Tag Archive | calgary birds

Vote for Calgary’s Official Bird!

In 2021 Calgary was one of four Canadian cities to be designated as bird-friendly cities. As part of the effort to increase awareness of challenges that urban birds face, Bird Friendly Calgary is holding a vote to designate an official bird for Calgary.

The hope is to raise awareness about the importance of urban wildlife, to help mitigate threats to birds, to increase education and public engagement, and to celebrate Calgary’s birds!

The public can now choose an official bird from the five short-listed candidates. You can vote on the Calgary Bird page. You can also make suggestion on how to make Calgary a more bird-friendly city.

Calgary-Official-Bird-Poster Download

Got to Nature Canada’s Bird Friendly City page to find out more about this program.

Wild Bird Store Speaker Series Begins March 16

Mar15

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The Wild Bird Store in SE Calgary not only offers bird feed and every other product for the backyard birder, but they also have a very good Speaker Series featuring many great presenters on a variety of topics of interest to local birders.

The talks will all be done using Zoom. There are six upcoming talks on the next six Wednesdays, starting tomorrow with Dan Arndt speaking on Alberta Owls. (Unfortunately Dan’s presentation is now sold out. Tickets to these events are limited.) Check out the remaining talks below, starting March 23. They are all excellent speakers. I am particularly interested to hear Andrew Barnes on how he established the first breeding colony of Purple Martins in Calgary in many decades!

Please Note: Even though these are virtual seminars, they limit the number of spaces available. This will allow adequate time for the Q&A portion of the presentation. All presentations are through “ZOOM” and they suggest you sign up early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite and are non-refundable. Click the Eventbrite link below each talk description to purchase tickets.

To keep informed about future events hosted by the Wild Bird Store, sign up to receive their monthly newsletter here.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count Final Results

Jan23

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The counting and correcting is done, and here are the final results of the 2021 Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC). I helped out with the Feeder watchers again this year. Matthew Wallace coordinated the count and finalized the results. Lara Fitzpatrick created the spreadsheets that organized the data. It was a fun learning experience for us, and many emails were exchanged and many hours spent in Zoom meetings.

First, watch this summary video of the count results presented by Matthew:

The 2021 count was held on Sunday December 19. The temperature ranged from about -13 C to -10 C, with some light snow and winds of 10 to 20 kph. So the conditions were pretty good.

We had good participation this year, with 136 people out in the field (pretty much as many as we could manage with Covid protocols and the number of leaders we had) and 177 Feeder Watchers counting in their yards at 125 addresses (we can definitely add more Feeder Watchers).

Bohemian Waxwings seen on the 2021 Calgary CBC. *Photo by Arthur Wieckowski*

The final total on count day was 73 species, plus another four species seen during Count Week (December 16-22) but missed on Count Day. The total number of individual birds recorded was 71,468. (All numbers have been corrected to account for possible double-counting.)

Field Observers	Feeder Watchers
70 species	36 species
65,640 birds	5,828 birds

Great Horned Owl, December 19, 2021, Tsuut’ina Nation, Calgary. *Photo by Matthew Wallace*

Below is the bird list and the number of each species reported:

Cackling Goose	4
Canada Goose	18,954
Trumpeter Swan	5
Tundra Swan	1
Wood Duck	3
Gadwall	1
Mallard	17,251
Green-winged Teal	1
Canvasback	2
Redhead	18
Ring-necked Duck	5
Greater Scaup	2
Lesser Scaup	5
Harlequin Duck	4
Bufflehead	144
Common Goldeneye	554
Barrow’s Goldeneye	3
Hooded Merganser	2
Common Merganser	86
Ruddy Duck	1
Sharp-tailed Grouse	3
Gray Partridge	58
Ring-necked Pheasant	11
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	1,450
Eurasian Collared-Dove	2
American Coot	1
Wilson’s Snipe	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	4
Northern Goshawk	6
Bald Eagle	55
Rough-legged Hawk	6
Great Horned Owl	9
Snowy Owl	1
Northern Saw-whet Owl	1
Belted Kingfisher	3
American Three-toed Woodpecker	2
Downy Woodpecker	264
Hairy Woodpecker	41
Pileated Woodpecker	4
Northern Flicker	419
Merlin	24
Gyrfalcon	1
Northern Shrike	8
Blue Jay	138
Black-billed Magpie	2,529
American Crow	65
Common Raven	649
Black-capped Chickadee	2,218
Mountain Chickadee	7
Boreal Chickadee	7
Golden-crowned Kinglet	2
Red-breasted Nuthatch	199
White-breasted Nuthatch	114
Brown Creeper	17
American Dipper	3
European Starling	326
Townsend’s Solitaire	18
American Robin	82
Bohemian Waxwing	15,676
Cedar Waxwing	11
House Sparrow	7,394
Pine Grosbeak	79
House Finch	2,015
Common Redpoll	294
Hoary Redpoll	2
White-winged Crossbill	41
Pine Siskin	50
American Tree Sparrow	3
Fox Sparrow	1
Dark-eyed Junco	91
White-crowned Sparrow	1
White-throated Sparrow	9
Song Sparrow	2

Other: Sp./Slash/Hybrid	5

The four Count Week birds were Varied Thrush (a continuing backyard bird that failed to show on Count Day), a Killdeer seen in Griffiths Wood Park, a Prairie Falcon seen in the east end on December 18th, and a Greater White-fronted Goose reported and photographed on the Elbow River at Sandy Beach, also on December 18.

Some of the notable birds this year were the two swan species and the Ruddy Duck (all continuing at Carburn Park), the three Sharp-tailed Grouse seen in the Tsuut’ina Nation in the SW, a Wilson’s Snipe and Snowy Owl at Carburn, a White-crowned Sparrow in the Weaselhead, and a Gyrfalcon.

We also had one species that had never been reported in the 69 previous Calgary counts – a Fox Sparrow in the yard of one of our Feeder watchers. This brings our cumulative total of all species reported on Calgary CBC’s to 143.

Matt Wallace, the count coordinator, has used the data to create some very interesting maps. (The maps below, and many more, will be posted on the Nature Calgary site when they are all complete.)

The Count Circle is divided into Sections, and here you can see how many species were found in each Section, and how the geography of the city influences species density.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count data — Number of Species seen in each Section.

Due to the open water here, we get a lot of Mallards and Canada Geese overwintering. We also often have big flocks of Bohemian Waxwings in the winter. As a result, we tend to get really high numbers of total individual birds reported. This year, 71,468 individual birds were counted. This is one of the highest totals (and possibly the highest) of any of the CBC’s in Canada this year. It is far higher than the totals for the Edmonton or Toronto counts, for example.

Below is a map that shows all the Feeder Watcher addresses (the white dots). Some areas have quite a few, but we can definitely use more!

A Black-capped Chickadee photographed by a Feeder Watcher, Calgary, December 19, 2021. *Photo by Raman Brar*

It’s interesting to look at some individual species. Bald Eagles:

Bald Eagle, Calgary, December 19, 2021. *Photo by Arthur Wieckowski*

The Eagles are concentrated along the lower stretches of the Bow River, where they feed mostly on sick or injured Mallards.

Here is the Mallard map:

Note how closely the Mallard distribution mirrors that of Bald Eagles. Mallards rest on the river, and go out to farmer’s fields to feed. There was also a huge concentration of 6,000 birds in the bit of open water at the northeast corner of Elliston Lake. Perhaps this is a safe place for them to rest, where there are fewer eagles around to prey on them than along the Bow.

The Canada Goose numbers were even higher than the Mallard numbers, with a similar distribution.

Black-billed Magpies are probably the most visible bird in Calgary, as they are found in all habitats and are very vocal. Many residents find them too aggressive and noisy to be likeable, but they are fascinating, beautiful, and intelligent birds. Like other urbanophiles (American Crows, House Sparrows, House Finches, and Rock Pigeons for example), they are doing very well in the urban environment.

The total number of Magpies reported on the CBC continues on a long-term upward climb:

As in the Magpie example above, we can use the CBC data to produce graphs of long-term trends of the overall results and of the numbers of individual species. The next graph shows that the number of participants and party-hours has steadily increased over time, as has the total number of birds recorded, but the number of species seen each year has plateaued.

The 73 species we had this year is the third-highest total ever, but it is line with a pretty flat graph since the mid-1980’s:

Below is an interesting graph that shows the number of Sharp-tailed Grouse reported. We had three this year, and three in 2016. But that’s it for the last twenty-plus years. They used to be found on Nose Hill and other areas at the city’s edge. But Nose Hill is now surrounded by development and the city has expanded to most edges of the Count Circle.

Sharp-tailed Grouse, Tsuut’ina Nation, Calgary, December 21, 2021. *Photo by Chris Durtnall*

The results of the Calgary Count and several other nearby CBC’s were presented at the January meeting of Nature Calgary’s Bird Study Group. The meeting was recorded, and a replay will soon be available on the Nature Calgary site here.

The next Calgary CBC will be on Sunday December 18, 2022. If you haven’t taken part before and are interested in participating, either as a Field Observer or a Feeder Watcher, email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com.

Many thanks to Matt Wallace for all his hard work in organizing the count and producing the maps, to Lara Fitzpatrick, who created the spreadsheets that captured all the data, and to the photographers.

Here is a link to an article about the Calgary Count results on CBC news, including a video interview.

Be sure to subscribe to Matthew’s Citizen Blitz channel on YouTube to keep informed about upcoming citizen science events in Calgary – and to see more great nature videos!. You can also follow him on Twitter (atcitynatureyyc) and on Instagram (atcitizenblitz).

2021 Calgary Christmas Bird Count Results

Dec31

Here are the preliminary results of the 70th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which was held on December 19. Over 300 people participated this year – 136 field surveyors and 173 feeder watchers at 123 addresses. The current totals are 72 species (plus an additional two species seen during count week), and 75,917 individual birds.

(A previous version of this post had 326 field surveyors. That was an error, and the number has been corrected.)

Rough-legged Hawk. Five were recorded on this count. *Photo by Bob Lefebvre during the 2011 Calgary CBC.*

These numbers are slightly higher than last year. The species total is higher than the long-term average of about 66. There are still some adjustments to be made to the numbers and the possibility of adding another species to the total.

For those interested in hearing all the details of this count, Matt Wallace will be speaking on the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group Zoom presentation on Wednesday January 12, along with the compilers of several of the other local CBC’s (and possibly even the Edmonton count!). Nature Calgary members should receive a link to this meeting by email. If you would like to become a Nature Calgary member, see this page.

Common Redpoll. Almost 300 were reported on the Calgary CBC, as well as two Hoary Redpolls. *Photo by Bob Lefebvre*

Below is a more complete summary of the day, by Matt Wallace:

The 70^th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count took place on December 19. We had a highly successful year and I wanted to share the tentative numbers with you all.

Before jumping into the details I want to thank everyone who participated this year and acknowledge the outstanding efforts that were put in. The legacy and continuation of this count would not be possible without everyone’s contributions and appreciation for the natural world. Thank you to all of the participants and especially our section captains for accommodating the many new birders that joined in on the count. Thank you to TsuuT’ina Nation for allowing us the opportunity to visit your land on count day. I also want to give a special shout out to Lara Fitzpatrick and Bob Lefebvre for their superhuman coordination and data entry powers. They were both calm, cool, and enthusiastic about ensuring the collection of data and experience for participants was accessible and fun. Thank you to all!

Note: These are the tentative numbers (without adjustments) received on count day.

Weather:

A relatively mild day for Calgary in December compared to previous years with temperatures in the -20s. Light winds (~10-15 km/hr) began in the afternoon.

Date	Max Temp.	Min Temp.
Dec 19 2021	‑10.1 °C	‑13.4 °C

Circle Sections and Participants

The Calgary Circle was divided into 38 sections this year. This is consistent with previous years as “subsections” were created for teams to survey within an official section of the circle. We now have an up-to-date digital map that includes all subsections. Participants were able to use the map in the field by saving it to their phone. This helped to ensure they were surveying within the circle boundaries and correct sections that they were assigned to. The Circle Section Map can be viewed here.

Participant numbers were strong with a total of 309 participants in total. There were a total of 123 Feeder Watcher residences with some households tag-teaming their yards throughout the day. On count day, a total of 136 people were in the field with many new birders joining the count for the first time. The number of field surveyors matches the average over the past 15 years (136). The field team hours were down from the record in 2020 (330) but we found more individual birds and more species than in 2020.

Number of Participants	Total	Field Surveyors	Feeder Watchers
	309	136	173

Total Counting Hours	615	273	342

Field Surveyor Details	Total	Walking	Driving
Counting Hours	273	203	69
Distance Traveled (km)	1498	461	1,036

Birds Summary

This year we used two methods to obtain bird data from field teams. Participants could share their eBird checklist with an account we created specific for the CBC. Effort data, mammal sightings, and bird data (not submitted to eBird) were submitted by each section captain using the template.

All eBird checklists (98) shared during count day can be viewed in the eBird Trip Report here.

Count Results	Total	Count Week
Total Count – Species	72	2
Total Count – Individual Birds	75,917

Below is the summary of all species and individuals counted. Field teams counted a total of 68,115 individuals (70 species) and Feeder Watchers counted 7802 individuals (35 species). Notable species and records are highlighted in yellow. Calgary count data has been collected since 1952.

(Use slider at bottom to reveal more columns.)

SPECIES COUNTED	2021 Count	10-yr Average	2021 vs. 10-yr Avg	% of Years Reported Since 2011	% of Years Reported Since 1952	Record High Count	Record High Year	Notes and Comments
Cackling Goose	4	12	-66%	80%	17%	139	2004
Canada Goose	23,967	12,902	86%	100%	74%	27,452	2004
Trumpeter Swan	5	1	456%	30%	12%	5	2017/2021	Tie for Record
Tundra Swan	1		900%	10%	6%	1	1991/2021	Tie for Record
Wood Duck	3	3	7%	80%	42%	40	2007
Gadwall	1	1	0%	50%	41%	29	1987
Mallard	17,323	11,356	53%	100%	100%	24,506	1992
Green-winged Teal	1		150%	20%	54%	9	1981
Canvasback	2	1	300%	30%	14%	2	1963/2021	Tie for Record
Redhead	18	13	37%	70%	45%	35	2020
Ring-necked Duck	5	2	213%	60%	19%	5	2019
Greater Scaup	2	1	300%	30%	14%	6	2007
Lesser Scaup	5	3	79%	80%	58%	14	1991
Harlequin Duck	4	1	264%	50%	38%	7	1989
Bufflehead	144	194	-26%	100%	72%	321	2015
Common Goldeneye	554	1,110	-50%	100%	99%	5,356	2007	Low Count Year
Barrow’s Goldeneye	3	10	-69%	100%	72%	25	2016
Hooded Merganser	2	3	-38%	90%	54%	8	1995
Common Merganser	86	80	7%	100%	99%	159	2017
Ruddy Duck	1		900%	10%	3%	1	2018/ 2021	Tie for Record
Sharp-tailed Grouse	3		900%	10%	39%	25	1986	Notable Sighting
Gray Partridge	58	66	-13%	100%	97%	276	1977
Ring-necked Pheasant	11	10	12%	100%	99%	124	1961
Rock Pigeon	1,417	1,992	-29%	100%	70%	4,611	2006
Eurasian Collared-Dove	2	26	-92%	80%	13%	63	2015	Low Count Year
American Coot	1	1	-9%	50%	22%	4	2018
Wilson’s Snipe	1		233%	10%	17%	3	2005	Notable Sighting
Sharp-shinned Hawk	4	6	-29%	90%	33%	10	2014
Northern Goshawk	6	4	46%	90%	74%	9	2019
Bald Eagle	69	33	110%	100%	80%	69	2021	Record Year
Rough-legged Hawk	5	7	-30%	100%	71%	17	2015
Great Horned Owl	9	7	30%	100%	84%	26	1991
Snowy Owl	1	–	–	0%	58%	15	1973	Notable Sighting
Northern Saw-whet Owl	1	1	25%	60%	25%	2	2005
Belted Kingfisher	3	2	36%	100%	72%	9	1988
American Three-toed Woodpecker	2	1	82%	50%	39%	5	1980
Downy Woodpecker	263	181	46%	100%	96%	263	2021	Record Year
Hairy Woodpecker	39	35	11%	100%	86%	50	2018
Pileated Woodpecker	4	2	100%	90%	49%	5	2015
Northern Flicker	363	229	59%	100%	78%	363	2021	Record Year
Merlin	24	22	8%	100%	93%	43	2015
Gyrfalcon	1	1	43%	40%	30%	4	1990
Northern Shrike	8	5	57%	100%	78%	11	2015
Blue Jay	137	112	22%	100%	61%	256	1994
Black-billed Magpie	2,401	2,607	-8%	100%	100%	3,096	2020
American Crow	65	103	-37%	100%	72%	152	2012	Low Count Year
Common Raven	625	507	23%	100%	70%	858	2017
Black-capped Chickadee	2,140	1,910	12%	100%	100%	2,221	2006
Mountain Chickadee	7	4	84%	60%	48%	19	1987
Boreal Chickadee	7	18	-60%	100%	81%	101	1987
Golden-crowned Kinglet	2	18	-89%	100%	86%	85	1990	Low Count Year
Red-breasted Nuthatch	200	382	-48%	100%	75%	727	2015
White-breasted Nuthatch	110	108	2%	100%	81%	203	2014
Brown Creeper	17	20	-16%	100%	84%	33	2014
American Dipper	3	2	36%	90%	61%	7	1994
European Starling	326	320	2%	100%	99%	1,445	1995
Townsend’s Solitaire	18	4	350%	100%	48%	18	2021	Record Year
American Robin	82	86	-5%	100%	62%	219	2001
Bohemian Waxwing	15,816	10,262	54%	100%	96%	20,012	2005
Cedar Waxwing	11	12	-4%	70%	45%	88	2003
House Sparrow	7,096	6,113	16%	100%	97%	10,304	2000
Pine Grosbeak	64	196	-67%	90%	87%	862	2011
House Finch	1,916	1,046	83%	100%	45%	1,916	2021	Record Year
Common Redpoll	272	580	-53%	100%	93%	2,025	1995
Hoary Redpoll	2	3	-20%	30%	39%	22	1969
White-winged Crossbill	40	718	-94%	90%	59%	4,448	2015	Low Count Year
Pine Siskin	50	187	-73%	100%	62%	772	2003
American Tree Sparrow	3	2	100%	50%	45%	34	1999
Dark-eyed Junco	64	163	-61%	100%	71%	392	2018
White-crowned Sparrow	1	–	–	0%	3%	1	2005
White-throated Sparrow	9	3	233%	70%	35%	15	1994
Song Sparrow	2	1	300%	40%	26%	3	1995

Count Week Species: Varied Thrush, Prairie Falcon

Species Normally seen but not counted in 2021: Northern Pintail, Ruffed Grouse, Cooper’s Hawk, Red Crossbill

Just a reminder that these numbers are tentative. I will be presenting a more in-depth analysis on the count and describe our methods for adjusting these initial numbers at the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group on January 12 via Zoom.

Thank you all. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

Matt Wallace

Calgary Christmas Bird Count 2020

Dec13

The 69th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count will take place this year on Sunday December 20th. This is one of over 2,000 counts that will take place in the Western Hemisphere this year. Teams spread out within a predetermined count circle and count every bird they see or hear on count day. The information gathered by thousands of volunteers over the years has been an invaluable source of information about population trends in the bird world.

A Bald Eagle seen on the count in 2014. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

There are two ways to participate in the count: By joining a team in the field, or by watching and counting birds at the feeders in your yard. Covid restrictions will apply to the field counters.

Christmas Bird Count — Counting waterfowl on the river for CBC 2019. Photo by Kathleen Johnson.

The Calgary CBC was started in 1952 and the Feeder Watchers were added in 1984. The Feeder Watch is the component of the CBC that gets those involved that either don’t want to go out in the field, or are unable to. There is a wealth of bird life to be found regularly at feeders and these feeder counts are added to the counts from in the field. Birds may be counted at your residence within the count circle – a circle 24 kilometers in diameter centred on the Louise Bridge. In the 2019 CBC over 49,000 birds were counted in Calgary, of sixty-three different species. Feeder watchers recorded thirty-five species. The feeder watcher role is an important one.

We are no longer taking registrations for the 2020 count, but if you are interested in participating next year, or if you want more information, email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com. Next year’s Calgary Christmas Bird Count is on Sunday December 19, 2021.

A Varied Thrush that overwintered in my yard in 2011-12. It’s a possibility for Feeder Watchers on the Christmas Bird Count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

American Porcupine — Mammals are counted too. A porcupine found on the 2012 count. Photo by Troy Bourque.

Stay-At-Home Birding: Some Backyard Birds

May3

Here are some birds seen recently by local birders in their yards. Lots of great birds can still been seen while staying at home! Some of these are migrating and won’t be seen in the summer, but others are year-round residents.

Mountain Bluebird, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.

Blue Jay, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Patrice O’Brien.

American Robin, Okotoks, April 2020. Photo by Lloyd Bligh.

Downy Woodpecker, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.

Northern Flicker, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.

House Finches, Calgary, April 2020. Photo by Jane Potter.

Finally, here is a photo of a Varied Thrush that Karen Bout photographed in her yard in April. I have heard of three or four reports of Varied Thrushes passing through the city this spring, and there were at least three that overwintered here this year.

May can be even better for migrants passing through city yards, so if you are isolating at home, keep an eye open!

Thanks to all the readers that submitted photos.

A Guide to Albertabird

Nov24

By Howard Heffler

Nature Calgary is promoting a friendly “big year” birding challenge within Calgary city limits in 2020 (BIRDYYC2020). (See this post for an introduction to the challenge.) This guide to Albertabird is one of a number of posts we will present to help everyone who participates.

What is Albertabird?

One useful tool for those taking part in the challenge is the online discussion forum “Albertabird”. This is a place where birders can share sightings, locations, and photos, so it will be useful to participants in
keeping informed during the year and giving them the best chance to see as many bird species within the city limits as possible. This article is for newcomers to Albertabird. Anyone can join Albertabird or use it as a resource – it is not just for BIRDYYC2020 participants.

The Albertabird email list was started in early 2000. Initially hosted by Yahoo Groups, a switch to the more compatible platform, Groups IO, was completed in late 2019.

This list functions within the guidelines found in the American Birding Association Code of Ethics. The Albertabird Moderators are Gerald Romanchuk, Malcolm McDonald, and Caroline Lambert.

Anyone can look at the site to read messages posted by members. Click this link to go to Albertabird in a new tab. There you can see what the site looks like.

Using Albertabird

To post messages to the list you must be a member. To join, you simply go to the site’s Home page and click on “Apply for Membership in this Group.” You will be asked to submit your email address. You should get a response to your request for membership in a day or two.

You can open the “Messages” page to see the latest posts. You can also go to “Subscription” and set the parameters in a way that suits you. You may elect to receive each message in an individual email or in other ways or to not receive emails. Once you are a member, you can post messages and photos for all to see. You can post either right on the website or by sending an email to Albertabird[at]groups.io.

Albertabird has been a powerful and useful tool for years, allowing birders to share stories and help others learn.

We encourage you to look frequently at Albertabird and to post stories about your adventures during the BirdYYC2020 challenge.

Albertabird Guidelines

The complete guidelines for users of Albertabird can be found on the Albertabird website under “files”.

A few points to remember are:

Do not to hit the “Reply” button when responding to a message unless you are intending to send your comments to all subscribers.
All posts should contain your name and location by city.
Be prepared to share directions to interesting birds, except for species at risk.
Do not share directions on private property until you have permission from the landowner to do so.
Do not post detailed information on a nest location, particularly for species at risk, to minimize disturbance to nesting birds.
The list allows attachments such as photos or files. Files should be kept as concise as possible in the interest of saving storage space
Photos can be attached to the message as a file or pasted into the message. (See the guidelines on the Albertabird website for more details and restrictions.)

Enjoy!

Any questions or suggestions about BIRDYYC2020 contact:
 Howard Heffler: hheffler*@*shaw.ca
 Andrew Hart: andrewhart*@*shaw.ca
 Bob Lefebvre: wbird7*@*gmail.com
 Gavin McKinnon: gmckinnonbird*@*gmail.com

Calgary 2020 Big Year Birding Challenge

Nov11

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

For the past two decades Nature Calgary has sponsored year-long birding competitions every five years. In 2000 and 2010 the goal was to see as many species as you could within the city limits in the calendar year. In 2005 and 2015 goal was the same, but the area used was the 80-km-diameter circle centered on the Center Street Bridge.

Willet, photographed by Brian Elder in Calgary during the 2010 competition. This won first prize in the photography portion of competition.

In keeping with the pattern, we’d like to announce the Calgary 2020 Big Year Birding Challenge. This will be a year-long event, in which participants try to identify as many species as they can within the city limits between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The challenge is led by Howard Heffler, Andrew Hart, Gavin McKinnon, and myself.

As in 2015, we will exclusively be using eBird to keep track of participant’s progress. Simply name your city limits patch “BirdYYC2020” and include in your patch all the locations for which you have submitted lists that are within the city limits. (If you already have a city limits patch, just rename it.) If you are not yet using eBird you will have to set up a free account first.

There are a lot of good articles on the eBird website about how to sign up, and how to set up patches. It is really quite easy, and the eBird site is also a tremendously useful resource for birders.

We are going to keep this very simple and informal. There will be no entry fees or prizes, no categories for different experience levels, and no waivers to sign. Rather than a competition, it will be a challenge – a personal test for each participant to try to reach new goals, explore new birding locations, and learn more about the birds of Calgary.

Participants are asked to send their name, ebird name and email address to Howard Heffler at: hheffler[at]shaw.ca. This will allow the organizers to communicate with active participants. At the end of the year, we will ask participants to share their species list to allow comparison with the results of the 2000 and 2010 competitions.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will be prepared to answer questions and take suggestions. We will use this blog for ongoing communication and to write helpful instructions for participants. We also will post stories on Albertabird and on Nature Calgary’s website. We encourage all participants to share their adventures and birding tips on Albertabird.

In the 2010 competition, Michael Harrison won with 240 species! (Amazingly, he saw every species while riding his bike, competing in the “Non-motorized Transport” category.) To read about the 2010 competition, see the 2010 blog here.

Of course, 240 is a very high total – about 265 species are seen within the city limits in a typical year, but many of those are one-day wonders. In a challenge like this, you should set a reasonable goal for yourself. My goal is to see more than 180 species, which is the best total I’ve had since I started using eBird in 2012. I would love to get 200!

A challenge like this is a lot of fun and gets you really involved in the local birding community. I hope you join us!

Please see the guidelines below for more information.

Calgary 2020 Big Year Birding Challenge

Nature Calgary is promoting a friendly “big year” birding challenge within Calgary city limits in 2020.

Background

There have been two “big year” competitions in Calgary; 2000 and 2010.

(There were also “Calgary Region” competitions in 2005 and 2015.)

Scope – an eBird “Patch” challenge

Challenge yourself to find as many species of birds as you can within the Calgary city limits in 2020!

All sightings must be within the city limits. See link below.

Calendar year 2020.
Open to all.
No sub-categories for participants.
No entry fee or prizes.
No waivers.
- Nature Calgary field trips would have waivers exactly as per current practice.

Objective – a friendly competition

Share sightings.
Promote interest in birds and birding.
Enjoy Calgary’s natural areas.
More field trips.
Compare results with 2000 and 2010.

Challenge Guidelines and Procedures

The organizers are proposing the following guidelines and procedures to make the challenge more enjoyable and rewarding for all participants.

Participants “register” by adding an eBird patch (or re-naming their existing Calgary city-limits patch.) with the name: “BirdYYC2020” by January 1, 2020.
Participants are asked to send their name, eBird name and email address to Howard Heffler at: hheffler[at]shaw.ca. This will allow the organizers to communicate with active participants. At the end of the year, we will ask participants to share their species list to allow comparison with the results of the 2000 and 2010 competitions.
We recommend that participants re-name their patch back to their own city-limits patch after the challenge year is completed.
Participants MUST share eBird lists and make sightings on eBird visible. The purpose is to allow all participants to chase sightings by others. Specifically: on eBird, under My eBird, select Preferences; Data privacy – elect to NOT hide your eBird data.
Anybody at any time can see who is leading and his/her total number of sightings to date by looking on eBird at patch totals.
We have created “BirdYYC2020 RBA”, a WhatsApp group for sharing instant updates on unusual birds within the city limits of Calgary. To join the group, send a message to Gavin McKinnon (403) 519-8703.

Helpful Hints and Participant Expectations

There are about 200 hotspots in the Calgary “county”. All the ones within the city-limits (90) begin with the prefix “Calgary” or “Fish Creek PP”.
Over the next few weeks we will develop detailed procedures and instructions for things such as:
- how to set up an eBird patch,
- how to set up eBird alerts,
- how to join Albertabird,
- how to use WhatsApp,
- how to use the mapping tools, and
- other topics that might arise.
We hope to make a seasonal list of birds to help participants target specific species during each season.
Some species will be identified as “reportable” so you know what will be of special interest to everyone else.
Of course, we will do what we can to ensure participants respect private property, drive and act safely and responsibly, and follow ABA ethical guidelines: especially as it relates to protecting sensitive species.
We have maps of the city boundary in PDF format available.
Here, also, is an online Google map of Calgary.

Any questions or suggestions contact:

Howard Heffler: hheffler[at]shaw.ca
Andrew Hart: andrewhart[at]shaw.ca
Bob Lefebvre: wbird7[at]gmail.com
Gavin McKinnon: gmckinnonbird[at]gmail.com

Friends of Fish Creek Birding: 68 Street Wetlands and South Glenmore Park

May17

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The Friends of Fish Creek birding course continues to grow in popularity, with over 300 people now going out on weekly three-hour field trips to various parks in the city. The Spring session is under way, and Max Ortiz Aguilar has contributed some photos from recent outings.

On April 22, 2018 the course went to the 68 Street SE Wetlands, east of Elliston Park. This is a fairly new area for the birding course and is excellent for spring shorebirds, gulls, and waterfowl on migration. All photos by Max Ortiz Aguilar.

American Avocet.

The wetlands (which are also called the Rotary/Mattamy Greenway wetlands since they are on that city-encircling pathway) lie just east of Elliston Lake, between 68 Street SE and Stoney Trail, just south of 17 Avenue. There is a parking lot south of 17 Avenue on the west side of 68 St.

68 St SE Wetlands map

Elliston Lake and the 68 St SE Wetlands.

Black-necked Stilt.

Shorebirds Two Black-necked Stilt and one American Avocet.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron.

In the first week of May the course went to South Glenmore Park in search of more waterfowl and migrants. Max took the following photos on May 6, 2018.

Savannah Sparrow singing in the morning

Great Blue Heron

Group of Barrow’s Goldeneye

Male and female Common Mergansers

To see more of Max’s photos go to his site here.

Spring Birding Course 2017

Mar7

Mountain Chickadee seen by the birding course participants at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park. Photographed February 14, 2017. Photo by David Mitchell.

The popular Friends of Fish Creek birding course begins its 12-week spring session on April 3, 2017.

Go out on field trips with experienced leaders once or twice a week for twelve weeks, and learn about the birds of Calgary. You can expect to see over 150 species of birds.

Field trips are held in several parts of Fish Creek Park, in Carburn Park, Beaverdam Flats, the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, the Weaselhead Nature Area, Bowmont Park, Elliston Lake, Griffith Woods Park, and possibly other locations.

It is still only $5 for children (accompanied by a registered adult) for the whole twelve-week course! See this page for details on how to register.

Here are just a few more of the many birds seen on the winter course this year.

Bald Eagle (adult), Mallard Point, Fish Creek Park, February 8, 2017. Photo by David Mitchell.

Black-capped Chickadee (note the unusual brownish cap), Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, March 4, 2017. Photo by Ken Pride.

Ruffed Grouse, Weaselhead Nature Area, February 22, 2017. Photo by David Mitchell.

Wood Duck (female, centre back) with Mallards, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, March 4, 2017. Photo by Ken Pride.

Great Horned Owl, Beaverdam Flats, March 6, 2017. Photo by Ken Pride.

Common Raven, Beaverdam Flats, March 6, 2017. Photo by Ken Pride.

Common Raven and Great Horned Owl, Beaverdam Flats, March 6, 2017. Photo by Ken Pride.

Great Horned Owl, Beaverdam Flats, March 6, 2017. Photo by Ken Pride.

Birds Calgary

A birding blog for Calgary, Alberta and area

Tag Archive | calgary birds

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Stay-At-Home Birding: Some Backyard Birds

A Guide to Albertabird

Calgary 2020 Big Year Birding Challenge

Friends of Fish Creek Birding: 68 Street Wetlands and South Glenmore Park

Spring Birding Course 2017

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