Photos taken in Carburn Park by Rob English on Dec 6/11. Even in the depths of a Calgary winter, there’s always lots to see in our natural areas! Click to enlarge photos.
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Dec 15
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 report was prepared on Thursday December 15.
recently
— DARK-EYED JUNCO, Oakridge (Calgary), Margaret Bruner
December 10
— WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL 6, Cedarbrae (Calgary), J. Weldtman
December 12 and succeeding
— RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, George Lane Park, High River, several obs
December 14
— KILLDEER, Hull’s Wood, Fish Creek PP, Terry Korolyk
— AMERICAN TREE SPARROW 2, same, TK
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday December 19.
Juvenile Raptor Identified
Thank you all for your comments on my yard hawk!
The juvenile Cooper’s/Sharp-shinned conundrum is one of the greatest challenges in bird watching. The species are so similar that often a positive ID cannot be made when you see the bird for just a few minutes. In the winter months, you can add juvenile Northern Goshawk to the possibilities as well. With the additional help of photographs that can be pored over, feather by feather, it then becomes a matter of working your way through the bird guides.
I write for three different bird blogs, and when I was lucky enough to capture this beautiful hawk in pictures, I posted to all three, leaving the identification up to the readers. Guesses included Merlin, Swainson’s, Osprey, Cooper’s Hawk, Sharp-shinned and Northern Goshawk.
Consensus is…a Sharp-shinned hawk. Here are the reasons given.
- Young sharpies have yellow eyes, while young Coopers have light yellow to almost pearly white eyes. Your bird has distinctly yellow eyes.
- based on size, as compared to the shepherds hook and feeder, the bird seems Sharpie-sized
- coarse brown streaks on the breast and belly
- thinner legs than on a Cooper’s and narrow white tip on the tail feathers
- smaller head and neck than a Cooper’s
- pale eyebrow, narrow white tip on tail
- Coopers have thicker white band on tail tip
- Immature Cooper’s have whiter, more finely streaked breast
- Sharpie’s have brown upper parts with white spots along scapulars
- Cooper’s tend to have warmer brown napes, where yours has a darker nape
- Sharp-shinned Hawk, based on the straight tail bars
- wing-tips in relation to the length of the tail – Sharp-shinned Hawks wing-tips end just posterior to the hips.
- undertail coverts on Goshawk have dark streaks
Now that I’ve gone through all this, I have absolutely no confidence that next time I see one of these birds, I’ll be able to identify it! They are just too tricky, but do provide a wonderful challenge for birdwatchers to tackle. However, I did find a fantastic website to help with the Cooper’s Hawk vs Sharp-shinned identification puzzle, so next time I’ll know where to look.
Posted by Pat Bumstead
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Dec 12
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 report was prepared on Monday December 12.
December 8
— NORTHERN PINTAIL, Cave & Basin, Banff NP, J&M McDonald, Jerry Pilny
— WESTERN GREBE, Lake Minnewanka, same obs
— WILSON’S SNIPE, Cave & Basin, same obs
— SNOWY OWL, Lynnwood yard flyby, Pat Bumstead
— COMMON GRACKLE, Lynnwood yard, PB
December 10
— AMERICAN WIGEON, Pine Coulee Reservoir, Terry Korolyk
— NORTHERN HARRIER, east of Stavely, TK
— NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL, south of Water Valley, J&MMcD
— GREAT GRAY OWL, near Elkton, J&MMcD
— SHORT-EARED OWL, near Ovans Slough, J&MMcD
— AMERICAN ROBIN 5, Queen’s Park Cemetery, Bill Wilson
December 11
— RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER, George Lane Park, High River, Peter Maksymiw
(second provincial record if accepted)
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday December 15.
Juvenile Raptor Identification
Do you like a birding challenge? This beautiful raptor visited my southeast Calgary yard late in November. I thought I would post these pictures without identifying the species, to give you a chance to test your raptor identification skills. Leave us a comment below, and tell us what you think it is.
This bird isn't injured, he's just wearing some of his lunch.
Posted by Pat Bumstead
Walking the Weaselhead
As a Calgary native, I consider it a particularly unfortunate state of affairs that it’s only in the last two years that I began exploring the Weaselhead. Accessed from either North or South Glenmore Park, it is quite likely one of Calgary’s most unique micro-environments, in which three species of hummingbird can be found in the summer, and the Boreal Chickadee can be found in winter. Hearing that it would be the location for our final birding walk of the autumn birding course, I was excited at the opportunity to see some new and exciting species.
It began by walking down the winding trail from the 37th Street parking lot at the western entrance to North Glenmore Park. After stocking one of the feeding stations, we briefly left, but rushed straight back when we noticed a robin-sized bird fly in and land on the ground at the feeder. It was another photo first for me to be able to snap some very close-up shots of a Pine Grosbeak. One of the distinctly beautiful birds both for its song and plumage, with a brutally sharp bite.
Heading down to the bottom feeder stations, we were delighted by the number of Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Common Redpolls taking advantage of the free food available at the feeders.
This Downy Woodpecker also was taking an interest in the feeders, and seemed entirely unfazed at how close we were able to get.
Across the bridge we were treated to the sight of a few more Common Redpolls, followed by Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches feeding at the fence-posts along the pathway.
I think our best bird of the day though was this Pileated Woodpecker who made an appearance and actually sat still long enough for us to get some shots of it.
The feeding station where the Boreal Chickadee pair had been seen all week was productive, but unfortunately the Boreal Chickadees didn’t show up. We did get some nice close views of the Red-breasted Nuthatches again, and the more common Black-capped Chickadees and a single Northern Flicker.
Finally we headed back, only seeing the same species at those feeders on the way back, and nothing in particular that really stole the show from the beautiful Pileated Woodpecker.
And that wrapped up the Autumn Birding course for us. In the new year, Bob Lefebvre will be leading a Sunday walk with the same group until mid to late April, and between now and then are a few important outings on my list, the biggest of which being the Christmas Bird Count, which I’ll post my photos and stories from next week.
Posted by Daniel Arndt.
Tips on Bird Photography
I think it is safe to say that most of us here have an interest in birdwatching. Some of us are also interested in photographing birds, documenting what we see and also enabling others to enjoy these sightings . Bird photography can be very tricky though and doesn’t always come out the way we want it to. Through trial and error as well as tips from other nature photographers, I have slowly learned different tricks of the trade and am still learning. Here is one trick that I have found helps me a lot.
Take a look at the picture above. Probably doesn’t do much for you, right? Just a killdeer photograph, nothing exciting about the shot itself. What could have been done to make this a better photograph? I have found that getting low can often drastically improve the photo. Get down at eye level with the bird, you can often create better eye contact with the bird, bringing the viewer into a connection with the photo. The Killdeer will then seem more interesting, not only because of the lower angle, but because of the change in the depth of field of the shot.
Depth of field (also known as DOF), is the term for the amount of distance between the closest and farthest objects that appear sharp in the photograph. In the second picture above, a shallower depth of field (meaning a blurry background) makes the photo less distracting and more pleasing to the eye. In the photo pictured below, I took it one step further, instead of simply kneeling, I lay on my stomach, creating a very shallow depth of field and therefore, a picture that is more likely to catch your eye than the first photo.
Changing the depth of field is a remarkably simple technique but incredibly powerful in the way a photo comes out. By getting low, chances are you can improve your bird photography.
Posted by Matthew Sim
Sunday Showcase: American Kestrels
Thank you Rob English for these terrific kestrel pics from last summer! Click to enlarge for a closer view.
Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Dec 8
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 Thursday December 8.
Bird Sightings:
Dec. 5
SNOW GOOSE (juvenile) Bow River, ca. 250 m. downstream from the Glenmore Bridge, Malcolm and Joan McDonald, Jerry Pilny
AMERICAN WIGEON, Bow River, mouth of Fish Creek, MJM, JP
GYRFALCON, overflight, Bow River, Glenmore Bridge, MJM, JP
AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, Burnsmead, Fish Creek PP, MJM, JP
Dec. 6
PINTAIL (male), Elliston Park, E Calgary, MJM
BLUE-WINGED TEAL, Policeman’s Flats, end of Bow Riverbottom Trail, off Dunbow Rd., just SE of Calgary, MJM
REDHEAD, Elliston Park, MJM
LONG-TAILED DUCK, Bow River, Eric Harvey Bridge, Carburn Park, Brian Elder, Bob Storms
HOODED MERGANSER (3) Elliston Park, MJM
KILLDEER (3), Carburn Park, BE, BS
AMERICAN PIPIT, same, BE, BS
DARK-EYED JUNCO, Oakridge, Calgary, back yard of Margaret Brunner.
RUSTY BLACKBIRD (3), Policeman’s Flats, MJM
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday Dec 12.
Sorry Folks!
If you’re looking for that Sunday Showcase: Pine Grosbeaks post you’ll have to wait until the new year! This is the first time I’ve scheduled anything for 2012, and I completely forgot to change the year. It went up today in error, and I quickly changed it. Here’s just a teaser of what’s coming on Jan 1.
Posted by Pat Bumstead, who does actually know what year it is.