Search Results for: birds and beers

Birds & Beers, Friday June 9

Jun4

This Friday will be the last Birds & Birds before the summer break. We meet, as usual, at 6 pm at the Horton Road Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW.

There will be a presentation after 7 pm by Liz Goldie, about our native bees.

Hunt’s Bumblebee (I think!). Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Come and join us as we get the “Buzz” on our native bees. Our guest speaker, Liz Goldie from the Calgary and District Beekeepers Association, will take us on a closer look at these industrious and necessary critters. Most of us are aware that bees support the growth of trees, flowers, and plants, provide food and contribute to complex ecosystems. But did you know that at least 24 species of bird, including Blackbirds, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and European Starling, prey on bees? Come and learn about these fascinating creatures!

To help Liz with travel expenses, a small contribution would be appreciated.

Everyone is welcome!

Birds & Beers, Friday May 12, 2023

May5

Birds & Beers next Friday, May 12, will feature a presentation by Jack and Phyllis Shier on their trip to the Falkland Islands. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Macaroni Penguin
Macaroni Penguin, one of the birds that can be found on the Falklands Islands. From Wikipedia (Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Legion is located at 9202 Horton Road SW. Socializing starts at 6 pm, and the presentation will be after 7 pm.

Birds & Beers, Friday April 14, 2023

Apr1

The next Birds & Beers is on Friday April 14. We meet at the Horton Road Legion in Calgary starting at 6 pm. Everyone is welcome, and there is good food and drink available. The Legion is located at 9202 Horton Road SW. We have the rooms starting at 6 pm, and you can eat and socailize for about an hour and a quarter before we have our presentation. This month will feature Gordon Sick again, with part two of his trip to central America: The Birds of the Galapogos Islands. Just as in last month’s talk about the birds of the Ecudorean Cloud Forest, there will be many great photographs of birds, and there is no overlap in the species shown in the two talks at all!

Waved Albatross
Waved Albatrosses. Photo by Gordon Sick.

Birds of the Galapagos Islands: This presentation covers migratory birds (Waved Albatrosses, Boobies, Magnificent and Great Frigatebirds, for example), as well as endemic birds (Darwin Finches and Mockingbirds, for example). We will cover some of the 51 species that were photographed. Some non-avian flora and fauna will also be included.

See you there! We will ask for a donation of $1 per person to go to the Legion to cover the cost of the room.

Magnificent Frigatebird
Magnificent Frigatebird. Photo by Gordon Sick.

Birds & Beers, Friday March 10, 2023

Mar5

Birds & Beers is on again this Friday. We will have a presentation by Gordon Sick on Birds of Ecuador’s Andean Cloud Forest.

Andean Cock-of-the-rock
Andean Cock-of-the-rock. Photo by Gordon Sick

We meet at the Horton Road Legion beginning at 6 pm:

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday March 10, 2023, 6:00-9:00 pm

We start at 6 pm, and there will be time for socializing, eating, and drinking before the presentation begins after 7 pm. Here are the details of the talk.

Birds of Ecuador’s Andean Cloud Forest

This presentation involves photographs taken at altitudes over 8000 feet in the Andean Highlands to the East and West of Quito. Colourful birds include Cotingas (like Andean Cock-of-the-rock) and a variety of Hummingbirds. We will cover some of the 145 species that were photographed.

Everyone is welcome to attend. We will ask for a donation of $1 per person to go to the Legion to cover the cost of the room. See you there!

Birds & Beers, Friday February 10, 2023

Feb4

The next Calgary Birds & Beers meeting will be this coming Friday at the the Horton Road Legion. There will be a presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt about their 2022 trip to Elk Island and Cold Lake parks.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday February 10, 2023, 6:00-9:00 pm

We start at 6 pm, and there will be time for socializing, eating, and drinking before the presentation begins after 7 pm. Here are the details of the talk.

Sunset at Elk Island Park

Gas Yaki Walk 2022: A camping trip to Elk Island National Park and Cold
Lake Provincial Park by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt


In 2017 a group of us hiked across Southern Alberta with our friend and outstanding naturalist,
Gus Yaki. Since that time some of the group, and anyone else who was interested, has been
conducting an annual trip involving exploring some of the beautiful scenery and wildlife in
Alberta and Saskatachewan. In 2022 we traveled north to visit Elk Island National Park and
Cold Lake Provincial Park. Elk Island, only about 35 kilometres east of Edmonton, is a
wonderful location for seeing wildlife and doing some hiking. Cold Lake, about 250 kilometres
north east of Elk Island, is one of the premiere places in Alberta to witness the spring migration
of warblers.

_______________________________

Everyone is welcome to attend. See you there!

Birds & Beers, Friday January 13, 2023

Jan6

Next Friday will be the first Birds & Beers meeting of the new year. We meet at 6 pm at the Horton Road Legion. Everyone is welcome to come.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday January 13, 2023, 6:00-9:00 pm

Red-necked Grebe
Nesting Red-necked Grebes at the Bridlewood Wetland, Calgary, May Species Count 2021. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Aftere an hour or so of socializing, eating, and drinking, there will be a presentation by Andrew Hart and Lara Fitzpatrick on the Calgary May Species Count. They will present the history of the count and how it has evolved since its inception in 1976. They will discuss the areas that are covered, how the count is organized, and how and why they have migrated to eBird for data collection. Then the actual 2022 results will be shown, as well as a look ahead to how things may evolve for 2023.

Birds & Beers Schedule For 2023

Dec29

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

We now have the Birds & Beers social events scheduled for the first half of 2023. All the meetings will be held on the second Friday of each month, from 6 to 9 pm, at the Horton Road Legion (9202 Horton Road SW). Everyone is welconme to attend! We will try to have a presentation at each event. The January meeting, on Friday January 13th, will feature Andrew Hart and Lara Fitpatrick speaking about the Calgary May Species Count, with results from 2022 and a look ahead to the 2023 count.

Eastern Kingbird
An Eastern Kingbird in a field of Shooting Stars in the Longview area, on the 2022 May Species Count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

I will post more details on each meeting and each presentation a week or two before the event. Below is the schedule (which is also always posted on the right-hand sidebar of the blog). Remember, the second Friday of each month!

January 13 – May Species Count presentation.

February 10

March 10

April 14

May 12

June 9

We take a break from Birds & Beers in July and August, then resume for the fall season, September to November. I will post that schedule once the dates are booked. See you in January!

Birds & Beers Cancelled, November 2022

Nov1

Unfortunately the Birds & Beers meeting that was scheduled for November 11th has been cancelled. There is an issue with staffing at the venue. We have been unable to re-schedule this month, and we don’t meet in December due to everyone being busy with Christmas Bird Counts and other Christmas events. Therefore, our next meeting will be in January 2023. We have several presentations lined up for the new year already. I will post the schedule for January to June as soon as we have the dates booked.

Eurasian Collared-Dove
Eurasian Collared-Doves looking sad about the cancellation. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Sorry about this, and see you in January!

Birds & Beers, Friday October 14, 2022

Oct11

The next Birds & Beers event is this Friday, October 14th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday October 14, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Green-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal

Everyone is welcome to attend. Unfortunately we had a late cancellation by our scheduled presenter, but we hope to have an update from Greg Wagner on the proposed Frank Lake solar power project. Greg may not be able to make it, but in that case we will still have some information from him on the status of the project, how to get more information on it, and how you can get involved.

Come out and meet your fellow birders!

Birds & Beers, Friday September 9, 2022

Sep4

The fall season of Birds & Beers begins on Friday September 9th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday September 9, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Everyone is welcome. We begin at 6 pm and the presentation will start just after 7pm. This month, Caroline Lambert will speak about the Eagle Migration Monitoring project that has been ongoing in Kananaskis for 30 years:

Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle, Coyote Valley OSP, Santa Clara County, CA. Photo by Caroline Lambert

Learn about the eagle migration count in Kananaskis! This count is celebrating its 30th year as a citizen science project contributing to the knowledge of Golden Eagle migration and population dynamics. This talk will cover the history of the count, what it’s like to be out at the count, trends determined so far, and how the count fits with other raptor counts across the continent.

Learn how you can get involved in tracking the birds at this beautiful location in Kananaskis.

Mount Lorette
Mount Lorette. Photo by Caroline Lambert.