Tom Hince Seminar at the Wild Bird Store

May24

This weekend the renowned birder Tom Hince will be giving seminars at the Wild Bird Store in Calgary on the subject of the world-famous birding hotspot, Point Pelee, Ontario. This is a place that many local birders have visited for its amazing variety of migrating birds, and that the rest of us would love to visit some day.

The Friday seminar is now full but you can still get tickets for Saturday by phoning the number above or dropping in to the store.

Here are the FAQ’s about this presentation:

What Will I Learn From This Seminar?

For avid birders, a trip to Point Pelee should be a must do on your list! In “The Park That Birds and Birders Built” seminar, Tom will discuss Point Pelee Park, its importance and why you should visit the park. He will also let the audience know how to prepare and plan for a visit to the park.

Besides Point Pelee, What Else Will I Learn From This Seminar?

Besides Point Pelee, Tom will talk about his birding experiences around the world including birding in the Cold Lake area. As Tom has spent a lot of time in this area, he will discuss his Cold Lake birding experiences. This will also include a discussion on finding warblers and other eastern songbirds in the area.

Will There Be Time To Ask Questions?

Yes, of course! During and at the end of the seminar Tom will take audience questions. Tom Hince is an ornithologist and professional birding guide. He has traveled various areas of the world looking for and studying a great number of birds. If you have a birding question that’s been bugging you, make sure you ask it at the seminar!

Will Refreshments and Snacks be Served at the Seminar?

Yes both refreshments and snacks will be served at the seminar! In addition, The Wild Bird Store has secured some great door prizes for both seminar days. We will have ballots and a draw box set up before you enter the seminar room so make sure you enter!

I Understand Tom Hince Has A Book. Will There Be Copies Available for Tom to Sign?

Yes. We will have a limited number of Tom Hince’s “A Birder’s Guide To Point Pelee” available for sale at the seminar. He will sign books after the seminar.

Call now to book your spot at this event!

Spring Birds at Frank Lake and Carburn Park

May19

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Here are some birds that Tony LePrieur photographed at Frank Lake on April 27. All of these species can still be found there throughout the breeding season, along with dozens more. All photos by Tony LePrieur.

American Avocet, Frank Lake, April 27, 2019.

American Coot, Frank Lake, April 27, 2019.

Black-necked Stilt, Frank Lake, April 27, 2019.

The next day, after an overnight snowstorm in Calgary, there were quite a few migrating songbirds at Carburn Park. Tony was able to get some great shots of Yellow-rumped Warblers.

These are the Myrtle subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler. The Audubon’s subspecies has a yellow throat and lacks the dark mask. Most of the ones we see here are Myrtles heading for the boreal forest. Audubons breed farther west, but we do see both on migration.

There are still flocks of Yellow-rumps moving through the city now. Keep an eye out in parks and even in your yard!

Costa Rica Bird Photography Workshop 2019

May5

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Here is a wonderful opportunity to go to one of the birdiest places on earth and learn to photograph the local birds with an expert who is a native of Costa Rica. There are only three spots open for this trip so act now!

Costa Rica Bird Photography Workshop, December 2019

Conducted by Max Ortiz Aguilar

Max Ortiz Aguilar is a professional Nature Photographer who lives in Calgary. Since 2014 he has maintained a website, www.photosbymoa.com, where he has his portfolio of photos available for sale and for licensing as digital downloads. Last year Max joined the Friends of Fish Creek birding course to learn more about the local birds, and he has since been contributing to this blog.

You should plan to arrive to Costa Rica on December 3rd, and departure will be on December 15th. To give you the best customer service and to guarantee the best experience Max will be offering only 3 spots. In this way he will be able to give you his full attention and this will make things easier for everyone when you are in the field.

See Max’s website for a detailed itinerary of all the amazing spots you will visit during this workshop.

Included:

Photography mentoring by Max (in the field and post processing)
Online working sessions before and after the workshop
Multi-flash photography setup for hummingbirds
Single accommodation at all locations
All meals, including morning and afternoon snacks
Tours and park fees
Fees for local guides
Transportation (including to and from the Juan Santa María airport in Costa Rica)

Not Included:

Airfare
Macro photography sessions
Alcoholic drinks
Laundry
Insurance
Other Miscellaneous Items

Cost: Total cost per participant is $5,000 USD (all taxes included). To book, a 50% deposit is required. This deposit is non-refundable but it is transferable. The other 50% must be paid by September 15th, 2019. Please visit Max’s site for details, and contact him if you have any questions.

Here are some more of the amazing birds you can see and photograph in Costa Rica:

Baltimore Oriole, one of the species you can see both in Calgary and Costa Rica.

Book this trip of a lifetime today!

Global Big Day, Saturday May 4

May3

Tomorrow is eBird’s Global Big Day, during which birders all over the world are encouraged to submit their sightings on eBird to create a one-day snapshot of the state of the world’s birds. All you have to do is go birding anywhere and submit your sightings on eBird! Even a few minutes of birding will help to contribute to the Big Day. Click the link above to read all about it.

Last year over 30,00 people submitted lists, recording over 7,000 species of birds. Let’s see if we can top this!

The Cornell Lab has also started doing an eBird Big Day in the fall. The first one was on October 6, 2018. Over 6,000 species were recorded, including these rare Greater Sage-Grouse photographed by Gavin McKinnon. Gavin was the only birder to report this species on the Big Day.

Greater Sage-Grouse, undisclosed location. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.

Greater Sage-Grouse, undisclosed location. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.

You can see a band on the leg of the bird in the second photo. These birds are part of a program by the Calgary Zoo to try to at least help this species hang on to its very restricted range in Canada. Here is a news article about this program.

Not everyone will see a rare bird tomorrow, but every sighting of any species counts!

City Nature Challenge Events

Apr26

The City Nature Challenge is under way! From April 26 through to midnight on April 29 we need Calgary naturalists to take as many photos as possible of any and all wildlife (birds, mammals, fish, plants, lichen; anything!) within the city limits.

You will have until May 5 to upload all your photos to the iNaturalist website or phone app. No need to learn all the ins and outs of iNaturalist right away if you haven’t done so (the sooner the better of course, and it is very easy!), and no need to know what it is you are photographing – the site will suggest ID’s and the iNaturalist community will confirm them.

A Red Fox in Calgary two weeks ago. Now I have to find and photograph it again this weekend. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

There are many organized events planned for the challenge, including six today (Friday April 26) and many more over the following three days. See this page for all the events planned over the four days and come out and help us document the wildlife of Calgary. You can also participate on your own all day, every day!

Calgary is one of 163 cities worldwide taking part in this challenge, and is the northernmost city. We want to try to win the competition for most participants and most observations made. We are also having a friendly competition with Halifax, the only other Canadian city involved. So get outside!

The Road to 300: January/February

Apr23

How many bird species could you see in Alberta in a Calendar year? The answer is that an average of about 330 species have been reported in the province on eBird in recent years. Of course no one birder sees or hears them all, so only a very few birders, if any, get to a total of 300 species in any year.

It takes a special effort to see or hear that many species. You have to make sure you get all the regular birds, regardless of where in the province their normal range or migration route is, and still you have to chase some rarities to get to 300.

In 2019, Gavin McKinnon, a fifteen-year-old Calgary-based birder, is going to try to get to 300 species. He is already a very accomplished birder, who leads field trips for the Friends of Fish Creek and the Wild Bird Store. Last year he recorded 273 species in Alberta, so he knows what a challenge it will be. Gavin will also be travelling outside the province quite a bit, and you can miss some good birds when you are away.

Throughout the year we will be posting photos of some some of the birds that Gavin has seen and photographed. Here are the highlights from the first two months of the year, during which Gavin had about 75 species.

Red-bellied Woodpecker, a rarity seen in Magrath, near the US border.

Tundra Bean-Goose, an extreme rarity seen in Lethbridge.

Birds & Beers, May 2, 2019: The Raptor Allure of Windy Point

Apr21

The next Birds & Beers event in Calgary is on Thursday May 2, at the Horton Road Legion, from 6 to 9 pm. We will be in the big auditorium this month, and will have a special presentation: “The Raptor Allure of Windy Point” by Peter Roxborough.

Local birders are aware of the Golden Eagle migration monitoring that has been conducted for many years at Mount Lorette in Kananaskis country, but few are aware that Windy Point, in the Sheep River Valley west of Turner Valley, also offers fantastic raptor watching on migration. Peter Roxborough will do a presentation on this amazing birding spot.

The Legion is located at 9202 Horton Road SW. Everyone is welcome to attend Birds & Beers. As is usual when we have presentations, these begin after 7 pm. So come at 6 pm (or earlier since the kitchen will be busy), order a meal and have a drink, visit with your fellow birders, and then stay for the presentation. If you can’t make it early drop in later for the show.

Upcoming Birds & Beers events are scheduled for Thursday May 30 and Thursday June 27, at the same time and place. There will be presentations at both of these events too.

Corrected Dates: Field Trips for City Nature Challenge This Weekend

Apr20

CORRECTION: Yesterday’s post said that these trips were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The correct dates are Sunday April 21 for the Reader Rock Garden trip, and Monday April 22 for Britannia Slopes. Sorry for any inconvenience!

There are two opportunities in Calgary this weekend to go out in the field and learn how iNaturalist and the City Nature Challenge works before the actual competition on April 26-29. On Sunday April 21, join Gus Yaki and Calgary Challenge organizer Matt Wallace at Reader Rock Garden from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Learn how to take photos with your smartphone or camera and record the observations on the iNaturalist app on your phone or on the website on your desktop computer.

I took this photo at Pearce Estate Park during last week’s workshop. When I uploaded the photo, the iNaturalist artificial intelligence suggested it was in the Bulrushes and Cattails family, and another iNaturalist user later identified it as Broadleaf Cattail. *Photo by Bob Lefebvre, Pearce Estate Park, April 13, 2019.*

See this page for all the information on this workshop and field trip. No registration is required for these free events; just show up and join the fun!

On Monday afternoon, April 22, from 2 to 4 pm, join Gus and Matt at Britannia Slopes for another workshop/field trip. See this page for all the information.

If you can’t make it to the workshops but want to participate in the Challenge, get the iNaturalist app on your phone or open an account on the website, and you can learn to make observations on your own. Here is the iNaturalist Canada page.

There will be many events held during the challenge that everyone is welcome to participate in. See this page for all the events.

Any observations submitted within the city limits from April 26-29 will automatically be included in Calgary’s totals. So you can participate in the organized events, make observations on your own, or both. You don’t necessarily have to be able to identify the species you record, as the iNaturalist site will make suggested ID’s, and the iNaturalist community will follow up. The period from April 30 to May 5 will be used to try to finalize the identifications of all species identified in Calgary during the challenge. Any iNaturalist user can help with this.

Smartphones are excellent for recording photos of plants but if you are taking photos of mammals and birds you can usually get a better shot with a camera. Then you have to upload the photos to the iNaturalist site on your computer. When I went to the workshop last week, I used both phone and camera and took photos of birds, mammals, plants including fungi and lichens, and even signs of animals such as this:

Canadian Beaver signs — This is recorded on iNaturalist as Canadian Beaver. Signs and evidence of wildlife are also included in the database. *Photo by Bob Lefebvre, Pearce Estate Park, April 13, 2019.*

Using iNaturalist is a great way to document our biodiversity, and to learn about our wildlife. This is from the iNaturalist.ca website:

“We can build a living record of life in Canada that scientists and environmental managers can use to monitor changes in biodiversity, and that anyone can use to learn more about Canada’s amazing natural history.

“Every piece of information on a species, combined with the vast network of citizen scientists can give a big picture of Canada’s natural history and can be a key contribution for conservation decisions.”

Field Trips for City Nature Challenge This Weekend

Apr19

CORRECTION: A previous post said that these trips were scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The correct dates are Sunday April 21 for the Reader Rock Garden trip, and Monday April 22 for Britannia Slopes.

I took this photo at Pearce Estate Park during last week’s workshop. When I uploaded the photo, the iNaturalist artificial intelligence suggested it was in the Bulrushes and Cattails family, and another iNaturalist user later identified it as Broadleaf Cattail. *Photo by Bob Lefebvre, Pearce Estate Park, April 13, 2019.*

See this page for all the information on this workshop and field trip. No registration is required for these free events; just show up and join the fun!

On Monday afternoon, April 22, from 2 to 4 pm, join Gus and Matt at Britannia Slopes for another workshop/field trip. See this page for all the information.

There will be many events held during the challenge that everyone is welcome to participate in. See this page for all the events.

This is recorded on iNaturalist as Canadian Beaver. Signs and evidence of wildlife are also included in the database. *Photo by Bob Lefebvre, Pearce Estate Park, April 13, 2019.*

Using iNaturalist is a great way to document our biodiversity, and to learn about our wildlife. This is from the iNaturalist.ca website:

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Tom Hince Seminar at the Wild Bird Store

Spring Birds at Frank Lake and Carburn Park

Costa Rica Bird Photography Workshop 2019

Global Big Day, Saturday May 4

City Nature Challenge Events

The Road to 300: January/February

Corrected Dates: Field Trips for City Nature Challenge This Weekend

Field Trips for City Nature Challenge This Weekend

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