Tag Archive | birds calgary blog

Furry Friday: Winter Badger

Moe Zaleshuk saw this American Badger on Hwy 561 not far from the junction with Hwy 1, in the Standard area, on December 16. Note how long their fur is in the winter!

Sunday Showcase: Goshawk Feeding

Jan5

Karen and Roger Bolton had the unusual experience of seeing a Northern Goshawk eat a Blue Jay in their yard in Glamorgan, SW Calgary, on December 7, 2013. These powerful raptors are scarce in winter in the Calgary area. They feed on game birds like pheasants and partridge; rabbits, and rodents, as well as songbirds. (Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

Sunday Showcase: Winter Waxwings, Kinglet, and Chickadee

Dec22

Tony LePrieur photographed these birds in Fish Creek Park on December 15, 2013.

Bohemian Waxwings:

Golden-crowned Kinglet:

Boreal Chickadee:

Furry Friday: Skunk and Deer

Dec20

This curious young White-tailed Deer was playing with fire, in the form of a Striped Skunk. The photos were taken by Bill Thompson on April 6, 2009 on his acreage near Bragg Creek.

Here are some shots of the skunk foraging :

Wednesday Wings: Saw-whet Owl

Dec18

Harris Toth had this little Northern Saw-whet Owl visit his yard in the Parkland neighbourhood of SE Calgary on December 15. The same night, another (or the same one) was seen in Queensland, only about 2 km away. These owls are quite common in the summer and there are always some around here in the winter, but they are strictly nocturnal so they aren’t often seen.

Sunday Showcase: Three-toed Woodpecker

Dec15

Tony LePrieur found this male American Three-toed Woodpecker, and other birds, in Fish Creek Park on December 8.

American Three-toed Woodpecker (male)

Boreal Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Downy Woodpecker (female)

Downy Woodpecker (male)

Furry Friday: Grizzly Close-up

Dec13

Grizzlys are in hibernation now, but on September 17, 2013, Rob English saw this one at close range on Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country.

To see more of Rob English’s photos, go to his flickr page.

Christmas Bird Count Week 2013

Dec12

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The Calgary Christmas Bird Count is coming up this Sunday, December 15, and that means that we are now in the Count Week period. Any species which are seen from December 12 to 18, but missed on the count day itself, are included in the database as Count Week birds. Sometimes there are very good birds which are known to be around but can’t be found on count day, and sometimes it’s an unexpected bird showing up before or after the count. Even better is to find a good bird on the count day itself.

If you see an unusual or out-of-season bird during count week, and it is inside the Count Circle, make a note of the sighting (please get details about the bird and the time and place of the sighting – a photo also helps!). If the bird is not reported on count day, pass the information about your sighting to us at Birdscalgary(at)gmail.com.

Note that the circle doesn’t include the entire city.

There are many other Christmas Bird Counts in the Calgary area (and throughout North America). Check your area for a count and see if you can find an unusual species there.

Calgary-area counts listed here.

Sunday Showcase: Pileated Woodpecker

Dec1

Bernard Tremblay got these amazing close-up photos of a male Pileated Woodpecker feeding on a fallen log yesterday, November 30, 2013, in the Weaselhead Nature Area in SW Calgary. After a few minutes the woodpecker was scared off by a Merlin.

The camera used was a Nikon 7000 + AF-S Nikkor 300 mm lens + Nikon AF-S teleconverter TC -14E 1.4 x. The camera settings were: 420 mm 1/1600 sec f5.6 ISO 2000.

Male Pileated Woodpecker. The red crest extends all the way to the base of the bill; on the female the red doesn’t reach the bill. There is also a red mark from the bill to the throat, which is black on female birds.