Rob English was fortunate enough to capture these stunning shots of a young Swainson’s hawk hunting grasshoppers. He took them in Hulls’ Wood, Fish Creek Park in early September. He says the bird hung around the area for about three days, and showed no fear. His wife named him “Mr. Personality.” Thanks so much for sharing these Rob! Click to enlarge.
We received the following email from a birder in the United Kingdom, and asked him if we could post it on our blog. He’s looking for ID help on three local bird species, so we thought we would ask our readers what they think the birds are. Two sparrow-ish birds and a shorebird should give you quite a challenge. Leave your best guesses in the comments below, and we’ll put up the correct answers eventually…
Dear Pat, Bob and Matthew,
Firstly I want to say how great your blog is – I have just gotten back to the UK after two weeks in your neck of the woods [late September] and the blog was very helpful in finding out about local spots and unfamiliar birds! I particularly enjoyed the sections on Fish Creek Park which we visited a couple of times and had great views of Bald Eagle, fishing Osprey and Lesser Yellowlegs.
I have a couple of ID questions that I hope you can help me solve! This was my first trip to Canada and most of the species are entirely unfamiliar (I have just one short non-birding trip to Texas last year as previous North American experience!).
Firstly, I attach a jpg file, ‘Sparrow sp’. I intially thought this was a pipit from stance but later revised my opionion to a sparrow, possibly Vesper due to the strong white eye ring. It was foraging for food in sparsely vegetated ground near the Elbow Valley constructed wetland. Any thoughts on ID would be greatly appreciated!
Another, ‘Bunting sp’ is also attached… This one was seen out near Forgetmenot Pond by the Elbow River. I’m thinking Lapland Longspur but wouldn’t be surprised to discover it’s something else!
Finally, a picture of a Yellowlegs from Fish Creek Park near Mallard Point. I initially thought it was a Lesser, but the bill length, amount of yellow on the bill base and the head shape have made me unsure, although it lacks the bolder streaking of Greater. Your views are appreciated.
Many thanks in advance for your time and assistance, and with great appreciation for your blog,
Steve Marshall
If you’ve ever driven south on Deerfoot Trail, you would have passed the Federal Grain Elevator in Bonnybrook, on the west side of the road.
This grain terminal was built around 1916, and over the years, has provided roosting and nesting sites for untold thousands of rock doves. When the grain trucks were delivering to the building on a daily basis, the spilled grain also attracted ducks and geese from the nearby Bow River. All that terrestrial bird activity naturally attracted the predators, and it was often a good place to spot a Northern Goshawk in the winter.
As of last Sunday, the rock doves have lost their perch. Apparently the high cost of operating the aging structure meant it was no longer financially advisable, so it was imploded at 8:00 am Sunday morning.
On a chilly pre-dawn morning, we were lined up on the hill to the west of the elevator with the media, police and a host of spectators. I was there because I was curious about the bird aspect of the whole thing.
The charges were set mid-way down the building, so when it went down, the rock doves on the roof went up. They circled the area, drifting in and out of the large dust cloud as it wafted towards the east.
The explosion also lifted a flock of geese off the river, and a small flock of ducks.
The whole thing was over in less than two minutes. As the sun rose through the dust, the rock doves gradually settled on a small, remaining tower, no doubt wondering what on earth had just happened to their world.
Posted by Pat Bumstead
Last time I posted about a sick Ring-billed Gull found in Fish Creek Park (see post). I wondered if it would have been accepted at any of the local wildlife rehabilitation centres. 
Ring-billed Gulls, which were in trouble in the early twentieth century, have been increasing in numbers and expanding their breeding range ever since they were given protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty in 1916. They lay one to four eggs (more usually two or three), and have an unusually high hatch rate of nearly 80%. It takes three years to reach breeding age, and a typical lifespan is ten to fifteen years. So even though they do have a high rate of loss of young birds, the population has grown to the point where they are now the most common gull in North America, and are considered by many to be a pest that needs management.
Adult Ring-billed Gull in Valleyview Park Pond, SE Calgary, 2007
Nevertheless, it turns out that two of the local wildlife rehabilitation centres that I contacted would accept an injured or sick Ring-billed Gull. The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), located north of the city near Madden, accepts all bird species except House Sparrows and European Starlings, non-native birds which are considered to be invasive. The Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (CWRS), located in northwest Calgary, will accept any wildlife but discourages people from bringing in Rock Pigeons and Richardson’s Ground Squirrels. The AIWC will send a volunteer to pick up wildlife, but you have to bring the animal in to the CWRS.
These organizations, and others like them across the province, take sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife and rehabilitate them, if possible, for return to the wild. They typically are volunteer-based and include veterinarians and experts in wildlife rehabilitation.
If you find a bird or other animal in distress, it is important first to be able to recognize if it is really injured or orphaned, or behaving normally, and second, to be able to handle it safely. The above organizations have excellent information about this on their websites, which is well worth reading for any birder. If you think you might want to use these services, keep their phone numbers handy and know what to do if you find an injured bird.
I asked the AIWC if there are times in the year when they are so busy that taking common birds like Ring-billed Gulls might put too much of a strain on their resources, but they assured me that although it does get very busy sometimes, they never refuse any animal and always manage to properly look after them all. If you find an injured bird, it is up to you if you want to pursue rescuing it.
All of the wildlife rehabilitation organizations rely heavily on volunteers, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved if you are interested in helping. They also have regular open houses and give presentations to inform the public about their work. AIWC recently spoke to the Bird Studies Group of Nature Calgary.
Blackjack, a Swainson’s Hawk used by AIWC in their educational presentations, at the Bird Studies Group meeting.
Here are links to the websites of some local wildlife rehabilitation organizations.
Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation
Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society
Medicine River Wildlife Centre
Alberta Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Association
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
More great juvenile bald eagle photos from Rob English, taken in Carburn Park this summer. Click to enlarge.
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, us email us at zoxox@shaw.ca 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.
This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday Oct 10 at 10:15 am.
Bird Sightings:
Oct 5:
-COMMON NIGHTHAWK flying over the yard of Matthew Sim, Willow Pk. Calgary.
Oct 8:
-CLARKE’S GREBE (1), 1200 SNOW GEESE, including 2 BLUE varients, 12 SURF SCOTERS, at Eagle Lake on a CFNS field trip, Rob Worona etc.
-800 SNOW GEESE at Third Lake, south of Hwy 552, SE of Calgary, Terry Korolyk.
-GREATER SCAUP (3) on a pond on Leighton Center Rd south of Calgary, TK.
-150-200 SNOW GEESE, RUSTY BLACK-BIRDS (3) at the Calgary Zoo Ranch, Dunbow Rd,south of Calgary, CFNS field trip, Gus Yaki etc.
-SURF SCOTER (1) on Glenmore Reservoir, Bill Wilson.
-SWAINSON’S THRUSH (4), HERMIT THRUSH, TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (13) at Inglewood B.S., BW.
WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS (2), HERMIT THRUSH, NORTHERN SHRIKE, at S Glenmore Pk, GY and FFCPP.
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS (10) on the ridge behind Spruce Meadows, TK.
-GRAY CATBIRD, PACIFIC WINTER WREN, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS (4), VARIED THRUSH, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (8), WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS (2), DARK-EYED JUNCOS, SLATE COLORED (24), DARK-EYED JUNCO, PINK- SIDED (1), LAPLAND LONGSPUR at the Mt. Lorette Raptor watch, Kannaskis, Jim Davis etc.
A record number of migrating raptors (583) and record GOLDEN EAGLES (556) were counted at Lorette.
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday Oct 13.
I’ve been getting a few American Goldfinches coming through the yard in the last few weeks, and although they will feed on niger seed in the tube feeder, they really seem to like eating sunflower seeds right off the plant. Here are a couple of pictures, plus a video that shows one ripping the outer leaves off the sunflower to better get at the seeds. They really have to work to get a meal!
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Last week I posted a picture of a bird that was sitting on a dirt path near the Bow River in Fish Creek Park (see post). The bird didn’t move even as we approached to within a few feet.
It was a juvenile Ring-billed Gull, and clearly there was something wrong with it. It was either sick or injured. Gus Yaki, who was leading the outing, picked the gull up to examine it.
The gull hardly reacted. Needless to say, you would not be able to pick up a healthy bird in this way. Gus said that there was no obvious injury, but the bird was so thin that he could feel the bones in its breast, where the large flight muscles should have been. It would not be able to fly. Clearly it was unable to feed, had been starving for quite a while, and was near death.
Gus took the opportunity to explain the cruel facts of breeding bird biology: for a typical species, only half of all eggs laid will hatch; of the nestlings that do hatch, only half survive the first month; of the remainder, only half will live to one year of age. On average, a stable population requires that a breeding pair of adults must manage to raise two offspring to breeding age over their entire lifetime, so that the offspring replace the parents. If the number surviving to breed was usually higher, the population would explode, and if lower, it would crash. This means that the majority of eggs and young birds fall victim to predators, disease, or other hazards.
Gus returned the bird to the sunny spot on the path where we found it, and we left it to its fate.
No one suggested we try to save the bird, but later I wondered if any of the local wildlife rescue organizations would have taken in a common bird like a Ring-billed Gull, especially one in such poor shape. I’ll address that in my next post.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
There is a large nighttime roost of hundreds of American Crows on Nose Hill again this year. Last week I took a short video as they were arriving at about 7:30 pm. The location is near the Brisebois Drive parking lot. Sorry for the poor quality of the video, but it gives you an idea of what it is like. If you want to see this roost yourself, go within the next two weeks before the crows head south.
For an explanation of this behavior, see the previous post, Crows by the Thousands.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Rob English spotted this family gathering south of Airdrie, early in September. Click to enlarge.
