Tag Archive | alberta birds

Rare Bird Alert Calgary July 21

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, us email us at zoxox@shaw.ca 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.

This report was prepared on Thursday July 21.

July 17
— LONG-BILLED CURLEW, NW of Beiseker, Ron Kube
— PACIFIC WREN, West of Sibbald Meadows Road, Bill Wilson
— FOX SPARROW, Highwood Pass, BW

July 18
— SPOTTED TOWHEE, Votier’s Flats (Calgary), Matthew Sim
— RED CROSSBILL, Willow Park (Calgary), MS

July 20
— SANDERLING, Weed Lake (Langdon), David Pugh
— CASPIAN TERN, Glenmore Reservoir, Terry Korolyk

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday July 25.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: July 18

Jul19

This report was prepared on Monday July 18.

Bird Sightings

July 13
— GREAT EGRET, Silver Lake, east side of Hwy 2 about 4 km. north of Nanton (or 1 km. north of Mosquito Creek), Gus Yaki

July 16
— OVENBIRD, Fish Creek Provincial Park west of bridge 7, Bill Wilson

July 17
— WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, Ralph Klein Park, north side of Glenmore Trail and just east of 84th St., Terry Poulton and Grant Danielson
— PACIFIC WREN, Sibbald Meadows Pond, Sibbald Creek Trail (Hwy 68), BW

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday July 21.

Bird Profile: Red-winged Blackbird

Jul16

Up here in the northern part of the continent, we know when spring is here when the robins arrive. These are not the only harbingers of warmer days however; the Red-winged Blackbird heralds the arrival of spring as well, the males arriving before the females to claim their territory.

One of the most abundant and widespread birds in North America, the male is a striking bird; all-black plumage save for his bright red and yellow wing epaulets. The female is a heavily streaked brown bird with a light streak over the crown and above the eye. Males have harems of females living in their marshes, these harems can sometimes number up to 15, but up to one half of the nestlings turn out to be sired by a male other than the territorial bird. During the breeding season, Red-winged Blackbirds are rarely seen far from water and are communal nesters, often nesting alongside other species of blackbirds. Once nesting is over, the Red-winged Blackbird forms flocks and go out to forage over the countryside, returning to marshes to roost at night.

Red-winged blackbirds are a common victim of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird but this does not seem to affect the former`s numbers. The young are mostly fed insects, and this is exactly what the female Red-winged Blackbird pictured above is doing; she is feeding insects to a fledgling hidden in the grass. The male does a remarkable job and helps feed the fledglings in is territory; there can be quite a few young birds to feed!

Red-winged Blackbirds may be seen at any marsh, lake or pond in Calgary with cattails and bulrushes. Don`t forget to listen; you can always tell if there is a Red-winged Blackbird nearby if you can hear the males distinctive “Conk-la-ree“ song.

Posted by Matthew Sim

Cowbird Catastrophe

Jul15

The Brown-headed Cowbird has become a menace to songbird populations all over North America. A small, stocky blackbird, the males have glossy black plumage and a rich brown head whereas the females are drab brown birds. What makes the Brown-headed Cowbird such a menace to songbirds is the lazy manner in which they raise their young. Females will use all their energy over the breeding season to produce eggs, sometimes up to 50 a summer. They lay these eggs in the nests of unwary birds; usually at the cost of the smaller bird’s young. The young cowbirds usually hatch earlier than their foster parents chicks and therefore, get most of the food, which can ultimately lead to the death of the foster parent’s young. The Brown-headed Cowbird parasitizes more than 200 species of birds; the Chipping Sparrow being one of the most hard hit species.

In the above photo, there are 4 male cowbirds all looking up from my bird feeder at the arrival of a juvenile Grackle.

There is a history behind the cowbird’s parasitism. At one time, it followed the buffalo herds across the prairies, a nomad, and therefore could not raise its young, resorting to the help of unwitting songbirds. Following herds of buffalo, the Brown-headed cowbird’s range was limited to plains and prairies. Deforestation and forest fragmentation by humans, however, opened up the way for the cowbird and they started to parasitize more and more species. Due to deforestation, the cowbird has expanded significantly, both in range and in number and it now poses a threat to some species.

Several species, such as the Yellow Warbler, have developed defences against cowbird parasitism and recognize the cowbird egg. The female Yellow Warbler will make a roof over all the eggs, including her own, upon recognizing the cowbird egg. She will then lay her eggs again. Other birds will throw it out of the nest or abandon the nest all together.

This one species goes to show how much human actions can change the world around us.

Posted by Matthew Sim

Banff: A National Treasure Part 3

Jul14

Continued from Part 2.

For our final day in Banff, we went to Johnston Canyon, just minutes away from the Johnston Canyon campground. We packed up our trailer under sunny skies and prepared for the hike. As we went along our hike more and more clouds started to roll in…

Johnston Canyon is one of two places in Alberta where Black Swifts nest and is also home to American Dippers, North America’s only truly aquatic songbirds. We started our hike, looking for Dippers and admiring the rushing water as it raced by us.

We continued on our way until we reached the Lower Falls, where a small tunnel gave us a closer look at the waterfall; spray from the water jumping about.

From the Lower Falls, we hiked up to the Upper Falls, looking for our target birds but failing to see them. We heard some Townsend’s Warblers, a difficult bird to see and we did manage to see a Pacific Wren, a race of the Winter Wren that was recently split and became its own species.

Common Ravens, which are readily seen in the mountains, were seen in several different places along the hike.

By this time, we were almost to the Upper Falls and now a steady drizzle was falling; it became heavier and heavier until it was raining quite hard. We made it to the Upper Falls, enjoyed the view and then beat a hasty retreat to our car, trying not to become wetter than we already were. We made it to our car, wetter than we would have liked before driving down the road several kilometers to the Castle Mountain chalets and stopping in a parking lot for a quick lunch. By this time, the rain had stopped (how convenient) and we stopped to admire a pair of Osprey’s and their nest as well as a Flicker nest right beside the road.

Our trip to Banff was great and I would readily do it again!

Posted by Matthew Sim

Photo Feathers: House Finch

Jul13

When I first saw this bird I thought it was a Purple Finch. It has raspberry-red plumage that extends over the top of the head and onto its back like a Purple Finch. In all other respects it looks like a House Finch, so it is probably just another male House Finch with unusual colouration.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Banff: A National Treasure Part 2

Jul12

Continued from Part 1.

After visiting Peyto Lake, we headed to magnificent Bow Lake, which has views of two glaciers; Bow Glacier and Crowfoot Glacier as well as views of Wapta Icefield, Bow Peak, Mount Thompson and Crowfoot Mountain.

We were at Peyto Lake in search of a small, cute mammal at home on rocky slopes: the Pika. Giving high-pitched alarm calls when they spot danger, the Pika, also known as the ‘rock rabbit’ or the ‘whistling hare’, is always alert. After waiting a dozen minutes or so and getting eaten alive in the process, we found Pika on the scree slopes at Bow Lake. The sight of these short-limbed creatures was well worth the bites though.

As we walked around the lake, we also saw a family of Barn Swallows and a group of Clark’s Nutcrackers.

The best bird sight however, was a White-crowned Sparrow drinking water from the lake’s edge right next to us.

By the time we had finished our walk, it was early evening and we headed back to Johnston Canyon Campground. On the way back, along the Bow Valley Parkway, we spotted a family of black bears; a mother with two young by the side of the road. The bears were contentedly munching on grass and gave us only the occasional glance. It was definitely a beautiful sight to behold.

We arrived back at the campground and I did a short walk beside Johnston Creek as the sun began to set and the thrushes began to sing with renewed vigour before the night closed in.

The third and final part will come on Thursday.

Posted by Matthew Sim

Banff: A National Treasure Part 1

Jul11

Banff National Park is a hotspot for just about anything; birds, mammals, flowers, scenery, recreation, vacations; the list could go on for a long time. Canada Day long weekend, I visited Banff with my family, eager to explore this local gem a little bit more. Saturday, July 2nd, we made our way up to Johnston Canyon campground, in hopes of finding a spot despite the busy weekend. We got lucky and got a spot, set up our trailer in a lot dotted with dandelions and heart-leaved arnicas and then left for a short hike at nearby Silverton Falls.

The Heart-leaved arnica is a pretty yellow flower that can be found in Banff.

Silverton Falls, not as well-known as Johnston Canyon, is a scenic, short hike with a waterfall as a climax. As we did this short hike, we were serenaded by both Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes and we caught glimpses of several Yellow-rumped Warblers.

The scenery was great at Silverton Falls and we ascended a trail littered with Indian’s Paintbrush and offering a scenic view of the mountains in the distance.

Indian’s Paintbrush

Then came the falls themselves…

We finished our hike and then headed to Castle Mountain chalets where we stopped to grab some supplies before eating our lunch there. We met a fellow photographer who was looking for some Rufous Hummingbirds; we all saw one brilliant-colored male. After lunch, we headed up to the popular Peyto Lake. On the short walk up to Peyto Lake, we saw some local flora and fauna; Grey Jays and Western Anemones.

Peyto Lake was brilliant and I highly recommend anyone who has not been there to visit this stunning lake (visit in the morning and in the evening, when it is less crowded).

While at Peyto Lake, we observed a young family of Boreal Chickadees foraging in the spruce trees. Our first afternoon was great and we had high hopes for the remainder of our trip.

I will post the rest of our journey highlights after this one.

Posted by Matthew Sim