Tag Archive | birds calgary blog

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.

Canada Geese. All photos by George Best

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

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.

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.

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.

White-tailed Jackrabbit.

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

Bufflehead, male.

Common Goldeneye, male.

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

Richardson’s Ground Squirrel.

Richardson’s Ground Squirrel close-up.

Least Chipmunk.

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

Blue Jay.

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

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

Apr20

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.

Great Horned Owls

Juvenile Bald Eagles

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Juvenile Bald Eagle stretching

Great Gray Owl

American Robin

Downy Woodpecker

Common Raven

Great Horned Owl

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Spring Arrivals at Fish Creek Park

Apr13

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

Northern Shoveler, male.

European Starling.

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

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

Blue Jay, a year-round resident species.

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

Muskrat.

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

Wednesday Wings: Weaselhead and More

Mar26

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

Horned Lark, from outside the city.

Gray Partridge, from outside the city.

A very cold Common Goldeneye from Fish Creek Park.

Brown Creeper, Weaselhead.

Pileated Woodpecker female, Weaselhead.

House Finch male, Weaselhead.

Golden-crowned Kinglet, Weaselhead.

Golden-crowned Kinglet, Weaselhead.

Coyote, Weaselhead.

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?

Sunday Showcase: Late Winter Birds

Mar23

Spring is here and the new migrants are showing up daily, but here is another look at some of the winter birds seen in Fish Creek Park and the Weaselhead Nature Area in Calgary. All photographs by Tony LePrieur.

The photos below were taken in Fish Creek Park on February 17, 2014.

Great Gray Owl, Bebo Grove.

Boreal Chickadee.

Black-capped Chickadee.

Golden-crowned Kinglet.

These shots of the Three-toed Woodpecker in Bebo Grove were taken on February 23, 2014.

The remaining photos below were taken on February 23, 2014 in the Weaselhead.

Great Horned Owl.

Boreal Chickadee.

American Tree Sparrow.

Dark-eyed Junco.

Golden-crowned Kinglet.

House Finch.

Furry Friday: Winter Weasel

Mar21

This Long-tailed Weasel was photographed by Bill Thompson in his yard on an acreage near Bragg Creek in April 2010.

Furry Friday: Roadside Lynx

Mar14

It’s a rare day that you see a Canada Lynx, so when Bill and Sharon Thompson spotted this one on a roadside while driving between Calgary and Prince George in 2002, they stopped to get a photograph. The Lynx had crossed the highway but then stopped in the ditch rather than disappearing into the bush.

Canada Lynx. Photo by Bill Thompson

For a few minutes the Lynx stayed still and was vocalizing. When Bill and Sharon looked back on the other side of the road, they saw the reason for this unusual behavior.

Canada Lynx kittens (cubs). Photo by Bill Thompson

Backyard Saw-whets

Mar8

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

There have been quite a few sightings of Northern Saw-whet Owls in and around Calgary this winter. Some of the sightings have been at night in back yards. The owls are probably looking for mice, which sometimes feed on seeds below bird feeders. Here is a link to a post about one seen in SE Calgary in December.

The owl below was photographed by Sarah Louise Lynch in Heritage Pointe, DeWinton, Alberta on February 20, 2014.

Northern Saw-whet Owl. Photo by Sarah Louise Lynch. Nikon 7000 camera.

The owl below was seen at noon on February 9, 2014 in the St. Andrews Heights neighbourhood in NW Calgary. It was found by Dave and Susan Russum, who were led to investigate by a number of agitated chickadees and nuthatches in a spruce tree.

Photo by Dave Russum.

This is probably the same owl I had found in that neighbourhood three days previously. I had told Dave about it since it was only two blocks from his house, so they were on the lookout for it. When I found it, there were twenty-three magpies and seven chickadees mobbing the owl in a spruce tree. Whenever you see that many agitated birds in a mob, it is worth investigating. Sometimes they are mobbing a cat, but most often it is a bird of prey. I have found several owls and other raptors that way.

Photo by Dave Russum.

Also of interest: Have you seen the photos of a Saw-whet Owl coughing up a pellet?

Birding Competition: How It Works

Jan21

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Last Friday’s post announced the upcoming 2015 Calgary Birding Competition. Today I will give details about how it will work and how you can get involved now.

Bohemian Waxwing, photographed by Matthew Sim during the 2010 competition

The main difference between this competition and the previous ones that Nature Calgary has held is that the recording of all bird sightings will be done using eBird, the online bird listing database. Previously birders could submit their sightings on spreadsheets or paper printouts, and the organizers of the competition would compile the results. Using eBird makes this process automatic, and the ongoing status of the competition will be visible to anyone.

There are many other advantages to using eBird, for both the birder and for anyone who wants to learn about the birds of the Calgary area:

eBird is a permanent, publicly available record of bird sightings
eBird is a searchable database
anyone, whether an eBird user or not, can access the database
it includes sightings from around the world
it includes historical sightings
sighting locations are shown on maps
birders can request to be alerted by email of rare bird sightings, or sightings of any bird they need for own list

As eBird use has increased, it has become a valuable tool for researchers studying the status and distribution of bird species. We feel that its importance for the birding community will continue to grow over time. The value and accuracy of eBird’s data will also increase as more birders use it.

Therefore, two of the main goals of holding this competition will be:

To train a new generation of birders to use eBird
To encourage veteran birders to begin using eBird, and to enter their bird lists from previous years into the database.

The Calgary area is already among the top three locations in Canada in terms of the number of sightings submitted to eBird, but we would like to see that increase dramatically from 2015 on.

It is quite easy to set up an eBird account and get started. Here is the sign-in page. We will offer help to anyone who needs it; more on that below.

To take part in the 2015 competition, you will need to:

register with us (we will set this up soon)
have an eBird account
set up a Patch list on eBird for the 80-km circle

After that it is just a matter of entering your sightings into eBird as you make them, and making sure that any locations where you recorded birds inside the 80-km circle are included in that patch.

Red-breasted Nuthatch, photographed by Ken Johnson during the 2010 competition

Getting Started Now

We hope that many of you will get started using eBird and setting up your competition patch soon, so that we can use 2014 as a trial run to work out any problems. This way you will also be able to familiarize yourself with the process and learn more about using eBird, and see how many species you can find inside the circle this year. I will give details on how to register and how to set up a competition patch in an upcoming post.

If You Need Help

Although eBird is fairly easy to use, if you feel you need help we will offer it to anyone who wants to get started. If you have set up your eBird account but just have a few questions, you can contact us by email. Our email address is ebirdyyc(at)gmail.com.

For those of you who would prefer it, we will be holding in-person training sessions. These will take place in a state-of-the-art computer lab, where you can go through the whole process of setting up an eBird account and entering bird sightings. For anyone who uses other bird-listing software, we will also teach you how to import that data into your eBird account. The first training session is already full (it was advertised in the Nature Calgary newsletter) but we will hold more sessions as needed. If you want to take part in this, please register at birdstudy(at)naturecalgary.com.

Calgary Birding Competition

Jan17

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Do you enjoy keeping track of the bird species you see? Do you want to find more species and explore new birding locations in the Calgary area? If so, you may want to take part in a birding competition which will be held throughout the year 2015.

This competition will be similar to those that Nature Calgary has sponsored in the past. In the year 2000, a competition was held to see who could identify the most species of birds within the Calgary city limits. In 2005, the area used was the 80-km (radius) circle which is traditionally used for the May Species Count. In 2010 we again used the city limits as the competition area (you can read all about the 2010 event on the Birds Calgary 2010 blog).

Willet, photographed by Brian Elder during the 2010 competition.

Following this pattern, the 2015 competition will be a year-long event to see who can find the most species inside the 80-km circle centred on the Centre Street Bridge. Many of the details are still to be worked out, but there will be different categories of competitors based on age or experience, with prizes awarded to the winners.

The main goal of having such a competition is to encourage more people, especially youths, to get involved in the Calgary birding community. Participants can also expect to learn a lot about the birds of the Calgary area and the many great locations to go birding here.

If this is of interest to you, follow this blog to see how you can get started this year. We will be setting up a registration process soon.

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