Tag Archive | bird blog calgary

Postcards from Texas: The highs and lows of birding

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.

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.

South Glenmore Park – Birding the Glenmore Reservoir

Apr30

Posted by Dan Arndt

One of the places that I enjoyed watching birds doing what birds do has always been the Glenmore Reservoir. Even before I made the transition from photographer, to nature photographer, to serious birder, it was always somewhere that I could find something interesting and inspiring to shoot. This week was certainly no different.

Starting at the parking lot, we headed east along the bank of the reservior to the point, then headed west along the banks before heading up the hill into the woods and returning via a trail that runs parallel to the bank about half way up the hillside, then up to the multi-use pathway before returning to the parking lot and dispersing for the day.

South Glenmore Park - April 29 Route

A huge number of species had been reported all week, and I was itching to get out there and get some new birds for the year, and get some new species photographed for the blog. While I didn’t see all the ones I had hoped for, we did get some fairly close looks at quite a few great birds.

The stretch between the parking lot and the point turned out to be one of the most productive of the morning, giving us looks at at least one Red-necked Grebe, our only Ruddy Duck of the day, and four Common Loons, along with the usual Mallards, American Wigeon, and Lesser Scaup which have been regular sightings for the spring course so far. Out beyond the range of my camera lens were dozens of Franklin’s Gulls, Bufflehead, and even more Lesser Scaup, in impressive numbers, with a few Common Goldeneye mixed in. After reaching the point, we took a look around and spotted a few American Coots near shore, which was another new bird for our group this year.

Red-necked Grebe

Ruddy Duck (far left) with Mallards

Common Loon

After we passed the the canoe club, we were greeted by a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, another new year-bird for me!

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Further along the path we decided to pause and take stock of the birds across the shore from our position before we turned and headed into the forested area. Along with a dozen or so Trumpeter Swans, we spotted a half dozen Northern Shoveler, a pair of Greater Yellowlegs, and a huge number of Franklin’s Gulls, as well as getting is fairly close to a contingent of Horned Grebes which posed very nicely for the paparazzi.

Horned Grebe

A few moments later, this Cooper’s Hawk flew overhead carrying something in its claws while being pursued by a trio of American Crows.

Cooper's Hawk

From there, we headed into the woods, where we got a few familiar species onto our list, the Red-breasted Nuthatch and Black-capped Chickadee, but the trail was extremely quiet. We elected to head up to the main multi-use pathway, and we were glad we did! A Savannah Sparrow, Tree Swallows, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow were added to the day list thanks to some of our more keen-eyed and eared attendees! Another heard a lone Boreal Chorus Frog in a nearby water hole, but we couldn’t get very close to it, and it wasn’t until we were once again near the parking lot before we heard them again and decided to investigate. These little frogs are incredibly loud for their size, and here are a few scenes I managed to capture.

Boreal Chorus Frog

And here’s what they sound like:

Spring Birding in Carburn Park – What a difference a month makes!

Apr24

Posted by Dan Arndt

It seems like it was only yesterday that the Friends of Fish Creek Birding Course visited Carburn Park. While it has been a little over a month, the differences are astounding. The ice on the river has almost completely cleared up, and all three ponds are completely ice-free and full of waterfowl and gulls of all kinds.

After a couple of weekends away, it was nice to get back into the city and back to a place that is always full of surprises, and Carburn Park was just what the doctor ordered.

With a few fresh faces, and plenty of old familiar ones from the Winter Course, we started out bright and early at 7:30AM and got off to a great start.

We decided our best course of action would be to head south to the bridge, then follow a trail as far south as we could before turning back north and following the river with the sun at our backs, both for the best photos, but also for the best light to view the birds at.

Carburn Park - April 22, 2012

One major difference that stands out to my mind between winter and spring birding, at least before the leaves come out and change the game entirely, is that the birds that overwinter here in Calgary are fairly large-bodied overall. Sure, we get Common Redpolls, various finch species, and even a few odd sparrows here and there, but for the most part the overwintering birds are roughly robin-sized or larger. Geese, ducks, a few killdeer here and there, as well as the hawks, owls, and woodpeckers make up the bulk of the birding biomass in the winter. Spring, on the other hand, is when the smaller birds make Calgary home. Song Sparrows, Lincoln’s Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, along with Warblers, Vireos, and Pipits of all kinds make getting just the right light and just the right angles vitally important for a positive visual identification, since these birds are relatively tiny, generally between 10 and 20cm from tip of the bill to the tip of the tail.

The first couple sightings of the day were well known to us already, with a Red-breasted Nuthatch working away at a nest hole, and a Northern Flicker calling out to proclaim his territory.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Northern Flicker

After spending some time on the bridge, Bob Lefebvre and I discussed the best route to take, to which I suggested the south leg of the walk, and then returning with the sun at our backs. I even suggested we might get lucky and find a Savannah Sparrow in the grassy area just east of the river, or maybe a Ring-necked Pheasant. It was a mere moments later that this beautiful little Savannah Sparrow popped out into the open to give me the my first sightings of the year for this species.

Savannah Sparrow

Along the trail to the south we heard a number of Song Sparrows and possible Lincoln’s Sparrows calling from an island in the center of the Bow River, but over the din of the Canada Geese, Franklin’s Gulls, and American Robins, it was hard to make out any that we could completely confirm. We did manage to get some good views of some Bufflehead on the Bow River, and this Red-tailed Hawk that decided to keep itself a healthy distance away from the group.

Red-tailed Hawk

Heading back north along the river seemed a lot quieter than the last few times, but as the river opens up and the ice melts off, the concentration of birds on the river is much more dispersed. Add to that the increased number of people fishing both in, and on, the river tends to flush any large groups of birds, even at 7:30 in the morning.

We cut over to the get a couple of looks at the ponds before cutting back to the river when we noticed a few pair of Redheads on the furthest south pond, along with an industrious beaver taking a break on the north shore.

Redheads

Heading back over to the river, we heard our first clear Lincoln’s Sparrow song of the day, and shortly after that, our first Tree Swallows flitting about overhead. A few Franklin’s Gulls decided it was a good morning for a bath, and allowed great views of their bright red bills and white eye-ring that are great markers for the species’ breeding plumage.

Franklin's Gulls having a bath

A little further north gave us a couple of great views of a Song Sparrow, singing high up in a tree, and hopping from branch to branch before flying off once we’d all gotten near.

Song Sparrow

A search of the dense woods by the river for the Northern Saw-whet Owl came up empty, but not before this pair of patient and camera-savvy Common Mergansers hammed it up and posed nicely for us.

Common Merganser

Another nice surprise was this pair of Canada Geese perched in Calgary’s oldest Water Birch. This legacy tree is massive, and at over 100 years old, is home to a number of nest holes for Mergansers, Flickers, and likely many more in the higher boughs that aren’t easily seen from the ground.

Canada Geese

We continued heading north to the last pond, but not before stopping to check across the river for a Bald Eagle pair that has regularly nested, and were given a few glimpses of the female sitting on the nest, poking her head up, but at such a distance that my lens didn’t show much more than a spot in the distance. I tried to make up for it with a nice close-up shot of this American Robin with a mouth full of… sludge? I guess what they say about one person’s trash being another’s treasure is true even for birds! I’d imagine he’s taking this back for nesting material.

American Robin

At the third pond we had a couple of good views of a Common Loon, had a low flyover of a Northern Goshawk, and saw what must have been a flock of 150 or more Franklin’s and Ring-billed Gulls both on the lake and above it, chasing down a flurry of freshly hatched insects. It was quite the feeding frenzy!

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 23

Apr24

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 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.

APR 19

GLAUCOUS GULL – Gus Yaki and FFCPP at Carburn Park; also Marcel Gahbauer reported one occurring for a while on the Bow River near the Crowchild Trail bridge

APR 20

HARLEQUIN DUCK – still at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Chris Burnett
NORTHERN HAWK-OWL – southwest of Water Valley on the Larsen Pasture Road near the entrance to Direct Energy’s access road

APR 21

EASTERN PHOEBE – in Weaselhead near the footbridge over the Elbow River, Andrew Slater
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW – 3 in Margaret Brunner’s yard in Oakridge

APR 22

COMMON TEAL – on the slough in the northwest corner of the Range Road 284-Twp Rd 231 junction just southeast of Shepard, Terry Korolyk
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER – 3 male and 1 female at Sunset Park on Lake Chestermere (on the east side a short distance south of Hwy 1A); TK
EURASIAN WIGEON – a male on Glenmore Reservoir; AS
WOOD DUCK – 8 at Carburn Park , Bob Lefebre, Dan Arndt and FFCPP
GREATER SCAUP – 2 pair at the Bridlewood Marsh at McKevitt?? Rd and Highway 22X, Tanya Barkauskis; also TK reported 8 at the dam at Chestermere Lake
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT – 30 at Langdon Reservoir, Mary Lou Juliani and Donna Miles
LESSER YELLOWLEGS – 200+ in the NW corner of Rge Rd 284-Twp Rd 231 junction, TK
MARBLED GODWIT – 5 at Weed Lake , TK
BREWER’S BLACKBIRD – male on Rge Rd 284 near Shepard
EURASIAN COLLARED DOVE – reported again in Calgary Deer Run

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thu Apr 26.

BIRD STUDY GROUP:

Bird Study Group meets Wednesday, May 2, 2012 in Room 211, BioSciences Building, U of C. The speakers are Ian Halliday discussing the Weed Lake Project and Andrew Hart discussing the re-
introduction of Red Kites into England.

Weekend Photos

Apr23

Some great pics sent to us by folks out birding over the weekend!

We had an interesting Saturday afternoon at the Inglewood bird sanctuary with two unusual events. First we had a Long-eared owl sighting, and then observed a mink “running” away from an upset nesting goose. Byron and Cheryl

Gianfelice also had a great birding day on Saturday, with sightings of both a winter visitor and a returning spring migrant. The White-winged Crossbill and Eastern Kingbird were photographed at Weaselhead. [UPDATE: After this post went up, it was pointed out to us that the bird below is likely an Eastern Phoebe, not a kingbird. It is lacking the white tail tip, and it is very early for kingbirds to return to Calgary. Pat will no longer be making snap judgements on bird ID’s and thank you Gus for the correction!]

Sunday Showcase: Common Calgary Gulls

Apr22

Posted by Matthew Sim

Though we see them a lot during the summer, most of us have some difficulty in identifying these guys; so here’s a breakdown of the common Calgary gulls.

California Gull; identified by rounded head, red and black spot on bill and greenish-yellow legs. Also note completely dark eye.

Franklin's Gull, the easiest gull in Calgary as it is, for the most part, the only one with a black head. Also note the white eye-crescents and the bright red beak.

Ring-billed Gull with its namesake ringed bill is probably the most common gull in Calgary and is often seen in parking lots.I separated from the Herring Gull by its yellow legs. Similar to California Gull, which has a darker eye.

The Herring Gull is nearly identical to the Ring-billed Gull, the one big difference though is the legs. Herring Gulls have pink legs while Ring-billed Gulls have yellow legs.

Though identifying gulls can be very difficult, hopefully this helps you next time you see a gull in Calgary.

A Cold Morning In Hull’s Wood

Apr20

Posted by Bob Lefebvre.

Week Two of the Spring session of the birding course with the Friends of Fish Creek saw us exploring Hull’s Wood and the boat launch area, at the east end of Fish Creek Park. It was quite cold at 7:30 a.m., about minus 4 degrees Celsius, with a north wind and light snow, and the conditions didn’t change much over the three hours. Nevertheless, we did manage to see some spring migrants. Once again, the photos were provided by Paul Turbitt and Glenn Alexon.

Franklin’s Gull. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

We saw about 75 of the black-headed Franklin’s Gulls over the river. As you can see in the photo, these gulls often have a pinkish tinge to their breast feathers in the spring. Several gull species show this feature when they arrive on their breeding grounds, and it is thought to be a result of carotenoids in their diet. In the case of Franklin’s Gulls, it is caused by their consumption of shrimp on their wintering grounds off the coast of Venezuela. By fall it often fades away.

Canada Geese are nesting in broken treetops in the area, where they are safe from coyotes and dogs. Here a male stands guard near the nest.

Canada Goose. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

We walked north along the river, and scoured the rocky banks for American Pipits. Up to 80 had been seen in the area earlier in the week. We weren’t able to locate any, but I’ll get back to the pipits later.

We saw two bald eagles along the river: one adult, and one juvenile which put up all the waterfowl as it flew over. There were also at least two Red-tailed Hawks.

Red-tailed Hawk. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

A White-breasted Nuthatch was busy excavating a nest hole. Here he is removing some wood from the nest.

As we neared the mouth of Fish Creek we watched a flock of over 200 European Starlings repeatedly flying down to the water and back up to the trees. Then we noticed another huge flock of small birds, which turned out to be Tree Swallows, working their way north along the river. I estimated about 100 in the first flock, which was followed immediately by another of the same size, then another, and another. It was really just one huge flock numbering up to 800 birds.

We then turned away from the river, and out of the wind, to check out the two Great Horned Owl nests in the area. The young owlets have been seen in one of the nests, but when we were there we weren’t lucky enough to see them.

Adult male Great Horned Owl standing guard near the nest. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Near the second owl nest we found a pair of Wood Ducks sitting in a tree. These birds nest in tree holes so maybe they will nest in this area.

Male Wood Duck. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Female Wood Duck. Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Photo by Glenn Alexon.

We finished up by checking the pond near highway 22X. There wasn’t much there, but we were treated to Red-winged Blackbirds, a first of the year for some of the participants.

Red-winged Blackbird. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Finally, as we arrived back at the boat launch parking lot, we were treated to a Great Blue Heron flyover.

Great Blue Heron. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

That was a great way to finish the day for me and most of the others, but three people went back along the Bow to see if they could scare up some American Pipits. By walking right near the shore, they did manage to find them. These birds can hide quite effectively in the rocks and grass.

American Pipits. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

Photo by Glenn Alexon.

When they were watching the pipits, a Mountain Bluebird appeared, then flew across the river.

Mountain Bluebird, from across the Bow River. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

One of the photos that Paul took of the pipits showed a bird that I was sure was not an American Pipit, but couldn’t identify. Gus Yaki has identified it as a Sprague’s Pipit. This is a bird of the prairies which is rarely seen in the city.

Sprague’s Pipit. Photo by Paul Turbitt.

I will be heading back to this area regularly in the next few weeks to watch the development of the Great Horned Owlets.

Photo by Glenn Alexon.

Glenn Alexon’s Flickr page.

Paul Turbitt’s Nikonians page.

Random Birding Photos – Calgary catch-up day, Easter in Jasper

Apr20

Posted byDan Arndt

Aside from co-leading one of the weekend walks with the Friends of Fish Creek, I do like to get out and get some birding in while I’m away on vacations, trips, or even after work once the evenings get a bit longer. In my attempt this year to reach 200 species in Alberta (which is about the same number as I had on my total life list in January) I signed up for a number of alerts on eBird to assist me in getting the birds I hadn’t seen so far for the year. In early March, I took a Saturday morning to catch up on some species that had been plaguing me for quite some time: Gray Partridge, Harris’s Sparrow, and some overwintering Cedar Waxwings were on my “Needs” list, and I was able to get all three, along with a couple of bonuses; American Tree Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco.

Gray Partridge

Harris's Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Then, over the Easter weekend, the better half and I took a trip up to Jasper. As a Calgary boy, born and raised here my entire life, I had never made it to Jasper, and I have to say that it was well worth the drive. I was hoping for a bit better birding opportunity while I was up there enjoying the crisp mountain air, but there were two birds I was really hoping for on the trip: White-tailed Ptarmigan, and Mountain Chickadees. Another bonus bird that I added to my list was Clark’s Nutcracker.

White-tailed Ptarmigan

How's that for camouflage?

Mountain Chickadee

Clark's Nutcracker

As an addendum, I would highly recommend this book: “Birding Jasper National Park” if you’re heading to that area. It was indispensable in my ability to find the birds I was looking for, as well as the best birding locations in and around the townsite. It’s incredibly affordable too, at a meagre $5.00, and is available in the store at the Jasper National Park Information building right in town.

Birding Jasper National Park

Q & A: Feeding Ducks

Apr17

By Bob Lefebvre

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.

Q: I was wondering if there is anywhere in Calgary that is a good location to go and feed ducks on a lazy Sunday afternoon?

A: There are several good spots to observe ducks at close range in Calgary, but it actually is not a good idea to feed them. Many people do feed them bread and similar items, but these are like junk food for ducks, with lots of carbohydrates but not enough minerals and protein to provide for proper health and growth. This sort of artificial diet is especially bad for the ducklings once they hatch. Besides malnutrition, there are other problems associated with feeding them bread products, such as the spread of disease and the loss of natural behaviors.

However, there are healthy products you can feed to ducks. They do well on grains like cracked corn, wheat, barley, and oats; high-quality birdseed; grapes (cut up); chopped lettuce; and frozen peas and corn. Any such feeding should be done in moderation and cautiously, with every attempt made not to disturb the birds.

Mallards at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary

There are many small ponds in parks in the city where waterfowl can be seen. Good places include Prince’s Island downtown, Pearce Estate in Inglewood, and Confederation Park between 10 Street and 14 Street NW. All of these have benches or grassy areas near the water. There is also a great lagoon at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary where you can observe Mallards, Canada Geese (and, in a few weeks, ducklings and goslings), the beautiful Wood Duck, and other ducks at close range, but it is illegal to feed wildlife in the sanctuary (it is also illegal in Fish Creek Park). In any case I would encourage you to watch the birds but let them feed naturally wherever you go.

Canada Geese with goslings at IBS

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