Tag Archive | calgary bird blog

Coyote and Beaver

Apr27

Guest Post: Coyote and Beaver

The amazing sequence of photographs below was taken last week by Rob English, who kindly shared them with us.  This interaction between a Coyote and a Beaver took place at the large pond just North of the highway 22X bridge, on the west side of the Bow River in Fish Creek Park.  The photos were taken on two consecutive days, so this is a persistent Coyote (assuming it is the same one both days).

Although this is a birding blog, we are interested in all aspects of nature, and we particularly love mammals.  One just doesn’t get the chance to see and photograph mammals as often as birds.  And one is rarely lucky enough to see an encounter like this.

If you have interesting nature photos that you’d like to share, please send them to us and we may post them here.

Thanks again to Rob English.

He got away.

Maybe if I sneak up from this angle…

He looks pretty big…

How about a sudden attack from this side?

Pretty big from this side, too.

Back to Meadow Voles…

Coyotes are very opportunistic feeders, and have been known to eat Beavers.  But a lone Coyote would have quite a bit of trouble with a full-grown Beaver like this one.  As you can see, the Coyote is quite hesitant to attack.

Photos by Rob English

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Movie Monday: Shelter From the Storm

Apr25

After the mild weather of the past few days, I hope we have finally seen the last of the snow, and I think European Starlings feel the same.  The birds in this video seemed to be sheltering or seeking warmth on the stepping-stones on our lawn, which were warm enough to melt the snow.  They were feeding on fallen crab apples from the previous summer.

Seeing them hunkered down in those round depressions kind of reminded me of the nursery rhyme “Sing a Song of Sixpence” about the four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie…

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 21

Apr23

Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary?  If it is a species on this Reportable_Birds list (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, email us at 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 Bird Alert was recorded on Thursday April 21, at 10:25 am.

SIGHTINGS FOR

Wednesday, April 20
–CINNAMON TEAL (2) – at Fincastle Lake E of Taber in S Alberta by Lloyd Bennet.
–RED-BREASTED MERGANSER (60) – as above by LB.
–HORNED GREBE (4) – as above by LB.
–THAYER’S GULL (2 birds, 1-1st cycle & 1adult) – seen at the Shepherd Landfill in SE Calgary by Terry Korolyk. To reach Shepard Landfill follow McIvor Blvd, located E of 52 St, E to its end.
–CASPIAN TERN (4) – at Fincastle Lake by LB.
–NASHVILLE WARBLER (1) – reported at Hay Meadow at Mt Lorette just off Hwy 40 in Kananaskis, W of Calgary, by Jim Davis.

Tuesday, April 19
–OSPREY (2) – seen at Carburn Park on the metal tower at Lafarge located S of the pedestrian bridge across the Bow River by Gus Yaki & FFCPP nature field trip.
–AMERICAN ROBIN (1 albinistic) – seen in spruce trees in SW Calgary at the Palace Oak Condominiums complex at Palliser Dr and 24 ST SW.

Monday, April 18
–OSPREY (1) – as above by GY on FFCPP nature trip.
–SANDHILL CRANE (4) – seen just S of Calgary flying Northward by Dwight Knapik.
–WHOOPING CRANE (1) – seen flying in a slight northwesterly direction about 10 miles N and a bit E of Olds by Carl Linnard.
–WILSON’S SNIPE (1) – reported in Banff NP, W of Calgary, by Jason Rogers.
–RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER (1) – as above by JR.
–MARSH WREN (1) – as above by JR.
–SAVANNAH SPARROW (1) – as above by JR.

Saturday, April 16
–CHIPPING SPARROW (1) – reported near the Columbia Icefields on Hwy 93 to Jasper by JR.

Friday, April 15
–AMERICAN DIPPER (5) – at Elbow Falls on Hwy 66 W of Bragg Creek, W of Calgary, by DK.

Wednesday, April 13
–YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (1) – in Banff NP by JR.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is Monday, April 25.

Backyard Birds: Common Grackle

Apr22

The Common Grackle can be a handsome bird when seen from a short distance. Covering its head, neck and upper breast is a purple iridescence that can amaze viewers in the right light. The rest of its feathers, including its long, wedge-shaped tail, are glossed in a bronze-green sheen. But this beauty can be lost on many; a result of the combination of the grackle’s lack of table manners (and all other manners), its voice that sounds like “an un-oiled wheelbarrow” and the invasion of both lawn and feeders by large flocks of  these noisy birds.

Canada’s largest blackbird is both noisy and cocky, and is a resourceful forager. The grackle’s main summer diet consists of insects, small invertebrates and occasionally the eggs and nestlings of other birds. In winter, it will eat waste, grains, seeds, fruit and garbage. They will follow plows to catch invertebrates, pick leeches off the legs of turtles and steal worms from robins, among other techniques to get fast food. The grackle breeds in many different sites but it favours damp, open woodlands, the shores of lakes and streams and wet meadows. Be on the lookout for Grackles as they return to Alberta in April; they are almost here.

The young grackle is even noisier than the adult.

Note the long, wedge-shaped and keeled tail of this grackle.

 

Posted by Matthew Sim

Backyard Birds: Eurasian Collared-Dove

Apr18

For the past two weeks I’ve had two Eurasian Collared-Doves, likely a breeding pair, coming to my yard every day.  They feed on the lawn (lately, on the snow), eating sunflower seeds that have spilled from the bird feeders.

Eurasian Collared-Doves

Eurasian Collared-Doves are not yet a common backyard bird in Calgary, but that may change.  They were introduced to North America in the Bahamas in the 1970’s and have rapidly spread across the continent.  I think they were first reported in Alberta in 2003, and in Calgary in 2004.  I know of two pairs that have nested in the SE quadrant of the city in each of the past two years:  one pair in Shepard, and another in Dover.

This bird has an odd broken feather sticking out on its left side, so I know it’s the same bird returning each day.

Eurasian Collared-Doves are pale buff-grey to pinkish-grey in colour.  They are about the same length as a Rock Pigeon, but slimmer and with a longer tail.  On the back of their neck they have a narrow black half-ring, edged with white, from which they get their name.

This preening bird shows off its black collar…

Eurasian Collared-Doves are becoming more common in the rural areas south and east of Calgary, and are being seen regularly in the city as well.  They seem to occupy an ecological niche between that of the Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove.  It remains to be seen if they will become a common backyard bird like the Rock Pigeon, or primarily a rural one like the Mourning Dove.  If you see any in your yard, please let Birds Calgary know!

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Rare Bird Alert Calgary: April 14

Apr16

Welcome to the City of Calgary and Nature Calgary’s (CFNS) Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Thursday, April 14, at 10:25 am. To report a bird sighting, phone 403 221-4519 and leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. To report injured wildlife please call Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403 946-2361.

SIGHTINGS FOR:

Wednesday, April 13

–BLACK-NECKED STILT (3) – at a slough E of Irricana (the road to Tschetter Hutterite Colony) on RR 260, N of Twp Rd 270 seen by Joan & Malcolm McDonald.

–GREATER YELLOWLEGS (1) – as above at a slough on the W side of RR 254 about 1 Km N of the farm by J&MM.

–TREE SWALLOW (1) – observed by Cedric Hitchon on the Bow River at the Hwy 22X Bridge in SE Calgary.

–TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE (1) – reported by Matthew Sim in his yard in the Willowpark community in SE Calgary.

Monday, Apr 11

–SNOW GOOSE (1) – observed flying in with Canada Geese on Twp Rd 314 E of RR 253 N of Linden by Corrine Griffin.

–GADWALL (2 pair) – near the observation blind at Frank Lake on Hwy 23 about 8 km E of High River by Greg Wagner.

–PEREGRINE FALCON (3) – 1 seen feeding on a duck along the SW shoreline of Basin 1 at Frank Lake by GW and Thomas Glen reports a pair in downtown Calgary.

–LAPLAND LONGSPUR (300) – seen on Twp Rd 314 E of RR 253 N of Linden by CG.

–RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (1 male) – seen by Carol Coulter in her yard in the Southwood subdivision in SW Calgary.

Sunday, April 10

–RUDDY DUCK – seen at Frank Lake by GW.

–SHARP-SHINNED HAWK – reported by Dwight Knapik at the Calgary Zoo private breeding facility off Dunbow Rd just SE of Calgary.

–WHOOPING CRANE (2) – seen flying northward over the Hwy 2 & Hwy 547 overpass S of Calgary by Roger Hoffort

Saturday, April 9

–AMERICAN KESTREL – watched by Bob Lefebvre by the irrigation canal at 32 Ave & 26 St SE in Calgary.

–PRAIRIE FALCON (1) – seen on the S side of the river upstream from the Bearspaw Dam W of Calgary by Kelly Day & Christine McDonald.

–RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD (3) – seen just SE of Frank Lake by GW.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is Monday, April 18.

Posted by Pat Bumstead