Tag Archive | birds of alberta

Winter Birds Update

The Calgary List as of December 12, 2025

There have been some good species found in the Calgary area this year, and still many more to find. Christmas Bird Counts are taking place on December 14th in Calgary, and on several other dates until January 5 in the area. We should add some of the regulars then, and with a little luck, some more rarities.

The star of the show so far is the Northern Mockingbird in the city – only the second one since this count started in 2017. The bird is still here and being seen regulary in Rotary Park near Centre Street and Memorial Drive.

A Peregrine Falcon seen on December 3rd in Downtown Calgary was the first one we’ve had. These birds nest downtown and one is quite late in departing. I don’t know if it’s still around.

A Mourning Dove seen along the Bow River in Cranston Meadows was the 4th in 9 years.

It’s been a really good year for Short-eared Owls east of the city, and there have been a few Long-eared Owl sightings as well. Snowy Owl sightings have been concentrated NE of the city in the Irricana/Beiseker area. We added a Prairie Falcon and a Northern Harrier in that region as well.

Gyrfalcon, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Wild Turkey, and Sharp-tailed Grouse have each been reported on Facebook groups, or directly to me.

The Alberta province-wide list has some rarities in its 114 species. In addition to the Mockingbird (reported for the third time in the last ten years), there was also a recent Barn Owl in central Alberta (2nd in ten years) and a Double-crested Cormorant near Stavely, just outside of the Calgary circle (6 of the last 10 years).

On December 12th, the Calgary list was at 89 species. Our eight-year average is 113, and the high count was 120. Here are some species that are usually found that haven’t yet been reported:

Greater Scaup (seen 8/8 previous years; often seen at Carburn Park in the winter), Northern Hawk-Owl (8/8), Harris’s Sparrow (6/8), Varied Thrush (7/8), and Common Grackle (7/8). Some regulars that we don’t have yet that are usually found in the foothills west of the city are Northern Pygmy-Owl, Barred Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, and American Dipper. Dippers are usually seen in the city as well, on the Elbow River or Fish Creek.

Good luck finding these elusive winter birds! Here is a link to the lists.

Ghosted By A Sora

Sep8

By Catherine Warwick

One of the birds leaving Calgary this September is the Sora. Were you one of the lucky few who saw it at the North Glenmore storm pond?

A few years ago I saw one of these charismatic birds at Inglewood, I was with my sister who is not really a birder. The conversation went like this:

(a Sora just casually standing in a pond in full view)

Me: Holy Cow! A Sora! Wow I can’t believe it, look at it! Wow! We are so lucky, how rare!

Sister: That’s nice.

Me: We are so lucky! This is amazing!

Sister: Uh huh (starts walking).

And yet if she became a birder and started looking for a Sora it would probably take years to see one. I trolled that North Glenmore Storm pond so many times this summer and nothing! The Sora is one of those birds only birders know about. Even though they are common they are really good at hiding in the reeds.

The Sora is a plump little chicken-like bird that belongs to the Rail family. They frequent ponds and wetlands. The Sora has very long toes that help them walk on floating mats of vegetation. They are grey and brown with an impossibly yellow triangle beak. The first time I saw one at the storm pond I thought it was floating because it was standing in water that came up to its undercarriage. I was flipping through my Sibleys looking for a duck with a yellow triangle beak. The most obvious identifier is their call, a descending laughing sound. Although lately I feel like the Red Winged Blackbirds around the storm pond are mimicking it which has caused me a lot of disappointment. Birding – what a roller coaster!

When a Sora walks it puts its head forward with each step as it looks for aquatic plant seeds or bugs to eat. It’s been known to use its long toes to rake the vegetation. Their long legs are great for running away really quickly, often you will just get a glimpse of them. A brown blur with a yellow streak.

Now that it’s September our little storm pond Sora will be departing on a very long journey, possibly as far as South America. They fly further than any other Rail despite their circular form and long legs. Hopefully it is back next year and I can have another season of attempting to spot the beguiling Sora.

Calgary and Area May Species Count

May4

There are still some areas that need observers. Please volunteer to help count on May 24th and 25th.

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

A Bobolink I photographed on the May Species Count near Longview in 2023. I was shooting through some trees, and the leaves caused an unusual bokeh. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

The last weekend in May is the annual May Species Count in the Calgary region. The count covers a huge area – a circle 80 km in radius centred in downtown Calgary. The circle is divided into about 50 territories that each need to be covered by a birder or birders.

Calgary May Species Count map — The Calgary May Species Count circle.

As of today, there are still some areas that are in need of observers. This includes some smaller areas within the city, as well as some longer walks such as the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Elliston Lake, and the 68 Street Wetlands east of Elliston. These are great territories!

All that is required is that you try to cover your area as fully as possible, and record all the birds you see on eBird.

If you are interested in helping out, please contact Andrew Hart at andrewhartch[at]gmail[dot]com or call 403.608.8918. Andrew will provide detailed but simple instructuons, and can assist you with eBird if you are new to it.

In addition to the areas that have no coverage, if you would like to join an existing group with experienced leaders to show you how the count is done, Andrew may be able to place you in one of these.

Please volunteer so that we have complete coverage of the count circle!

Oh Canada Jay!

Apr20

By Cathy Warwick.

Canada has an unofficially “official” bird and it is the Canada Jay, also known as the Gray Jay. It was chosen after an online poll by the Canadian Geographic Magazine in 2016 but our government never formally adopted it as our national bird. The Canada Jay definitely lives in Canada, if you look at the range map of this bird it looks like someone, very poorly, highlighted our country on a map. It is in every province and territory from sea to shining sea.

If you have ever been hiking in our beautiful mountains you probably have seen the Canada Jay in the forested areas. As you walk you may have noticed some swooping shapes following you in the trees. You sit down for lunch and remark on the sweet birds watching you from the trees. Look at those expressive eyes! Its head will dart around, appearing to size you up. You may have thought you were having a special nature moment. Then you may have noticed your sandwich fly off, as I have at Chester Lake, never to be seen again. Nicknames for the Canada Jay include “camp robber” and “venison-hawk”. Now when I see one on a hike I yell as if we are under attack, “Incoming!”

The latin name of this bird is “Perisoreus canadensis”, the nod to Canada was built right into the name and it was originally called a ‘Canada Jay’. However in 1957 the American Ornithological Society changed this bird’s name to the americanized “Gray Jay”. They righted this wrong in 2018, flip flopping it back to Canada Jay at the urging of Dan Strickland, famed Algonquin Park naturalist. Another name is the anglicized ‘Whiskyjack’ which comes from the names used by Indigenous Tribes. The Whiskyjack is the star of many legends and stories passed down through generations of First Nations people.

The Canada Jay is very loyal to Canada, it sticks with us all winter. Dan Strickland was instrumental in discovering one of the strategies that helps it through the cold days. It stores food in the summer months by using sticky saliva to glue it to high tree branches. This bird also has feathers all over its body, including its nostrils, and can puff them up to make a cosy full body parka. It also helps that it will eat almost anything: seeds, insects, frogs, small mammals, trail mix, sandwiches, you name it.

With their expressive black eyes and fluffy grey feathers they are ‘deceptively cute’ according to All About Birds, which really could describe Canadians also. So to the Canada Jay: “We Stand on Guard for Thee” – if we don’t stand guard you will probably steal our sandwiches.

Elegance Defined: the Townsend’s Solitaire

Feb9

By Cathy Warwick

Down by the river in Sandy Beach there lives a couple of Townsend’s Solitaire. The Solitaire belongs to the Thrush family and so it’s no surprise that it looks very similar to a Robin. Same size, same grey body, good posture and big black eyes. It is just missing the big red belly, an easy giveaway. If you take a closer look you will also see that the Solitaires’ eyes have an elegant white ring around them.

These Sandy Beach birds must have found a good patch of Juniper Berries and set up shop around them. The Solitaire loves Juniper Berries, especially in the winter. According to “All About Birds” a Solitaire will eat between 42,000 to 84,000 berries a winter. I’m not sure how they came up with those numbers but at the very least we know it’s a heck of a lot of Juniper berries! They very aggressively defend their berries from all other birds, including Robins and other Solitaires.

Part of their defense is singing their beautiful song. I’m not sure if the ones in Sandy Beach have little competition or what but, unhappily, they are very quiet. This is too bad because the Townsend’s Solitaire has one of the most beautiful bird songs around. If you tried to bring to mind a beautiful birdsong, it would probably sound like this bird. It’s a lot like a Robin but more complex and varied. Maybe if I started conspicuously eating their Juniper Berries they will start singing. It would be worth the bitter taste to hear them.

The ‘Solitaire’ in its name refers to its solitary nature. It’s not sharing those Junipers with a flock of other birds. They prefer to stick it out alone or in a pair. When they nest it is usually in a sheltered hollow on a cliff side. The female bird will use pine needles to build the nest and then line it with grasses and bark, making it soft for the 3 to 5 babies she will have. According to the internet the babies are speckled and rather cute. Of course I’ve never seen a nest or a Townsend Solitaire chick with my own eyes, it’s hard enough to see the adults!

So take a walk down in Sandy Beach, on the west side of the bridge in the trees, to find them and add them to your life list. They like to perch at the top of trees, where they can better protect their Juniper crop.

A Big Black Bird

Dec8

By Cathy Warwick.

Most people know that a flock of crows is called a “Murder of Crows” – it’s probably the most popular collective noun for birds. Did you know a flock of Ravens is called an “Unkindness of Ravens”? Still not very cheery, but better than murder. Perhaps some songbirds got together and made these up, they are very apt for their experience of Crows and Ravens. These big black birds love eating eggs from nests.

Common Ravens mate for life and are often seen in pairs. Here, the one on the left is grooming the head feathers of its mate on the right. Photographed in Banff National Park in October 2019 by Bob Lefebvre.

If you have ever seen a Raven up close you may agree with me when I say they are the more impressive of the two birds. If you want to get a close look at one, take out a sandwich in a ski hill parking lot, the Ravens will come flying in! I always remark on how big they are up close, every time. Their black feathers are so impeccably black they almost bend the light around them. Then they have impressive fluffy neck feathers and a massive black beak. Their intelligent eyes pierce into yours and for a second you may consider throwing the sandwich at them while you make your getaway. I once saw a Raven take a grocery bag of food right out of the back of a truck. As it was flying away I saw there was a box of cereal in its bag, unsurprisingly it had chosen wisely. Ravens are well known for being one of the more intelligent birds.

A Crow is an interesting bird also, smaller than a Raven but also intelligent. They have smaller beaks and smoother feathers. They also tend to flock together more than Ravens. If you have been to Burnaby, BC, which is a known evening roost for Crows, you will see huge flocks, all cawing relentlessly. They are so loud you need to raise your own voice to be heard. I’m not sure what the point of all the cawing is, the first caw sounds exactly like the 1000th, it’s some kind of Crow conversation. Crows have very sophisticated social relationships, which is a big reason for their success as a species.

An American Crow. Up close, the neck feathers say Crow.
Photo by Diane Stinson

A big black bird is flying in the air above your neighbourhood, which is it ? A Crow or a Raven? Here is a handy guide to help out:

Wing movement: a Raven glides and a Crow flaps
Tail shape: a Raven has a large wedge shaped tail, a Crow has a flat fan
Number of them: a Raven is alone or in a pair, Crows tend to flock together
Vocalization: Crows caw and Ravens croak, gurgle, squawk, rattle
Size: Ravens are bigger, which isn’t very helpful when there is a faraway bird against a blue sky!

The birds didn’t seem to get this memo however, and you may see a large bird, solo, flapping its heart out. If you see the bird do a barrel roll or somersault then it is a Raven, they are the more acrobatic fliers. It looks like a lot of fun and they should do it more often, then we would know what they were and wouldn’t be forced to call it a ‘Craven’.

Get Involved in the Calgary May Species Count

May17

The Calgary count on May 29 and 30 still has some areas that need surveyors.

The May Species Count is an annual event in which birders count the number of birds of each species within the 80-km diameter circle centred in Calgary. The circle is divided up into many smaller territories, and there are a few that so far are not covered this year.

Area 2: FCPP Bridge 6 to Macleod Trail (Votiers Flats)
Area 3: FCPP Macleod Trail to Bridge 13 (Glennfield)
Area 4: FCPP Burnsmead South to Lafarge Meadows
Area 31: Irricana
Area 37: Acme/Carbon
43b: Confluence Park – pending
43g: Pine Creek Water Treatment Plant
43j: Nose Hill Park – pending

The Calgary count circle with the rural territories marked. The city is also divided up into many territories.

If you are an experienced birder and want to participate by covering one of the areas above, contact John McFaul at alpglow[at]telus.net. He will provide details of the procedures and a description of the territory to be covered.

Birds of Beaver Mines

Jun9

Here are some beautiful birds photographed by Raymond Toal in a garden in Beaver Mines, in the far SW corner of Alberta, near Waterton Park. All photos taken on May 26, 2019 by Raymond Toal.

Short-eared Owl Hunting

Jan6

This Short-eared Owl was photographed east of High River by Judi Willis in November.

Short-eared Owls are scarce around Calgary in the winter but can sometimes be found hunting over uncultivated fields. They will hunt int he daytime but are most active at dawn and dusk. They are a sensitive species, so the exact location should not be publicly disclosed.

Judi watched this owl hunt for a while and managed to capture it diving for prey.

Summer Birds of Crowsnest

Jul14

Raymond Toal photographed these birds in SW Alberta.

Steller’s Jay

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe with chick

American Avocet

Varied Thrush

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker with young in nest

Short-eared Owl

Bald Eagle

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

American Kestrel

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Tag Archive | birds of alberta

Winter Birds Update

The Calgary List as of December 12, 2025

Ghosted By A Sora

By Catherine Warwick

Calgary and Area May Species Count

There are still some areas that need observers. Please volunteer to help count on May 24th and 25th.

Oh Canada Jay!

Elegance Defined: the Townsend’s Solitaire

A Big Black Bird

By Cathy Warwick.

Get Involved in the Calgary May Species Count

Birds of Beaver Mines

Short-eared Owl Hunting

Summer Birds of Crowsnest

The Calgary List as of December 12, 2025

Share this:

By Catherine Warwick

Share this:

There are still some areas that need observers. Please volunteer to help count on May 24th and 25th.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

By Cathy Warwick.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: