Tony LePrieur photographed these moose near Calgary in February 2018.
See more of Tony LePrieur’s photos on his Flickr page here.
Backyard Birds: Varied Thrush
A Varied Thrush has been spending the winter visiting a yard in Okotoks, just south of Calgary.
Varied Thrush (front) with Northern Flicker, Okotoks, January 2018. Photo by Leanne Ross.
This thrush breeds in the boreal forest and can be found west of the city in the summer. They will occasionally overwinter here.
Varied Thrush, Okotoks, winter 2017-2018. Photo by Leanne Ross.
Varied Thrush, Okotoks, winter 2017-2018. Photo by Leanne Ross.
Short-eared Owls in Winter
Short-eared Owls are scarce in the Calgary area in the winter, but sometimes a few can be found hunting meadow voles around fields that have not been cultivated for a few years. Ron Chiasson photographed these owls near Calgary this winter. Short-eared Owls are a sensitive species so we won’t give the location. They have declined in the Calgary area over the decades as native prairie has disappeared, but they have an almost worldwide distribution and their conservation status is “Least Concern.”
You can see more of Ron’s photos at Ron Chiasson Photography.
Birds & Beers, March 2018
The next Birds & Beers event in Calgary will be this Thursday, March 29, at the usual location:
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285
9202 Horton Road SW
Thursday March 29, 2018, 6:00-9:00 pm
Common Goldeneye (male, mating display). Weaselhead, April 9, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.
No speaker is scheduled for this month but come out and have a chat about (hopefully!) spring birding. Everyone is welcome. Food and drinks are available.
Upcoming Birds & Beers dates, all at the same time and place: Thursday April 26, Thursday May 24, Thursday June 21.
Winter Waxwings of Calgary – Cedar and Bohemian
Posted by Bob Lefebvre. All photos by Ron Chiasson.
One of the awesome things about winter birding in Calgary in the chance to see flocks of up to 5000 Bohemian Waxwings in flight, feeding on berries and apples, or eating snow on rooftops.
Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.
These beautiful birds are only here in the winter, and their relatives, the Cedar Waxwings, are an uncommon summer breeder here. Although Cedar Waxwings are a late migrant, arriving in late May, and departing in October, there are usually some that attempt to overwinter here and they can sometimes be seen mixed in with the Bohemian Waxwings.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018, .
We usually find at least a couple of dozen Cedar Waxwings on the Calgary Christmas Bird Count. They seem to be concentrated in the Elbow Valley downstream from the Glenmore Dam. This year, there were quite a few in Carburn Park in the southeast, and in the north end of the city, in Confederation Park and Queen’s Park Cemetery. In February I saw a flock of 36 Cedars in a residential neighbourhood near those north-end parks.
Here are two shots of Ron’s that show the two species side-by-side:
Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.
Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.
These shots show some of the most obvious differences between the two: Bohemian Waxwings have cinnamon-red undertail coverts whereas Cedars have white; Bohemians are larger and more round-bodied than the sleek Cedars; Bohemians have a gray body including the belly, whereas Cedars are more brownish and have a pale yellow belly (sometimes white, but never gray). In the following shots you will also see that Bohemians have white tips on their wings (as well as red and yellow on adult birds) while Cedars only have the red tips (the wax) on adult birds and never show white in the wing.
Bohemian Waxwing flock, Calgary, February 6, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.
Bohemian Waxwings, Confederation Park, March 1, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing portrait, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.
Cedar Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.
See more of Ron Chiasson’s photos here.
Backyard Birds: White-throated Sparrow
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
White-throated Sparrows are a common summer bird of the boreal forest, and in Calgary you can see them and hear their beautiful song in places like the Weaselhead and the west end of Fish Creek Park, where they breed. Their wintering grounds are in the eastern and southern United States and on the west coast from Washington to California, a long way from Calgary. Nevertheless, it isn’t unusual for a few to overwinter here, and if you feed birds in your yard they will come looking for seeds. I have had one coming to my yard all winter. Gus Yaki has also had one in his yard all winter, and a couple of others have been reported around the city.
White-throated Sparrow (left) and a Slate-colored Dark-eyed Junco (right), Calgary, January 2018.
I first saw this bird in November 2017, feeding with a small flock of Dark-eyed Juncos. I have seen it periodically up to as recently as March 2018. It is always with Dark-eyed Juncos, another native sparrow species (the two sometimes interbreed and produce infertile offspring). These native sparrows prefer to feed on a flat surface like a tray, or on the ground.
White-throated Sparrow (left) and Dark-eyed Junco (right).
The distinguishing features of the White-throated Sparrow include the white throat which has a sharply defined lower border, the yellow lores (the spot in front of the eye), and the alternating dark and light head stripes. In this individual, an adult, the stripes are black and white. First-year birds have tan and brown head stripes, and there is also another adult colour morph which has tan and brown head stripes. The two adult colour morphs occur in roughly equal numbers. Interestingly, each adult almost always mates with the opposite colour morph, so both traits persist.
White-throated Sparrow (left) and Dark-eyed Junco (right).
White-throated Sparrow (right). The other bird is a male House Sparrow.
In the above photo you can see the rufous colour in the wing of the White-throated Sparrow and the blurry streaks on the sides of the breast.
Sometimes a White-throated Sparrow will be feeding on the ground with a flock of House Sparrows. Even without binoculars you can usually pick them out by their feeding behavior. Like other native sparrows (the Dark-eyed Juncos and Lincoln’s Sparrows, for example) they tend to scratch for seeds with both feet simultaneously, jumping quickly ahead and back. House Sparrows (which are not native sparrows but an introduced European species) never do this. The White-throated Sparrow also has a longer tail than the House Sparrow.
White-throated Sparrow foraging for seeds in the snow.
Here is the song to listen for in the spring:
(Song is from the Xeno-Canto website.)
Winter Swans in Calgary
This winter, local birders have been treated to the sight of Trumpeter Swans overwintering on the Bow River. Low numbers of Trumpeters will occasionally spend the winter on the open water here, but not every year. (Tundra Swans overwinter here even less often.) This year there were four Trumpeters reported at Carburn Park, and another group of five at Mallard Point in Fish Creek Park. The Carburn group is now down to three birds. The somewhat brownish birds pictured here are immature.
All photos by Tony LePrieur.
Visit Tony’s Flickr page to see more wildlife photos, including photos from other parts of the world.
Birds of Carburn Park in March
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Carburn Park has been a good place to bird all winter, and it is one the best places to visit in the spring as well. Tony LePrieur photographed these birds in the first half of March, as we began to transition to spring birding. All photos by Tony LePrieur.
Merlin. These small falcons overwinter here in good numbers.
Merlin bathing.
Great Horned Owl. These birds are early nesters, and are on the nest by mid-February. Disturbingly, there have not yet been any reports of nesting Great Horned Owls in the city. It appears that the local Meadow Vole population has undergone one of its periodic crashes, and the owls may not have enough food to raise a brood. If they don’t start soon there won’t be time to teach the young how to hunt before next winter, so they may forego breeding altogether this year.
Bohemian Waxwing. They will soon be leaving the city for higher elevations or more northerly breeding locations. Most are gone by mid-April, with occasional sightings into the first week of May.
Northern Flicker. This male may be starting a nest cavity soon. They have been very vocally claiming their territories in the past three weeks or so (and drumming too). The red malar mark or mustache indicates a male. Females lack a mark there. This bird is an intergrade between the two subspecies, the Red-shafted which has a red malar mark and lacks a mark on the nape, and the Yellow-shafted which has a black malar mark and a red mark on the nape. The majority of flickers in the Calgary area are intergrades.
Downy Woodpecker (male). Like the Northern Flickers, males and females of this species are paired up and are beginning nesting behavior.
Northern Shoveler (male). This bird, and the female below, was not reported this winter, so is likely an early migrant. An early Northern Pintail has also been reported on the river.
Northern Shoveler (female).
To see more of Tony’s photos, see his Flickr page.
Furry Friday: Praying For Spring
Richardson’s Ground Squirrels are beginning to come out of hibernation, right on schedule. But with the record snowfalls we’ve had, and more on the way, it must be a nasty shock for them. All photos were taken by Tony LePrieur just outside Calgary in early March.
Cold Weather Bird Photos
Well, it’s turning into a very long, cold, and ridiculously snowy winter here in Calgary. I’m sure the poor road and pathway conditions are keeping many local birders at home more than usual, but if you do go out, you may be treated to some spectacular winter sights, as the following pictures show. All photos were taken by Ron Chiasson in Calgary this winter, with the exception of the American Dipper photo, which was taken in Kananaskis.
Canada Goose
Bald Eagles
Mallards
Gray Partridge
American Dipper
Downy Woodpecker
Common Goldeneyes with Canada Geese
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Northern Goshawk
House Finch
White-tailed Deer in chest-high snow.
Canada Goose
Canada Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan with Canada Geese
Trumpeter Swan
Trumpeter Swan
To see more of Ron’s photos, go to his website here, or follow him on Instagram.