Register here to join backyard feeder watchers, or urban walking or driving routes.
The more eyes we have looking for birds during the Calgary Christmas Bird Count on December 15th, the better picture we will have of winter bird populations in Calgary.
Cassin’s Finch, the first ever seen on the Calgry CBC, in 2023. Photo by Laura Bentley.
We could use a few more people to join existing teams who will be covering established routes driving or walking in a few parts of the city. (Refer to the section numbers on the map below.) This includes routes in the far NW (N9), Beaverdam Flats area (E1), Dover/Erin Woods/Forest Lawn/Marlborough neighbourhoods (E-5), the area south of Downtown along the Elbow River (W-3), a large section of the SW including North Glenmore Park (W-5), the large western edge of the Count Circle from Canada Olympic Park south to Griffiths Woods (W-6), and even Carburn Park (S-1) which is the section that usually finds the most species of birds. Please register if you’d like to help out in one of these areas – you can specify your preferred section number when you register.
Some sections have no one covering them at all yet. If you would like to do one of these by yourself, or lead a small team, again please register. Areas available include Bowness including Bowness Park (N1), The U of C grounds and parts of Varsity and Shouldice (N-4a), Parkdale and the rest of Shouldice (N-4b), and the Capitol Hill area (N-7 lower).
As always, in addition to the field teams, we will accept as many people as we can get counting birds at their feeders in their yards. You can watch for as little as 30 minutes on Count Day. Just select “Feeder Watcher” on the registration form under “How do you want to participate?” (Note that you must live within the Count Circle as shown on the map, in order that your Feeder Watcher results can count for the CBC.)
Once again, the count is Sunday December 15th.Register here!
Kenya Birds Presentation, Christmas Bird Count, Calendars for sale, Bird Book Exchange – Thursday November 28
Tomorrow night (Thursday the 28th) at the Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW, is our last Birds & Beers of the fall. I wrote about this before but here is an update on some of what you can expect tomorrow evening.
The main presentation, after 7 pm, will be on Birding in Kenya in the summer of 2024, presented by Gavin McKinnon. His presentation will feature many photos of Kenyan birds and mammals, plus information on future tours that he will be leading through his company Meadowlark Birding Tours.
Red Bishop. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.
Before the main presentation, Matthew Wallace will speak about the upcoming Calgary Christmas Bird Count (on Sunday December 15). Find out how you can take part in this long-running Citizen Science project! Read more about the CBC here.
Once again this year, Daniel Arndt has produced a beautiful 2025 wall calendar featuring some of his best bird photos of 2024. He will have calendars available at Birds & Beers for $20 (cash or eTransfer). For those of you who are interested in purchasing a calendar but can’t make it to Birds & Beers, they are available at the Wild Bird Store in Calgary, or you can email us here at birdscalgary@gmail.com and we will put you in touch with Dan. (There is a $5 shipping charge for mail orders.)
Finally, we have talked about having a birding book exchange at Birds & Beers, and thanks to a generous donation by a long-time Calgary birder, we will have several books available to kick it off tomorrow! Feel free to bring a few books if you’d like to exchange them. We don’t want to take any books home after, so please help yourself until they are all gone!
Just a few of the books that will be available tomorrow night..
If you haven’t been to Birds & Beers before, Thursday would be a great time to start!
Please register to take part in the field or at home
The Calgary CBC will be on Sunday December 15. We need birders to take part out in the field counting birds, as well as Feeder Watchers counting in their yards. All participants, whether new or returning birders, must register so we have up-to-date contact information, and, for Feeder Watchers, correct addresses.
Redpoll (at the time, Common Redpoll) taken by Lou Zaganelli on the 2023 Count.
Here is everything you need to know about the Christmas Bird Count, from organizer Matt Wallace:
I am inviting you to take part in the upcoming 2024 Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC) happening on December 15!
As you likely know, the CBC is the longest-running citizen science project which began in the year 1900 as a way to encourage people to appreciate birds while helping to conserve them through data collection. The Calgary event began in 1952 and is one of the largest CBC events in Western Canada with nearly 400 people participating annually.
Consider this event to be the annual census of our winter birds in Calgary! It requires lots of people and effort to conduct this event, so we are always looking for birders of all experiences and abilities to take part. We really aim to use this event as a way to build up our community of nature enthusiasts and would love for you to share the event information with your friends, family, colleagues, and community.
We have 38 circle sections and assign people to survey designated sections. All birds are identified and counted, and it usually runs the entire day depending on our participant’s availability. Bird submissions are made via eBird and shared with our CBC Compiler account. We also accept field templates from people who prefer to use them.We have section leaders who work with their groups to determine meeting locations, targeted areas, summarize effort data, and submit it back to our compilation team. We are looking for both field participants and field leaders (both returning and new).
Feeder Watchers (FWs):
People (individuals and families) observe birds visiting their yards and feeders for a minimum of 30 minutes on count day. FWs submit their data using a pre-formatted template which we provide. FWs are very important for our count as they help to fill in the data gaps where our field teams can’t access due to time or privacy. FWs must reside within the count circle, but we will confirm your address to ensure you are eligible to participate.
Data Entry/ Analysis:
Anyone interested in helping us to compile data is welcome! I often receive hundreds of emails with data templates, photos, and stories of the CBC. I manage but would love to have an assistant to help with this!
We continue to expand on our ways of showcasing the hard work of our volunteers. We have approximately 20 years of data (30 binders or so) which includes the detailed “section data” for the Calgary count. Yes, we submit all of the cumulative count “Circle” data to Audubon each year, but the section data is of interest to us on a local scale for showing how changes in our landscape and may influence bird populations.We would like to get all of this data entered prior to the 2024 count so that we can provide some additional infographics and analysis at the results presentation in January 2025.
In addition to the data entry, we would love anyone with skills in GIS and data visualization to join our compilation team in producing the final report (for media and the community).
So, all that’s left to do is register so I have your contact information, and we will be in touch soon! We look forward to you joining our CBC and thank you! Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions citynatureyyc@gmail.com.
The May Species Count covers a huge area in the Calgary region. Volunteers go out to their designated routes on either the Saturday or Sunday (or both) and record all the bird species they see, and the numbers of each. There will likely be several routes available in the city and in rural areas. You should have a choice of a small or large city area, or a large rural territory or a part of one.
The birds above were seen on the 2023 May Species Count in the Longview Area, May 28, 2023. Photos by Bob Lefebvre.
Results are submitted by eBird and you are encouraged to get some photographs too. If you are inexperienced and not confident to go out on your own, you may be placed with an existing group.
The 80-km radius Calgary Count Circle with the rural territories numbered. There are numerous different habitats represented, including prairie, parkland, urban, boreal forest, and foothills.
The routes available will be known soon and I will post updated information. If you are not already slated to take part and are interested to join us, or for more information, email the organizer Andrew Hart at andrewhartch[at]icloud.com. Andrew is out of the country right now so if you just want more information about the count, email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com.
Ruddy Duck “blowing bubbles”American CootRedheadMallard hen and chicksLesser ScaupRed-necked Grebes on nest
The photos above were taken on the May Species Count in 2021 on the Bridlewood Pond in Calgary. Photos by Bob Lefebvre.
The City Nature Challenge is unique in that anyone can participate anywhere in the area from April 26-29. But if you want to take part with an organized group there are many events being offered.
To contribute to the CNC you have to post your observations on the iNaturalist app or website. If you would like to learn how to use iNaturalist, or if you need a refresher or have any questions about the CNC, organizer Matt Wallace is offering a tutorial tonight, Tuesday April 23, at 7 pm. This will be done over Zoom. Here is the link to the meeting.
The CNC area includes Calgary, Cochrane, Airdrie, Chestermere, Okotoks, Foothills County, and Rocky View County. Any iNaturalist obserations made in this area from April 26-29 will contribute to this project.
Matt has organized a number of events throughout the weekend. These include all-day blitzes, birding walks, and more specialized events such as pond study and a pollinator walk. Click the link below to see all the events!
For Nature Calgary members, there are three events on Sunday April 28 which are not full. These include a Birding Blitz on St. Patrick Island near the Zoo, a Bryophyte Blitz in the Weaselhead, and a Plant Walk in Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. See this page to register.
More information from Matt Wallace:
April 26-29 take photos of wild plants and animals in your yards, neighborhoods, and favorite parks. Then upload your observations to the iNaturalist app or to iNaturalist.ca before Midnight May 5. This is the sixth year I have organized the Calgary CNC and it has grown immensely. There are over 700 cities involved worldwide and we are competing with them to see how many observations we can make, the number of species we can document, and the number of people we can get to participate. The two metrics I am most concerned with for our area are the number of observations and the participants.
My personal goal for CNC is that we can make a combined 10,000 observations or more during the four days. I also hope that we can make 250K observations by 2025 (We are currently at 169,000 observations just in Calgary). If each of us were to make even 10 observations over the weekend, we could make the CNC target and could be the top-performing Canadian city (49 participating Canadian cities this year).
The area which you can participate in during CNC includes: Calgary, Cochrane, Airdrie, Chestermere, Okotoks, Foothills County, and Rocky View County. Participate in groups, at events or even go exploring on your own. Heck, make a “big day” out of the four days if you’re up for the challenge. I have helped to organize around 15 events across the region all happening Friday-Monday which can all be found on the website below.
Types of subjects we love to see shared on iNaturalist include Birds, Plants, Butterflies, Insects, Fungi, Lichens, Mosses, Mammals (pretty much everything and anything but NO people or pets).
The sixth annual Calgary City Nature Challenge is coming up soon. This four-day bioblitz is an effort to try to record as much of the Calgary and area biodiversity as possible. Cities around the world will be taking part in this effort, and competing to see who makes the most observations and records the most species. As usual, Calgary will be competing to try to increase our own participation and species numbers here.
From CNC Organizer Matthew Wallace:
The sixth annual Calgary City Nature Challenge takes place April 26-29! Over 650 cities worldwide will compete and collaborate to showcase their urban biodiversity! Participate by taking photos of wild plants and animals in your yards, neighborhoods, and favorite parks over the four days. Then, upload your observations to the iNaturalist app or iNaturalist.ca!
There are several public events happening across the city which include pollinator walks, guided birding tours, and park bioblitzes. You can also just head out to explore on your own or with a group of friends.
Participate anywhere within the Calgary Metropolitan Region which includes Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, Okotoks, Rocky View County, and Foothills County.
The deadline to upload your observations to iNaturalist is midnight May 5.
Cities will compete to see which can make the most observations, document the most species, and engage the most people. Calgary aims to be the top-performing Canadian city with a goal of over 10,000 observations posted. Make as many observations as you can April 26-29 so get outside and help to put Calgary’s biodiversity on the map!
Check out all of the CNC resources on the following pages:
As birders, we can participate by taking as many photos of birds as we can over the four days. Any identifiable photo is good so don’t worry too much about the quality of your pictures. We also need to document everything, so don’t hesitate to photograph House Sparrows, Black-billed Magpies, and other common species. Then you have until midnight on May 5 to upload your photos to iNaturalist.
An adult Bald Eagle I photographed near the Inglewood Golf Course on the 2023 CNC. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.
While you’re out there, you can also get photos of non-bird biodiversity with your camera. Maybe you won’t know what species you have, but iNaturalist has an artificial intelligence that can help with the ID, and even if you have no idea, other iNaturalist users will help to identify everything.
Green-striped GrasshopperCanadian Beaver (signs of a species also count)Western Terrestial Garter SnakeHunt’s Bumble Bee and Golden Bean (two observations)CoyoteTansy
These were a few of the other species I saw on the 2023 CNC. I didn’t know some of the species identifications until I entered them into iNaturalist. (Photos by Bob Lefebvre.)
Since I have my phone with me when I’m birding, I can use it to get photos of other species which are difficult to get with a big camera (photos by Bob Lefebvre):
Elegant Sunburst LichenBrickwork WoodlouseWormwood Wallflower (not yet confirmed by the iNaturalist community)
I have found it to be a great experience to use iNaturalist to learn more about our overall biodiversity. Like most birders, I am interested in all of nature, not just birds.
Watch this short video about the 2024 Calgary City Nature Challenge:
Matthew has set a goal of having 10,000 observations made over the four days this year. In 2023 we had 9,301, so we are getting closer! We also hope to better our total of 762 species recorded last year.
So check out the project links above and plan to participate in an event, or just head out on your own!
Register now for Brooks (May 17-19) and Writing-On-Stone (May 24-26) Bird Counts 2024
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Registration is now open for these two southern Alberta counts. Calgary birders will need to arrange camping or hotel accommodations ahead of time, so register soon. Note that our local Calgary May Species Count is on the same dates as Writing-On-Stone one, but some of you may want to try helping out with that one down in the very south part of the province for a change of pace (I will have information on the Calgary count closer to that weekend).
Ferruginous Hawk, photographed in southern Alberta in 2018. Photo by Bob Lefebvre
From Debra Hornsby, who organizes the count along with Donna Wieckowski:
2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the Brooks count –- come celebrate this milestone with us! To register, click here: Brooks and Writing-on-Stone 2024 registration form. Registration will close on April 30, 2024.
We will hold pre-count meetings on the Fridays before each weekend. At these meetings we will assign count areas, distribute maps and checklists, go over count protocols, introduce your fellow birders, and answer questions. Please plan to be there. We will also host informal gatherings on the Saturday evenings – a great opportunity to get together to swap birding stories and win some fun prizes! A full schedule for both weekends can be found in the brochure below.
Because weather is sometimes inclement on the Brooks weekend, we have reserved a meeting space at the Heritage inn (note new location). We are asking each participant in the Brooks count to contribute $12.00 to cover meeting room costs. If you plan to join the Brooks count, please e-transfer $12.00 per person to Donna Wieckowski astolat@shaw.ca no later than May 15. Cheques and cash also accepted. Thanks!
If you have any registration questions, or if you have trouble with the form, please email me. Happy to help! Thanks for your support and happy birding!
Results of the January 1, 2024 Fish Creek Park Count.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
The annual half-day bird count in Fish Creek Park was a lot of fun and a great success again this New Year’s Day. We had a high number of species, with high counts for several, and some new species for the count. It was another mild day, as it had been for pretty much the whole winter up to then.
Sunrise in Fish Creek Park, January 1, 2024. Photo by Matt Wallace.
Forty-three birders went out to eight sections of the park. We found a total of 42 species, up from the ten-year average of 35. There were two new species not recorded before (Cackling Goose and Greater Scaup), and record high counts for six others.
Cackling Goose
10
Canada Goose
2,321
Trumpeter Swan
3
Tundra Swan
4
American Wigeon
7
Mallard
771
Northern Pintail
1
Green-winged Teal
4
Redhead
2
Greater Scaup
1
Bufflehead
179
Common Goldeneye
920
Barrow’s Goldeneye
13
Common Merganser
27
Ring-necked Pheasant
2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
17
Sharp-shinned Hawk
3
Bald Eagle
12
Great Horned Owl
2
Belted Kingfisher
1
Downy Woodpecker
31
Hairy Woodpecker
11
Pileated Woodpecker
5
Northern Flicker
53
Merlin
4
Northern Shrike
1
Blue Jay
5
Black-billed Magpie
133
American Crow
2
Common Raven
86
Black-capped Chickadee
219
Mountain Chickadee
7
Boreal Chickadee
11
White-breasted Nuthatch
42
Red-breasted Nuthatch
33
Townsend’s Solitaire
2
American Robin
1
Bohemian Waxwing
277
House Sparrow
78
Pine Grosbeak
12
House Finch
20
Dark-eyed Junco
1
Our group covered the Hull’s Wood/Sikome Lake/Boat Launch areas. Matt Wallace took some great photos of our day.
Fish Creek near the Bow River. Photo by Matt Wallace.We found a group of four overwintering Tundra Swans on the Bow. Photos by Matt Wallace.We also count mammals. This Porcupine was snoozing up in a tree. Photos by Matt Wallace.WAY up in a tree.Despite the Park Rules, someone has been leaving seeds for the birds. This Downy Woodpecker was so used to being fed that it kept comng to our hands briefly even though we had no food. Photo by Matt Wallace.We wanted to take a team photo, so Dan grabbed a few seeds so that the Downy would stay long enough to get in the photo too. Photo by Matt Wallace.
This count is not an official Christmas Bird Count, but it has a pretty long history now, and it is an important tool to monitor the long-term population trends in the park. If you want to learn more about the count in all areas of the park, come to Birds & Beers this Thursday, February 8, where the Count Organizer Jim Washbrook will present the results and answer questions.
Results of the Calgary and Priddis Christmas Bird Counts will also be presented at Birds & Beers. In case you missed it, here are some of the results from the Calgary Count, showing the species recorded and the numbers of each:
Next Thursday, February 8th, we will have another Birds & Beers meeting in Calgary. As usual, we meet in the big ballroom at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW. The event starts at 5 pm.
A Black-billed Magpie seen by a Feeder Watcher on the 2023 Calgary Christmas Bird Count. Photo by Lou Zaganelli.
After some time for socializing, eating, and drinking, there will be a presentation on some of the recent Christmas Bird Counts that took place in the Calgary area. Matthew Wallace will present the results of the Calgary Count, Gavin McKinnon on the Priddis Count, and Jim Washbrook on the Fish Creek Park New Year’s Day Count. The presentation starts at about 7 pm.
A Common Redpoll seen on the Calgary Count. They have been scarce this winter here, but we had almost a hundred on the count. Photo by Lou Zaganelli.
Everyone is welcome at Birds & Beers! See you there!
We had really good results on the Calgary CBC on Sunday December 17. The weather was still very mild, and we had a lot of partcipation both in the field and at backyard feeders. The species total was 72, with an additional 2 Count Week species not seen on Count Day but seen on the three days before or after the count.
The first Cassin’s Finch ever seen on a Calgary CBC! Photo by Laura Bentley.
Below are the results as reported by Matt Wallace, the organizer of the count. First, watch a YouTube video with a quick summary. Next, the Summary Report has some details about the species counted on page one, and then a list of the birds on pages two and three. Just hover over the report and use the arrows at the bottom of the page to navigate there. Third, if you really want a lot of detail, and want to make your own graphs and so on, you can download the Results file. Finally, anyone can explore the eBird Trip Report, which includes all the checklists and photos submitted by our Field Teams.
_____________________________________________
From Matt:
Lara, Bob, and myself finally have all of the numbers tallied for the 72nd annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count! After a few days of enjoying the holidays ourselves, we’ve got the results ready for you to enjoy and explore!
Count Summary:
So, our total count this year was 35,833 birds! We had 72 species documented on count day with 2 more species found during count week. We added 3 new species to our 72 year list which included a Cassin’s Finch, Gray Catbird, and Western Grebe. Our “Count Week Birds” were a Yellow-rumped Warbler and Winter Wren.
Overall, our total bird count was way down from previous years but our species count was right on par with our 15-year average. Our low numbers are undoubtedly related to our low counts of Canada Goose, Mallard, and Bohemian Waxwings. It’s challenging to say exactly why this is but likely related to the warm temperatures we’ve experienced with very little ice on the river. When we have lots of ice on the river system there are few places for waterfowl to congregate. The Elbow and Bow do not freeze over entirely even in the coldest of winter so this is where they gather. When there is very little ice the birds are unlikely to congregate within the count circle. We heard little about dead birds from field teams this year but we know that avian flu has been a big issue the past few years. This may have contributed to our lower counts but really it is not clear at this time. As for our finches and waxwings, our numbers were below what we expected but again there is bountiful food for them currently in the boreal regions which again would not drive them towards or into our circle.
Overall, we are really pleased with how the count went this year despite having lower numbers of birds. We heard from lots of people that they enjoyed their day exploring new areas of the city and getting to meet new birders. We had 16 brand new birders (less than one year of birding) and 74 participants who had never taken part in a CBC before! We also had several participants that were participating for their third or fourth decade! Just amazing to see the age range (4-99 years), diversity of skill levels, and support that our Calgary birding community brings together! Thank you for all of your hard work and we should all celebrate what we accomplished as a community!
Below are some ways you can explore the results in further in detail:
1) Results Video: If you’d like a quick recap of the event you can now view the Results video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/EgwSl1iEp6Y (see above). Please feel free to share and we’d love for a few likes and subscribers! If you submitted some photos, you’re likely to find a mention. We also had to cherry-pick a few photos from our eBird Trip Report but have credited each photographer. If you’re still sitting on some photos or videos from count day, please send these along so we can use them in our results presentation in January.
2) Summary Report (.PDF): This is a brief summary of all of the bird and effort data we collected showing the final results and a few graphs of how far we’ve come over the years.
3) Bonus: Results Excel File: This is a detailed snapshot of our “behind the scenes” work which Lara has masterfully crafted for our count circle the past three years. Feel free to explore this at your own leisure if you’re a data nerd like us! This may be a bit more technical than some people would like but I figured a few people may be interested in seeing it anyways. Download the file to explore it.
A few tips for this file:
Use the tabs at the bottom of the page. There are really only a few tabs to be concerned with here (Graphs, Analysis, and Report). Look for any bold red text to help you understand how to investigate the data:
Graphs Tab:
In cells A3 (species) and A37 (Family) you can enter any species we’ve ever had on the Calgary count to produce immediate graphs. You must type the exact spelling of the species you would like to review. If your graphs are appearing empty, the spelling is likely off. If you are unsure of the spelling you can copy and paste the names of the birds found in the “Report” tab. You can then hover your mouse over the graphs to see the numbers for each year.
Analysis Tab:
In Row 7 you can use the drop down filters to explore things like News species, Record Highs, Record Lows, and comparisons between our yearly averages for each species.
Report Tab:
This tab is essentially what you see in the Summary Report File.
The 2024 Calgary CBC will take place on December 22, 2024! I’ve gone ahead and set up the registration form for next year in the case you wanted to register in advance. Just a note that this form will be online throughout the year so there is no rush to get it filled out. We will be sending out reminders and information September-December 2024. https://forms.gle/wBcfCRD4sqFpQ8qq9
One thing that isn’t displayed on our spreadsheets is the number of NEW birders/ participants we had this year (see comments above). This is one of the reasons why we are using a registration form – simply because we want to keep the CBC as accessible as possible!
We are working with Nature Calgary to organize a CBC 2023 event presentation in January and will send out an invitation to all 2023 participants to join the event and do a more in-depth analysis of our results this year!
You may also know that I assist with organizing other citizen science events throughout the year including the Calgary City Nature Challenge, Bioblitzes, Biodiversity Challenge, National Moth Week, and various other bird counts! Most of these are shared on my social media pages (@ CityNatureYYC) on Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook. If you’re keen on participating in other events, give these pages a follow so you’re up to date on what is happening around Calgary and Southern Alberta! I also reshare any photos or videos people post so if you’re out on your own, tag me and I’ll reshare your nature stuff!
Thank you very much to all participants and we look forward to having you back next year! I hope you all had a great time and are enjoying your holidays.
