Tag Archive | calgary bird count 2010

Little Brown Birds

Sep28

I have a first-year White-crowned Sparrow in my yard today.   This isn’t too unusual – I usually get a few of these going through in both spring and fall.  But a few years ago, before I became serious about birding, I never would have noticed this bird.  It would have been lost among the dozens of House Sparrows in my yard.

Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow

One of the first things a beginning birder should do is familiarize themselves with all the common birds they see every day.  For the backyard birder, this means not only birds like magpies and chickadees, which are distinctive, but also all the little brown birds which crowd the feeders every day.  The vast majority of these in Calgary will be House Sparrows, and in the last few years, House Finches.

House Sparrows have two distinct costumes – the brown/white/grey/chestnut of the adult male, and the dull brown/grey of the female and juvenile.  The male’s plumage is quite distinctive.  The amount of black in the bib can vary, and the colours are more crisp in the summer, but with a little practice the males can be recognized easily.
In contrast, the females and the young are quite plain (females and the young of both sexes look alike).  For me, the key identifying feature is the pale line behind the eye.  An important field mark for all House Sparrows is their unstreaked breast.  If it has spots or streaks on the breast, it isn’t a House Sparrow.

Young male House Sparrow

 

Female House Sparrow

 

House Finches are the same length as House Sparrows, but a little slimmer, and they weigh less.  They all have streaked breasts.  The adult males have colour on their heads, breast and rump, which is usually orange-red or pinkish, but can occasionally be orange or even yellowish.  Females and young are plain grey, but have heavily streaked breasts.

Female House Finch

Male House Finch

Spend some time learning to recognize House Sparrows and House Finches in your yard, and then any unusual little brown birds will jump right out at you.  In the last five years, I have had nine species of native sparrows in my yard – White-crowned, White-throated, Lincoln’s, Savannah, Harris’s, Chipping, Clay-coloured, American Tree Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos.  I have also had Purple Finches, which are easy to spot once you know the House Finches.  There are several other sparrows, and many other little brown birds, that you could get besides these.
Although it’s fun to watch the House Sparrows and House Finches at your feeders, it’s always exciting whenever you see a little brown bird in the yard and realize “That’s something new!”

American Tree Sparrow

Harris's Sparrow

Bob Lefebvre
 

Grackles Galore!

Sep21

This message was received on the Albertabird message board, and worthy of a blog mention!  (To visit Albertabird, go here:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/ )

On September 19 at about 07:30 I saw a flock of slightly over 600 Common Grackles in an urban park – Crescent Heights park. I had never seen such a large flock before. They were feeding on the ground, eating acorns from oak trees, and feeding on the seeds left in pine cones, in other words, they ate almost anything they could find. The colours on them were brilliant – dark blues and purples. Quite a sight. Several early strollers also stopped to watch them.

H Vanderpol

Nature Calgary Fall Field Trips

Sep21

The following nature walks are free, and open to all. Join us as we get to know Calgary & the birds better!

SEPTEMBER

Sat Sep 26, 9am: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Howard Heffler, 403-284-2961

Sun Sep 27, 8:30am: Bird Wyndham-Carseland Prov. Park. Bring lunch. Meet at Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr) S. of pedestrian walkway. Leader, Howard Heffler, 403-284-2961.

OCTOBER

Thu Oct 1, 8am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return.

Sat Oct 3, 9am: Bird Votier’s Flats, FCPP at South end of Elbow Drive SW. Leader, Howard Heffler, 403-284-2961.

Sun Oct 4, 8:30am: Bird Eagle Lake and vicinity. Meet Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Rob Worona, 403-984-7655.

Sat Oct 10, 9:30am: Peak of Golden Eagle Migration, Mt. Lorette. Bring lunch. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr at Hwy #1).  Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209.

Sun Oct 11, 9am: Bird North Glenmore Park. Meet Weaselhead Parking lot, 37 St & 66 Av SW.  Leader, Rob Worona, 403-984-7655.

Sat Oct 17, 8am: Full day Raptor and Eagle Watching, Windy Point, Sheep River. Meet Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr), S of Pedestrian Overpass. Bring lunch, thermos of hot drink, warm, windproof clothing. 350 m climb to lookout site. Leader, Peter Roxburgh, 403-271-7033.

Sat Oct 17, 9:30am: Late fall birding for rare gulls, loons, other waterfowl, late passerines and others (approximately 6 hrs). Meet N. Glenmore Park, in large lot overlooking the reservoir, west of the rowing club. Leader Terry Korolyk, 403-254-1878.

Sun Oct 18, Bird Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 403-720-4957

NOVEMBER (Note daylight savings time ends Sun Nov 1/09)

Sun Nov 1, 8:15am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return.

Sun Nov 8, 9am: Bird the Bow River. Meet FCPP HQ parking lot, off Bow Bottom Trail SE. Leader, Tony Timmons, 403-256-0754.

Sun Nov 15, 9am: Bird Bebo Grove-Shannon Terrace, FCPP. Meet parking lot S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248.

Sun Nov 22, 9am: Bird Votier’s Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Grant Brydle, 403-720-4957.

Sun Nov 29, 8:30am; Bird Sibbald/Exshaw/Harvie Heights. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr at Hwy #1). Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209.