I took these pictures in the Weaselhead/South Glenmore area on Friday June 17. I have seen male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks there before so I assumed this was a female Rose-breasted, but it’s possible that it is a Black-headed Grosbeak or hybrid, or a juvenile. All opinions on its ID are welcome in the comments.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
A large flycatcher with a yellow belly, pale grey head and breast and a black tail with white stripes down the sides, the Western Kingbird is one of my favorite birds. Eating mostly insects, the Kingbird is always ready to snatch its next meal; whether from a perch or on the ground.
Nesting in tall cottonwoods along river valleys, the Western Kingbird can be difficult to find in Calgary. Probably the best spot in the city to look for this neat bird is Lafarge Meadows, in Fish Creek, south of 22x where they nest.
More social than other kingbirds, at times, several pairs of Western Kingbird may be found nesting in the same tree. They readily attack crows, ravens, hawks and other larger birds that can be potential predators to them and their young.
The Western Kingbird has a distinguishing lemon yellow belly.
Posted by Matthew Sim
Posted by Matthew Sim
Photos taken at Livingston Creek Ranch Golf Course, Sunday June 5, 2011.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
One of the areas that I surveyed for the May Species Count on Sunday May 29 was the Longview area, an hour SW of Calgary. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to some of the best birding spots due to the wet weather, but the conditions were pretty good. There was water flowing across some of the side roads but I did get through.
This creek was very high…
There was still quite a bit of snow at high elevations…
The Bar U Ranch road, looking west to the mountains…
I managed to find 75 species, which is a good total for that territory. I was quite frustrated near the end of the day by my inability to find a House Sparrow anywhere in the town of Longview! No House Finches there either. I also saw about 35 Black Terns in a pond that was just out of my territory, and they refused to come over to a perfectly good pond on my side of the boundary.
But I did have some unexpected birds as well, including two Red-breasted Mergansers. Here are some other highlights (as usual, you can click on the photos to enlarge them).
Mountain Bluebirds are commonly seen near the bluebird boxes…
Female Mountain Bluebird…
Tree Swallows are nesting in many of the Bluebird boxes…
I got a good look at this Red-eyed Vireo…
Male Red-naped Sapsucker…
Because of the high water, there were few shorebirds other than Spotted Sandpipers and a few of these Wilson’s Snipe…
I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Harlequin Ducks on the Highwood River at the Green View campground…
I only saw one pair of Green-winged Teal, but this male swam very close to me…
The final surprise of the day was this beautiful Red Fox, which seemed to be completely unconcerned with my presence, and walked right by me…
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
More wonderful photographs from Rob English. Thanks for sharing Rob! (Click images for a larger view).
Last week, I, along with many other keen birders, did the Calgary and area May Species Count. Two other great birders and I were assigned the south part of the city, our borders were; north to Glenmore Trail, west and south to the Bow river and east to the City limits. We had a great time, birding for 9 hours on Saturday, driving 139 kilometers and recording 87 birds. We saw many great birds, some of the highlights being 2 Hooded Mergansers, a Western Grebe, a Ferruginous Hawk, a Veery, a Blackpoll Warbler and a Townsend’s Solitaire. The Solitaire was a real surprise as it was far away from its normal habitat and was way too far south.
A Townsend’s Solitaire, way off course.
The Solitaire caught a bug and attempted to swallow it…
But had some difficulty. Eventually, the Solitaire got the bug down the hatch.
Other birds seen included several coots on nests…
Many Red-winged Blackbirds…
And a posing crow.
The May Species Count is held annually and will therefore be held again next year, if you haven’t done it yet, it could be a great time to start.
Posted by Matthew Sim
Grebes are a worldwide family of aquatic diving birds with lobed toes, making them strong swimmers. There are 22 species of Grebe found across the world with 6 of those being found here in Alberta. Grebes are very clumsy on land and therefore spend most of their time on the water, staying there to feed, sleep and court. One of the oldest living family of birds, they can dive down 6m below the surface and can remain submerged for up to 30 seconds, where they search for small fish, aquatic insects and crustaceans to eat.
Of the 6 species of Grebes that live in Alberta, 5 of these can be seen in the Calgary region; above is the Horned Grebe, an attractive grebe that may be seen in Calgary on the Mckenzie Towne Ponds, which is where I saw this one last week.
Similar to the Horned Grebe is the Eared Grebe which can be distinguished from its close relative by its yellow feathered “ears” instead of compact “horns”. I find that one of the best places to see Eared Grebes is at Frank Lake, near High River.
The Western Grebe, together with Clark’s Grebe (which is only seen in the far south of Alberta), is a very large grebe. Below, is a procession of birds; from left to right; first is an Eared Grebe, then a Western Grebe, followed by another Eared Grebe and another Western Grebe. After that is a Franklin’s Gull and an Eared Grebe bringing up the rear.
The Pied-billed Grebe is the most common grebe in North America; it is also very intelligent. When apprehensive, the Pied-billed Grebe will sink slowly, expelling air from the body and feathers to lower their gravity, then they will swim with only their head above the water, facilitating an escape if need be. The adult Pied-billed Grebe is similar to the juvenile (juvenile below), except it will have uniformly colored cheeks and a black ring on its beak.
The last Grebe that can be seen in Alberta is the Red-necked Grebe, a large noisy bird with a broad black crown, white cheek patches and chestnut neck.
Grebes are a very varied family of birds and all are beautiful; makes sense when you find out that they are related to loons; a family of birds that amaze many people!
Posted by Matthew Sim
June is another great month to go birdwatching, migrants can still be seen during the early parts of the month and the summer residents have started to settle down. In June, the first fledglings appear, learning to survive and to fly. Our list for the month of June contains a varied list of species, some beautiful and others simply impressive.
1. Ruddy Duck
A small diving duck, the male Ruddy Duck has a black cap, white cheeks, a reddish body and a bright blue bill, rendering it a colourful duck. The female is dark brown above and lighter below with white cheeks and a gray bill. When disturbed, the Ruddy Duck will be more likely to dive then to fly. The Ruddy Duck may be seen at Frank Lake, which is where I see many Ruddy Ducks.
2. Mountain Bluebird
The male Mountain Bluebird is a beautiful sky-blue passerine from the thrush family. The female is brownish grey above and grey below, with some blue on the wings, rump and tail. A truly brilliant bird, the bluebird made it onto the list with ease. Look for Mountain Bluebirds in the Cochrane area or the Water Valley area in June. You can also visit the Ellis Bird Farm near Red Deer which is dedicated to the conservation of many birds, the Mountain Bluebird being one.
3. Great Horned Owl
The Great Horned Owl is a widespread owl throughout much of North America but never fails to impress thanks to its large size and regal composure. It has been described as the fiercest, most aggressive and most impressive owl of North America. The Great Horned Owl is also the official provincial bird of Alberta. There are many different places to see this large owl, there is currently a nest in the Sikome area of Fish Creek.
4. Spotted Towhee
A member of the sparrow family, the Spotted Towhee is rather inconspicuous, except in the summer when the male can be found singing his distinctive call; one or two short introductory notes followed by a fast trill. The song may sound like the bird is singing, ‘drink your tea’. The best places to see the Spotted Towhee in Calgary are in the Weaselhead and in Votier’s Flats, in Fish Creek.
Image courtesy Wikipedia
5. Rufous Hummingbird
Our last bird for the month of June is the Rufous Hummingbird, a bird with fiery colors and a fiery temper. The male has rufous coloring on his back, sides, flanks and tail while his crown is glossy green. The male Rufous Hummingbird is very aggressive and territorial and will use many different displays to protect his territory. Look for this hummingbird in the Weaselhead or on the Many Springs Trail in Bow Valley Provincial Park, west of the city.
Image courtesy Wikipedia
Which of these birds can you find? Feel free to send us your photos and stories, they may make it up on the blog!
Posted by Matthew Sim
Two weeks ago I was in Edgemont in NW Calgary, so I stopped at Edgemont Ravines to check out the two ponds there. I didn’t have my camera, which was too bad, because I was able to see the elusive Sora. Soras are small waterbirds in the rail family, who spend a lot of time hiding in the reeds.
Last week I returned to the ponds, with camera in hand, to try to get a picture of the Sora. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find it, but I did find some other interesting birds and mammals. The pictures below are from that second trip.
Park on the east side of Edgebrook Boulevard NW.
The easternmost pond.
On my first visit I walked around both ponds, and saw an American Coot, several Mallards, and lots of male Red-winged Blackbirds. Suddenly, a strange bird popped up onto a cattail…
Every time the first of these comes into view in the spring, I briefly believe that I have discovered a bird unknown to science. This, of course, is a female Red-winged Blackbird. They look so unlike the males that at first it seems to be a different species altogether.
It turned out that there were many Red-winged Blackbirds, both male and female, and they were engaged in courtship behaviour and nest-building.
As I finished up the circuit, I heard the hair-raising whinny of a Sora coming from a corner of the pond. This Sora specialty is one of my favourites, because it sounds like demented laughter.
Sounds courtesy Xeno-canto .
Soras are very elusive birds, who skulk around the margins of ponds, rarely showing themselves. You hear them far more often than you see them.
I slowly moved towards the spot where the Sora was hidden: step, wait; step, wait; until I was finally rewarded with a shoe-ful of water. Drat. I was too close to the pond.
Luckily, back on shore, there was a convenient “surveillance bush” right near the spot where the Sora was concealed.
I lurked behind the bush for ten minutes or so, trying to hold still while mosquitoes treated my neck like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Finally, there was some movement in the grass, and there was the Sora! The bird came almost out into the open. I regretted not having that camera. Naturally, when I returned the following week with camera, there was no sign of the bird. The shot below remains the best picture I’ve got of a Sora, taken at Valleyview Park pond in southeast Calgary in 2008.
Soras almost always seem to keep some vegetation between themselves and the camera.
Despite missing out on the Sora, I continued to the second pond, where last year I had found a Pied-billed Grebe. Wouldn’t you know it; this time there were no grebes, but there was a pair of scaup.
Lesser or Greater Scaup?
A breeding American Coot didn’t like them around and repeatedly emerged from the rushes to chase them off.
Determined Coot chug-chug-chugging towards his foes!
On my way back to the parking lot, I noticed a small plump rodent scurry into the bushes. Eventually, I got some pictures. It was a Vole, probably a Meadow Vole.
So although you don’t always find what you’re looking for, you usually see something interesting, even at the smallest ponds. All in all, a rewarding outing.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre