Tag Archive | birds calgary blog

Boreal Birds Need Half

By Dr. Jeff Wells, Boreal Songbird Initiative

One of the world’s greatest migrations is happening now.  Billions of migratory birds are heading from the U.S., Central and South America to what’s been dubbed “North America’s bird nursery” —the sprawling billion-plus-acre boreal forest that spans the continent from Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland and Labrador—to nest and produce next year’s generation of birds.

However, as abundant as they are, boreal birds face myriad challenges and threats to their habitat. Some of the most iconic species have suffered dramatic declines in recent decades.

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Boreal Chickadee. Photo by Dan Arndt

A new science report – Boreal Birds Need Half: Maintaining North America’s Bird Nursery and Why it Matters – released May 5 , recommends protecting at least 50 percent of the boreal forest from industrial development. That level of conservation is vital to provide birds the best chance of maintaining healthy populations for hundreds of species of birds that rely on the boreal forest for nesting and migratory stopover..

The report, produced by Ducks Unlimited and the Boreal Songbird Initiative, offers scientific support for expansive, landscape-scale habitat conservation in large, interconnected protected areas that are necessary to help ensure the diversity of species . It also showcases significant areas across Canada where birds, landscapes and biodiversity are extraordinarily special.

The report also reveals often unappreciated roles boreal birds play in providing ecosystem services—pollinating plants, redistributing nutrients, and controlling pests, for example—and the value they add (more than $100 billion to economies in the U.S. and Canada). It also emphasizes the integral role birds play in the culture of Aboriginal Peoples throughout the boreal.

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Sunday Showcase: Snowstorm Fallout 2

There was also lots of action this weekend at South Glenmore Park.

Tamas Szabo took these photos while out with a Friends of Fish Creek birding course group on Saturday morning, May 3, 2014.

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Tree Swallows.

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Tree Swallow.

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Violet-green Swallow, showing white over the eye.

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Cliff Swallow.

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Yellow-rumped Warbler.

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Say’s Phoebe. Several were seen around the reservoir this weekend.

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American Pipit.

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Savannah Sparrow. There were hundreds at the water’s edge.

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Bonaparte’s Gull.

Sunday Showcase: Snowstorm Fallout 1

With the spring snowstorm we received in Calgary this weekend we were expecting to see some good birds here as migrants were forced down, and we weren’t disappointed.

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 Western Tanager, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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Western Tanager, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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Carburn Park in the snow, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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Yellow-rumped Warbler, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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Western Wood-Pewee, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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White-crowned Sparrows, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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Savannah Sparrow, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

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Chipping Sparrow, Carburn Park, May 3, 2014. Photo by Tony LePrieur

Wednesday Wings: Long-eared Owl

In early April Bruce Brummitt spotted this Long-eared Owl near his home in NW Calgary. These elusive owls are resident in the Calgary area, but this one may have just been passing through. It was seen for a few days but has not been seen since April 4.

The owl was only seen at dusk, in low light. Some of the photos were taken with a flash, so the owl’s iris looks red in those shots. All photos by Bruce Brummitt.

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Magpies mobbed the owl.

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Shome photos from April 4:

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Drumming Ruffed Grouse

On April 24 Paul Turbitt of Turbo’s Track and Tour blog found a male Ruffed Grouse drumming on a log west of Turner Valley.

 

Here is a still photo of the grouse.

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See Paul’s blog posts about this bird here and here.

Here is a link to his YouTube page.

Sunday Showcase: Spring Arrivals

Despite (or possibly because of) the snow and cold weather on Saturday, Tony LePrieur got some great shots of spring birds in Carburn Park and Fish Creek Park in SE Calgary, and some resident birds and mammals as well.

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Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle), Carburn Park, April 26, 2014

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Franklin’s Gulls, Carburn Park, April 26, 2014

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American Robin, male, Carburn Park, April 26, 2014

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Resident White-tailed Deer, Carburn Park, April 26, 2014

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Common Loon, Carburn Park, April 26, 2014

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A resident bird in Fish Creek Park, male Ring-necked Pheasant, April 26, 2014

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Ring-necked Pheasant, male, Fish Creek Park, April 26, 2014

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Osprey with nesting material, Carburn Park, April 26, 2014

Tony returned to Carburn Park in the better weather on Sunday and got another shot of a Common Loon on the pond there.

Common Loon Sunday

Common Loon, Carburn Park, April 27, 2014

North Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Since January 2012 Dan Arndt and I have led the Sunday morning group in the Friends of Fish Creek birding course, at 9 am in the Fall and Winter session, and at 7:30 am in the Spring. As the course has gained popularity, more and more groups have been added. There are now over 200 people registered for the Spring session, so there are eighteen different groups that go on the field trips each week. As more groups have been added there is a need for more leaders, so although Dan will continue to lead at 7:30 on Sundays, I have moved to the 9 am group.

Dan will continue to report here about what they see on his outings, with a one-week delay (see last week’s post Spring Begins at Sikome Lake). But on April 13 he was away, so I have arranged to use the photos taken that day by George Best on our group’s outing, and keep you up to date on what’s happening with the birds of Calgary.

We met at the Weaselhead parking lot and carpooled to the westernmost lot in the adjacent North Glenmore Park, to scope out the reservoir for migrants.  For such a late date, there was still a lot of ice on the reservoir, with the only open water being on the Elbow River and the extreme west end of the lake where the river enters it. There were quite a few species of waterfowl present, and this pair of Canada Geese stood out right away due to the contrast in their colours.

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Canada Geese. All photos by George Best

Among the numerous Mallards and Common Goldeneyes we spotted a pair of Redheads.

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Redheads and Mallards.

As we scanned the water from the high ridge in North Glenmore Park, we were treated to the sight of four Trumpeter Swans which suddenly appeared and flew silently in a line right in front of us at close range. They were so close and it happened so fast that George could not get a photo with his big lens. Instead, here is a shot of Mallards in flight. A more common sight in these parts but still a beautiful bird.

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Mallards.

We had a few other notable birds on the reservoir, including Canvasbacks, Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, and the first two Greater Yellowlegs of the season.

Next we headed to the east end of the reservoir near the Canoe Club to check out the stormwater ponds there. Several House Finches gave us good looks right by the parking lot.

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House Finch, male.

On the way to the ponds we spotted this White-tailed Jackrabbit, and George got a great shot as he stood to size us up. Down in the Weaselhead we sometimes see Snowshoe Hares but up in South Glenmore Park it is more common to see these.

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White-tailed Jackrabbit.

There wasn’t much on the ponds but the birds are closer so they make good subjects.

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Bufflehead, male.

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Common Goldeneye, male.

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Killdeer.

Finally, we headed down into the Weaselhead proper. At the beginning of the walk we added two more mammals, Richardson’s Ground Squirrel and Least Chipmunk. For most of the participants it was the first ground squirrel of the year. For George, who is from the U.K., it was a life mammal, so he made sure to get some close-ups

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Richardson’s Ground Squirrel.

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Richardson’s Ground Squirrel close-up.

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Least Chipmunk.

The only birds on the Elbow River were these two sleeping Common Mergansers.

Sleeping Mergansers

We saw one Dark-eyed Junco and a few American Tree Sparrows, but these were too flighty to stay for photos. One problem we have with our Sunday walks is that the parks are very busy with bikers, runners, dog-walkers, etc. We stood still to try to get good looks at the Tree Sparrows and Juncos as they fed, but all the traffic on the path kept flushing them. It is a lot quieter on some of the weekday morning walks.

We had heard Blue Jays calling many times and finally caught up with one by the feeders.

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Blue Jay.

Also at a tin-can feeder was this male Hairy Woodpecker.

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Hairy Woodpecker, male.

We didn’t have time to go too far into the Weaselhead, but we’ll be back when the Hummingbirds are here to see it again.

Dan will report on the Easter Sunday outing on Monday. Until then, Good Birding!

Eagles, Owls and Others

The photos below were taken by Josh OBrien. He uses a Nikon D600+Sigma 150-500mm. To see more of his photos, check his Facebook page here.

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Great Horned Owls

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Great Horned Owls

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Juvenile Bald Eagles

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Juvenile Bald Eagle

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Juvenile Bald Eagle stretching

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Great Gray Owl

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Great Gray Owl

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American Robin

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Downy Woodpecker

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Common Raven

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Great Horned Owl

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Great Horned Owl

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Juvenile Bald Eagle

Spring Arrivals at Fish Creek Park

Tony LePrieur saw some new birds for the year in Fish Creek Park on April 5, 2014, as well as some favourite residents.

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Northern Shoveler, male.

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European Starling.

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Red-winged Blackbird, male. This bird is arriving right on time, but all the ponds there were still mostly frozen over on this date. 

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Golden-crowned Kinglet, male. Likely a winter bird that will soon move on.

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Blue Jay, a year-round resident species.

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Snowshoe Hare. Transitioning to summer colours far faster than the surroundings are!

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Muskrat.

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Finally, some close-ups of one of the resident Great Horned Owls. Check the talons in the third photo.

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Wednesday Wings: Weaselhead and More

Tony LePrieur took the photos below on March 1, 2014.

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Horned Lark, from outside the city.

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Gray Partridge, from outside the city.

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A very cold Common Goldeneye from Fish Creek Park.

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Brown Creeper, Weaselhead.

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Pileated Woodpecker female, Weaselhead.

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House Finch male, Weaselhead.

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Golden-crowned Kinglet, Weaselhead.

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Golden-crowned Kinglet, Weaselhead.

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Coyote, Weaselhead.

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Finally, an ID challenge: At first glance I assumed this bird was a Merlin, but something didn’t quite look right. If not a Merlin, what do you think it is, and why?