Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 23

Apr24

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 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.

APR 19

GLAUCOUS GULL – Gus Yaki and FFCPP at Carburn Park; also Marcel Gahbauer reported one occurring for a while on the Bow River near the Crowchild Trail bridge

APR 20

HARLEQUIN DUCK – still at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Chris Burnett
NORTHERN HAWK-OWL – southwest of Water Valley on the Larsen Pasture Road near the entrance to Direct Energy’s access road

APR 21

EASTERN PHOEBE – in Weaselhead near the footbridge over the Elbow River, Andrew Slater
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW – 3 in Margaret Brunner’s yard in Oakridge

APR 22

COMMON TEAL – on the slough in the northwest corner of the Range Road 284-Twp Rd 231 junction just southeast of Shepard, Terry Korolyk
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER – 3 male and 1 female at Sunset Park on Lake Chestermere (on the east side a short distance south of Hwy 1A); TK
EURASIAN WIGEON – a male on Glenmore Reservoir; AS
WOOD DUCK – 8 at Carburn Park , Bob Lefebre, Dan Arndt and FFCPP
GREATER SCAUP – 2 pair at the Bridlewood Marsh at McKevitt?? Rd and Highway 22X, Tanya Barkauskis; also TK reported 8 at the dam at Chestermere Lake
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT – 30 at Langdon Reservoir, Mary Lou Juliani and Donna Miles
LESSER YELLOWLEGS – 200+ in the NW corner of Rge Rd 284-Twp Rd 231 junction, TK
MARBLED GODWIT – 5 at Weed Lake , TK
BREWER’S BLACKBIRD – male on Rge Rd 284 near Shepard
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE – reported again in Calgary Deer Run

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Apr 26.

BIRD STUDY GROUP:

Bird Study Group meets Wednesday, May 2, 2012 in Room 211, BioSciences Building, U of C. The speakers are Ian Halliday discussing the Weed Lake Project and Andrew Hart discussing the re-
introduction of Red Kites into England.

Weekend Photos

Apr23

Some great pics sent to us by folks out birding over the weekend!

We had an interesting Saturday afternoon at the Inglewood bird sanctuary with two unusual events. First we had a Long-eared owl sighting, and then observed a mink “running” away from an upset nesting goose. Byron and Cheryl

Gianfelice also had a great birding day on Saturday, with sightings of both a winter visitor and a returning spring migrant. The White-winged Crossbill and Eastern Kingbird were photographed at Weaselhead. [UPDATE: After this post went up, it was pointed out to us that the bird below is likely an Eastern Phoebe, not a kingbird. It is lacking the white tail tip, and it is very early for kingbirds to return to Calgary. Pat will no longer be making snap judgements on bird ID’s and thank you Gus for the correction!]

Sunday Showcase: Common Calgary Gulls

Apr22

Posted by Matthew Sim

Though we see them a lot during the summer, most of us have some difficulty in identifying these guys; so here’s a breakdown of the common Calgary gulls.

California Gull; identified by rounded head, red and black spot on bill and greenish-yellow legs. Also note completely dark eye.

Franklin's Gull, the easiest gull in Calgary as it is, for the most part, the only one with a black head. Also note the white eye-crescents and the bright red beak.

Ring-billed Gull with its namesake ringed bill is probably the most common gull in Calgary and is often seen in parking lots.I separated from the Herring Gull by its yellow legs. Similar to California Gull, which has a darker eye.

The Herring Gull is nearly identical to the Ring-billed Gull, the one big difference though is the legs. Herring Gulls have pink legs while Ring-billed Gulls have yellow legs.

Though identifying gulls can be very difficult, hopefully this helps you next time you see a gull in Calgary.

A Cold Morning In Hull’s Wood

Apr20

Posted by Bob Lefebvre.

Week Two of the Spring session of the birding course with the Friends of Fish Creek saw us exploring Hull’s Wood and the boat launch area, at the east end of Fish Creek Park. It was quite cold at 7:30 a.m., about minus 4 degrees Celsius, with a north wind and light snow, and the conditions didn’t change much over the three hours. Nevertheless, we did manage to see some spring migrants. Once again, the photos were provided by Paul Turbitt and Glenn Alexon.

Franklin’s Gull. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

We saw about 75 of the black-headed Franklin’s Gulls over the river. As you can see in the photo, these gulls often have a pinkish tinge to their breast feathers in the spring. Several gull species show this feature when they arrive on their breeding grounds, and it is thought to be a result of carotenoids in their diet. In the case of Franklin’s Gulls, it is caused by their consumption of shrimp on their wintering grounds off the coast of Venezuela. By fall it often fades away.

Canada Geese are nesting in broken treetops in the area, where they are safe from coyotes and dogs. Here a male stands guard near the nest.

Canada Goose. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

We walked north along the river, and scoured the rocky banks for American Pipits. Up to 80 had been seen in the area earlier in the week. We weren’t able to locate any, but I’ll get back to the pipits later.

We saw two bald eagles along the river: one adult, and one juvenile which put up all the waterfowl as it flew over. There were also at least two Red-tailed Hawks.

Red-tailed Hawk. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

A White-breasted Nuthatch was busy excavating a nest hole. Here he is removing some wood from the nest.

As we neared the mouth of Fish Creek we watched a flock of over 200 European Starlings repeatedly flying down to the water and back up to the trees. Then we noticed another huge flock of small birds, which turned out to be Tree Swallows, working their way north along the river. I estimated about 100 in the first flock, which was followed immediately by another of the same size, then another, and another. It was really just one huge flock numbering up to 800 birds.

We then turned away from the river, and out of the wind, to check out the two Great Horned Owl nests in the area. The young owlets have been seen in one of the nests, but when we were there we weren’t lucky enough to see them.

Adult male Great Horned Owl standing guard near the nest. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Near the second owl nest we found a pair of Wood Ducks sitting in a tree. These birds nest in tree holes so maybe they will nest in this area.

Male Wood Duck. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Female Wood Duck. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Photo by Glenn Alexon.

We finished up by checking the pond near highway 22X. There wasn’t much there, but we were treated to Red-winged Blackbirds, a first of the year for some of the participants.

Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Finally, as we arrived back at the boat launch parking lot, we were treated to a Great Blue Heron flyover.

Great Blue Heron. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

That was a great way to finish the day for me and most of the others, but three people went back along the Bow to see if they could scare up some American Pipits. By walking right near the shore, they did manage to find them. These birds can hide quite effectively in the rocks and grass.

American Pipits. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Photo by Glenn Alexon.

When they were watching the pipits, a Mountain Bluebird appeared, then flew across the river.

Mountain Bluebird, from across the Bow River. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

One of the photos that Paul took of the pipits showed a bird that I was sure was not an American Pipit, but couldn’t identify. Gus Yaki has identified it as a Sprague’s Pipit. This is a bird of the prairies which is rarely seen in the city.

Sprague’s Pipit. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

I will be heading back to this area regularly in the next few weeks to watch the development of the Great Horned Owlets.

Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Glenn Alexon’s Flickr page.

Paul Turbitt’s Nikonians page.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 19

Apr20

Bird Sightings:

April 16
–THAYER’S GULL (second year), Glenmore Reservoir, Terry Korolyk
–VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW, Carburn Park, Gus Yaki and Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park

April 17
–COMMON LOON, Carburn Park, GY and FFCPP
–LINCOLN’S SPARROW, Confederation Park, Ed Kissinger.
–RUSTY BLACKBIRD, same, same

April 18
–RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (7), near dam at S end of Chestermere Lake, TK
–RED-TAILED HAWK (leucistic), FCPP, TK
–NELSON’S GULL (i.e. Glaucous Gull/Herring Gull hybrid), Sunset Park, Chestermere lake, E side of lake, just S of Hwy 1A, TK
–TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE (8), E side of Confederation Park near 10 St, David Pugh
–SAVANNAH SPARROW, same, same
–COMMON REDPOLL (10), Silver Springs neighborhood, NW Calgary, Gary Malcolm
–AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, E side of Confed. Park, DP

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday April 23.

Random Birding Photos – Calgary catch-up day, Easter in Jasper

Apr20

Posted byDan Arndt

Aside from co-leading one of the weekend walks with the Friends of Fish Creek, I do like to get out and get some birding in while I’m away on vacations, trips, or even after work once the evenings get a bit longer. In my attempt this year to reach 200 species in Alberta (which is about the same number as I had on my total life list in January) I signed up for a number of alerts on eBird to assist me in getting the birds I hadn’t seen so far for the year. In early March, I took a Saturday morning to catch up on some species that had been plaguing me for quite some time: Gray Partridge, Harris’s Sparrow, and some overwintering Cedar Waxwings were on my “Needs” list, and I was able to get all three, along with a couple of bonuses; American Tree Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco.

Gray Partridge

Harris's Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Then, over the Easter weekend, the better half and I took a trip up to Jasper. As a Calgary boy, born and raised here my entire life, I had never made it to Jasper, and I have to say that it was well worth the drive. I was hoping for a bit better birding opportunity while I was up there enjoying the crisp mountain air, but there were two birds I was really hoping for on the trip: White-tailed Ptarmigan, and Mountain Chickadees. Another bonus bird that I added to my list was Clark’s Nutcracker.

White-tailed Ptarmigan

How's that for camouflage?

Mountain Chickadee

Clark's Nutcracker

As an addendum, I would highly recommend this book: “Birding Jasper National Park” if you’re heading to that area. It was indispensable in my ability to find the birds I was looking for, as well as the best birding locations in and around the townsite. It’s incredibly affordable too, at a meagre $5.00, and is available in the store at the Jasper National Park Information building right in town.

Birding Jasper National Park

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 16

Apr19

APR 13

TURKEY VULTURE – just south of the dam at Chestermere Lake, Yousif Attia
GLAUCOUS GULL – adult at Weed Lake, YA; adult and 1st year at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Ilya Povalyaev
THAYER’S GULL – 1st year at Sunset Park on the east side of Chestermere Lake, YA; 1st yr at IBS, by IP
GYRFALCON – gray morph at McElroy Slough just NE of Chestermere, YA

APR 14

BLUE-WINGED-GREEN-WINGED TEAL hybrid – slough east of Shepard, Terry Korolyk
EURASIAN-AMERICAN WIGEON hybrid male – as above
BEWICK’S-TUNDRA SWAN hybrid – as above
RED-NECKED GREBE – reported in Calgary area over weekend
HORNED GREBE – as above
EARED GREBE – as above
PIED-BILLED GREBE – as above
THAYER’S GULL – two 1st year in the SW corner of Chestermere Lake, TK

APR 15

COMMON TEAL – on the south side of the marsh on the west side of the Hwy 799-338 Ave SE junction north of Blackie, TK
EURASIAN WIGEON – 2 male and a female at Hwy 547 and Rge Rd 255 as well as a male and female on Blizzard Lake at 160 St SE just south of Hwy 552, TK
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE-BARNACLE GOOSE hybrid – in the Irricana Sloughs onthe slough on Rge Rd 264 between Twp Rd 262 and 264, Joan and Malcolm Macdonald
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER – Twp Rd 264 west of Rge Rd 262, J & MM
PEREGRINE FALCON – on Hwy 547 east of Hwy 799, TK
WILSON’S SNIPE – 8 on Hwy 564 near Cochrane, J & MM
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (AUDUBON’S) – at the Boat launch in east Fish Creek PP; Janet Gill
TREE SWALLOW – 750 at the Boat launch in Fish Creek PP; Bob Lefebre and Friends of Fish Creek PP

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Apr 19.

Q & A: Feeding Ducks

Apr17

By Bob Lefebvre

Here at the Birds Calgary blog, we receive a lot of questions from bird-friendly folks throughout the province. We are going to start sharing some of them with our readers as just another way to spread bird knowledge.

If you have a question, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. We may post your question and our answer. We won’t print your name or email address.

Q: I was wondering if there is anywhere in Calgary that is a good location to go and feed ducks on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

A: There are several good spots to observe ducks at close range in Calgary, but it actually is not a good idea to feed them. Many people do feed them bread and similar items, but these are like junk food for ducks, with lots of carbohydrates but not enough minerals and protein to provide for proper health and growth. This sort of artificial diet is especially bad for the ducklings once they hatch. Besides malnutrition, there are other problems associated with feeding them bread products, such as the spread of disease and the loss of natural behaviors.

However, there are healthy products you can feed to ducks. They do well on grains like cracked corn, wheat, barley, and oats; high-quality birdseed; grapes (cut up); chopped lettuce; and frozen peas and corn. Any such feeding should be done in moderation and cautiously, with every attempt made not to disturb the birds.

Mallards at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

There are many small ponds in parks in the city where waterfowl can be seen. Good places include Prince’s Island downtown, Pearce Estate in Inglewood, and Confederation Park between 10 Street and 14 Street NW. All of these have benches or grassy areas near the water. There is also a great lagoon at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary where you can observe Mallards, Canada Geese (and, in a few weeks, ducklings and goslings), the beautiful Wood Duck, and other ducks at close range, but it is illegal to feed wildlife in the sanctuary (it is also illegal in Fish Creek Park). In any case I would encourage you to watch the birds but let them feed naturally wherever you go.

Canada Geese with goslings at IBS

Spring Birding in South Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead

Apr13

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

April marks the beginning of the spring session of the Friends of Fish Creek birding courses. For this three-month session, Dan Arndt and I decided to lead a group at 7:30 a.m. on Sundays. This might seem a little early to be going out in April, but by May and June the sun will be high before we get under way, and we hope to see and hear more birds than we would later in the day.

Dan is away for the first two weeks, so I will be reporting on what we saw, with photos provided by two of the course participants, Glenn Alexon and Paul Turbitt.

The first outing, on Easter Sunday, was in North Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead. We spent about an hour checking the west end of Glenmore Reservoir first. It is still almost completely frozen, with only a few small areas open in the west end, but there were some waterfowl there, notably some impressive Trumpeter Swans.

Trumpeter Swans landing on the water. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Common Mergansers: female (left) and male (right). Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Canada Goose taking off. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Then we headed down in to the Weaselhead. A highlight there was a Townsend’s Solitaire singing from the top of a very tall spruce.

Townsend’s Solitaire. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Male Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Female Downy Woodpecker. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Black-capped Chickadee. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

These chickadees expect to be fed. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Northern Flicker. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Northern Flicker. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

There were quite a few Red Squirrels around, and a couple of Least Chipmunks were also seen.

Red Squirrel. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

We saw three Red-tailed Hawks overhead, including this dark Harlan’s Hawk.

Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

We had hoped to see Pine Grosbeaks and American Tree Sparrows at the feeders. There were none around when we first went through, but on our last stop on the way back we found a pair of each.

Pine Grosbeak. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Pine Grosbeak. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

American Tree Sparrow feeding on the ground. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Back up by the parking lot, an early Richardson’s Ground Squirrel was the last species of the day.

Richardson’s Ground Squirrel. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

In all, we saw 28 bird species and four mammals. The eight groups who went to this area during the first week of the course collectively saw 48 bird species and six mammal species. The Weaselhead is a great place for spring birding!

To see more of Glenn Alexon’s photos, go to his Flickr page.

To read about one of the Saturday morning course outings, go to David Pugh’s blog.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 12

Apr13

Bird Sightings:

April 09
–SWAINSON’S HAWK, Water Valley, Eddie Matoud
–WILD TURKEY, E. side of Bow River opp. Pearce Estates
–GREAT GRAY OWL, SW of Water Valley, Ron Kube

April 10
–SNOW GOOSE (40), Hwy 564 and RR 255 NW of Strathmore, Richard Clarke
–BLACK-NECKED STILT (4), Linden, Corinne Griffin
–LESSER BLACKED GULL, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Ilya Povalyaev
–RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, Windham-Carseland PP, RC
–AMERICAN PIPIT, Boat launce at Fish Creek Provincial Park, Gus Yaki and FFCPP Soc.
–FOX SPARROW, Temple neighborhood, Calgary, Amanda Bradley

April 11
–TURKEY VULTURE, FCPP Mallard Pt., near Sue Higgins bridge, Mike and Jane Potter
–AMERICAN AVOCET, Weed Lake (2), RC; slough on Hwy 40 W of Siksika Res. (3)M&JP
–SNOWY OWL, ice at Weed Lake, M&JP
–RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, Confederation Park, NW Calgary, David Pugh
–AMERICAN PIPIT (40), Boat Launch FCPP, Gus Yaki and FFCPPSoc
–YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, behind Shawnessy Library, Michael and Louise Geldorp

April 12
–YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, Mallard Pt., FCPP, Terry Korolyk

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday April 16.

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