A return to normalcy at Lafarge Meadows

Posted by Dan Arndt

After last week’s almost complete washout for both bird life and weather conditions, it was nice to have relatively minimal wind, warm weather, and a clear transition to our normal autumn faunal assemblage that we’ve grown to expect here in Calgary.

This week we returned to part of my May Species Count territory, Lafarge Meadows. This was my second time back following the flood, and my first time back where there had been any bird life to speak of. I was also quite surprised that much of the cut bank of the river remained intact, rather than being completely eroded away. It seemed for the most part that the water level simply rose too fast to cut away much of the river bank before completely overwhelming it. Parts of our walk showed evidence of being under two meters of water or more, during the peak of the flooding.

That is not to say that the river bank was completely unscathed. A few areas of fresh outcrop were clearly visible, and a number of places where either old deadfall had been stripped away, pathways had been washed out, or the basins of both small and large ponds completely restructured were also quite numerous.

Lafarge Meadows
(Note: This Google Earth image is from May 4, 2013, and doesn’t reflect the change in the riverbed we saw on Sunday.)

As we began our walk, it was clear that it was going to be a bit of a noisy day, as the European Starlings serenaded us any time we were near tree cover. The first two ponds gave us decent views of some waterfowl, including Gadwall, American Coots, Northern Shovelers and even a couple of Bufflehead, but the first really nice close looks we had at any new birds this season was this immature Bald Eagle that we first saw in the distance, then a little closer, until a few boaters flushed it off a high perch to give us this fly-by.

immature Bald Eagle
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Shortly after this fly-by, we scanned a distant gravel bar for some shorebirds, and managed to find a few Killdeer, a Greater Yellowlegs, and this Wilson’s Snipe… can you spot it?

Spot the Snipe!
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1250

One of the birds that seems to almost completely disappear in summer that is starting to re-appear in larger numbers are the American Wigeon, which we saw no small number of on our trek. The female American Wigeon has a very distinct rusty color on the breast and flanks, but the underbelly, which is usually only seen in flight, is a pale white.

female American Wigeon
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

A little further down the pathway, but also giving us nice close looks, was this female Blue-winged Teal. Teals in general show a much smaller profile in the water, and are much smaller than Mallards, Northern Shovelers, and nearly every other duck you might see, and the females are very hard to tell apart from each other. The Blue-winged Teal though, has a white patch near the base of the bill, which is absent in the Green-winged and Cinnamon Teal.

female Blue-winged Teal
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1250

Another bird that didn’t seem to mind us coming in close to it was this Greater Yellowlegs. Note the slightly upturned bill, and that the bill length is about 1.5 times as long as the head is deep.

Greater Yellowlegs
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

Shortly after Gus’ and a few of our other walkers had turned around, we were able to nab another species that they unfortunately had to miss. This little Merlin flew over the large pond, and then passed right in front of us, showing off its unique flight style in perfect form.

Merlin
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 400

Our trip back seemed much faster than the walk down, even though we saw almost as many birds on our trip back, it’s always important to not double-count the birds. The other vital thing was that this time around, the birds seemed further away and didn’t allow for any photo opportunities whatsoever. That all changed as we came upon a lone young White-crowned Sparrow that was more than willing to pose for the camera.

immature White-crowned Sparrow
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

And if that weren’t enough, just before we decided to pack it in for the day, we had a very generous Herring Gull fly in nice and low, showing off its pink legs and yellow bill with the small red mark on the lower mandible. How nice of it!

Herring Gull
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 320

Thanks again for reading, and good birding. Until next week!

Autumn Birding Call-in Show Today

Oct1

Tune in to CBC Radio today, October 1, at 12:30 as local bird expert Sid Andrews will discuss autumn birding in Alberta. If you have an unusual sighting or a question you can call in and ask Sid.

In Calgary, CBC is at 99.1 FM or 1010 AM.

Yellow-rumped Warbler. Photo at Elliston Lake, Calgary, September 22, 2013 by Dan Arndt.

Show Us Your Butts: Contest Winner!

Sep30

Posted by Dan Arndt

The competition was stiff, but in the end, it seems that the simple elegance of a dozen swans dipping simultaneously won the day, and I’m sure you can definitely see why!

Swans at Jumpingpound Creek Sloughs – April 9, 2012 – Photo by Michael Pott

Two weeks ago, I handed over the prize, “10,000 Secrets Every Birder Should Know”, by Sharon Stiteler, and I asked Michael if he had any other photos he’d like to share. I hope you enjoy these photos that he sent in as well, and congratulations again, Michael!

Wolverine – Alaska – August 2013
Photo by Michael Pott

Great Blue Heron – Alaska – August 2013
Photo by Michael Pott

A Windy Washout at North Glenmore Park

Sep30

Posted by Dan Arndt

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later but a confluence of conditions this week led to a major lack of bird activity and a significant lack of photographs. Not only did we have fairly strong wind gusts for the course of our walk, but the damage done to the Glenmore Reservoir in terms of flushing out a majority of the aquatic vegetation, fish and insects made the bird life on and around the reservoir the least diverse I, and many others in our group, have ever seen it.

There will be a full length follow-up post tomorrow to make up for it though, which I’m sure everyone will appreciate, and the announcement of the winner in our Bird Butts contest will be made later on today!

Gulls, Grebes and Grackles at Elliston Park

Sep23

Posted by Dan Arndt

After being away in Ucluelet, B.C. last week to take part in Wild Research’s annual pelagic birding trip, which I posted about over at Bird Canada, this week I’m back home and enjoying the first full day of fall with the Friends of Fish Creek.

Elliston Park – September 22, 2013

Almost immediately after I arrived, we headed west from the parking lot, as Bob had seen a good number of warblers working their way around a small pond and trees at the very edge of the park, which none of us had ever really noticed before. After spending a good half hour and turning up a small flock of Wilson’s Snipe and nearly fifty Yellow-rumped Warblers, a pair of White-throated Sparrows, and a lone Orange-crowned and Palm Warbler, we headed back to the lake proper to attend to our usual route.

Red-winged Blackbird

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Wilson’s Snipe

Just down from the parking lot we had a couple of other great finds, with a pair of Pied-billed Grebes, and a good number of Double-crested Cormorants, and this young one gave us a close fly-by.

Pied-billed Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

As we slowly circled the lake, it quickly became clear to us that, in an unusual turn of events, there were actually more Bonaparte’s Gulls around the lake than Franklin’s. The Bonaparte’s Gulls were flying at eye level around the edge of the lake, and feeding off the surface of the lake. While we were stopped, we took a few minutes to scan the center of the lake, and happened to find a small group of Hooded Mergansers quite a ways out, but the male Hooded Mergansers are so distinct that they were easy to pick out. We did have some fairly distant views of both Eared and Horned Grebes as well as a few Ruddy Ducks, but nothing close enough to get a half decent photo.

Hooded Mergansers

Bonaparte’s Gull

A little further around the lake we found our fourth grebe species, as we got nice and close to a Red-necked Grebe as it surfaced nice and close to us, and while we watched it dive a few times, the clear chattery calls of a flock of twenty-five or so Common Grackles flew overhead, and a few of them paused atop a poplar to pose for a photo.

Common Grackles

Red-necked Grebe

Further to the south, at the far southeast corner of the lake, a pair of Horned Grebes allowed us to get in nice and close. I find them really quite a challenge in their non-breeding plumage. and get the IDs wrong at least 75% of the time!

Horned Grebe in non-breeding plumage

Our last really good looks at any of the birds on the lake was this immature Ring-billed Gull, which we suspect was injured, as it swam close to shore while we all got the closest views of this bird we’ve had all year.

immature Ring-billed Gull

All in all, it was a great morning out, and a bit of a different time of year to visit Elliston Park than our usual timing in the fall course, but it was worth the change in schedule!

Next week we’re off to South Glenmore Park, and hopefully we find some unusual species on the reservoir, or at least see a few more fall migrants on their way through.

Good birding, and have a great week!

Travel Tuesday: The Road Less Travelled at Frank Lake – Part 1

Sep17

As you no doubt have realized by now, not only do I love shorebirds, but I also love Frank Lake. Today’s post is here to highlight not only the photos that I’ve taken at Frank Lake already this year, but also some areas that may be a little bit less familiar to the visitors to the Ducks Unlimited Protected Wetland just 50km SE of Calgary.

Frank Lake

Of course everyone knows what great shots you can get just sitting at the established viewing blind, or on the mudflats around the parking loop at the end of the road at the main basin. For instance, Ruddy Ducks, Eared Grebes, and even Western Grebes can be regularly seen within a few meters of the main blind.

Western Grebe and young
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1250sec., ƒ/8.0, ISO 640

Eared Grebe
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/8.0, ISO 800

female Ruddy Duck
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

There are a couple of other places along the main access road that are good for shorebirds, Common Yellowthroat, White-faced Ibis, and even Black-crowned Night Herons. The first, labelled (1) on the map, is just east of the water inflow canal. The nutrients in the water provide a huge volume of nutrients in suspension to feed insects, plants, algae, and even shorebirds who eat small particulate food. Here are a few of the species that can often be found at this location in the summer.

Long-billed Dowitchers
Frank Lake – September 12, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 400

Common Yellowthroat
Frank Lake – September 12, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 500

American Avocets
Frank Lake – September 12, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 400

Wilson's Snipe Frank Lake - September 12, 2013 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Wilson’s Snipe
Frank Lake – August 23, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Great Blue Heron
Frank Lake – August 23, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

These are just a few of the areas off the beaten path at Frank Lake. With waterfowl hunting season opening on September 8, and the main gate being locked, there are a few other access points at Frank Lake that might be a bit better for drive-up birding. Check in next week for part 2 of this series on Frank Lake!

Fall Migration at Sikome Lake with the Friends of Fish Creek

Sep9

Posted by Dan Arndt

The Autumn Birding Course with the Friends of Fish Creek began this week at one of the better places relatively untouched by the floods: Sikome Lake. We had quite a variety of birds on our walk, tallying up 38 species in just over two hours, and even netting another new year bird for my own personal list, which was a great bonus!

Sikome Lake
September 8, 2013

We began our walk by heading south of 22X in search of waterfowl and shorebirds in either of the two ponds on the south end of Sikome Lake, but sadly didn’t get very good results. Thankfully, one of the Osprey gave us a few close fly-bys, and even perched up on one of the light standards to allow us all to get a good look at it.

Osprey giving us a fly-by
Sikome Lake, September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 500

Osprey on a light standard
Sikome Lake, September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 640

While we were looking at the Osprey, both Bob Lefebvre and I heard a quiet chip-note in the bushes behind us, which turned out to be a pair of Clay-colored Sparrows. This little bird decided to fluff up its feathers and sit quite still while we all snapped away with our cameras and stared at it in full view.

Clay-colored Sparrow
Sikome Lake – September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

Unfortunately even the pond on the south side of 22X had very little activity as well, so we headed back towards the wooded area north of the two ponds, and boy did we get some great results! At first, we got some good close looks at two birds we can expect to see reliably over the next fourteen weeks. Both the Black-capped Chickadee and White-breasted Nuthatch were really hamming it up for us, but as we were preparing to move on, we had a surprise visit by a Blue-headed Vireo!

Black-capped Chickadee
Sikome Lake – September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@270mm + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/5.6, ISO 1600

White-breasted Nuthatch
Sikome Lake – September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

Blue-headed Vireo
Sikome Lake – September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

We headed up to a spot that is well known as the “Feeding Station”, a series of short posts that Gus Yaki has placed black-oil sunflower seeds on on each visit. It’s a great place to find chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches each time we visit, but this time around we were also treated to a wide variety of warblers, vireos, and even a good number of House Wrens. The only bird that managed to stay still long enough for me to get a shot of it was this Red-eyed Vireo, but I was happy with that!

Red-eyed Vireo
Sikome Lake – September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

Before our walk had even started though, I did get a chance encounter with a pair of Cooper’s Hawks chasing each other through the treetops. This particular hawk seems like he’d had enough chasing for the time being, and was taking a break in the same tree our Great Horned Owl family was roosting in back in May.

Cooper’s Hawk
Sikome Lake – September 8, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 + Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Thanks for reading, and good birding. See you next week!

Furry Friday: Prairie Moose

Sep6

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

We spotted this Moose running across highway 22X just east of Calgary on July 28, 2013. We stopped and got a few photos and a video as it ran right across the highway. Fortunately, no cars crossed its path. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a moose east of the city before. It probably came up from the Bow River valley just south of the highway, but I’m not sure where it was headed in such a hurry.

The moose is tagged in its right ear. It is probably part of a study of moose populations, but I haven’t been able to find out anything about this. If anyone knows what the tags mean, let us know in the comments.

Below is a video of the moose.

6,000+ Acres of Alberta Grassland & Prairie Potholes Protected

Sep5

Today Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), along with Shell Canada, celebrated the launch of the Shell Buffalo Hills Conservation Ranch. This is DUC’s largest and most ecologically important acquisition to date, which builds on a strong 75-year legacy of delivering important habitat projects in areas that provide the greatest benefit to North American waterfowl.

Shell Buffalo Hills Conservation Ranch includes 4,130 acres of pristine, native grasslands, as well as an additional 1,769 acres of tame hay lands. In total, this area represents nearly 6,000 acres for breeding, migration and wintering of 159 bird species that use both native prairie and the boreal forest of Alberta.

Recognizing the positive impact of this acquisition, Shell Canada has generously agreed to contribute $3 million towards the purchase with the balance coming from DUC and the NAWCA partnership. With this generous donation, Shell is demonstrating tremendous leadership by helping to conserve this block of wetland rich, mixed-grass prairie.

“The Shell Buffalo Hills Conservation Ranch is an outstanding and rare example of intact habitat only one hour southeast of Calgary,” says DUC President, Mac Dunfield. “This makes it not only an exemplar of wetland conservation, but easily accessible for the public to enjoy. It will serve as an excellent property to demonstrate how DUC’s work to conserve critical waterfowl habitat also provides many other societal benefits including carbon storage, improved water quality, as well as mitigating impacts of floods and drought.”

This is one of the last remaining tracts of native prairie grassland located within an area of intensive grain production. Had this land not been secured by DUC, there would be significant risk of losing the native habitat to grain and oilseed production in the future. Though there has been some minor wetland drainage on these lands, we are focused on retaining the existing native prairie and small wetland habitat, which includes approximately 800 basins.

From the Vulcan Business Development Society

On September 4th, Ducks Unlimited opened their 10,000 acre signature property – 6000 acres + 4000 lease-land – their largest acquisition in their history, for their 75th anniversary. It’s all right in Vulcan County, outside of Milo in Division 8.

The property is on Township Road 194 – just east of RR 234. It is open to the public and will provide superb hiking and exploring for years to come!

Posted by Pat Bumstead

Furry Friday: Foxes are Fun!

Aug30

Posted by Dan Arndt

I have to thank Glenn Alexon for sharing the location of this pair of beautiful foxes with me near Calgary.

Enjoy!

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/250sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/250sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 3200

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 3200

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/400sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 3200

Red Fox near Calgary – August 1, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500 @ 500mm
1/400sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 3200

Thanks for reading, and good birding (or mammaling)!

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

A return to normalcy at Lafarge Meadows

Autumn Birding Call-in Show Today

Show Us Your Butts: Contest Winner!

A Windy Washout at North Glenmore Park

Gulls, Grebes and Grackles at Elliston Park

Travel Tuesday: The Road Less Travelled at Frank Lake – Part 1

Fall Migration at Sikome Lake with the Friends of Fish Creek

Furry Friday: Prairie Moose

6,000+ Acres of Alberta Grassland & Prairie Potholes Protected

Furry Friday: Foxes are Fun!

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