See if you can identify the bird in the photograph below; then let us know what you think by posting a comment.
The bird in this photograph is a large, noisy and conspicuous shorebird typical of the prairie sloughs. Do you know what it is? Let us know what you think in the comment section.
Posted by Matthew Sim
July is another great month to go birdwatching in the Calgary region. By now, most birds are in the process of raising hungry families while others, such as hummingbirds and certain shorebirds, start their southward migration in late July. Our must-see birds for July are as follows:
1. Western Grebe
Featured before in one of our previous posts (Grebes, Grebes, Grebes), the Western Grebe is a gregarious grebe that is easily recognized thanks to its contrasting black and white plumage, thin green-yellow bill and slender neck. Colonial nesters, the Western Grebe is usually found on medium to large lakes such as Frank Lake ( Glenmore reservoir during migration) where they mainly consume small fish.
A pair of Western Grebes, front, on a crowded Frank lake.
2. Rose-breasted Grosbeak
The male Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a beautiful black-and-white songbird with a rosy red breast, lives up to its name. The female is a brownish-streaked bird with yellow wing linings. Emitting a robin-like song, only richer, more energetic and more rapidly delivered, both male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeak sing. This bird may be seen in the Glenmore and the Weaselhead area or at Griffith Woods along the banks of the Elbow River in southwest Calgary.
Adult male Rose-breasted Grosbeak feeding a juvenile.
3. Canvasback
The largest diving duck found in the province, I find Canvasbacks to be very beautiful. The male is resplendent with a canvas coloured back and a chestnut head and neck. This species prefers lakes and ponds with emergent vegetation and vegetated margins. Weed lake is a good place to observe these ducks. The Canvasback uses its long sloping bill to strain seeds from the mud on the bottom of ponds.
4. Wilson’s Phalarope
The only shorebirds that normally swim, the sex roles are reversed in phalaropes, the female being larger and more colorful than the male; a black stripe going down from the eye, down the side of the neck and then merging into chestnut. Favouring sloughs and shallow lakes where wet meadows and grassy marshes are present, the Wilson’s Phalarope may be seen on most southeast sloughs and lakes.
5. Cinnamon Teal
Our final bird for the month of July is the Cinnamon Teal, a conspicuous cinnamon red duck that is striking in the right light. This teal prefers shallow lake margins, marshes and ponds; on larger bodies of water, it is never found very far from shore. Look for Cinnamon Teal in early July, before they molt, in the southeast sloughs, Frank Lake, or in Fish Creek at Burnsmead, among other spots.
Let us know which of these birds you saw this month! Happy Canada Day!
Posted by Matthew Sim
The boy paused to make some adjustments to his gear before moving the long black object that was glinting in the sunlight up to his eye. He slowly, carefully took aim, lining up his target into the right position, not wanting to miss this golden opportunity. Not this time. He paused another moment before finally taking the shot. Snap! The boy looked down at his camera screen, pleased with the result. He rapidly took some more shots before quietly leaving the way he came.
Sunday afternoon, my dad and I headed out to Frank Lake, eager to see some young birds starting to emerge. As we were leaving this birding hotspot, we passed a small marsh beside the road; a fence running along the edge of the water. “Stop!” I suddenly exclaimed. We turned the car around when the traffic had died down and found a quiet place to park. On a fencepost, I had seen a Wilson’s Snipe, a long-billed shorebird often seen in and around wetlands. We hopped out of the car, listening to the music of the wetland around us; boreal chorus frogs, yellow-headed blackbirds, red-winged blackbirds and coots, all adding to the cacophony of sounds around us.
We slowly and cautiously made our way closer and closer to the snipe, not wanting to scare it . We had never been quite so close to a snipe before and we approached to within a couple of meters of the bird before stopping. We admired and observed this well-marked little bird, delighted to have such a close encounter.
After doing some research on this remarkable little bird, I found that its long bill is really quite amazing. The bill of the Wilson’s Snipe is flexible and the tips can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the bill. Sensory pits at the tip of the bill act a little bit like sonar, allowing the snipe to feel its prey (small invertebrates) deep in the mud.
Posted by Matthew Sim
In South Glenmore Park, just where the trail drops down into the Weaselhead, there is a path leading through the bush to a spot with two benches.
Not only does it provide a great view of the pond and Weaselhead, but someone has turned it into a feeding station for the birds. I have been there a few times, and there is always birdseed on the rails and ground, and oranges in the trees. If you sit still and are patient, you get great close-up views of the birds. These pictures were taken on June 17, and we saw 23 species from the lookout that day. Here are some of them. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
Downy Woodpecker:
Hairy Woodpecker:
Clay-colored Sparrow:
Black-capped Chickadee:
Rose-breasted Grosbeak:
Brown-headed Cowbird:
Some small mammals got in on the action as well. Red Squirrel:
Least Chipmunk:
A Pine Siskin and a Red-breasted Nuthatch squabble over a good feeding spot:
Pine Siskin:
Red-breasted Nuthatch:
White-breasted Nuthatch:
Finally, this little Red Squirrel rested his head on his hands while he patiently waited his turn at the feeder:
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
At Valleyview Park pond in SE Calgary, I recently saw a single Common Goldeneye chick trailing after its mother. I took a little video of the pair. Watch the instinctive reaction of the chick when it hears the “sputter” call of a Red-winged Blackbird. It obviously hasn’t yet learned that this sound doesn’t mean danger! (Sorry about the helicopter noise.)
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Last Tuesday when I was down at the Bow River, I was witness to a great birding spectacle; photogenic pelicans putting on a show of flying, landing and swimming. I was able to count up 27 of these social and gregarious birds at one time, half of them circling in the sky while the other half loafed around on the banks of the river. Among the world’s largest birds and gracing the air with a wingspan of over 2 meters, the American White Pelican can swallow fish up to 30cm (12 inches) long and must eat 2 kg (4 lbs) of fish a day.
Several Pelicans made a show of coming in for a landing.
They came closer and closer…
Until it seemed as though they were right beside me…
Their feathers were absolutely stunning against the blue sky.
This Pelican was demonstrating the mechanics of a good landing…
Before finally putting down the landing gear.
If you look carefully at this last photo, you may just be able to make out a Franklin’s Gull at the far right of the screen. This gull was flying at roughly the same altitude as the pelicans and shows the massive size difference between the two. After Tuesday, Pelicans have become a bird I love to watch.
Posted by Matthew Sim
Last week we went for a walk through the Weaselhead area of SW Calgary. It was very wet and the rivers were high, but we did manage to find some nice birds.
The creek near the junction with the Elbow River.
Eastern Phoebes are nesting under both of the wooden bridges…
There are lots of Least Flycatchers in the area…
It appears that Beavers have chewed through this retaining wall, just to make it easier for them to get from the forest to their pond…
We saw this male Calliope Hummingbird do its spectacular U-shaped display flight, where it climbs to a height of about 80 feet, and then dives rapidly towards the ground, and up again…
We never saw any Pileated Woodpeckers, but there is evidence of their activities on many of the big trees…
Cliff Swallows at their mud nests under the bridge over the Elbow River…
A Spotted Sandpiper was feeding on top of some logs in the river…
Cedar Waxwings were busy flycatching along the waterways…
And there were several Red Squirrels, looking for handouts…
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
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
Photos taken at Livingston Creek Ranch Golf Course, Sunday June 5, 2011.
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
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