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Bird Profile: Tree Swallow

Jun16

Posted by Matthew Sim

During the summer, Calgary is home to 5 species of swallow; Barn, Cliff, Bank, Northern Rough-winged and Tree Swallows can all be reliably found in the city during the warmer months. The Tree Swallow, perhaps the most common species of swallow here is a favorite bird of mine because of their personality. They always seem to be communicating with one another and I find it humorous to sit back from time to time and watch as a pair on a branch lean back and forth, chattering away to each other.

The Tree Swallow is, of course, a member of the swallow family, (the family is known by the latin name Hirundinidae) small, slender songbirds with small bills and long, pointed wings. A swallow’s sleek form allows it to be an “adept aerialist”, as described in the National Geographic field guides, and they use this form well as they are always darting and swooping about catching flying insects.

The Tree Swallow is separated from other swallows by its blue-green feathers on its upper parts and white plumage below.

Identified by its blue-green upperparts and white underparts,  the tree swallow can be seen flying around meadows and open fields and in wooded habitat near water, such as down along the river in Fish Creek. In fact, just last week as I was exploring some trails in Fish Creek Provincial Park by the river, I came across a Tree Swallow nesting in a cavity right at eye-level in a poplar tree.

Down in that hole, just out of eyesight, is the Tree Swallow’s nest, which is an open cup of grass lined with plenty of feathers- most will likely be from waterfowl on the river. As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about these guy’s nests; “the Tree Swallow uses many feathers from other birds in its nest. The feathers help keep the nestlings warm so they can grow faster. They help keep levels of ectoparasites, like mites, low too.”

Now, perhaps, you know a little bit more about these beautiful and graceful birds. I know that I learned quite a lot as I did research for this post. And though you probably see plenty of Tree Swallows during the summer here in Calgary, next time you see one, I want you to stop and just observe it for a while; I’m sure you will see that they have lots of character!

Birds and Beers – June 28!

Jun16

After we had a wonderful turnout at our last Birds and Beers event at the Joyce on Fourth Irish Pub, a few suggestions for the next venue were put forward, and ultimately we decided on the back yard of one of our own bloggers here.

Pat’s yard list is incredibly extensive, and she’s written about it for Birding is Fun! over here. She’s also opened up her yard for us to host the next event, scheduled for June 28th. You can find the event on Facebook to RSVP, or just leave a comment here so Pat can email you the address and directions to her place!

Let’s hope the weather cooperates, and I am definitely looking forward to this being another great evening!

Q & A: Strange Bird Sounds

Jun6

 Q: Morning, I just found this blog and think it is wonderful! My family and I moved out to an acreage west of the city recently, and are wondering about one bird sound that we just can’t ID. We hear it mostly at night and very early morning. It’s an eerie call…. The best way to describe it is a high-pitched kakakaka. Almost sounds like something you’d here in a jungle? If that makes sense? If you have a moment I’d really like your thoughts on this one. Thanks.

A: One possibility is a Wilson’s Snipe, a shorebird found in wet marshy areas.  It makes a display flight, often at night, where the bird flies high in the sky and then dives down at high speed.  The air rushing past its tail feathers produces a sound often described as a fast “woowoowoowoowoo….”  Click on the video below and let me know if that’s the bird or not.

Reply: Thanks!!! That’s the one! We haven’t seen one but we can sure hear them!

Q: I live in south Calgary. At night we have been hearing an unusual call that sounds like a dove or possibly a duck. It is a whistling sound that we often hear passing overhead in the sky while we are in the hot tub.  We  have a seasonal marsh close by that is home to Mallards, Canada Geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and more species.   Do you have any idea what could be making this sound? Just wondering!

A:  It sounds to me like you have Mourning Doves. They are quite vocal, and make soft cooing sounds all day and in the evening. When they fly, their wings make a loud whistling noise. They are birds of the grasslands not the marshes, but can generally be found wherever there is food – seeds, insects, etc.

Mourning Dove.  Photo by Anne Elliott. 

Another possibility is Common Goldeneye, a species of duck whose wings make a whistling sound when they fly.

Common Goldeneye.  Photo by Dan Arndt. 

Q: Hi there, I was wondering if you could provide some information.  I awoke in the middle of the night last night and heard a bird singing on Nose Hill behind our house. This was at 2:00 am and this bird sang for over an hour. I tried to find its song on the internet and the nearest I came to it was a nightingale.  Is that even possible here? If not, what kind of bird around Calgary, sings at night? Isn’t that unusual?

Thanks for your help.

A: It’s not that unusual for birds to sing at night.  Some species do it all the time in the breeding season.  It’s difficult to say which one you have there.  There are several species of nightingale, but they are not found in North America.  I’m not too familiar with nightingale songs but a quick listen to them online, plus the location you gave, suggests that your bird might be a Gray Catbird.  They have a long, disjointed song that is a series of squeaky syllables separated by pauses.  They don’t usually repeat the same sound twice in a row, and they can include imitations of other birds, and the occasional cat-like mew.  They are also known to sing at night.  Check out this YouTube video to see what they sound like.  If that’s not the bird, let me know.

Reply: That’s definitely what I heard! Thanks!

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: June 4

Jun6

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.

Compiler: Terry Korolyk

May 30:
–BAY-BREASTED WARBLER: Seen in backyard of Joy Van Dusen in the Huntington Hills area of Calgary.

May 31:
–HARLEQUIN DUCK: Elbow Falls area SW of Calgary, by Sandra Savage
–RUDDY TURNSTONE: S. end of Weed lake, E.of Langdon, by Pat Mitchell et al.

June 2:
–SANDERLING(3), BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER(2), LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER(10), E side of Third Lake, 224Str.SE , 2km. S. of Hwy. 552,, by Terry Korolyk.
–SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER, slough along Hwy.552 and RR 255, by TK.

June 3:
–UPLAND SANDPIPER(1), SHORT-EARED OWL, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, AND WHITE-FACED IBIS, all seen by Andrew Slater on or around the south end of Eagle Lake. See Alberta Birds report for full details on locations.
–WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW: Several reports from around Calgary by several observers.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday June 7.

High River Birding Field Trips

Jun5

Every Wednesday evening for the last few weeks, birders have met and visited different locations in the High River area.  The outings are organized by local wildlife biologist and birder Greg Wagner.  As long as there is interest, the trips will continue every Wednesday evening.  I’m sure this is of interest not only to people in the immediate area, but to Calgary birders as well.

Greg has provided details of the next two outings:

Wednesday June 6, 2012 – Northwest corner of Frank Lake.  Meet in the southwest corner of George Lane Park in High River at 6 pm. There won’t be too much walking on this one. Just short walks to the blind and sewage outfall. Sabine’s Gulls have been moving through the area over the last couple of weeks and have been seen at Frank Lake on several occasions, so there is a chance we may get this bird. They are most often observed sitting on open water further out in the lake. At a distance the grey head and black neck ring aren’t that obvious, so they can easily be confused with Franklin’s. The broad M pattern on the back is distinctive in flight. The lake isn’t quite as active as a few weeks ago, but a lot of young geese, ducks and coots are beginning to emerge. I would appreciate someone keeping a list of birds and participants and I will post the information on eBird.

Sabine’s Gull.  Photo by Omar Runolsson, from Wikimedia Commons.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012 – Highwood House and Cataract Creek.  Meet in the southwest corner of George Lane Park at 6 pm.  Mark Garbutt (403 938-6266) will be leading a trip to Highwood House to watch Rufous, and, most likely, Calliope Hummingbirds at the feeders at the Highwood House service station. From there, we will be traveling to Cataract Creek to check out breeding forest birds, particularly those that inhabit the riparian willow communities west of the river (White-crowned and Lincoln’s Sparrows, Trail Flycatchers, Wilson, Yellow, and maybe MacGillvray’s Warblers). Also a possibility of Dippers and Harlequin Ducks. Please keep a list of birds and participants and I will post the results on eBird.

Calliope Hummingbird. Photo by Dan Arndt. 

May Species Count – Day 2 – Weaselhead, North Glenmore Park, and Pearce Estate Park

Jun4

Posted by Dan Arndt

I thought I was prepared for a second long day in a row of birding, but I was nowhere near as prepared as I thought. An early start at the Weaselhead at 5 AM netted us great looks at a couple of Veery, the haunting and somewhat creepy calls of a Swainson’s Thrush, and two mystery calls which completely stumped us. I just wish we’d had the foresight to record them so we could get some expert advice!

We joined up with a small group for our regular Sunday group, with some out of town, others sick, and still others not quite up for the grueling day ahead. 16 km and 6 hours later (map below), we emerged with a whole lot of really great birds, a couple of awesome sightings, and expressions of nothing less than pure joy at some folks’ first close sightings of both Calliope and Rufous Hummingbirds in the wild.

Weaselhead Natural Area

Weaselhead Natural Area

The Weaselhead Nature Area encompasses both the mudflats of the Glenmore Reservoir, the boreal forest of the central woods and meadows, the riparian environment lush with warblers, sparrows, finches and the odd duck or three and even a few large ponds stocked with waterfowl and shorebirds. It’s funny that as a native Calgarian of over 30 years, my first visit to the Weaselhead was late last fall. It’s such a beautiful, scenic, and massive natural area that rivals Fish Creek Provincial Park for diversity, and again, right in the heart of the city. Most people, myself included, have a relatively limited experience with it, as the multi-use pathway that runs down the middle of it links North Glenmore Park to South Glenmore Park, but the unpaved path network is simply massive.

Some of the best sightings in the Weaselhead included the Veery, Eastern Phoebe, Calliope Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, a very brave Yellow Warbler that nearly landed, comedy-style, on the binoculars of another birder, and a Northern Waterthrush that was heard long before it was seen.

Over on the Glenmore Reservoir we were given great directions to a resident Brown Thrasher that has been seen there for a few years now, and had great views through the scope of a Common Loon, Western and Clark’s Grebes, and a slightly lost Surf Scoter.

The day wore on, and the visit to Pearce Estate Park loomed on the horizon, but it was far less painful than it could have been. The recently rebuilt park now has a wonderful boardwalk and blinds over the ponds, which allowed us to get very close looks at the often frustratingly cautious Belted Kingfisher. We heard quite a few Warbling Vireo, and I got my first ever looks at juvenile Common Goldeneye, which are even more adorable than any gosling or Mallard chick that I’ve ever seen before.

Veery

Veery

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe

Calliope Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Northern Waterthrush

Northern Waterthrush

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher

Clark's (far left) and Western Grebes

Clark’s (far left) and Western Grebes

Warbling Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfisher

Goldeneye and chicks

Goldeneye and chicks

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: June 1

Jun2

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.

Compiler: Terry Korolyk

May 26
— AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER possible, Third Lake, Jeff Bank

May 27
— SURF SCOTER, Glenmore Reservoir, FFCPP field trip
— RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, Weaselhead area, FFCPP
— CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD, same, FFCPP
— ALDER FLYCATCHER, same, FFCPP
— WILLOW FLYCATCHER, same, FFCPP
— VEERY, same, FFCPP
— BROWN THRASHER, same, FFCPP
— SPOTTED TOWHEE, same, FFCPP

May 28
— RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, Elkwater (Cypress Hills PP), Leena Tirrul

May 29
— SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, Confluence Park, CFNS field trip
— LEWIS’S WOODPECKER, Pearce Estate Park, Derek Gastle
— RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, Black and White Trail (Medicine Hat), MacKenzie Fai

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday June 4.

May Species Count – Hull’s Wood to Lafarge Meadows – Highlights

May31

Posted by Dan Arndt

One of the birding events that I have wanted to take part in since learning of it last year was the May Species Count. This is one of the many events that contribute to real science research on behalf of Bird Studies Canada. I was a little worried when taking on an entire area of my own, since I was certain that I’d miss some calls that a more experienced birder would have picked up and identified in seconds, or that I’d misidentify warblers, sparrows, or other shorebirds. Thankfully, I didn’t hear anything that really threw me for a loop (aside from a Western Meadowlark that sounded like it was a little confused) and didn’t see anything that I couldn’t readily identify with a quick reference to my Sibley Guide or Audubon’s Field Guide to Birds app.

Starting at about 5 AM, we hiked from the parking lot at Bow Valley Ranch, meandering south to 194th Avenue, then back north to the Ranch, which I’ve mapped below.

Hull's Wood to Lafarge Meadows - May Species Count Route

Hull’s Wood to Lafarge Meadows – May Species Count Route

Paul Turbitt came along both for the photo opportunities as well as to help out with spotting birds, but I always find the viewpoint of an experienced hunter and photographer incredibly valuable in the field. That, and having someone else around to see and hear birds that you might otherwise miss is indispensible. We racked up a total of 70 species, which included 3 new year birds for me, and something like 10-12 for Paul. It’s always great to show people new birds that they’ve never seen before, but also to get better views (and photos) of birds that you’ve seen dozens or hundreds of times before. Below are a few of my favourites from Saturday’s portion of the May Species Count.

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Alder Flycatcher

Alder Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

Western Wood-Pewee

Great Horned Owls eating breakfast

Great Horned Owls eating breakfast

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

Killdeer

Killdeer

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Red-winged Blackbird and Heron

Red-winged Blackbird and Heron

Great Horned Owl Fledgeling
Great Horned Owl Fledgeling

Sunday’s photos and recount of the May Species Count from the Weaselhead, North Glenmore Park and Reservoir, and Pearce Estate Park to come soon…

May Species Count – Longview Area

May30

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

On Saturday May 26, 2012 I surveyed the Longview area for the May Species Count.  This is the fifth straight year I have done this area, and I’m getting to know it pretty well.  I counted 73 species, down two from last year.

A rocky hillside west of Longview.

These large rural count areas take a long time to cover. It is mostly driving, stopping regularly to record birds and to listen.  There are only a few short walks.  I started at 5:30 a.m. and had made a first pass through the area by about 4:30 p.m.  You have to record the numbers of each species of bird and mammal you see, being careful not to over-count, which makes for some tricky record-keeping as you go down a road for the second time.  After going quickly over my checklist, I continued until 8:15, searching for species I missed earlier, and adding to some of the numbers.  It seems there are always a few birds you just can’t find.  Once again, there were few shorebirds in this area, because there just isn’t enough good habitat for them.  But there should be Bald Eagles, and I couldn’t find one.  I was compensated with two Golden Eagles. I never had a Gray Catbird, and spent the last half hour of the day searching dense thickets for one of these birds (unsuccessfully).

Here are a few of the species I photographed.

Female Mountain Bluebird.  There were good numbers of bluebirds.

This Killdeer was doing its “broken-wing” display, and likely had made its nest right on the gravel road.

I don’t get Pied-billed Grebes here every year.  This was the only grebe I saw.

Lincoln’s Sparrows were common.

There were dozens of black birds in mixed flocks in livestock fields.  It was difficult to separate the Brewer’s Blackbirds (above) from all the Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings.

I had two male Northern Harriers, which seems to be a scarce species around Calgary this year.

Wilson’s Snipe.  More often heard than seen, but will sometimes sit on fence posts.

A mixed flock of about 60 Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches settled onto this field, and practically disappeared.  I can see four goldfinches in this photo but there were many more. 

I was quite entertained by this bird, which was trying to collect nesting material.  Unfortunately for the Oriole, the rope was too tough, and it left empty-handed.

Here are a few of the mammals I saw:

I think this is the same Red Fox I saw last year, in almost the same place. (See last year’s post.)

Most of the ground squirrels are Columbian, not Richardson’s as in Calgary.

These Elk kept a close eye on me as I explored a dirt trail where a Nashville Warbler had been heard a few days before.  I didn’t find the warbler.

Can you see the Bighorn Sheep in this photo?  Taken with a 400 mm lens.  I saw one in the same spot three years ago so I was looking for it, but nevertheless was surprised to find one there.

A cropped version of the photo above.

The May Species Count can be gruelling (I started at 5:30 again on Sunday and did another 13 hours in the city) but it is rewarding.  There are lots of interesting birds out there at this time of year.  Stay tuned for Dan’s post about our count in the Weaselhead.