Wednesday Wings: Overwintering Robins

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

We get a lot of emails every winter from people who are surprised to see an American Robin in their yard or in a local park. In fact, there are a few robins here every winter. Although the vast majority of Canadian robins winter in the far southern USA or Mexico, most of the continental US is home to small populations of  overwintering robins. These may be birds that bred in the area, or individuals who moved south from their breeding areas in Canada but did not go all the way to the normal wintering areas. Calgary appears to be near the northern limit of this overwintering range (Edmonton also has overwintering robins most years).

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American Robin, Votier’s Flats, January 1, 2016.

On the recent Calgary Christmas Bird Count we recorded 174 American Robins. Although this was a little high for the count, there are usually over 100 seen. Of course this is not likely to represent all the robins in the city, and it doesn’t include areas outside the count circle like Fish Creek Park. So there are probably a few hundred in the city every winter (not all will survive, especially if we get heavy snow and/or a prolonged cold snap). This may seem like a lot of birds, but in the summer there must be tens of thousands of breeding pairs here. (Does anyone know the total, or have a guess?)

Most overwintering robins are found in the river valleys near open water. They often gather in small flocks and survive mostly by eating berries. They will also come to feeders and heated birdbaths.

The American Robins in these photos were found by the storm-water outflow into Fish Creek just west of Macleod Trail, in the Votier’s Flats area of Fish Creek Provincial Park.

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American Robin, Votier’s Flats, January 1, 2016.

There were at least six robins coming to the water there that afternoon, as well as a much rarer overwintering Hermit Thrush.

Christmas Bird Counts – Part II

Posted by Dan Arndt

Just before Christmas I had to send my long lens (Sigma 150-500mm) in for repair, so am back to using my original birding lens, my Sigma 70-300mm. As such, I can’t get quite as close to the birds as I used to, but it does allow me to have a bit better control over framing more “artsy” shots, but also making do with what I’ve got to use, rather than relying on the reach of the lens to make the image better. I do hope that I managed to do that well with the few photos I was able to take on the Dinosaur Provincial Park Christmas Bird Count, and the annual New Years Day Fish Creek Provincial Park Bird Count.

While it’s a great area to bird in both the summer and winter, the day we headed out there (December 30) was bitterly cold, and it seemed that the birds were nowhere to be found. In previous years, there were a few groups covering the whole area, but this year Nick Bartok and I were the only two out on the count so we had to cover the entire count circle, giving us only enough time to see and hear the birds we could observe from the car. What that meant for us was that we would miss out on a lot of the smaller birds we usually would hear on a walked route, but it did mean we got to cover way more area.

The cold weather made shooting from the vehicle a little tough, with the heat distortion from the vehicle and from the heat radiating off the snow from the bright sunlight, but I managed a few shots.

Great Horned Owl, east of Patricia - December 30, 2015

Great Horned Owl, east of Patricia – December 30, 2015

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One of the first good birds of the day was this Great Horned Owl that we stumbled upon while driving down one back road east of Patricia.

Sharp-tailed Grouse, east of Patricia - December 30, 2015

Sharp-tailed Grouse, east of Patricia – December 30, 2015

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Sharp-tailed Grouse, east of Steveville - December 30, 2015

Sharp-tailed Grouse, east of Steveville – December 30, 2015

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By far, the most numerous birds that we found on the Dinosaur Provincial Park count were Sharp-tailed Grouse. They seemed to be everywhere in the trees and shrubs nibbling on the buds for their breakfast and lunch!

Back in Calgary, the Fish Creek Provincial Park New Years Day Bird Count was a little bit (but not too much!) warmer, but we got a few good birds to start off the year.

Great Horned Owl - Fish Creek Provincial Park - January 1, 2016

Great Horned Owl – Fish Creek Provincial Park – January 1, 2016

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Brown Creeper - Fish Creek Provincial Park - January 1, 2016

Brown Creeper – Fish Creek Provincial Park – January 1, 2016

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At the Ranche, the usual pair of Great Horned Owls were present, along with a great opportunity to see the elusive Brown Creeper as the sun came over the horizon.

Sikome Lake - January 1, 2016

Sikome Lake – January 1, 2016

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The snow covered poplars at Sikome Lake made for a great backdrop to see all these great birds.

Mallards, Geese, and a Wigeon - Hull's Wood - January 1, 2016

Mallards, Geese, and a Wigeon – Hull’s Wood – January 1, 2016

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Mallards in flight - Hull's Wood - January 1, 2016

Mallards in flight – Hull’s Wood – January 1, 2016

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Bald Eagle - Hull's Wood - January 1, 2016

Bald Eagle – Hull’s Wood – January 1, 2016

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The usual accumulations of waterfowl along the Bow River were no exception to the rule, and there were even a couple of great surprises in the water, including an American Wigeon, Barrow’s Goldeneye, and more than a few Common Mergansers. A couple of fly-bys of Bald Eagles flushed many of the birds up briefly, but they soon came back down into the water at the confluence of Fish Creek and the Bow River.

American Robin - Shaw's Meadow - January 1, 2016

American Robin – Shaw’s Meadow – January 1, 2016

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Hermit Thrush - Shaw's Meadow - January 1, 2016

Hermit Thrush – Shaw’s Meadow – January 1, 2016

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At the compilation lunch, Bob and I waited around to hear if there had been any particularly noteworthy observations, and when we heard that a Hermit Thrush and American Robins had been seen at the water outflow at Shaw’s Meadow, we headed over there right away. It took us a while of watching the American Robins and got to see them feeding in the water, and finally got a great look at the Hermit Thrush, but only briefly. Two shots later, it disappeared into the deep brush, but it was more than long enough to get a look at the bird, identify it, and snap a few frames.

While normally this post would be a recap of the first week of the Friends of Fish Creek outings, I was away for that first trip, so keep an eye out for my post next week for the birds from our second week out at Bebo Grove!

Have a great week, and good birding!

Sunday Showcase: Birds of Sundre

Do have photographs of birds from the Calgary area that you’d like to share? Just email them to us at birdscalgary@gmail.com.

These pictures show some of the birds coming to feeders at a cabin near Sundre, northwest of Calgary. They were taken on January 2 and 3, 2016 by Tanya Gaydos. These are some of the typical species you might get at feeders in the foothills.

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Boreal Chickadee.

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Pine Siskins.

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Mountain Chickadee.

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Blue Jay.

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Pine Siskin.

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Red-breasted Nuthatch.

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Downy Woodpecker.

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Hairy Woodpecker.

 

Birds & Beers, January 2016

The Calgary chapter of Birds & Beers will hold their next event at the usual location, the Horton Road Legion, on Friday January 29 from 6 to 9 pm.

Birds & Beers is an informal social gathering in which you can meet other birders and talk about birding. If you wish, you can have a drink or a meal as well. Prices at the Legion are very reasonable and the food is excellent. Everyone is welcome, including children if accompanied by an adult.

This month, instead of a speaker, the 2015 Calgary Birding Competition will be awarding the prizes to the winners. Come out and show your appreciation for all the competitors.

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Golden-crowned Warbler, found and photographed by George Best during the competition.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285

9202 Horton Road SW

Friday January 29, 6:00-9:00 pm

This is one block west of Macleod Trail, between Heritage Drive and Southland Drive. See you there!

 

Birding Competition – Final Results

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

After a year-long effort, the participants in eBird Calgary 2015 have entered their final checklists, and below we have the preliminary final results. I was quite impressed by how many Calgary-area birders made an effort to keep getting out all year long to find new birds. Twenty-six people reported over 200 species within the 80-km count circle during the year! Many of them had their highest total ever for the region.

Most impressive was the 275 species found by the overall winner, Brian Elder. As far as we have been able to determine, this is a new high total for the Calgary count circle, and ten species higher than the winning total in the 2005 competition. It looks like 301 species were reported in all within the circle in 2015. In 2014, there were eight fewer species reported in the circle, and the top individual total was Dan Arndt at 233.

Quite a few of the participants were new to using eBird. Most of them really took to it, finding it to be a valuable birding tool, which helps them to be more aware of the patterns of bird movements through the area, and enables them to quickly find out about sightings of unusual or target species. I sincerely hope that those who began using eBird in 2015 will continue to use it just as much in the future.

The Calgary county led all Alberta counties in species reported on eBird, as it usually does, but where we really stood out in 2015 was the number of checklists submitted:

All Alberta counties 2015

This kind of coverage on eBird really helps to make the data more valuable, so I hope we don’t see a drop in submissions in 2016.

The results below are not official. We will have the final results later this month. The prizes will be presented at the Birds & Beers meeting on Friday January 29th. This will be held at the Horton Road Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285, 9202 Horton Road SW. Everyone is welcome to come out and have a meal and a drink, after which we will present the prizes. In addition to prizes for the winners in the categories below, we will also have prizes for Big Day, Bird of the Year, and the Latecomer Challenge. Join us on January 29 for the final results.

Leaders, 80-km circle:

Here are the top competitors listed with their species totals and categories (the “Not Eligible” competitors are on the organizing committee). Also included is the number of complete checklists they have submitted to eBird within the 80-km circle. This total does not include “incidental” sightings.

Using the arrows you can sort the columns to see all the participants in one category listed together, or sort by number of species, or number of checklists. You can also increase or decrease the number of lines shown.

80-km Circle Leaders, December 31, 2015

Overall RankNameSpeciesChecklistsCategory
1Brian Elder275128Experienced
2tBlake Weis257638Experienced
2tRay Woods25782Experienced
4Daniel Arndt254265Not Eligible
5Aidan Vidal24082Youth
6tGeorge Best235232Experienced
6tDan Parliament235187Experienced
6tEthan Denton235180Youth
9Andrew Hart234252Not Eligible
10tJohn Thompson232285Experienced
10tCindy Parliament232143Experienced
10tNeil Denton232176Experienced
13tGraeme Mudd225204Beginner
13tChris Macintosh225103Beginner
13tAphtin Perratt225103Beginner
16tJohn Anderson220477Experienced
16tLorrie Anderson220474Experienced
18tAndrew Slater219158Not Eligible
18tRose Painter219309Not Eligible
20Bob Lefebvre214504Not Eligible
21Nicole Pellerin205164Beginner
22tLinda Vaxvick203272Experienced
22tJudy Swan203227Experienced
24tPhillip Cram20165Experienced
24tChristopher Naugler20174Experienced
26tTrevor Churchill195108Experienced
26tDarlene Shymkiw195137Beginner
28Bernard Tremblay19327Experienced
29John Bargman187131Experienced
30Janet Gill181105Experienced
31Peter Hoyer17573Experienced
32Simone Pellerin-Wood17393Youth
33Anne Belton171110Experienced
34tDave Russum170318Experienced
34tRob Worona17033Experienced
36Jan Roseneder153315Experienced
37Jeremy Quickfall15152Beginner
38Saravana Moorthy13376Beginner
39Joan Walker13114Not Eligible
40Sue Konopnicki12757Experienced
41Bernie Diebolt9424Experienced
42Rachel Mackay9228Beginner
43Michael Rogers7841Experienced
44tTony LePrieur7523Beginner
44tByron Chu7513Experienced
46Hannah Lilles615Youth
47Robin Naugler484Youth
48Brett Lybbert4612Beginner
49David Sim3422Experienced
50Lucianna Lybbert328Youth
51Jarom Lybbert3111Youth
52Katrina Lybbert309Experienced
53Gord Newel278Beginner
54Angela Bell2111Experienced
55Lynn Wilsack2011Beginner
56Reginald Lybbert121Youth
57David Archer112Beginner
58Sylvia Checkley40Beginner
59Jim Donohue10Experienced

 

Yard Challenge Update

Here are the leaders, showing the number of species identified in or from the competitor’s yards.

Yard Challenge Leaders, December 31

RankNameSpecies
1Phil Ullman88
2John Anderson61
3Lorrie Anderson60
4 - not eligibleBob Lefebvre59
5Judy Swan56
6John Bargman55
7Dave Russum42
8John Thompson41
9Michael Rogers33
10Brian Elder31
11David Sim29
12Linda Vaxvick28
13 - not eligibleRose Painter25
14Rachel Mackay24
15tNicole Pellerin23
15tPhillip Cram23
17Graeme Mudd20
18Peter Hoyer19
19tSimone Pellerin-Wood18
19tDarlene Shymkiw18
21Jan Roseneder15
22t - not eligibleAndrew Hart13
22tLynn Wilsack13
24tBrett Lybbert11
24tJanet Gill11
24tKatrina Lybbert11
27Lucianna Lybbert9
28tAnne Belton7
28tGeorge Best7
30tZoe Keefe6
30tDavid Archer6
32Jarom Lybbert3
33Hannah Lilles1

 

After the prize presentation I will have one more report on the official winners. We will also be doing a presentation at the April meeting of Nature Calgary’s Bird Studies Group.

Congratulations to everyone who took part! I hope you had fun, met some of your fellow birders, and learned more about the birds!

Christmas Bird Count in Inglewood

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

For the Calgary Christmas count on December 20 I was once again part of a group that covered the Inglewood Golf Course, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, the Zoo, and surrounding neighbourhoods. As usual we started with breakfast at the golf clubhouse, and then split into two groups to cover the river and golf course north and south of there.

Waterfowl

Canada Geese and Mallards on the open water.

It’s a challenge to get accurate counts of the thousands of birds on the water, and on this stretch of the river, it’s a challenge to find anything other than Canada Geese and Mallards. But we knew that three Snow Geese had been seen regularly along here, and we soon found them resting on the bank with the other geese. This was the first time that Snow Geese had ever been reported in the 72 years of Calgary Christmas Bird Counts, so it was great to add them to the list.

Snow Geese

Snow Geese – one adult and two immatures, a new species for the Calgary CBC.

There are usually quite a few Bald Eagles on this stretch of the river in winter, and we had nine on the count, seven immatures and two adults.

Bald Eagles

Three of the eight immature Bald Eagles we saw from the golf course.

Bald Eagle

Immature Bald Eagle wondering what I am up to down there.

One of the other waterfowl species we were looking for among the Mallards and Canada Geese was Cackling Goose, a very small relative of the Canadas. It can be very tricky to find these among some of the small subspecies of Canada Goose that overwinter here. I took quite a few photos of some small geese, and we later decided we had seen at least four Cackling Geese. This photo shows one just to the right of the Mallard with its wings up. It is short-necked and stubby-billed, and only about one and a half times the size of a Mallard.

Cackling Geese

Cackling Goose

During Christmas Bird Counts you have to count all the birds you see in your territory, but we are collectively trying to find as many species as we can. Each group in the field is also in a friendly competition with all the other groups to see who can get the most species, and the most unique species, in their territory. So it was good to get Snow Goose, which no one else was likely to find.

While our half of the group went south and found the Snow Geese, the other half was counting birds at the north end of the golf course. One of their targets there was a Harris’s Sparrow, which I had seen there while scouting the area the week before, and which had been seen daily since, usually with or near a mixed flock of chickadees, nuthatches, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and a Brown Creeper. This was the only Harris’s that we were aware of in the count circle, so it was important to find it in case no others turned up elsewhere during the count. Unfortunately our group wasn’t able to find this shy bird in the morning.

We decided that we would try again for the Harris’s, so three of us went back to that area while the others went to the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Although we added a couple of other new species, we again failed to find the Harris’s Sparrow.

Next stop, in the early afternoon, was the Calgary Zoo grounds. Quite a number of wild birds are attracted to the grounds due to the cover, open water, and food available there. Four of us explored the zoo while one of our group covered Pearce Estate and another drove the residential areas to check bird feeders. However, while the other two were adding some new species to our list, we found it very quiet at the zoo this year for wild birds. We had a few species but nothing new for the count.

Unidentified Bird

We looked all through our Birds of Alberta field guide but weren’t able to identify this bird we saw at the zoo.

At 3 pm, we decided there was just enough time to take one more trip to the golf course to try to get the Harris’s Sparrow before sunset at about 4:30. The two of us that remained explored the whole north end for the third time that day. Again we found mixed flocks of passerines and lots of crossbills of both species, but no sign of the sparrow.

WW Crossbill

White-winged Crossbill. Both this species and Red Crossbills can be found all over the city this winter.

Brown Creeper

Brown Creeper, in a mixed winter flock of small foraging birds.

Kinglet 1

Golden-crowned Kinglet. Briefly playing their song drew three kinglets out to inspect us, where we had only been seeing one.

Kinglet 2Golden-crowned Kinglet in the setting sun.

Kinglet 3

Golden-crowned Kinglet. A male, showing the red in the crown.

As the sun touched the horizon we decided we had better call it a day and started walking back along the river to the parking lot. I saw a robin at the water’s edge and was watching it when I saw a dark shape move just below the bank. Just the top of its head and a bit of its back was showing below a bank of snow, but I waited for a minute of so, and it finally walked slowly into view – the Harris’s Sparrow! It moved up into a bush and I got a photo in the fading light.

Harris's Sparrow

It was 4:18 pm, just 13 minutes before sunset. It had taken us most of the day to get that one bird, and it brought our group’s total to a very respectable 29 species.

Then it was off to the wind-up dinner and compilation of results. We are already looking forward to next year to see if we can crack 30 species!

Here is a better photo of the Harris’s Sparrow, taken in good light by Trevor Churchill on December 13.

Trevor Churchill Harris's Sparrow, IGC

Harris’s Sparrow. Photo by Trevor Churchill, Inglewood Golf Course, December 13, 2015.

The results of the Calgary Christmas Bird Count, and several counts in surrounding areas, will be presented at the meeting of Nature Calgary’s Bird Studies Group on January 6, 2016.

Christmas Bird Counting Part 1

Posted by Dan Arndt

This year I’ve taken part in a few Christmas Bird Counts so far, and still have two more to take part in this coming week. I’m breaking this post up into two parts mostly because I don’t know if I’ll get too many photos on these next two counts, but also because I’d have far too many to do it all in one post if I do manage to get some this week!

On Tuesday, December 15 I took part in the High River Christmas Bird Count, which was fairly warm, but also turned up some good birds. Our area came up with 22 species in 8 hours, but I didn’t really have the best opportunities to take many photos. The only three that were really any good were a shot of a male House Sparrow, a possible Hoary Redpoll (still needing confirmation of that ID, as this is the only shot I have of the bird, and a hardy little Muskrat that was foraging along the Little Bow River Canal.

male House Sparrow

male House Sparrow

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Muskrat

Muskrat

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Hoary Redpoll

Hoary Redpoll

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That following Saturday I headed out to my usual area for the Canmore Christmas Bird Count, up near the Highline Trail and around Quarry Lake. I expanded some of my search area this year along the base of Ha-ling Peak and around the very edge of the bottom-most series of Spray Lakes reservoir. Sadly we didn’t have quite the number of species (or even the number of birds) as we had last year, and a few reliable species were not to be found either, so it was a little bit of a disappointing turn out until later in the day. A little after noon we found a good number of our birds down in and around the spruce and pine trees in the Rundleview neighborhood.

female Elk

female Elk

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Mountain Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

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Clark's Nutcracker

Clark’s Nutcracker

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Pine Siskins

Pine Siskins

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Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

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A meandering drive home that afternoon ended up still missing out on a good number of additional species, but it was early to bed and early to rise for the Calgary Christmas Bird Count the following day, where we had a bit better luck. Once again we covered almost exactly 13 kilometers between 9 AM and 4:30 PM, and turned up the usual species, and while we had a couple of bonus bird species, the three we were specifically targeting, Purple Finch, Ruffed Grouse, and Northern Goshawk, were nowhere to be found. We did happen to find the only American Goldfinch found during the count, as well as a couple of definitive Hoary Redpolls, and of course had great looks at the Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls and even a Northern Shrike made an appearance early in the day!

Northern Shrike

Northern Shrike

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Common (left) and Hoary (right) Redpolls

Common (left) and Hoary (right) Redpolls

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Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak

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Common Redpolls

Common Redpolls

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male House Finch

male House Finch

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Hoary (top) and Common (bottom) Redpolls

Hoary (top) and Common (bottom) Redpolls

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American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

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I hope your Christmas and New Year are just as happy as mine have been, and I hope to have many more birds to share with you in the New Year!

Sunday Showcase: Winter Birds of the Weaselhead

Photos from the Weaselhead area of SW Calgary, taken November 28 to December 23.

All photos by Tony LePrieur.

2

White-throated Sparrow

1

Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon subspecies)

3

Bohemian Waxwing

6

Pine Grosbeak (female or immature)

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Pine Grosbeak (male)

4

Blue Jay

9

Common Redpoll

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American Goldfinch (male in winter plumage)

Furry Friday: Bobcat

Here’s a special Christmas Day gift to our Birds Calgary readers!

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Bobcats have reported many times in the past few years in SW Calgary, especially in the Weaselhead, South Glenmore Park, North Glenmore Park, and adjacent residential neighbourhoods. On December 13, Tony LePrieur was taking photos in the Weaselhead, and was lucky enough to see three of these beautiful wild cats together. There were four in the group, according to other observers that day. It appears to be an adult female and three young.

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As Tony lay down on the ground to try to get a photo of one of the cats through the bushes, one of the young ones walked right up to him to a distance of about four feet. I think you’ll agree that he got some outstanding photographs!

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Season’s Greetings from Pat, Bob and Dan!!

Petition re Bend in the Bow

This is a petition presented to Calgary Parks by Gus Yaki and a concerned group of birders. The changes proposed for the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary are designed to bring in scores of visitors for a variety of purposes. Construction of new buildings and increased activity are contrary to the purpose of a bird sanctuary, and clearly not in the best interest of the birds. 

To Calgary’s Parks Department: 24 Nov.2015

Re BEND IN THE BOW PROJECT:  Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Inglewood Wildlands – Calgary, AB

Thank you for the opportunity to comment. We, as citizens of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and the only known planet to support human life, are very pleased to see that the City of Calgary seriously seeks a vision to explore and address ways to Preserve, Enhance and Celebrate the only Urban-centred, Federally recognized bird sanctuary in Canada.

Here are some suggested DO’s and DON’T’s.

1). THIS IS FLOOD PLAIN LAND. The 2013 flood, a one in a 45 year flood, eroded away a dozen or more acres on the west side of the Bow River, south of 17 Ave SE and north of 8 Av SE. Had it been a one in 100 year flood – or greater,  it could well have also taken out all the relatively new homes along 8th and 9th Av SE.

Because of Global Warming/Climate Change, we can expect more such flooding in the future. With extra carbon dioxide in the environment, vascular plants may grow faster – and therefore transpire more water vapour into the atmosphere. Higher air temperatures hold more moisture. Under the right meteorological conditions, this may well result in more frequent and greater floods in the coming years.

2). Therefore, it would be most prudent NOT TO ALLOW the erection of any new buildings – or other physical structures that could be damaged or swept away in this flood plain zone.

Any new structure will also reduce and destroy habitat for all species, which we and all other lifeforms depend upon for the air that we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

3). No doubt, there will be some pressure to erect permanent structures for commercial purposes – such as coffee shops, etc. With the advent of mobile lunch trucks, if needed, these could be licensed to occupy a space in the parking lot(s), to serve that purpose.

Similarly, it would be a misguided folly to even erect any facilities designed to supplement nature interpretation and education – as they could well be swept away in subsequent floods. This would be a sad waste of time and resources!

4). There may well be requests for more facilities such as fire/barbecue pits, picnic tables, etc. These should be denied, as invariably such sites end up full of litter. Open fires also cause air pollution. Some fires are also abandoned, which could escape in a wind storm and cause untold damage – or may harm humans or wildlife unaware that they are still burning.

5). Requests for activities such as weddings parties, should only be allowed on mowed lawn areas, away from bird habitat, where they would not interfere with the activities of the birds – or other human passive users.

Re: INGLEWOOD BIRD SANCTUARY (IBS).

6). One of the great joys of visiting this site, is to be able to see the resident birds, mammals, and other wildlife.

However, over the years, many once abundant bird species, etc., have declined to the point that they are no longer present. Twenty years ago, one could see up to seven pairs of nesting American Kestrels and a similar number of Mourning Doves. They, and  many other species, no longer occur there. What has become of them? Other once common species, such as Baltimore Orioles, etc., have also greatly declined in numbers, and soon may no longer occupy this site.

What is the reason for these losses? Undoubtedly, there are many factors.

7). One reason undoubtedly is because of all the non-native invasive plants now established there – and elsewhere. Species, such as Cotoneaster spp., European Buckthorn, European Mountainash, Siberian Peashrub, and Smooth Brome Grass, etc., having left all their bio-controls behind, have, and are quickly displacing the native herbaceous and woody plants, plants that still have to contend with their own suite of controls. The non-native plants do not provide food for any insect larvae – which are most essential for almost all baby birds. Without this source of animal protein, many of the nestling birds perish. When the adults die of old-age, without replacement, that species is then extirpated.

Invasive species greatly contribute to a diminishing biodiversity.

These non-native plants must be removed before they have displaced all of the rightful native species.

Replace only with local origin native species of flora – such as American Silverberry, etc., which will ultimately provide food for the birds and other animal life.

8). Invasive plants have difficulty in establishing themselves in undisturbed soils. Therefore, limit any activity that may open any wound in the earth. Limit bulldozers or other heavy equipment from creating unnecessary soil disturbances in this natural environment.

9). One other reason for the decline in bird diversity and numbers – is the changes that humans are making to the planet, both here at home and elsewhere in the world. If birds cannot find enough food and shelter on their breeding grounds, migratory stopover sites, or their wintering areas, they succumb. Their loss could ultimately be extremely devastating to humans. We can only conjecture some of the consequences.

One possible scenario is an increase in insects, such as mosquitoes or other as yet benign species, that are developing resistance to all known insecticides – which could then transmit diseases to both humans and other species – causing massive fatalities to us and other lifeforms. This could also disrupt other essential natural processes.

One example of such a misguided local action, is the installation of a so-called “Art Project” just to the east of the present IBS visitor centre in a supposed Bird Sanctuary. This is a collection of some 30 or so metal poles, topped with supposedly simulated birds.

All thinking people viewing this, be they visitors to Calgary or local citizens, including students, question the validity of erecting these poles. They are shocked that this life-destroying “piece of art” could be erected in a supposed Bird Sanctuary. Not ONE bird has benefited from this destructive feature. In fact, many birds have died because of its creation!

Because of it, somewhere on our planet, habitat was destroyed to bring about this useless simulated bird “art?”

A huge hole in the earth was created to mine the ore, and then a large area of the life-giving land was buried under the tailings. Similarly, another hole was created to mine the coal, needed to smelt that ore. In creating both holes, a tremendous amount of energy was used – which released vast amounts of CO2, and other pollutants, into the atmosphere, water and soils. A huge volume of water was taken from rivers or irreplaceable aquifers, for the smelting and other processes, depriving fish and other lifeforms of the quantity and quality of this essential requirement. The web of life is drowning in such thoughtless behaviour.

Its installation is planet-destroying. Future generations of humans, if any still then exist, will declare its erection as criminal!

Any art forms, if desired, should only be located at or near the entranceway of the Sanctuary, where the majority of visitors would have the opportunity to view it.

A pole with nesting platform for Ospreys might conceivably have art included on it. It could include imaginative features such as nest boxes for Tree Swallows, etc., to truly show that this place is a sanctuary for birds.

10). Because of dams on the upstream rivers and creeks, floods no longer bring silt into the floodplain. Balsam Poplar are the most abundant deciduous tree in valley bottoms. The moist silt is required for germination by Balsam Poplar tree seeds. These seeds fall in mid-June, when most flooding would normally occur. The seeds have a viability period of only 24 hours in which to successfully germinate – and thus regenerate the species.

11). Because of the lack of moist silt, there are no new Balsam Poplar trees in the riverine forest. Most of the present Balsam Poplar trees are now approaching 100 years of age – and fall down as they die. These large standing trees provided nest-sites for cavity nesting birds, such as Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Buffleheads, Common Goldeneyes, Hooded Mergansers, Common Mergansers, American Kestrels, Barred Owls, Northern Saw-whet Owls, all of the woodpeckers, Tree Swallows, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches, and House Wrens. No trees with cavities = no cavity nesting birds.

12). Therefore, it is now necessary for us to grow and plant new Balsam Poplars. This can be readily done by having local nurseries take cuttings of existing trees, getting them to grow roots, and then replant them in the riparian zone. Do not ship these cuttings to B.C. nurseries, as the transport to and fro, only contributes to more climate change/global warming.

13). In the meantime, there is an opportunity to provide nesting cavities for the birds in the form of nest boxes. These could be built by youth groups, etc., by diverting surplus scrap plywood, etc., that is now wasted and carried off to landfill sites where it will create methane for an indefinite period into the future.

If “art” is desired, students could be invited to decorate these nest boxes – not with toxic paints but natural materials such as twigs, bark, etc.

The parks in the city of Helsinki, Finland, are filled with forest birds because of the abundance of nest boxes erected in the tall trees there.

14). Willows and other suitable native shrubs must be planted on the river bank slopes to tie the soil together to prevent further erosion. These plants would then provide shade and food, etc., for fish – which in turn would provide food for piscivorous birds.

15). All pathways along the river should be kept back ten metres or more from the bank’s edge. Pathways kill the roots of plants which tie the soils together, thus losing the ability to resist erosion.

Pathways should not have any depressions that collect pools of rainwater, which usually cause humans to walk around them, creating ever wider trails – again reducing plant life, and ultimately animal life as well.

Some sections of the pathways may call for an elevated boardwalk to allow observers to readily see the lifeforms along the river hidden by the near bank.

16). Effort should be made to reopen the drainage, cut off by the flood, that allowed open water all winter long at the north end of the lagoon. This allowed close observation of some 300 ducks, mostly Mallards, but also Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, and occasionally Common Mergansers. Close viewing of these birds was always a highlight of a winter visit to IBS.

17). BEAVER CONTROL. On Mon, 09 Nov. 2015, two vehicles were parked along Sanctuary Road. One was at the north end, opposite the IBS parking lot. The other was at the south end of the IBS lands. The trucks belonged to Eagle Creek Wildlife Control out of Airdrie, AB. The operator of the truck at the south end obviously had keys to the gate, which was open, and had installed a sign about “beaver control.”

Had beavers been allowed to freely live in the Eastern Slope foothills, their dams would have greatly reduced the $6.5 billion damage during the 2013 flood.

One of the greatest joys to the public, whether local residents or tourists, has been the observations of beavers at work. By trapping and destroying these beneficial rodents, the tax-paying public is denied that rightful pleasure.

To allow beavers to live at IBS and to be viewed by visitors, fresh poplar and willows that are felled by man or nature, could be delivered to IBS, to be used by the beavers for food and lodge construction material. The tourism value of such action could be immense.

18). Instead of paying an exterminator, use those funds to obtain sufficient woven wire to properly wrap all desired trees.

Use appropriate sized wire. Presently, funds are squandered by using the wrong-sized wire to wrap around the trees. Two-inch woven wire is ideal: one-inch mesh is a totally unnecessary waste of tax-payers funds.

The wire needs only to be three feet high. Four feet or taller mesh is recklessly extravagant. Giant Beaver have been extinct for 10,000 years!

Do not wrap wire around a tree after it has been completely girdled by beavers! Once the xylem and phloem have been completely severed, the tree is doomed. Better to let the beavers finish the job so they do not have to cut another tree. Observers, noting a tree so wrapped, wonder about the wisdom of the warped minds doing this.

Only wrap mesh around woody plants that beavers will use for food – i.e., Willows and Balsam or Aspen Poplar. (Note, no Aspen trees grow at IBS) – or species used to build dams or lodges, such as Water Birch.

Do not wrap wire around Saskatoons – again a profligate waste of money. Beavers find the trunks too hard, yet excessive quantities of wire mesh have been wasted in this way.

Again, it is a waste of funds to wrap a tree that is a few inches in diameter with a mesh that is a metre in diameter. It will take most Balsam Poplar trees up to 80 or more years to fill that space.

19). Almost no native wildflowers now grow at IBS. One reason likely is because of the high number of deer that are present. The lack of large predators such as wolves and bears has allowed deer populations to exceed the carrying capacity of the land.

It is suggested that several exclosures be erected to exclude deer. Recommended would be to fence off an area about ten metres (~30 X 30 feet) square, and at least eight feet high – and then monitor the differences in the flora compared to the area still accessible to the deer. Such a demonstration trial could be used as a guide in rehabilitating the local wildflower species – which in turn would restore the vital population of bees and butterflies, etc. – and could be used for educational purposes.

20). Because of the high number of deer, there no longer are any ground nesting birds present at IBS: they now have no cover to hide their nests. Visitors are deprived of their right to see them. Therefore, the control of deer needs to be studied.

Re: INGLEWOOD WILDLANDS (IW).

21). This former refinery site needs to be rehabilitated. One observer pointed out “the area seems downtrodden and ill kept.”

Native tree and shrub species need to be planted, at least around the periphery, and then adequately watered so that they will survive. In previous years, many shrubs, etc., were planted by school children, but because of a lack of proper follow-up, have since died.

Do not plant non-native exotics such as Blue Spruce, as these are now becoming invasive.

22). In planting, avoid what has happened in the Birthplace Forests in Fish Creek Provincial Park. There, White Spruce, basically a Boreal Forest species, were planted in the prime prairie area, thus eliminating any sun-loving prairie plants and wildlife.

Those trees were planted in close proximity – often less than two metres apart. Because of this density, up to 50 % of them have died in the past ten years. In another ten years, 90 % will likely have succumbed. The dead stems will fall, decompose, and release any CO2 that they sequestered. Worse however, is all the energy and effort involved in planting the seeds, growing the seedlings, transporting them to FCPP, then transplanting them there, and following up with weekly watering – to have this 90 % die-off and the unnecessary release of more CO2.

23). The low-lying wet central area needs to have a permanent source of water restored, to serve as a pond for waterfowl, Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Yellowthroats and Muskrat, etc.  It already has an installed raised platform which was used by school groups for educational purposes, to study small aquatic life – and could again be so used in the future. This site would also act as a magnet for other passive visitors.

24). Invasive non-native grasses – i.e., Smooth Brome and Crested Wheatgrass, needs to be controlled, so that native grass and other herbaceous species could be re-established.

25). The tall metal remnant and associated structure needs to be removed. It is an eye-sore – and not anything that fits into the mandate to preserve, enhance and celebrate this area. Youths may well try to climb it, and injure themselves. Then the City may be sued for damages.

26). Keep the area free of dogs. Western Meadowlarks, which once were one of the most abundant birds in Calgary’s parklands, have disappeared from all of them (except for Confluence Park). They still are occasionally seen here in some spring seasons. However, off-leash dogs, find the nests and gobble the eggs or young, preventing them – and other species, from becoming re-established. Dogs are also observed chasing deer or other wildlife, to the anguish of viewers – which then takes away much of the joy of visiting Calgary’s Parks.

Dogs, even friendly ones, often traumatize young children, by rushing at them or jumping up on them. Even adults, seniors in particular, who should get out more for health reasons, avoid going out in areas where dogs are not properly controlled.

Thank you for allowing us to express our viewpoints – which will hopefully make for a better environment.