The winter birding season is from December 1 to February 28, and once again I will be helping Caroline Lambert to keep a list of species seen in the Calgary region during that time period. Caroline also maintains a list for the Bow Valley, while Gerry Fox keeps track of the Edmonton region list. Andy Ross compiles the Alberta provincial list.
All four lists, with some previous years’ lists for comparison, can be found on the page albertawinterbirds.org.
Great Horned Owl, photographed in Calgary in late November by Patrice O’Brien.
Already there have been 58 species reported on the Calgary list. We usually get between 100 and 120 species by the end of February, so there are plenty more out there to find. Have a look at the list and report your finds on Albertabird or eBird.
Calgary’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) takes place on Sunday December 18, 2022! CBC began in 1900 and is the world’s longest-running citizen science event. The count has been going on in Calgary since 1952 and is a valuable resource for understanding species and population trends of birds found in Calgary and around the world.
Matthew Wallace will once again be organizing the count and compiling the results. Lara Fitzpatrick and I will assist once again.
Please take a minute to fill out the Registration form here. Unless you are a Feeder Watcher who has already been assigned to a FW Captain, we are asking everyone to register, even if you have participated last year or in many past years. This helps to ensure we have the correct and most up-to-date contact information for each person and reduces the thousands of emails down to a more manageable size. It also helps Matthew to organize the required participant information that is submitted to Audubon and confirm that feeder watcher residences are within the count circle.
Calgary CBC Circle, from Google Earth.
Completing the form will ensure that you will receive information that will follow in the next few days. The form is required for both feeder watchers and field participants. It can be shared with anyone who may wish to take part this year. Please share widely. If you are not sure that you can participate, or if you would like more information about the count, please fill out the form so we can contact you.
Great Horned Owl photographed by Matthew Wallace on last year’s Calgary CBC. December 19, 2021, Tsuut’ina Nation, Calgary.
Count Week Birds: If you come across any interesting birds during count week (December 15-21), please send information to citynatureyyc@gmail.com including any notes, counts, or photos you may have.
Unfortunately the Birds & Beers meeting that was scheduled for November 11th has been cancelled. There is an issue with staffing at the venue. We have been unable to re-schedule this month, and we don’t meet in December due to everyone being busy with Christmas Bird Counts and other Christmas events. Therefore, our next meeting will be in January 2023. We have several presentations lined up for the new year already. I will post the schedule for January to June as soon as we have the dates booked.
Eurasian Collared-Doves looking sad about the cancellation. Photo by Bob Lefebvre
The next Birds & Beers event is this Friday, October 14th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,
9202 Horton Road SW.
Friday October 14, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm
Green-winged Teal
Everyone is welcome to attend. Unfortunately we had a late cancellation by our scheduled presenter, but we hope to have an update from Greg Wagner on the proposed Frank Lake solar power project. Greg may not be able to make it, but in that case we will still have some information from him on the status of the project, how to get more information on it, and how you can get involved.
At the Bird & Beers event in Calgary on September 9th, Caroline Lambert gave a presentation on the Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation (RMERF), and the work they have been doing for thirty years, monitoring the migratory flights of eagles (and other birds) along the eastern edge of the Rockies. The discovery of this migratory corridor, along which thousands of Golden Eagles travel twice a year, is a fascinating story. A dedicated group of volunteers watches the skies spring and fall and records the birds passing over.
At the Birds & Beers presentation there was a technical problem which prevented the screening of a video about the RMERF. The 13-minute video can be seen here:
The RMERF relies on volunteers to monitor the birds. They welcome visitors to the site during their counts, so you can learn what is involved and work towards becoming a volunteer yourself. It’s a great place to visit! If you are interested in volunteering, or for more information, see the RMERF Website here. If you are not able to volunteer, you can support the Foundation with a donation.
You can follow the RMERF on Twitter and Instagram at @_eaglecount.
The fall season of Birds & Beers begins on Friday September 9th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,
9202 Horton Road SW.
Friday September 9, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm
Everyone is welcome. We begin at 6 pm and the presentation will start just after 7pm. This month, Caroline Lambert will speak about the Eagle Migration Monitoring project that has been ongoing in Kananaskis for 30 years:
Golden Eagle, Coyote Valley OSP, Santa Clara County, CA. Photo by Caroline Lambert
Learn about the eagle migration count in Kananaskis! This count is celebrating its 30th year as a citizen science project contributing to the knowledge of Golden Eagle migration and population dynamics. This talk will cover the history of the count, what it’s like to be out at the count, trends determined so far, and how the count fits with other raptor counts across the continent.
Learn how you can get involved in tracking the birds at this beautiful location in Kananaskis.
You can help with this effort to establish the Canada Jay as our official bird!
Posted by Bob Lefebvre
There was a lot of interest locally in the recent voting for Calgary’s Official Bird, which was won by the Black-capped Chickadee. But as of today, Canada does not have an official National Bird. There is a strong movement, spearheaded by Dr. David Bird, to name the Canada Jay as our national avain representative. Dr. Bird and his team make a strong case.
Canada Jay. Formerly called the Gray Jay, and known by many as Whiskyjack. Photo by Kent Ladell, SW Alberta.
Here is the press release that details the reasons for supporting this effort.
CANADIAN ORNITHOLOGISTS CALL ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR A NATIONAL BIRD!!
On June 9, 2022, a copy of a promotional book entitled “The Canada Jay as Canada’s National Bird?” has been given to each and every one of Canada’s 338 federal Members of Parliament, including The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism, and The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada. The prime message in the classy-looking colourful book of 80 pages is to encourage the federal government to take steps to adopt a National Bird for Canada, and hopefully to take it a step further — to make that bird the Canada Jay!
Why does Canada even need a National Bird, you may well ask? One in five Canadians spends an average a third of their year watching, feeding, and/or photographing birds, representing big bucks for our economy! Birds also eat pests, pollinate our plants and crops, disperse seeds; their eggs and meat (yes, chickens are birds!) feed us and their feathers keep us warm. Birds save human lives by globally warning us of environmental health hazards such as carcinogenic pesticides and industrial by-products. As for their intrinsic value, how many great writers, artists, film makers, and even aviators and astronauts have been inspired by the beauty, the song and the flight of these amazing unique creatures?! Wikipedia’s List of National Birds indicates that 106 of the world’s 195 countries have official birds. For example, the U.S. takes a lot of national pride in their National Bird — the Bald Eagle. But Canada is not in the list — we do not have one! Yet our country does have national symbols – the beaver, the maple tree, two sports and even a national horse! But alas — no official bird.
For a National Bird for Canada, one could not find a more Canadian bird than the aptly named Canada Jay! This very smart corvid breeds in every province and territory and its range almost mirrors our country’s borders. It is extremely friendly, often landing on an outstretched palm and it is extremely hardy – often incubating eggs at -20 degrees C, resides year-round in our country, and is found in all provinces! Its French name is le mésangeai du Canada and its popular name, whiskyjack, is derived from one of the largest indigenous language groups in Canada. Canada Jays have played a prominent role in both Indigenous culture and our country’s history. Importantly, unlike the Common Loon (Ontario) and the Snowy Owl (Quebec), Canada Jays are not the bird of any province!
The Book Canada Jay, The The National Bird of Canada? can be ordered at Amazon.ca here. It will be published on July 1 (Canada Day!) but you can pre-order it now. All profits from its sales are going to non-profit bird conservation organizations.
More information on this effort can be found on the website CanadaJay.org. There is also a petition on Change.org that you can sign here. They have already surpassed the goal of 15,000 signatures, and now are trying to reach 25,000.
Midnight tonight marks the beginning of the Calgary BiodiverCity Challenge 2022. The four-day event runs from Thursday June 9 through Sunday June 12.
Like the City Nature Challenge which was held at the end of April, the BiodiverCity Challenge will include all observations submitted to iNaturalist that were made within the region over the four-day period. You don’t have to join the project – although you can! – all observations in the region and time period will be included.
A Yellow-headed Blackbird seen during eBird’s Global Big Day in NE Calgary, May 14, 2022. Photo by Bob Lefebvre
The region includes the city of Calgary, plus Cochrane, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, Airdrie, Chestermere, and Okotoks.
The Calgary BiodiverCity Region 2022
Like the City Nature Challenge, the idea is to document as many species of wildlife as possible. The date of the City Nature Challenge is in early spring here (it is a worldwide event), but the time frame of the BiodiverCity Challenge was chosen to better represent the maximum number of species that can be found at our location.
Here is a link to the Project Page on iNaturalist Canada. Join the project to be kept informed of the progress in this year’s count, and of the details of next year’s count when they are available.
This year there will be a friendly competition between Calgary and other cities (including Edmonton) to see who will have the most participants and observations. So get out and take lots of photos this weekend to document the biodiversity of the Calgary region! You have until June 19th to upload them to iNaturalist.
The next Calgary Birds & Beers meeting will take place this Friday, June 10th. There will be a presentation about eBird by Gavin McKinnon.
Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,
9202 Horton Road SW.
Friday June 10, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm
Horned Grebe. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.
After 7 pm, Gavin McKinnon will give a presentation on “eBird: The Review Process and How to Make Better Checklists.” Gavin will discuss all of the features that eBird has to offer. He will give regular eBirders a better idea of how observations are reviewed, and will talk abut how to make your checklists more valuable.
This information should prove to be useful for all birders, whether they use eBird or not. Gavin will also allow lots of time for questions and answers.
Everyone is welcome; food and drinks are available. We meet in the back rooms at the Legion at 6 pm. If you can’t make it at 6, the presentation will be at about 7:15.
