Tony LePrieur got a nice variety of June birds last weekend in the Calgary area. Photos taken June 4-5, 2016 in Bridlewood, the Weaselhead, and at Frank Lake.
Wilson’s Phalaropes (foreground-female; background-male).
Pied-billed Grebe.
Yellow-headed Blackbird (male).
Cliff Swallows, collecting mud to build their nests.
American Robin (bebee).
Black-necked Stilts.
Yellow Warbler (male).
Swainson’s Hawk.
Wilson’s Snipe.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (female).
We have received some astonishingly lovely American Robin photos. These pictures come from 22 year old Aimee Braun in N.E. Calgary, who tells me she used her little Kodak M883 camera and the ‘Beach’ setting to capture the detail. The adults made the nest under an awning in her yard, so she had a perfect view.
Thank you, Aimee for sending these along. We look forward to receiving any future pictures you would like to send!
It’s late spring in Calgary, and across the city baby or fledgling robins (and other bird species) are dropping out of their nests. This seems a strange way to propagate the species, but for generations adult robins have been giving fledglings a boot. They can fly a few feet, but spend most of their time on the ground.
People are always concerned that this baby bird has fallen out of its nest and needs help. The truth is he was pushed out of the nest to get on with the business of growing up. DO NOT PICK THEM UP. Don’t take them to a zoo or wildlife rehabilitation centre.
It may seem cruel to us, but this is the way robins conduct their family life, and judging by the number of robins in the country, it works. The best thing for you to do is keep dogs and cats away while the youngster gets his bearings. He’ll move along in a little while.
Baby robins look something like their parents, but have speckled chests, and fluffy down feathers poking out here and there. Yes he looks helpless, but they manage to survive in huge numbers.
Just think of them as the true image of spring, and keep the dogs and cats away. Use their presence in your yard as an opportunity for a nature talk to the kids, which will be a lot more helpful to the birds!