Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary?
If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.
Compiler: Terry Korolyk
Bird Sightings:
June 11:
–TURKEY VULTURE(2), one at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary by Kerri Martin, one over house of Matthew Sim.
–GREAT-GREY OWL(2), RR52 and Grand Valley Rd, by Frank Wood.
–LAZULI BUNTING, Millarville, by Twyla Collier.
–ROSE-BREASTED/BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK hybrid, S.Glenmore park, by Gus Yaki et al.
June 12:
–THAYER’S GULL, Glenmore Reservoir, by Terry Korolyk
–BONAPARTE’S GULL(2), same as above.
–RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, near Linden, by Corinne Griffin.
–ALDER FLYCATCHER(4), Nose Hill, Porcupine Valley, by Bill Wilson.
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday June 14.
The other day, I was sitting outside in my yard, soaking up some sunshine when I heard a big commotion coming from the spruce tree in my yard. There were Grackles, Robins, Blue Jays, Pine Siskins, Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches all making as much noise as they possibly could. The reason? Look at the photo below; do you see anything?
How about now?
Though the Sharp-shinned hawk was rather well hidden, it couldn’t hide from the neighborhood birds who know all too well what will happen if they leave this predator undisturbed.
Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.
Compiler: Terry Korolyk
June 7:
WHITE-FACED IBIS (3), N side of Inverlake Rd, NE of Chestermere Lake, Randy Kimura.
RED-TAILED HAWK, rufous morph, Votier’s Flats, FCPP seen for the 3rd summer in this area, Terry Korolyk.
June 8:
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD pr, along the creek in Votier’s Flats, reached via S end of Elbow Dr, Matthew Sim.
June 9:
SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER, wetland at Hwy 547/Rge Rd 255, TK.
June 10:
CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD (2), cross large pedestrian bridge over river, turn rt. cross small bridge, turn left and follow new boardwalk on W side of channel, CFNS, FFCPP.
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (2), near blooming caragana along trail along N slope of Elbow River , W of Weaselhead parking, as above.
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday June 14.
Many readers of Matthew’s recent post about the Hummingbirds of the Weaselhead would like to know where to find these birds. There are two species that breed there, and they are reliably in the same two areas every year, from mid-May to early September.
To get to this area, park in the lot in North Glenmore at 37 Street and 66 Avenue SW, in the community of Lakeview. This is marked with a red “P” in the satellite map below. The white x’s show where the Calliope Hummingbirds are typically found, and the yellow x’s show the location of the Rufous Hummingbirds.
Calliope Hummingbirds: From the parking lot, go down the hill on the paved trail, and cross the big bridge over the Elbow River. Then turn right immediately and follow the trail over a wooden bridge that spans a side channel (Eastern Phoebes nest here). After the wooden bridge, turn left onto a new boardwalk trail that runs along the west side of that channel. After the boardwalk ends, the trail turns away from the channel, and you soon come to a more open area with a few small trees. Look for these tiny birds at the top of dead branches or spruce trees. Another trail branches off and goes north along the west side of this open area, and we have seen the Calliopes here too. The red x’s on the map below show where to look. Please stay on the trails – there is no need to go off them to find the birds.
Rufous Hummingbirds: From the main parking lot, take the paved trail down the hill. There are several trails you can take to the area where the birds are on the south-facing slope along the river. It can be quite muddy in wet conditions, and you should stay well away from the river when the water is high. One dirt trail begins right where the paved path makes a big turn, before going down the steep hill (the uppermost red T below). This one is difficult when it is wet since there are steep sections. Another runs right along the river bank (the lowermost T). This trail is unusable and dangerous when the water level is high, as it is now. The middle T indicates a trail that begins at a wooden railing just north of the big bridge. This is the best way in wet conditions (the trails all converge when you are about halfway there). Follow the dirt trails through the woods, staying down low near the river, until you get to a stormwater drain into the river. The hillsides here are covered in Caragana bushes (Siberian Peashrub). You usually don’t have to go farther than this to find the birds (though the trails continue on for quite a distance). The location is marked with red x’s below. Again, look at the tops of small dead branches, or the tips of spruce trees.
To return, you can backtrack, or climb the steep hill to the boundary fence above, and follow it back. (In dry weather you can go in this way, along the top, but it is a steep hill down to where the birds are, and very slippery.)
This past Friday, I did a Big Day in Fish Creek. For those of you who do not know what this is, a Big Day is when you try to see and hear as many species as possible within a 24 hour day. For my Big Day, I spent more than 10 hours in Fish Creek, doing the entire day by bike, riding about 74 kilometers (46 miles) throughout the park and recording 93 species of birds, falling short of my goal of 100. Temperatures ranged from 6-15 degrees Celsius and there were a few showers. I started at about 5am and took a 2 hour weather break at lunch time, hoping for some of the rain to blow over, before returning at 2 and counting for another 3 hours. A full list and a more detailed report of the day can be seen here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/message/20841
This past Thursday, I went out for a walk in the Weaselhead with local nature expert Gus Yaki and a group of other birders. Our target species were the 2 species of hummingbird that call this park home; the Calliope Hummingbird and the Rufous Hummingbird. Though we saw and heard many great species on our walk, for this post I will concentrate on the hummingbirds.
When we reached the area where Calliope Hummingbirds are usually seen, we scanned around with our binoculars, searching for this tiny bird. The smallest bird in North America at 8cm in length (3.25 inches), this hummingbird can sometimes be passed off as a large bee. After several minutes, somebody found this beautiful male perched at the top of a spruce tree.
Male Calliope Hummingbird
We observed this little guy (the Calliope is the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world) as Gus told us many neat facts about the species. For example, the pink streaks on the male’s throat form a V-shaped gorget, and these streaks are rather long, so that when the male turns his head, the streaks will actually reach back over his shoulder. This was my first time seeing the species so I was particularly enthralled with the bird. After some time, we moved on, back closer to the river in search of the Rufous Hummingbird.
We had to walk through some muddy spots to get to the habitat where the male Rufous is likely to be seen but was it ever worth it! When we got there, someone soon spotted the male Rufous and we soon all had our binoculars trained on him as he displayed his gorgeous orange-red gorget.
Male Rufous Hummingbird
The Rufous Hummingbird was moving around a lot and we got to see him at various spots; perched and in flight.
At one point, he even came to the bushes right behind us and started feeding. Gus told us that these bushes were actually Siberian Peashrub, more commonly known as Caragana. They are an invasive species that totally dominates the environment, so that no other flowering plants live in the area ( it covers 10-12 acres on the north side of the Elbow river). Male Rufous Hummingbirds feed on these plants because of the abundant if only temporarily nectar, however the females, which raise their families alone without the help of the males, realise that there is not enough nectar to raise a family on and head elsewhere, to richer, more natural environments. The males are then at a biological dead-end and do not have the oppurtunity to pass on their genes. This was quite fascinating and I would not have learned this had I not been on the trip with Gus. Thanks Gus!
He showed off his colors beautifully, revealing how he got his name.
We had a great morning watching these hummingbirds and learning lots about them thanks to Gus’ vast wealth of knowledge.
Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.
Compiler: Terry Korolyk
June 4:
–BARROW’S GOLDENEY(5), W. end of Glenmore Reservoir, by Matthew Simm.
–TURKEY VULTURE(10).Dry Island Buffalo Jump near Drumheller, by Cedric Hitchon.
–CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD(2), RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD(3), EASTERN PHOEBE, (3),VEERY. Weaselhead area,west end Glenmore Reservoir, by Gus Yaki et al.
–CASSIN’S VIREO(1), Queen’s Park Cemetery, by Bill Wilson.
June 5:
–OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, Votier’s Flats, FCPP, by Jeff Bank
-ROCK WREN(2),SPRAGUE’S PIPIT, LE CONTE’S SPARROW(3), NELSON’S PARROW(2), by Joan and Malcolm MacDonald. For location details, see recent report on Alberta Birds.
–WESTERN KINGBIRD(2), La Farge Meadows, FCPP, by Nimali Seneviratne et al.
June 6:
–VEERY(5), Weaselhead area, by Warren Costello et al
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday June 11.
After arriving back in Calgary from Houston for the summer last Friday, I couldn’t wait to get back out to Fish Creek. Sunday morning found me up bright and early (6:00) and out on my bike, riding down to Fish Creek Provincial Park, one of my favorite birding (and for that matter, one of my favorite natural) locations.
Almost immediately, I was seeing good birds. At the stormwater ponds between the Glennfield area and the Bow Valley Ranch I saw lots of waterfowl, including a pair of Cinnamon Teal and many Common Goldeneye ducklings.
Cinnamon Teal; male on the right, female partially hidden on the left
Goldeneye ducklings
At one pond, a coyote was hunting something in the long grass and remained oblivious to my presence.
After observing the coyote for some time, I continued riding my back towards the Ranch. I crossed bridge #11 and started towards Sikome and the river, but stopped abruptly when I saw the Great Horned Owl family; 5 in all, 3 owlets and their parents.
We as Calgarians are truly lucky to be able to observe owlets up close each year as they are never far off the path in Fish Creek. I marveled at the owls seemingly majestic haughtiness, as they all stared me down. Before long, I was off again, stopping again when I saw a strange sight at the top of a conifer. At the very top was a Brown-headed Cowbird, surrounded by what must have been millions of little bugs.
As I passed through the Sikome area, I observed many Richardson’s Ground Squirrels.
As I finally reached the river and the Hull’s Wood area of the park, I spotted what was probably the most colorful bird of the day; a male Baltimore Oriole.
There was a female with him and they seemed to be paired up, however she was more secretive as she gathered nest material and disappeared high into the poplars to build her hanging nest.
This trip to Fish Creek was excellent, and for me, having moved away, I now fully appreciate what a great park Fish Creek is.
Q: Morning, I just found this blog and think it is wonderful! My family and I moved out to an acreage west of the city recently, and are wondering about one bird sound that we just can’t ID. We hear it mostly at night and very early morning. It’s an eerie call…. The best way to describe it is a high-pitched kakakaka. Almost sounds like something you’d here in a jungle? If that makes sense? If you have a moment I’d really like your thoughts on this one. Thanks.
A: One possibility is a Wilson’s Snipe, a shorebird found in wet marshy areas. It makes a display flight, often at night, where the bird flies high in the sky and then dives down at high speed. The air rushing past its tail feathers produces a sound often described as a fast “woowoowoowoowoo….” Click on the video below and let me know if that’s the bird or not.
Reply: Thanks!!! That’s the one! We haven’t seen one but we can sure hear them!
Q: I live in south Calgary. At night we have been hearing an unusual call that sounds like a dove or possibly a duck. It is a whistling sound that we often hear passing overhead in the sky while we are in the hot tub. We have a seasonal marsh close by that is home to Mallards, Canada Geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and more species. Do you have any idea what could be making this sound? Just wondering!
A: It sounds to me like you have Mourning Doves. They are quite vocal, and make soft cooing sounds all day and in the evening. When they fly, their wings make a loud whistling noise. They are birds of the grasslands not the marshes, but can generally be found wherever there is food – seeds, insects, etc.
Mourning Dove. Photo by Anne Elliott.
Another possibility is Common Goldeneye, a species of duck whose wings make a whistling sound when they fly.
Common Goldeneye. Photo by Dan Arndt.
Q: Hi there, I was wondering if you could provide some information. I awoke in the middle of the night last night and heard a bird singing on Nose Hill behind our house. This was at 2:00 am and this bird sang for over an hour. I tried to find its song on the internet and the nearest I came to it was a nightingale. Is that even possible here? If not, what kind of bird around Calgary, sings at night? Isn’t that unusual?
Thanks for your help.
A: It’s not that unusual for birds to sing at night. Some species do it all the time in the breeding season. It’s difficult to say which one you have there. There are several species of nightingale, but they are not found in North America. I’m not too familiar with nightingale songs but a quick listen to them online, plus the location you gave, suggests that your bird might be a Gray Catbird. They have a long, disjointed song that is a series of squeaky syllables separated by pauses. They don’t usually repeat the same sound twice in a row, and they can include imitations of other birds, and the occasional cat-like mew. They are also known to sing at night. Check out this YouTube video to see what they sound like. If that’s not the bird, let me know.
Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Nature Calgary Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.
Compiler: Terry Korolyk
May 30:
–BAY-BREASTED WARBLER: Seen in backyard of Joy Van Dusen in the Huntington Hills area of Calgary.
May 31:
–HARLEQUIN DUCK: Elbow Falls area SW of Calgary, by Sandra Savage
–RUDDY TURNSTONE: S. end of Weed lake, E.of Langdon, by Pat Mitchell et al.
June 2:
–SANDERLING(3), BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER(2), LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER(10), E side of Third Lake, 224Str.SE , 2km. S. of Hwy. 552,, by Terry Korolyk.
–SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER, slough along Hwy.552 and RR 255, by TK.
June 3:
–UPLAND SANDPIPER(1), SHORT-EARED OWL, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, RED-BREASTED MERGANSER, AND WHITE-FACED IBIS, all seen by Andrew Slater on or around the south end of Eagle Lake. See Alberta Birds report for full details on locations.
–WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW: Several reports from around Calgary by several observers.
The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday June 7.
