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 :
Tag Archive | birds calgary blog
Wednesday Wings: Saw-whet Owl
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
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
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
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.
Sunday Showcase: Pileated Woodpecker
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.
Here you can see the long tongue which it uses to extract carpenter ants from trees.
Wednesday Wings: Winter Birds of Bragg Creek
Kim Selbee photographed these early-winter visitors in her yard in the Bragg Creek area.
Mountain Chickadee
Black-capped Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Mountain Chickadee
Black-billed Magpie
Sunday Showcase: Birds and Mammals of Fish Creek Park
All of the photos below were taken by Tony LePrieur in Fish Creek Park on November 3, 9, and 11.
Friends of Fish Creek Winter Birding Course
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
Many of you have been enjoying Dan Arndt’s weekly posts about our outings with the Friends of Fish Creek birding course. Dan and I have really enjoyed leading our group year-round, in all weather, for the last two years. Birding in the winter has its challenges in terms of the weather, and the number of species seen is lower than in spring or fall, but you can get some great winter birds and fantastic scenery.
The next session begins in January so it’s time to register. This is a twelve-week series of field trips to many of Calgary’s natural areas. There are groups scheduled for every morning of the week except Friday, and in the afternoons on the weekend as well.
To encourage all those young birders out there to attend, there is a special rate for youths sixteen years of age or under: each registered adult is able to sign up one young person to accompany them for only $5 for the whole course!
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1600
Photo by Dan Arndt, November 3, 2013
Here is the course information from the Friends of Fish Creek:
BIRDING BASICS – WINTER BIRDING COURSE
Winter is a great time of the year for young people to connect with nature. They can do this by
learning about the variety of bird species in Fish Creek Provincial Park and other natural areas
in Calgary through the Friends of Fish Creek Winter Birding Course. Birds are now easier to
see as the trees have shed their leaves, there are fewer species present and they often occur in
large flocks.
Sign up with your child, grandchild, niece, nephew or any young person who enjoys experiencing nature and wildlife, and who would benefit from this valuable learning opportunity. Allow them to enrich their life enjoying the great outdoors during morning or afternoon weekend sessions. The fee for youth 16 years of age and under is only $5.00 with one registered adult.
As a fundraiser for the Friends of Fish Creek, these outings will be conducted by lifelong birder and naturalist Gus Yaki and other experienced birding instructors.
12-week course starts Monday, January 6, 2014. Choose to come on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays at 9:15am, Saturdays at 9:00am or 1:15pm, or Sundays at 9:00am or 1:15pm. Reserve early as each group size is limited to 15 participants.
Fee for 12 outings: Adult Friends of Fish Creek Members: $60.00, Adult Non-Members: $100.00. Youth 16 years of age or younger with registered adult: $5.00
To Register visit friendsoffishcreek.org/programs/birding-course
email info(at)friendsoffishcreek.org or call 403-238-3841
Wednesday Wings: Mergansers and More
These great photos were taken by Larry Doucet in Fish Creek Park in September. They were taken along the creek in the Glennfield area, just east of Macleod Trail.
Common Merganser, Sep 21, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 300mm. Exposure: 1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus
Common Merganser, Sep 21, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 300mm. Exposure: 1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus
Common Merganser, Sep 21, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 300mm. Exposure: 1/250 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus
Common Merganser, Sep 21, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 300mm. Exposure: 1/800 sec, f5.6, ISO 100, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus. This one was taken through some trees to see if I could get a blurred frame around the bird. She came right into a spot of sunlight just as I was ready for her.
Black-capped Chickadee, Sep 29, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 180mm. Exposure: 1/400 sec, f5.0, ISO 200, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus
Black-capped Chickadee, Sep 29, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 180mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec, f5.0, ISO 200, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus
White-breasted Nuthatch, Sep 29, 2013. Canon Rebel T4i. Lens: Canon EF75-300mm at 300mm. Exposure: 1/800 sec, f5.6, ISO 800, aperture priority, spot metering, spot auto focus