Tag Archive | birds calgary

Update on the MacLeod Trail Osprey Nest

Jun21

This is a a guest post from one of our readers, who cared enough about the Ospreys to contact Enmax about the nest removal. Thank you for your email Susan.

Hi there. I know a lot of people were concerned about the Osprey nest that was removed from the top of an Enmax pole on MacLeod trail just south of Canyon Meadows Drive.  Thought I’d send this your way for your information.

I just got off the phone with Doris Koffman at Enmax, she is in the Environmental department, and is very well informed about the Osprey, not only on MacLeod trail but in other areas of the city. I felt very confident with the conversation I had with her in that I felt she answered the questions we had about the removal of the Osprey nest on MacLeod Trail.

I asked her why Enmax had removed the nest, and if there were eggs or fledglings in the nest.  Doris told me that there were no eggs nor fledglings in the nest at all. You probably are aware when Enmax “cleaned” up the nest 10 days to 2 weeks ago. It was posing a significant fire/electrical hazard, not only to the public but also to the osprey themselves as they have a very large wing span that could very easily come in contact with 2 wires at the same time, which, if this happened, the bird would not have survived.  Just recently, somewhere else in Calgary an osprey nest had become fully engulfed in flames when it came into contact with the power lines. I asked her again if there were any babies or eggs in our MacLeod Trail nest and she assured me that there weren’t and that this pair of osprey were likely infertile.

She mentioned that Enmax puts up alternative electric-less poles for the sole purpose of relocating birds of all types and that directly across MacLeod Trail into Fish Creek park there is a potential site for one of these poles for the Ospreys.

She seemed as genuinely concerned about the Osprey as we have been so I guess it was all in the name of safety, thankfully we can still see these beautiful birds flying around that area and they are still around to fly another day.

Thought I’d pass this on to you, not sure how or where else we could put this message for all the other concerned Osprey fans.

Regards, Susan LeBlanc

Photo Feathers: Rose-breasted Grosbeak (?)

Jun20

I took these pictures in the Weaselhead/South Glenmore area on Friday June 17.  I have seen male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks there before so I assumed this was a female Rose-breasted, but it’s possible that it is a Black-headed Grosbeak or hybrid, or a juvenile.  All opinions on its ID are welcome in the comments.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Bird Profile: Western Kingbird

Jun17

A large flycatcher with a yellow belly, pale grey head and breast and a black tail with white stripes down the sides, the Western Kingbird is one of my favorite birds. Eating mostly insects, the Kingbird is always ready to snatch its next meal; whether from a perch or on the ground.

Nesting in tall cottonwoods along river valleys, the Western Kingbird can be difficult to find in Calgary. Probably the best spot in the city to look for this neat bird is Lafarge Meadows, in Fish Creek, south of 22x where they nest.

More social than other kingbirds, at times, several pairs of Western Kingbird may be found nesting in the same tree. They readily attack crows, ravens, hawks and other larger birds that can be potential predators to them and their young.

The Western Kingbird has a distinguishing lemon yellow belly.

Posted by Matthew Sim

Rare Bird Alert: June 9

Jun10

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, us email us at zoxox@shaw.ca  To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.

This report was prepared on Thursday June 9.

June 4
–RED-TAILED HAWK, Fish Creek PP,Raven Rocks area. An unusually plumaged bird, likely of the sub-species “Calurus”, seen more often in BC, by Terry Korolyk.

June 7
–BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK(M+F),Seen at the feeders of Michael Woertman,Wintergreen Estates near Bragg Creek.

June 8
–OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER,Lowery Gardens, east of Edworthy Park, by Marcel Gahbauer.
–LAZULI BUNTING(3m +1f), in the yard of Nancy West, Mountain View.For details, call Nancy at 403-653-1359. This species is more widespread this year than most other years.

–WHITE-FACED IBIS have been reported from Frank Lake by Daniel Hart.
–BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD.Flocks of this species have been reported from Banff NP, more so than usual. Thomas Glen reported several flocks there the weekend of June 4/5,2011.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, June 13.

Rare Bird Alert: June 6

Jun7

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is on this Reportable_Birds (PDF), please report it to the Rare Bird Alert line at 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. If you would like some help with species identification, us email us at zoxox@shaw.ca  To report injured wildlife call the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.

This report was prepared on Monday June 6.

May 28/29
–CAPE MAY WARBLER(11), Brown-Lowery PP, May species count weekend.
No further details.

June 4
–WESTERN SANDPIPER(2),Twp Rd 232, 1.5km W.of Hwy.297, by Terry Korolyk.

June 5
–LARK BUNTING(F&M),Grassy field of Tsu Tina Reserve, S.Glenmore Res.700m.W.on paved footpath accessed from the parking lot W.end of 90Ave.

June 6
–OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER(2),along Twp Rd 290 near Winchell Lake, by Andrew Slater.
–BLUE-HEADED VIREO(1),Twp Rd 290 and Rge Rd.52 by AS.
–CONNECTICUT WARBLER(1), same location as above, by AS.
–LE CONTE’S SPARROW(3), Horse Creek Rd, 10km.N.of Hwy 1a.by AS.
–NELSON’S SPARROW(3A), same location and observer as above.
–SWAMP SPARROW(1), Twp Rd 290 near Winchell Lake, by AS.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, June 6.

Backyard Birds: Yellow Warbler

Jun7

Have you seen a flash of yellow in your yard lately?

The Wood Warbler family is famous for their diversity in plumage, song, feeding and breeding biology. All of them are small birds with long, thin bills used for snapping up insects and larvae. Perhaps one of the easiest to identify is the Yellow Warbler, which has more yellow in its plumage than any other member of the family.

In spring breeding season, males have rusty streaks on the breast and flanks, a bright yellow face with conspicuous black eyes, and yellow upperparts. They are known to build another nest on top of an old one when Brown Cowbird eggs appear in it, which can result in up to six different layers.

Yellow Warblers can be seen around the city from mid May to mid September. These birds are widespread in most shrubby and second-growth habitats in North America, where they can be seen quickly hopping from branch to branch. This bird was busily flitting from the saskatoons and lilac shrubs to the poplar trees in my yard.

Posted by Pat Bumstead

May Species Count – Longview Area

Jun6

One of the areas that I surveyed for the May Species Count on Sunday May 29 was the Longview area, an hour SW of Calgary.  I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to some of the best birding spots due to the wet weather, but the conditions were pretty good.  There was water flowing across some of the side roads but I did get through.

This creek was very high…

There was still quite a bit of snow at high elevations…

The Bar U Ranch road, looking west to the mountains…

I managed to find 75 species, which is a good total for that territory.  I was quite frustrated near the end of the day by my inability to find a House Sparrow anywhere in the town of Longview!  No House Finches there either.  I also saw about 35 Black Terns in a pond that was just out of my territory, and they refused to come over to a perfectly good pond on my side of the boundary.

But I did have some unexpected birds as well, including two Red-breasted Mergansers.  Here are some other highlights (as usual, you can click on the photos to enlarge them).

Mountain Bluebirds are commonly seen near the bluebird boxes…

Female Mountain Bluebird…

Tree Swallows are nesting in many of the Bluebird boxes…

I got a good look at this Red-eyed Vireo…

Male Red-naped Sapsucker…

Because of the high water, there were few shorebirds other than Spotted Sandpipers and a few of these Wilson’s Snipe…

I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Harlequin Ducks on the Highwood River at the Green View campground…

I only saw one pair of Green-winged Teal, but this male swam very close to me…

The final surprise of the day was this beautiful Red Fox, which seemed to be completely unconcerned with my presence, and walked right by me…

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Oranges for Orioles

Jun1

For the last couple of years I have been putting out slices of oranges in my yard in the hopes of attracting Baltimore Orioles or Gray Catbirds.  I place the oranges on my tray feeder and in suet cages.  So far this has attracted only ants.  Last Friday morning, I thought that perhaps the heavy rain might force some migrants down, so I put out two fresh orange halves on a flower planter.  Within a half hour of arriving home in the afternoon, I looked out to see this bird feeding on the orange.

This first-year Baltimore Oriole stayed around the yard for two days, feeding on all the oranges, including the ones in the suet cage that I had placed there about two weeks before.

So if you want to see a Baltimore Oriole in your yard, putting out oranges really does work.  Now I’m just waiting for that Catbird.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre