Rare Bird Alert Calgary: May 7

May8

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.

May 5:
CHIPPING SPARROW, HERMIT THRUSH, 200 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, 3 WHITE-THROATED
SPARROWS at IBS, Gus Yaki with FFCPP.

May 6:
BOBOLINK , N side of junction of Hwy 68/Hwy 1, Dave Elphinstone.
PALM WARBLER, IBS, various observers.
BLACKPOLL WARBLER, 3 SWAINSON’S THRUSHES, SAY’S PHOEBE at Dinosaur PP, Marcel Gahbauer.
BANK, BARN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED and TREE SWALLOWS, various reports.
SAY’S PHOEBE pair, Votier’s Flats, FCPP, Terry Korolyk.
SWAINSON’S THRUSH, BROAD-WINGED HAWK, Beaverdam Flats, Steve Kassai.
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER (Caurinus) and a possible WHITE-FACED x GLOSSY IBIS Third Lake, Hwy 552, 224St SE, TK.
2 LEAST SANDPIPERS, 2 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, slough at Hwy 547/ Rnge Rd 255, TK.
60 WHITE-FACED IBIS SE corner Basin 2, Frank Lake, Andrew Slater.
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, LONG-BILLED CURLEW, 20 WESTERN GREBES, Frank Lake, AS.
WESTERN GREBE east of Shepherd, Andrew Hart.
3 THAYER’S GULLS (one very pale), LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, IBS, Ilya Povalyaev.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday May 10.

Calling on Bloggers – Black Out, Speak Out For Nature And Democracy

May7

Canada’s leading environmental organizations have launched a campaign to protest against unprecedented attacks on two core Canadian values: nature and democracy.

Known as Black Out Speak Out (or Silence, on parle, in French) the campaign will invite organizations, businesses and bloggers from across Canada to darken their websites on June 4, and speak out against the dismantling of Canada’s environmental laws.

Black Out Speak Out begins Monday May 7 with full-page ads in the Globe and Mail, La Presse and Ottawa’s Hill Times. It also includes websites www.blackoutspeakout.ca or www.silenceonparle.ca.

Silence is not an option for Canadians who care about the protection of nature and democratic discussion. Changes introduced in the federal government’s budget act (C-38) are placing the future of our land, water and climate at risk. The changes are making it easier to rush headlong into potentially damaging industrial projects, and harder for Canadians to have any say.

We’re asking you and other bloggers who care about nature and democracy to help us spread the word about our cause on your blog. For the next month, you can also speak out on Twitter using #blackoutspeakout, and share our facebook page at facebook.com/BlackOutSpeakOut. And, we invite you to join in our nationwide action, and darken your site on June 4.

Participating environmental organizations include CPAWS, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, Greenpeace, Nature Canada, Pembina Institute, Sierra Club of Canada, West Coast Environmental Law, and WWF Canada.

We hope you’ll participate in the campaign. More information in our press release at http://blackoutspeakout.ca/press_release.php.

Chris Sutton
Communications Director
Nature Canada

Sunday Showcase: Spring Willets

May6

More great bird trips and photos from Marg Matheson and Alan Plumb.

Postcards from Texas: The highs and lows of birding

May5

Posted by Matthew Sim

Sometimes, birding can exceed your wildest hopes. For me, this happened last year when I stumbled upon a Northern Hawk Owl on a midday walk in Fish Creek. Sometimes though, birding can let you down. For me, this happened just last week on a birding trip with the Houston Audubon down to the Texas coast.

Spring migration in Texas is world-famous among birders. Millions of neotropical birds crossing the Gulf of Mexico heading north to their breeding grounds land at various spots along the Texas coast, exhausted from their non-stop trip across the gulf. When the weather is right, a fall-out can occur, in which many different species of migrants all drop into the trees of the first bit of land they see after the trans-gulf flight. This trip with the Houston Audubon down to the coast was supposed to witness one of these fall-outs. Except the birds never came.

When we arrived at the tiny but well-known Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, the treetops (which should have been swarming with warblers, orioles, buntings, flycatchers and tanagers) were silent. Completely silent. We soon discovered that the strong south wind was blowing the migrants right on by. You see, with a powerful wind at their backs, these birds can conserve energy and travel faster; so why stop? Realizing that we weren’t going to see much we started to leave, seeing both Brown-headed Cowbirds and Bronzed Cowbirds (neither is a migrant) on the way out.

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bronzed Cowbird

Just as we were exiting, things started to pick up a little and we saw an Eastern Kingbird, 2 female Orchard Orioles and a very brief glimpse of a male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, meaning that things weren’t too bad.

Female Orchard Oriole, saving the day for songbird migration!

From there, we headed down to the beach and jetty, where we were happy to see all 8 species of terns commonly seen on the upper Texas coast. As our group toured the surrounding beach, we observed many different species of shorebirds including pretty Black-necked Stilt, many Sanderlings, striking Ruddy Turnstones in breeding plumage and intriguing Dunlin. We also were given an opportunity to view Wilson’s and Semipalmated Plover and tried our hand at the tricky identification of Western And White-rumped Sandpipers. All of these were just out of camera range but were beautiful up-close in our spotting scopes.

After gobbling down a quick lunch, our Houston Audubon group decided to explore the nearby Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge to see what else we could see. Brazoria, a refuge of grasslands and salt marshes quickly yielded up a lifer for me, a Least Bittern, which flushed from some reeds. We also saw Snowy Egret, White Ibis, Black-necked Stilt and good views of Sora (though the same cannot be said for the photos!)

Snowy Egret

A very poor shot of the Sora

As our group drove the auto-tour loop, we saw some more great birds such as Dickcissel. One car had 3 handsome male Bobolinks singing. We even managed to spot a female Magnificent Frigatebird, which is always a highlight.

Female Magnificent Frigatebird

We finished our trip with about 80 species and though the songbird migration was definitely a low, the shorebirds and the activity at Brazoria were definitely highs and the trip was well worth it.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: May 3

May4

April 28
–HARLEQUIN DUCK, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, seen on two separate occasions by two sets of observers
–SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, Calgary’s Oakridge neighborhood, Margaret Brunner
–HERMIT THRUSH, High River, Highwood River adjacent to George Lane Park, Peter Maksymiw
–ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (8), same, same
–YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (15), same, same

April 29
–WILSON’S PHALAROPE (3) Weed Lake, Hwy 560, Langdon, Terry Korolyk

April 30
–THAYER’S GULL, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Ilya Povalyaev
–LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL, same, same
–GLAUCOUS GULL, same, same

May 1
–GREAT GRAY OWL, Wildcat Hills Road, N of Cochrane, Alan Cole
–RED CROSSBILL (13), Elbow River survey area, Gus Yaki et al

May 2
–PECTORAL SANDPIPER (15), N of Strathmore, E side of Hwy 817, just N of Twp Rd 252, Joan and Malcolm Macdonald
–WILSON’S PHALAROPE, same, same
–COMMON TERN, Cattleland Slough, RR252, N of SR 564, same
–GREAT GRAY OWL, TWP Rd 240 SW of Water Valley (2, 1 km. S of Water Valley (1), Ron Kube
–WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, just E of Shannon Terrace in Fish Creek Provincial Park, Al and Helga Borgardt

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday May 7.

RBA Correction

May2

The April 30 Rare Bird Alert reported 80 Lesser Yellow-legs see at McElroy Slough on April 29. The correct number for the sighting should have been 800+ of them, as reported by Terry Koryluk.

McElroy Slough is located east of Calgary, and you can see a map to the location on the Nature Calgary website.

Pat Bumstead

Birds and Beers (or, getting to know your fellow birders)

May2

Posted by Dan Arndt

As a relatively new “serious” birder, I have a confession to make. Until about a year ago, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a Gadwall and a Northern Shoveler, a Bohemian Waxwing and a Cedar Waxwing, or in most cases, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Swainson’s Hawk. A lot of my job entails a lot of detail oriented work, that can be relatively monotonous, and I found that listening to something helped while away the time. I stumbled across Sharon Stiteler’s Birdchick podcast, and immediately knew that I’d found something great.

It’s not for everyone, and can sometimes get a little “blue”, but I find that it covers a lot of great birding news and information in North America, and it’s incredibly funny too. One of the things that Sharon has been great at promoting is the idea that birders really should just get to know each other better. Whether it be just to chat, share stories and experiences, or just as importantly, to be approachable not only to each other, but to folks who are completely inexperienced and who want to become more “serious” birders.

One of the greatest ideas for this is her “Birds and Beers” meetups, which are held semi-regularly, and generally well attended. I’m involved in a similar sort of meetup here in Calgary, with another group that I am involved with, the Calgary Skeptics, and we’ve run these events solidly for the past three years with good success and good turnout.

I agree with Sharon. Birders, especially those with a ton of experience, can be a little intimidating to talk to. Gulls, flycatchers, warblers, shorebirds, and many, many other groups can be very hard to identify properly, and no one wants to say “Hey, look at that Tennessee Warbler!” when you’re not entirely sure if it’s a Tennessee, a Nashville, an Orange-crowned, or even just a female Wilson’s Warbler. That goes doubly so when you’ve got incredibly experienced birders around who, one might expect, would be quick to chastise you for making an incorrect ID. What I’ve learned though, is that EVERYONE misidentifies birds. Even the most experienced and revered birders in the Calgary community have made mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes in the future. It’s really one of the only ways to get better!

But don’t take it from me. Come out to Calgary’s inaugural Birds and Beers on Thursday, May 10, 2012. We’ll be meeting at the Joyce on Fourth Irish Pub at 7:00 PM, and I definitely hope to see you and many others in Calgary’s birding community out there!

Q & A: Attracting Birds to Feeders

May1

By Bob Lefebvre

Here at the Birds Calgary blog, we receive a lot of questions from bird-friendly folks throughout the province. We are going to start sharing some of them with our readers as just another way to spread bird knowledge.

If you have a question, email us at birdscalgary@gmail.com. We may post your question and our answer. We won’t print your name or email address without permission.

Q: Hi there, I have a question regarding attracting birds to my feeder. I live in Calgary, and I have tried everything this fall and winter to attract birds to my yard with no success. I’ve looked at all kinds of websites and followed their advice; I have the best seeds, suet, nuts, feeders…however my yard is in a horrible location. I live in a small townhouse, and I access my yard and front door via an alley that is ‘walled in’ by the neighbour’s house and two other townhouses. I hear the birds all around me when I go outside, but my yard doesn’t have a tree, and is somewhat hidden as my yard is recessed due to the neighbouring townhouses. I know the birds are around, I just can’t seem to get them to see my feeders because my yard is hidden.

I’ve sprinkled seed around the area and in my alley, I’ve even leaned my old Christmas tree against a wall near the feeder in the hopes of attracting even one small chickadee! I’m reluctant to invest any more in this effort (like a heated bird bath) because I’m not fully convinced I’ll ever be able to attract birds. I’m just wondering if anyone at your great website has any advice for me, I love birding and want to attract birds and help them throughout the winter, but I’m just not having any luck! Other than waiting until to spring to plant some flowers and shrubs that might attract them, do you have any advice?

Thanks so much, love the website.

A: It’s likely that your location and the lack of trees in your yard is a problem, but I think that with patience you will be able to attract the birds.

It’s true that having trees or shrubs is definitely a big plus. The birds need to feel that they have a safe haven to retreat to if attacked. Also, if there are no large trees around there will be fewer nesting sites for species like Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, and Northern Flickers. Some of the newer neighbourhoods in Calgary with few large trees have a smaller number of bird species than old, established neighbourhoods. But as you said, there are birds near your house, so you should be able to get them into your yard. It seems most likely that the birds just have not yet discovered your feeders.

You are probably hearing House Sparrows in the area, so you have to try to get them in your yard first. Normally, they will feed at almost any type of feeder. The location of the feeders can be important too. Are they too high or too low? They shouldn’t be placed anywhere that a cat could ambush the birds as they feed. It seems to me that House Sparrows don’t like to come to feeders that are right against a building or in a window, if they have any other choice. (Some other birds will not come to a raised feeder but prefer to feed on the ground.) Once the House Sparrows begin feeding in your yard, other species like House Finches, Black-billed Magpies, and Black-capped Chickadees will notice the feeding activity and come to the food.

Other than providing a variety of feeders in proper locations, the two most important things you can do to get the birds to start coming to your yard regularly is to put out water, and to feed them year-round.

I know you said you didn’t want to get a heated birdbath, but you should consider making water available in your yard. It really makes a difference in attracting birds. (Running water is the best attractor, but you can’t have that in the winter.) If you get a metal or plastic birdbath, the water will freeze in cold weather but on many winter days it will melt at least a little, and you can always add hot water to the ice to yield a little drinkable water on all but the coldest days. (Ceramic and concrete birdbaths can break when water freezes.)

You mentioned that you have been trying to attract the birds this fall and winter. It’s much easier to get birds in your yard in the summer, when there are many more around, and thus get the local birds in the habit of feeding there. So I would encourage you to keep at it through the summer. I know people who feed birds only in the winter, and they get very few species in their yards. Many people believe that birds do not need to be fed in the summer because there is more natural food around. In truth, we don’t have to feed the birds at all, but it is during summer when there is more demand for food. The numbers of birds here in the summer is many times higher than in the winter, and when they are raising young they need a lot of food.

I know you’d like to get the birds to come to your yard right away and there might be something you can do to get their attention. I have put up feeders that the birds just didn’t seem to notice, even though they were feeding at other feeders nearby. I tried attaching a piece of aluminum foil to the new feeder (about 4 inches wide and two feet long, hanging down below it) and the House Finches found the feeder the next day. I’m not sure why that works, (perhaps the birds are just curious) but you might try that.

Finally I just want to encourage you to be very patient! It can take a while to get the birds to start coming, but once they do, they will keep coming. Continue through to the fall, add water and plant a shrub, and see if the birds find your feeders. When I moved into my current house I put out a feeder and kept it out all year, and I never saw anything but House Sparrows and magpies until almost a year later, when the first House Finch arrived. Now I’ve been here eight years, and in 2011 alone I had 57 species on my yard list, and dozens of individual birds every day. This year I’ve had 26 species already. If you keep at it through the spring and summer you will be on your way.

Reply: Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement! I will try your suggestions, and keep trying to attract birds to my feeder. That’s interesting to know that birds need feed more in the summer than the winter, I never thought of it that way. I only started to get into birding this summer and I’m loving it so far, it’s amazing how many different species there are. I especially enjoy it when I think it’s just a bunch of Canadian Geese, and then find out that there’s a merganser, golden eye or bufflehead mixed in with them. At Fish Creek the other week I was fortunate enough to see 2 bald eagles! As an Ontarian, I haven’t seen many in my life so that was definitely a good day. I’m hoping to get out this weekend to try and spot some snowy owls, following tips from your website should definitely help.

Thanks again for your advice.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 30

May1

April 27
— RED-BREASTED MERGANSER 2, Glenmore Reservoir, Yousif Attia
— GLAUCOUS GULL 1st year, same, YA
— CASPIAN TERN, same, Terry Korolyk
— FORSTER’S TERN, Sunset Park(?), TK

April 28
— THAYER’S GULL, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Penny Smith & CFNS group
— LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL possible, Glenmore Reservoir, Bill Wilson
— EASTERN PHOEBE 3, Glenmore – Weaselhead, Ian Maton
— SAY’S PHOEBE, Glenmore – Weaselhead, BW
— HERMIT THRUSH, same, BW
— ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, same, BW
— WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, same, BW

April 29
— LONG-TAILED DUCK, Carseland Weir, Chip Scalfia
— WHIMBREL, same, CS
— LESSER YELLOWLEGS 800, McElroy Slough, TK
— HUDSONIAN GODWIT 18, Weed Lake, Andrew Slater
— LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER 16, same, AS

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday May 3.

BIRD STUDY GROUP – Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September – May
at 7:30 pm, Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary. The next
meeting will be Wednesday May 2. Presenters are Ian Halliday (Weed Lake
Project), and Andrew Hart (re-introduction of Red Kites into England).

Travel Tuesdays

May1

Today marks the start of a new feature on Birds Calgary. While there are many great birding locations within the city, southern Alberta is awash with birds of all kinds that can be seen during an afternoon drive. The problem is, people who are new to birdwatching, or new to our area, don’t have any idea where to go. If you’re someone who enjoys a rural birding drive with camera in hand, we would love to hear about your route and the birds seen.

A huge thank you to Marg Matheson and Alan Plumb who gave us this idea when they told us about their drives last weekend, so they have the honour of our first Travel Tuesday post!

Pat Bumstead

April 28th
From Vulcan to Frank Lake is a 30 min drive then another 5 min drive to High River and the park. After leaving High River we went south on a secondary highway meeting and crossing Highway 2 just north of Nanton continuing straight east on gravel then paved to Vulcan..so thats 40 mins total driving time, 1 hour 15 mins with many stops enroute (3 hours) so a nice afternoon out with the puppies.

Curlew was in a field devoid of water about 8km north of Vulcan, Tree Swallows were nesting in the bird boxes beside gravel road to hide at Frank,Yellow-rumped Warbler was at the park in High River, Black necked Stilt was beside Highway 2 about 6km north of Nanton. We enjoy these trips together alot and do them regulary,wish there was a serious birder close to us that we could tag along with sometime and thanks so much for all your help. I do most of the driving, and able most times to be the spotter and not the photographer though I do contribute there also but not as much. Alan

Long-billed Curlew

Lesser Yellowlegs

Red-tailed Hawk

Tree Swallow

American Coot

Snow Goose

Northern Shoveler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Barn Swallow

Very cute Barn Swallow

OK – we know this is a hawk. Anyone care to tell us what species this is? 🙂

April 29

Today we travelled from Vulcan East on Highway 534. Continued on Highway 531. Went onto RR 210 south to Highway 529. Then went west to Champion (Sunday brunch at the hotel is very nice, Western and Chinese). We then made our way back to Vulcan.