Tag Archive | birds calgary blog

Bird Profile: Tree Swallow

Jun16

Posted by Matthew Sim

During the summer, Calgary is home to 5 species of swallow; Barn, Cliff, Bank, Northern Rough-winged and Tree Swallows can all be reliably found in the city during the warmer months. The Tree Swallow, perhaps the most common species of swallow here is a favorite bird of mine because of their personality. They always seem to be communicating with one another and I find it humorous to sit back from time to time and watch as a pair on a branch lean back and forth, chattering away to each other.

The Tree Swallow is, of course, a member of the swallow family, (the family is known by the latin name Hirundinidae) small, slender songbirds with small bills and long, pointed wings. A swallow’s sleek form allows it to be an “adept aerialist”, as described in the National Geographic field guides, and they use this form well as they are always darting and swooping about catching flying insects.

The Tree Swallow is separated from other swallows by its blue-green feathers on its upper parts and white plumage below.

Identified by its blue-green upperparts and white underparts,  the tree swallow can be seen flying around meadows and open fields and in wooded habitat near water, such as down along the river in Fish Creek. In fact, just last week as I was exploring some trails in Fish Creek Provincial Park by the river, I came across a Tree Swallow nesting in a cavity right at eye-level in a poplar tree.

Down in that hole, just out of eyesight, is the Tree Swallow’s nest, which is an open cup of grass lined with plenty of feathers- most will likely be from waterfowl on the river. As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology says about these guy’s nests; “the Tree Swallow uses many feathers from other birds in its nest. The feathers help keep the nestlings warm so they can grow faster. They help keep levels of ectoparasites, like mites, low too.”

Now, perhaps, you know a little bit more about these beautiful and graceful birds. I know that I learned quite a lot as I did research for this post. And though you probably see plenty of Tree Swallows during the summer here in Calgary, next time you see one, I want you to stop and just observe it for a while; I’m sure you will see that they have lots of character!

A Sharp-shinned in my yard

Jun14

Posted by Matthew Sim

The other day, I was sitting outside in my yard, soaking up some sunshine when I heard a big commotion coming from the spruce tree in my yard. There were Grackles, Robins, Blue Jays, Pine Siskins, Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches all making as much noise as they possibly could. The reason? Look at the photo below; do you see anything?

How about now?

Though the Sharp-shinned hawk was rather well hidden, it couldn’t hide from the neighborhood birds who know all too well what will happen if they leave this predator undisturbed.

Here are some more photos of this beautiful bird.

Where to Find the Hummingbirds

Jun10

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Many readers of Matthew’s recent post about the Hummingbirds of the Weaselhead would like to know where to find these birds.  There are two species that breed there, and they are reliably in the same two areas every year, from mid-May to early September.

To get to this area, park in the lot in North Glenmore at 37 Street and 66 Avenue SW, in the community of Lakeview. This is marked with a red “P” in the satellite map below.  The white x’s show where the Calliope Hummingbirds are typically found, and the yellow x’s show the location of the Rufous Hummingbirds.

Calliope Hummingbirds:  From the parking lot, go down the hill on the paved trail, and cross the big bridge over the Elbow River.  Then turn right immediately and follow the trail over a wooden bridge that spans a side channel (Eastern Phoebes nest here).  After the wooden bridge, turn left onto a new boardwalk trail that runs along the west side of that channel.  After the boardwalk ends, the trail turns away from the channel, and you soon come to a more open area with a few small trees.  Look for these tiny birds at the top of dead branches or spruce trees.  Another trail branches off and goes north along the west side of this open area, and we have seen the Calliopes here too.  The red x’s on the map below show where to look.  Please stay on the trails – there is no need to go off them to find the birds.

Rufous Hummingbirds:  From the main parking lot, take the paved trail down the hill.  There are several trails you can take to the area where the birds are on the south-facing slope along the river.  It can be quite muddy in wet conditions, and you should stay well away from the river when the water is high.  One dirt trail begins right where the paved path makes a big turn, before going down the steep hill (the uppermost red T below).  This one is difficult when it is wet since there are steep sections.  Another runs right along the river bank (the lowermost T).  This trail is unusable and dangerous when the water level is high, as it is now.  The middle T indicates a trail that begins at a wooden railing just north of the big bridge.  This is the best way in wet conditions (the trails all converge when you are about halfway there).   Follow the dirt trails through the woods, staying down low near the river, until you get to a stormwater drain into the river.  The hillsides here are covered in Caragana bushes (Siberian Peashrub).  You usually don’t have to go farther than this to find the birds (though the trails continue on for quite a distance).  The location is marked with red x’s below.  Again, look at the tops of small dead branches, or the tips of spruce trees.

To return, you can backtrack, or climb the steep hill to the boundary fence above, and follow it back.  (In dry weather you can go in this way, along the top, but it is a steep hill down to where the birds are, and very slippery.)

Good luck, and be careful!

A Big Day in Fish Creek

Jun10

Posted by Matthew Sim

This past Friday, I did a Big Day in Fish Creek. For those of you who do not know what this is, a Big Day is when you try to see and hear as many species as possible within a 24 hour day. For my Big Day, I spent more than 10 hours in Fish Creek, doing the entire day by bike, riding about 74 kilometers (46 miles) throughout the park and recording 93 species of birds, falling short of my goal of 100. Temperatures ranged from 6-15 degrees Celsius and there were a few showers. I started at about 5am and took a 2 hour weather break at lunch time, hoping for some of the rain to blow over, before returning at 2 and counting for another 3 hours. A full list and a more detailed report of the day can be seen here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/message/20841

Here are some photos from the day:

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-necked Grebes

Blue-winged Teal

Tennessee Warbler

Ruddy Ducks

Male Common Yellowthroat

Hummingbirds of the Weaselhead

Jun9

Posted by Matthew Sim

This past Thursday, I went out for a walk in the Weaselhead with local nature expert Gus Yaki and a group of other birders. Our target species were the 2 species of hummingbird that call this park home; the Calliope Hummingbird and the Rufous Hummingbird. Though we saw and heard many great species on our walk, for this post I will concentrate on the hummingbirds.

When we reached the area where Calliope Hummingbirds are usually seen, we scanned around with our binoculars, searching for this tiny bird. The smallest bird in North America at 8cm in length (3.25 inches), this hummingbird can sometimes be passed off as a large bee. After several minutes, somebody found this beautiful male perched at the top of a spruce tree.

Male Calliope Hummingbird

We observed this little guy (the Calliope is the smallest long-distance avian migrant in the world) as Gus told us many neat facts about the species. For example, the pink streaks on the male’s throat form a V-shaped gorget, and these streaks are rather long, so that when the male turns his head, the streaks will actually reach back over his shoulder. This was my first time seeing the species so I was particularly enthralled with the bird. After some time, we moved on, back closer to the river in search of the Rufous Hummingbird.

We had to walk through some muddy spots to get to the habitat where the male Rufous is likely to be seen but was it ever worth it! When we got there, someone soon spotted the male Rufous and we soon all had our binoculars trained on him as he displayed his gorgeous orange-red gorget.

Male Rufous Hummingbird

The Rufous Hummingbird was moving around a lot and we got to see him at various spots; perched and in flight.

At one point, he even came to the bushes right behind us and started feeding.  Gus told us that these bushes were actually Siberian Peashrub, more commonly known as Caragana. They are an invasive species that totally dominates the environment, so that no other flowering plants live in the area ( it covers 10-12 acres on the north side of the Elbow river). Male Rufous Hummingbirds  feed on these plants because of the abundant if  only temporarily nectar, however the females, which raise their families alone without the help of the males, realise that there is not enough nectar to raise a family on and head elsewhere, to richer, more natural environments. The males are then at a biological dead-end and do not have the oppurtunity to pass on their genes. This was quite fascinating and I would not have learned this had I not been on the trip with Gus. Thanks Gus!

He showed off his colors beautifully, revealing how he got his name.

We had a great morning watching these hummingbirds and learning lots about them thanks to Gus’ vast wealth of knowledge.

A trip to Fish Creek

Jun8

Posted by Matthew Sim

After arriving back in Calgary from Houston for the summer last Friday, I couldn’t wait to get back out to Fish Creek. Sunday morning found me up bright and early (6:00) and out on my bike, riding down to Fish Creek Provincial Park, one of my favorite birding (and for that matter, one of my favorite natural) locations.

Almost immediately, I was seeing good birds. At the stormwater ponds between the Glennfield area and the Bow Valley Ranch I saw lots of waterfowl, including a pair of Cinnamon Teal and many Common Goldeneye ducklings.

Cinnamon Teal; male on the right, female partially hidden on the left

Goldeneye ducklings

At one pond, a coyote was hunting something in the long grass and remained oblivious to my presence.

After observing the coyote for some time, I continued riding my back towards the Ranch. I crossed bridge #11 and started towards Sikome and the river, but stopped abruptly when I saw the Great Horned Owl family; 5 in all, 3 owlets and their parents.

We as Calgarians are truly lucky to be able to observe owlets up close each year as they are never far off the path in Fish Creek. I marveled at the owls seemingly majestic haughtiness, as they all stared me down. Before long, I was off again, stopping again when I saw a strange sight at the top of a conifer. At the very top was a Brown-headed Cowbird, surrounded by what must have been millions of little bugs.

As I passed through the Sikome area, I observed many Richardson’s Ground Squirrels.

As I finally reached the river and the Hull’s Wood area of the park, I spotted what was probably the most colorful bird of the day; a male Baltimore Oriole.

There was a female with him and they seemed to be paired up, however she was more secretive as she gathered nest material and disappeared high into the poplars to build her hanging nest.

This trip to Fish Creek was excellent, and for me, having moved away, I now fully appreciate what a great park Fish Creek is.

Q & A: Strange Bird Sounds

Jun6

 Q: Morning, I just found this blog and think it is wonderful! My family and I moved out to an acreage west of the city recently, and are wondering about one bird sound that we just can’t ID. We hear it mostly at night and very early morning. It’s an eerie call…. The best way to describe it is a high-pitched kakakaka. Almost sounds like something you’d here in a jungle? If that makes sense? If you have a moment I’d really like your thoughts on this one. Thanks.

A: One possibility is a Wilson’s Snipe, a shorebird found in wet marshy areas.  It makes a display flight, often at night, where the bird flies high in the sky and then dives down at high speed.  The air rushing past its tail feathers produces a sound often described as a fast “woowoowoowoowoo….”  Click on the video below and let me know if that’s the bird or not.

Reply: Thanks!!! That’s the one! We haven’t seen one but we can sure hear them!

Q: I live in south Calgary. At night we have been hearing an unusual call that sounds like a dove or possibly a duck. It is a whistling sound that we often hear passing overhead in the sky while we are in the hot tub.  We  have a seasonal marsh close by that is home to Mallards, Canada Geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and more species.   Do you have any idea what could be making this sound? Just wondering!

A:  It sounds to me like you have Mourning Doves. They are quite vocal, and make soft cooing sounds all day and in the evening. When they fly, their wings make a loud whistling noise. They are birds of the grasslands not the marshes, but can generally be found wherever there is food – seeds, insects, etc.

Mourning Dove.  Photo by Anne Elliott. 

Another possibility is Common Goldeneye, a species of duck whose wings make a whistling sound when they fly.

Common Goldeneye.  Photo by Dan Arndt. 

Q: Hi there, I was wondering if you could provide some information.  I awoke in the middle of the night last night and heard a bird singing on Nose Hill behind our house. This was at 2:00 am and this bird sang for over an hour. I tried to find its song on the internet and the nearest I came to it was a nightingale.  Is that even possible here? If not, what kind of bird around Calgary, sings at night? Isn’t that unusual?

Thanks for your help.

A: It’s not that unusual for birds to sing at night.  Some species do it all the time in the breeding season.  It’s difficult to say which one you have there.  There are several species of nightingale, but they are not found in North America.  I’m not too familiar with nightingale songs but a quick listen to them online, plus the location you gave, suggests that your bird might be a Gray Catbird.  They have a long, disjointed song that is a series of squeaky syllables separated by pauses.  They don’t usually repeat the same sound twice in a row, and they can include imitations of other birds, and the occasional cat-like mew.  They are also known to sing at night.  Check out this YouTube video to see what they sound like.  If that’s not the bird, let me know.

Reply: That’s definitely what I heard! Thanks!

May Species Count – Longview Area

May30

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

On Saturday May 26, 2012 I surveyed the Longview area for the May Species Count.  This is the fifth straight year I have done this area, and I’m getting to know it pretty well.  I counted 73 species, down two from last year.

A rocky hillside west of Longview.

These large rural count areas take a long time to cover. It is mostly driving, stopping regularly to record birds and to listen.  There are only a few short walks.  I started at 5:30 a.m. and had made a first pass through the area by about 4:30 p.m.  You have to record the numbers of each species of bird and mammal you see, being careful not to over-count, which makes for some tricky record-keeping as you go down a road for the second time.  After going quickly over my checklist, I continued until 8:15, searching for species I missed earlier, and adding to some of the numbers.  It seems there are always a few birds you just can’t find.  Once again, there were few shorebirds in this area, because there just isn’t enough good habitat for them.  But there should be Bald Eagles, and I couldn’t find one.  I was compensated with two Golden Eagles. I never had a Gray Catbird, and spent the last half hour of the day searching dense thickets for one of these birds (unsuccessfully).

Here are a few of the species I photographed.

Female Mountain Bluebird.  There were good numbers of bluebirds.

This Killdeer was doing its “broken-wing” display, and likely had made its nest right on the gravel road.

I don’t get Pied-billed Grebes here every year.  This was the only grebe I saw.

Lincoln’s Sparrows were common.

There were dozens of black birds in mixed flocks in livestock fields.  It was difficult to separate the Brewer’s Blackbirds (above) from all the Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings.

I had two male Northern Harriers, which seems to be a scarce species around Calgary this year.

Wilson’s Snipe.  More often heard than seen, but will sometimes sit on fence posts.

A mixed flock of about 60 Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches settled onto this field, and practically disappeared.  I can see four goldfinches in this photo but there were many more. 

I was quite entertained by this bird, which was trying to collect nesting material.  Unfortunately for the Oriole, the rope was too tough, and it left empty-handed.

Here are a few of the mammals I saw:

I think this is the same Red Fox I saw last year, in almost the same place. (See last year’s post.)

Most of the ground squirrels are Columbian, not Richardson’s as in Calgary.

These Elk kept a close eye on me as I explored a dirt trail where a Nashville Warbler had been heard a few days before.  I didn’t find the warbler.

Can you see the Bighorn Sheep in this photo?  Taken with a 400 mm lens.  I saw one in the same spot three years ago so I was looking for it, but nevertheless was surprised to find one there.

A cropped version of the photo above.

The May Species Count can be gruelling (I started at 5:30 again on Sunday and did another 13 hours in the city) but it is rewarding.  There are lots of interesting birds out there at this time of year.  Stay tuned for Dan’s post about our count in the Weaselhead.

Sunday Showcase: Spring Birds of the Calgary Area

May27

Here are some recent photographs of birds from in and around Calgary, by David Lilly.  See more on the Canadian Bird Photographer website, and on David’s website.

Western Meadowlark

Tree Swallow

American Kestrel

Northern Shoveler

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Wilson’s Snipe

Sunday Showcase: Rufous Hummingbird

May20

These fantastic photos of a male Rufous Hummingbird were taken by Marilyn Sanders just west of Calgary in the community of Stonepine, off of Highway 8.