, up Grand Valley Road, then down through Bragg Creek to the Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, then back up to Leisure Lake to do the loon survey. Finally, we would make a trip down to Frank Lake, to get Bob’s shorebird count up, and finally we would head home from there.

Birthday Birding Locations

With our route planned, we headed out at 5 AM, and got to our first site just as the sun was clearing the horizon.

Bob had heard of a number of Rock Wrens on territory just north of the main entrance to Big Hill Springs Provincial Park, and when we stopped the car and listened for a few moments, it was immediately apparent that they were still present. With a little help from some call playback, we were able to get some extremely good views of one of the males loudly defending his territory.

This bird is appropriately named.

Rock Wren closeup

We headed up Grand Valley Road shortly after, in search of one of the many Great Gray Owls that have been seen there many times this spring and summer, but also historically seems to be the best spot around to find them. We drove for quite some time before Bob’s eagle eyes spotted one flying behind a gravel pile, so we stopped and waited, and moments later, it flew out and onto a nearby fencepost. This reclusive individual only stayed around long enough for us to get a handful of photos, but we did manage a few that turned out.

Watching us very closely.

Great Gray Glare of Death

As we headed down to Horse Creek Road, the wind had picked up quite a bit, and when we stopped to listen for the rails distinctive clicking calls, we could barely hear anything over the wind. No rails were heard or seen on this trip, but we did get some very nice close ups of these Wilson’s Phalaropes.

Wilson’s Phalarope

After that brief stop, we headed straight down to Brown-Lowery Provincial Park, and got incredibly close views of another life-bird for me, the Cape May Warbler. It seemed that there were quite a number of them in the park, most on nests, along with Wilson’s Warblers, which never quite came out to give us decent views.

Cape May Warbler

Cape May Warbler in the dark

Bob’s annual Loon Survey up at Leisure Lake was part of our trip, and we did manage to circle the lake, find the nest and eggs, and saw both the male and female Common Loon out on the water.

Common Loon

We finished up our day out at Frank Lake, and planned to head down to Basin 2, where we saw a huge number of species, and I was able to add Northern Harrier to my year list finally as well, but as far away as it was, paired with the heat, the photos simply would not suffice. So instead, here’s a Marbled Godwit to distract you.

Marbled Godwit

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Archives

Travel Tuesday – Elk Island National Park

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Aug 16

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Aug 6

Travel Tuesday – The Many Faces of Frank Lake

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: July 30

Calgary Birds and Beers #3 – August 28, 2012

My personal eBird Calgary Challenge – 202 and counting!

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: July 26

A trip to Waterton

Travel Tuesday – Birthday Birding with Bob

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