Tag Archive | bird blog calgary

Postcards from Texas: Galveston and Bolivar Flats

Feb11

Posted by Matthew Sim

This past weekend, I took a trip out to Galveston, Texas, about an hour south of Houston on the gulf of Mexico. Galveston has many world-reknowned birding spots in and around it and is a great spot to observe birds year-round. This weekend was rainy and cool, but that didn’t stop the birds! On a short ferry ride to Bolivar peninsula, home of the famous Bolivar Flats shorebird sanctuary, we saw many birds, including both species of pelicans and Common Loons and Red-breasted Mergansers, the latter two which winter down here.

Brown Pelican

Upon arriving on Bolivar, we stopped at a small pond and got great looks at many birds, including an American Avocet in winter plumage (a little different than what I am used to seeing up at Frank Lake in Alberta in the summer!) and a Texas specialty; the very bright Roseate Spoonbill.

Roseate Spoonbill

From a distance, the spoonbill is gorgeous, and even from close up its amazing plumage is simply stunning, yet I found that its head was somewhat unnerving. Its face looks almost extraterrestrial, I find!

From the pond, we went to the Bolivar Flats shorebird Sanctuary where we saw some Black-bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstones and… All I could say to myself was, “What the heck are those little shorebirds?” Why did I ask myself this? Because these little guys ran and ran and ran. They did not quit running! I soon got closer and identified them as Sanderlings, which I had seen before, yet never acting quite as comical. Never had I seen a bird run so much!

Running Sanderling

Ruddy Turnstone

We birded Bolivar for a while longer before returning to the ferry and heading back to Galveston. On the ferry back, we were treated to views of 4 species of Gulls (Herring, Laughing, Ring-billed and Bonaparte’s) and 3 species of tern (Forster’s, Common and Royal).

Bonaparte's Gull

Royal Tern

Birds weren’t the only wildlife seen from the ferry however, as a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins made an appearance towards the end.

It was an exciting trip with close to 70 species seen; this excursion really got me excited for spring migration here, which is absolutely fantastic, from what I’ve heard!

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Feb 6

Feb7

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.

This report was prepared on Monday February 6.

February 2
— GYRFALCON, 34 Ave east of Blackfoot Trail, Tony Timmons
— SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, 52 Ave & 69 St SE, Phil Cram, Mike Mulligan
— PRAIRIE FALCON, same, PC, MM
— HARRIS’S SPARROW, same, Joan and Malcolm McDonald
— WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, same, J & MMcD

February 4
— CACKLING GOOSE 2, flyover Mallard Point, Terry Korolyk
— VARIED THRUSH, SE Calgary yard, Bob Lefebvre
— HORNED LARK 2, 10 km south of Nanton, PC, MM
— RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 6, 52 Ave & 69 St SE, Bill Wilson

February 5
— WOOD DUCK, Bow River, Tony Timmons & CFNS group
— NORTHERN PINTAIL, same, TT etc
— TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, same, TT etc
— SONG SPARROW, Carburn Park, TT etc
— NORTHERN SHRIKE, Fish Creek PP, Steve Kaffai(?)
— AMERICAN DIPPER, same, Bob & Dan Arndt
— GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, same, B & DA

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday February 9.

Votier’s Flats – Not as boring as it sounds.

Feb6
Posted by Dan Arndt

Clear skies and warm sun help make any day out in Fish Creek Provincial Park more fun for everyone, and birders are no exception. 3 hours of trekking through Votiers Flats added four new birds to my year list, bringing year total to 43 after a successful previous day that added a Prairie Falcon, Gyrfalcon, and Northern Hawk Owl to the list. I was hesitant to begin “listing” but I can definitely see the appeal to it now, as it not only helps track the birds you’ve seen, but the when, the where, and the numbers seen, which can then be added to a more usable database, such as eBird, for instance, where I’ve been tracking the numbers each week so far for the course.

Votier's Flats

Votier's Flats

We started off at 9 am, as usual, and walked towards the McLeod Trail underpass, searching for an American Dipper that had been seen earlier in the week, and fairly regularly since December. On our way over Bridge 8, we stopped to pay attention to some Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches who dropped in to pick at some seeds that had been left on the railings.

Black-capped Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch and Black-capped Chickadee

Around the corner and… no sign of the dipper. While there’s a bit of open water, there’s no sign of the elusive swimming songbird. On a lighter note, we did manage to get some great light to show off the always stunning iridescence of one of the most maligned city birds, the Rock Pigeon.

Rock Pigeon

Rock Pigeon

We decided to follow the river bank on the south side, as there appeared to be more open water up closer to the storm water drainage, and after spotting some Mallards splashing about, the mysterious and wonderful American Dipper made its appearance. While it was a bit far off, we viewed it from afar and snapped away, thinking this shy creature would keep its distance.

American Dipper - At a distance

American Dipper - Keeping its distance

American Dipper making a splash

American Dipper making a splash

After it disappeared around a bend, we stopped above the outflow of the drainage pipe to peer across the river at a Northern Flicker, and I just so happened to look down at the right moment, as the light caught it just right… the American Dipper! There it sat, not 40 feet away, and about 10 feet below us, casually sunning itself and searching for insects in the open water. In fact, it behaved as if nothing at all was unusual about fifteen people staring at it for what seemed like an eternity, that it was us that decided it was time to carry on.

American Dipper

American Dipper

American Dipper - nictating membrane

The white nictitating membrane over its eyes allow the American Dipper to see under water while protecting its eyes. It also has a pair of scales that close off its nostrils while under water.

American Dipper

American Dipper

 Around the curve of the pathway, another sharp-eyed attendee spotted an unknown falcon sitting high up on the slope, and we heard the tell-tale harassing calls of a trio of Blue Jays from an adjacent tree. After considering the field marks and weighing the size, body proportions, and discussing the differences between the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, we ultimately decided that this was in fact a Merlin. Merlins, Coopers Hawks, and Sharp-shinned Hawks all share similar markings, size, and from a distance can be troublesome to identify. Juveniles of all three species are typically separated out on only a few field marks, most of which only apparent from close observation, but adults, such as this one, are much easier to properly ID. Note the faint moustache, brown streaky chest and belly, dark eye with pale eyebrow, and mostly pale and indistinct facial markings. The brown crown feathers indicate that this is either a female or juvenile Merlin, as the male has a light blue-gray crown. Also note that my photo of the Merlin from 400 meters away was so indistinct that I was forced to return later to attempt some better shots of this little beauty. Thankfully, she cooperated.

Merlin

Merlin

As we were heading out,  Bob Lefebvre managed to spot a Golden-crowned Kinglet alighting atop one of the trees near the Merlin, and with that, we headed back into the park. Near Bridge 8 we spotted two of our only Downy Woodpeckers of the day.

Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Back into the brush we headed west, and after a quiet bit of walking, we found a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches feeding from a small hole in this spruce, that had been repurposed as a feeding station.

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

We continued through the forested area, hearing a call not unlike that of a European Starling, but more steady and higher pitched. It’s a song I haven’t heard in months, and while I couldn’t place it, once again Bob’s expert ear identified it as a Pine Siskin, a good number of which we saw flitting amongst the treetops.

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin

Onward to the last leg of our journey – a copse of spruce that was home to a group of Boreal Chickadees, as well as a Brown Creeper seen earlier in the week. The Boreal Chickadees made themselves known fairly quickly, and while we heard the Brown Creeper a number of times, we could not spot it after spending a good twenty minutes searching for it.

Boreal Chickadee

Boreal Chickadee

All in all, it was a great day! If I can keep up at this rate, I’ll hit my goal of 200 species by May… and then what will I do?

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Feb 2

Feb4

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.

This report was prepared on Thursday, Feb.2.

January 15
–NORTHERN CARDINAL(f). Seen in the Brittania area of Calgary since at least Jan.15.No further details known.

January 29
–AMERICAN ROBIN, Lowery Gardens, W. of Edworthy Park, by Steve Kassai.
–PINE GROSSBEAK, 11 found in Edworthy Park, 13 in Lowery Gardens, by SK.

January 30
–TRUMPETER SWAN(2). Seen on the Bow River W.of Exshaw, by G. Gorden.

February 1
–NORTHERN GOSHAWK(2).One along the Elbow River, by GY, and one in the Sandy Beach are of the Elbow River, by Phil Cram.
–NORTHERN SHRIKE(2). One seen along the Elbow River by Gus Yaki et.al, and one seen in W. Bowness Park by Gary Malcolm.
–TOWNSEND SOLITAIRE(4).Along the Elbow River during the monthly Elbow River Survey, by GY.
–HARRIS’ SPARROW(imm).Seen along 51st. Ave, about 2km east of 52nd.Str.SE. by Yousif Attia and Ilya Povalyaev.
–WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW(1) same location and observers as above.

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is Monday Feb 6.

Saw-whet Owl and Pellet

Feb3

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

By now most birders in Calgary have heard about the Northern Saw-whet Owl that was found in Carburn Park last Thursday.  Phil Smith was there when it was found, and he captured an amazing sequence of pictures that show the owl coughing up a pellet.

Owls and many other birds regularly regurgitate pellets, which consist of the indigestible parts of the food they eat.  Saw-whet owls eat a lot of Deer Mice, and their pellets contain mostly bones and fur.

Although these owls are thought to produce one pellet per day, it is a rare sight to see, and even rarer to photograph.   The pictures have been assembled into a short video.

.

Below is the complete sequence of photos showing the owl coughing up the pellet.  (Photos by Phil Smith, used by permission.)

To see more of Phil Smith’s photos, see his Flickr Page.

Anne Elliott also captured a photo of the pellet being produced:

To see more of Anne Elliott’s photos, see her Flickr Page.

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Jan 30

Jan31

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.

This report was prepared on Monday January 30.

–SNOWY OWL – seen is good numbers east of Hwy 9 and north of Strathmore over the past week

Sunday, JANUARY 29
–REDHEAD (1m) – Hwy 22x bridge over the Bow R by Terry Korolyk
–SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (1 or 2) – Carburn Park by Bob Lefebvre, Dan Arndt and Friends of Fish Creek PP Society (FFCPPS) field trip; and by Steve Kassai
–HARLAN’S HAWK (1) – Carburn Park by BL, DA et al
–BALD EAGLE (7) – Carburn Park by SK
–NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL (1) – Carburn Park; f irst seen on Thursday,January 26, by Gus Yaki and FFCPPS and then seen again by FFSPPS field trips on Saturday Jan 28 and Sunday Jan 29.
–AMERICAN CROW (75) – Carburn Park by BL, DA et al
–EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (3) – Longview by Andrew Slater

Saturday, JANUARY 28
–PRAIRIE FALCON (1) – hunting Mallards just south of Ralph Klein Park in SE Calgary by TK
–BALD EAGLE (2) – hunting Mallards, location as above by TK
–TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE (1) – Sandy Beach by Bill Wilson
–SONG SPARROW (1) – residential area south of Carburn Park parking lot by Rob Worona
–AMERICAN TREE SPARROW (2) – location as above by RW
–HARRIS’ SPARROW (1) – SE Calgary by Hank Vanderpol. Call Terry Korolyk 403-254-1878 for precise location

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday, February 2.

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 February 1. The program is titled “Understanding the Bird-brained: The Psychology of Bird Watching”, presented by Chip Scialfa. Dr Scialfa is a professor of psychology at the U of C,a birdwatcher and a volunteer for the Alberta Wilderness Assoc.

Birding Carburn Park (or the Bird Paparazzi find a local celebrity)

Jan30

Posted by Dan Arndt

This week the Friends of Fish Creek Winter Birding course was at Carburn Park. After some initial reports of large flocks of Mallards, Canada Geese, along with Common and Barrow’s Goldeneye and Buffleheads, it seemed a great locale with the warmer winter weather. The Thursday group discovered a Northern Saw-whet Owl that has been found in its current location two other times in the last 12 years. Once in 2000, and again in 2005, which makes this bird, if it is the same individual, at least 13 years old. The route through the park was fairly circuitous, though we managed to identify twenty-three species in the three and a half hour tour of the park.

Carburn Park

Carburn Park

We started at the parking lot and headed north along the river, spotting a couple of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpeckers, and a small flock of House Sparrows as we headed to the north end of the park. At the river we were greeted by a large flock of Mallards and Canada Geese, and a few even flew directly overhead.

Canada Goose

Canada Goose

Along the opposite bank were a flock of ten to fifteen Common Ravens, squawking and cawing at each other between the trees. From the river, we headed south along the path, stopping briefly to feed some Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches, while a pair of Downy Woodpeckers moved up and down the nearby birch trees searching for a meal.

Before I knew it, we were at the location of the local celebrity that had drawn its own crowd. Along with the group of fifteen birders with the FCPP birding course were no less than ten other local bird photographers, which led to some concern about the stress that type of crowd would put upon the small Northern Saw-whet Owl.

Saw-whet Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Saw-whet Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Saw-whet Owl

Northern Saw-whet Owl

After our brief visit with this beautiful little animal, we headed along the riverbank and stumbled across both a trio of White-tailed Deer, and a very unfortunate Coyote suffering from the worst case of mange I have ever seen.

White-tailed Deer

White-tailed Deer

Coyote

Coyote

Just beyond the coyote’s path, we stumbled across a fairly large flock of American Crows. We suspected they may be early migrants, as this flock numbered into the seventies, and they were harassing a trio of juvenile Bald Eagles on the far side of the river.

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Juvenile Bald Eagle

As we continued down towards the southern end of Carburn Park, towards the bridge leading across to Southland Park, we scanned the flocks of Common Goldeneye for a few elusive Barrow’s Goldeneye. Our hard work paid off when one member of our group spotted a male and female pair very close to the near shore.

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

After a slight loop south to look for a reported Song Sparrow and Ring-necked Pheasants, which we did not find, we headed back north to the vehicles. A few Common Redpolls were in the birch trees nearby, and many House Sparrows along the feeders behind the row of houses, but no Song Sparrow or Pheasants were to be found. After a brief stint at the bridge, we did manage to find one parting mystery, this Harlan’s Hawk, which we initially had passed over as one of the juvenile Bald Eagles!

Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll

Harlan's Hawk

Harlan's Hawk

Looks like next week is a trip down to Votier’s Flats in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Thanks for reading, and good birding!

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: Jan 26

Jan27

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.

This report was prepared on Thursday January 26.

January 22
— LESSER SCAUP, Carburn Park, Bow River (Calgary), Janet Gill, Bernie Diebolt, CFNS group

January 23
— GADWALL male, Fish Creek PP, Bow River (Calgary), David Lilly

January 24
— NORTHERN PINTAIL male, Carburn Park, Bow River, Gus Yaki, FFC group
— GYRFALCON, Hwy 8 west of Calgary, Richard Clarke

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday January 30.

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 February 1. The program is titled “Understanding the Bird-brained: The Psychology of Bird Watching”, presented by Chip Scialfa. Dr. Scialfa is a professor of psychology at the U of C, a birdwatcher and a volunteer for the Alberta Wilderness Association.

Birds Calgary 2010 Competition Pages In New Location

Jan24

This blog was started in 2009 as a forum for keeping competitors informed about the Birds Calgary 2010 competition.  After the competition ended we kept the blog going, and it has evolved into a general birding resource for Calgary and area birders.  The information from the competition was still here,  under the “2010 Bird Comp” page at the top of the blog.  Now, as we approach the allowable size limits for this blog, and with lots of ideas for important new pages, we have decided to create a new blog to house all the information from the competition.

The new blog can be found at “2010 Birding Competition” and there is also a link to it under the “Blogroll” heading on our home page.  It won’t be an active blog with new posts but all the competition pages are there.  The 2010 pages on this blog will be removed in a few days.

Not only does this free up a lot of space here, but the competition pages display better and are easier to navigate in their new home.  Check out all the stats and the great photos, and if you were a participant, relive the competition!  Only eight more years and we can do it again.