Rob English got these photos of a recently fledged Bald Eagle in Carburn Park in early August 2012. The bird had just recently left the nest across the river.
There was one of the adult eagles with this young one:
Tag Archive | birds calgary blog
Sunday Showcase: Snow Bunting
Michael Pott saw this Snow Bunting posing nicely on a fence post on Dunbow Road last week, just SE of the city. These birds are usually seen in here in the winter in large flocks, in open rural areas.
Leucistic Rough-legged Hawk
Posted by Matthew Sim
We’ve done posts here on this blog about leucism before, which is when a bird has reduced pigmentation, meaning it has more white in it’s feathers than normal for the species. We’ve had some examples before, including a leucistic House Finch, American Robin, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and others. For the past few months, Calgary has had a very neat leucistic bird in the area. This Rough-legged Hawk frequents the area around Highway 40, just west of Calgary.
Now compare this with a more normal Rough-legged Hawk.
On January 1rst, I found this leucistic hawk on Highway 40 near its intersection with Range Road 40.
Furry Friday: Mink
Rob English photographed this American Mink in April 2012 along the Bow River in Fish Creek Park, between the boat ramp and the highway 22X bridge.
Wednesday Wings: More Snowies!
Snowy Owls photographed north of Strathmore in early January by Rob English.
Sunday Showcase: Female Rufous Hummingbird
Photos taken by Rob English near Highwood House, SW of Calgary, in June 2012.
Here are a couple of shots of a male Rufous Hummingbird taken at the same time, to show the difference. For more of Rob’s photos of a male Rufous, see this post.
Furry Friday: Weasel & Pika
Rob English took these photos in mid-June 2012 near the Highwood Pass. He was looking for American Pikas, but so was this Long-tailed Weasel.
Wednesday Wings: Golden Eagle & Snowy Owls
Mitchell Kranz spotted this juvenile Golden Eagle on January 20 near Lake McGregor, northeast of Vulcan.
The same day, he also saw no less than 15 Snowy Owls between there and Blackie.
You can see more of Mitchell’s photos here.
Wednesday Wings: Crossbills
These photos were taken by Tim Hopwood over the past two weeks in various locations within the city of Calgary. The first four photos show Red Crossbills (which seem to be more abundant than usual in the city this winter), and the rest are White-winged Crossbills.
To see more of Tim’s photos, see his blog, Tim J. Hopwood Images.
Fur & Feathers Wrap-Up
I’m sure many of you have followed the Fur & Feathers 500 blog. Four Calgary bird watchers (and mammal watchers) did a bird and mammal Big Year in 2012, trying to see as many species as they could within Canada. They were successful in reaching their goals of seeing 500 combined species as a team, and of visiting each Territory and Province in Canada.
Brian Elder has summarized their efforts in two excellent posts, which highlight some of the most interesting species they saw, and which feature their great photographs too.
A Look Back at the Birds of our Big Year
A Look Back at the Mammals of our Big Year
Now that the Big Year is over, Brian has launched a new blog to document his efforts to reach a life list of 5000 bird and mammal species worldwide. Follow him at:
At Birds Calgary we will be following this with great interest, and we wish him luck!