Tag Archive | citizen science projects

Calgary Christmas Bird Count Results 2023

72 species seen during a very successful count!

Posted by Bob Lefebvre birdscalgary@gmail.com

We had really good results on the Calgary CBC on Sunday December 17. The weather was still very mild, and we had a lot of partcipation both in the field and at backyard feeders. The species total was 72, with an additional 2 Count Week species not seen on Count Day but seen on the three days before or after the count.

The first Cassin’s Finch ever seen on a Calgary CBC! Photo by Laura Bentley.

Below are the results as reported by Matt Wallace, the organizer of the count. First, watch a YouTube video with a quick summary. Next, the Summary Report has some details about the species counted on page one, and then a list of the birds on pages two and three. Just hover over the report and use the arrows at the bottom of the page to navigate there. Third, if you really want a lot of detail, and want to make your own graphs and so on, you can download the Results file. Finally, anyone can explore the eBird Trip Report, which includes all the checklists and photos submitted by our Field Teams.

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From Matt:

Lara, Bob, and myself finally have all of the numbers tallied for the 72nd annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count! After a few days of enjoying the holidays ourselves, we’ve got the results ready for you to enjoy and explore!

Count Summary:

So, our total count this year was 35,833 birds! We had 72 species documented on count day with 2 more species found during count week. We added 3 new species to our 72 year list which included a Cassin’s Finch, Gray Catbird, and Western Grebe. Our “Count Week Birds” were a Yellow-rumped Warbler and Winter Wren. 

Overall, our total bird count was way down from previous years but our species count was right on par with our 15-year average. Our low numbers are undoubtedly related to our low counts of Canada Goose, Mallard, and Bohemian Waxwings. It’s challenging to say exactly why this is but likely related to the warm temperatures we’ve experienced with very little ice on the river. When we have lots of ice on the river system there are few places for waterfowl to congregate. The Elbow and Bow do not freeze over entirely even in the coldest of winter so this is where they gather. When there is very little ice the birds are unlikely to congregate within the count circle. We heard little about dead birds from field teams this year but we know that avian flu has been a big issue the past few years. This may have contributed to our lower counts but really it is not clear at this time. As for our finches and waxwings, our numbers were below what we expected but again there is bountiful food for them currently in the boreal regions which again would not drive them towards or into our circle. 

Overall, we are really pleased with how the count went this year despite having lower numbers of birds. We heard from lots of people that they enjoyed their day exploring new areas of the city and getting to meet new birders. We had 16 brand new birders (less than one year of birding) and 74 participants who had never taken part in a CBC before! We also had several participants that were participating for their third or fourth decade! Just amazing to see the age range (4-99 years), diversity of skill levels, and support that our Calgary birding community brings together! Thank you for all of your hard work and we should all celebrate what we accomplished as a community! 

Below are some ways you can explore the results in further in detail:

1) Results Video: If you’d like a quick recap of the event you can now view the Results video on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/EgwSl1iEp6Y  (see above). Please feel free to share and we’d love for a few likes and subscribers! If you submitted some photos, you’re likely to find a mention. We also had to cherry-pick a few photos from our eBird Trip Report but have credited each photographer. If you’re still sitting on some photos or videos from count day, please send these along so we can use them in our results presentation in January.

2) Summary Report (.PDF): This is a brief summary of all of the bird and effort data we collected showing the final results and a few graphs of how far we’ve come over the years.

Calgary-CBC-2023-Summary-Report

3) Bonus: Results Excel File: This is a detailed snapshot of our “behind the scenes” work which Lara has masterfully crafted for our count circle the past three years. Feel free to explore this at your own leisure if you’re a data nerd like us! This may be a bit more technical than some people would like but I figured a few people may be interested in seeing it anyways. Download the file to explore it.

A few tips for this file: 

  • Use the tabs at the bottom of the page. There are really only a few tabs to be concerned with here (Graphs, Analysis, and Report). Look for any bold red text to help you understand how to investigate the data:
    • Graphs Tab:
      • In cells A3 (species) and A37 (Family) you can enter any species we’ve ever had on the Calgary count to produce immediate graphs. You must type the exact spelling of the species you would like to review. If your graphs are appearing empty, the spelling is likely off. If you are unsure of the spelling you can copy and paste the names of the birds found in the “Report” tab. You can then hover your mouse over the graphs to see the numbers for each year.
    • Analysis Tab:
      • In Row 7 you can use the drop down filters to explore things like News species, Record Highs, Record Lows, and comparisons between our yearly averages for each species.
    • Report Tab:
      • This tab is essentially what you see in the Summary Report File. 

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4)  eBird Trip Report (Field Team Data submitted via eBird Only) 

The 2024 Calgary CBC will take place on December 22, 2024! I’ve gone ahead and set up the registration form for next year in the case you wanted to register in advance. Just a note that this form will be online throughout the year so there is no rush to get it filled out. We will be sending out reminders and information September-December 2024. https://forms.gle/wBcfCRD4sqFpQ8qq9

  • One thing that isn’t displayed on our spreadsheets is the number of NEW birders/ participants we had this year (see comments above). This is one of the reasons why we are using a registration form – simply because we want to keep the CBC as accessible as possible!

We are working with Nature Calgary to organize a CBC 2023 event presentation in January and will send out an invitation to all 2023 participants to join the event and do a more in-depth analysis of our results this year!

You may also know that I assist with organizing other citizen science events throughout the year including the Calgary City Nature Challenge, Bioblitzes, Biodiversity Challenge, National Moth Week, and various other bird counts! Most of these are shared on my social media pages (@ CityNatureYYC) on Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook. If you’re keen on participating in other events, give these pages a follow so you’re up to date on what is happening around Calgary and Southern Alberta! I also reshare any photos or videos people post so if you’re out on your own, tag me and I’ll reshare your nature stuff!

Thank you very much to all participants and we look forward to having you back next year! I hope you all had a great time and are enjoying your holidays. 

Happy New Year!

Matt Wallace

Help Us Count Birds on December 17!

More Birders Needed For the Calgary Christmas Bird Count.

Many of our regulars are away or busy with other events this year, so we have a bit of a shortage of birders to help with the count, which is next Sunday. We can use experienced birders who could lead the effort in a section of the city, or help with a field team in a section. Even if you are a novice birder you can help assist a field team. The more eyes the better! Plus we are always looking for more people to count birds at their backyard feeders. That can take as little as 30 minutes.

House Finch
House Finch. A common backyard bird, but they all need counting! Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

You can register to participate in the count at this page. You may use this form even if you just want more information and may not take part this year. If you have any questions, you can email me at birdscalgary@gmail.com.

Thanks for helping out in this long-running Citizen Science project!

Bob Lefebvre

Calgary Region BiodiverCity Challenge 2022

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Midnight tonight marks the beginning of the Calgary BiodiverCity Challenge 2022. The four-day event runs from Thursday June 9 through Sunday June 12.

Like the City Nature Challenge which was held at the end of April, the BiodiverCity Challenge will include all observations submitted to iNaturalist that were made within the region over the four-day period. You don’t have to join the project – although you can! – all observations in the region and time period will be included.

Yellow-headed Blackbird
A Yellow-headed Blackbird seen during eBird’s Global Big Day in NE Calgary, May 14, 2022.
Photo by Bob Lefebvre

The region includes the city of Calgary, plus Cochrane, Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, Airdrie, Chestermere, and Okotoks.

Map of Calgary BiodiverCity region 2022
The Calgary BiodiverCity Region 2022

Like the City Nature Challenge, the idea is to document as many species of wildlife as possible. The date of the City Nature Challenge is in early spring here (it is a worldwide event), but the time frame of the BiodiverCity Challenge was chosen to better represent the maximum number of species that can be found at our location.

Here is a link to the Project Page on iNaturalist Canada. Join the project to be kept informed of the progress in this year’s count, and of the details of next year’s count when they are available.

This year there will be a friendly competition between Calgary and other cities (including Edmonton) to see who will have the most participants and observations. So get out and take lots of photos this weekend to document the biodiversity of the Calgary region! You have until June 19th to upload them to iNaturalist.

Calgary Christmas Bird Count, December 19 2021

By Bob Lefebvre

House Finch
House Finch. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Calgary’s 69th annual Christmas Bird Count will take place on Sunday, December 19, 2021. Matthew Wallace is now the coordinator for the count, taking over from long-time organizer Phil Cram. I will again be assisting with the Feeder Watchers.

As usual there will be opportunities for people who want to go out in the field to count birds, and for feeder watchers who will count birds in their yards.

If you are interested in taking part, or in getting more information about participating, please fill out the following form for the 2021 count:

Calgary Christmas Bird Count 2021 Registration

Join us in this fun and important citizen science project!

City Nature Challenge 2021

Once again Calgary (and the nearby communities of Cochrane, Okotoks, Airdrie, and Chestermere, plus Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park) will be participating in the City Nature Challenge. From April 30 to May 3, anyone can participate in this fun, important, and fast-growing citizen-science project. People in hundreds of cities around the world will be photographing plants, birds, mammals, and anything else in nature to capture a record of worldwide urban biodiversity.

White-crowned Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrows should be around for the CNC. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

From the CNC 2021 Calgary Metropolitan Region website:

City Nature Challenge Calgary is back for the third year! Take photos of urban flora and fauna April 30-May 3 2021, then share to iNaturalist. Look for nature in your yards, neighborhoods, and local parks. Explore anywhere in Calgary, Cochrane, Okotoks, Airdrie, Chestermere, and Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. Any photos taken April 30-May 3 and shared to iNaturalist before May 9 will be included.   Join the 2021 iNaturalist Project to Stay up to date!

So starting on Friday morning, take as many photos as you can of birds, plants, insects, and any other living things. You will have until May 9 to upload your photos to iNaturalist.

Calgary City Nature Challenge Results

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Back in April, Calgarians participated for the second time in the City Nature Challenge. This year, with better weather and the addition of participants in Cochrane, Airdie, Okotoks, and Chestermere, we exceeded all of the 2019 results. This was despite the inability, due to Covid-19, of having organized field trips with many observers. Participants were more or less on their own, but nevetheless 248 observers submitted 5,557 observations, from which 759 species have so far been identified.

Downy Woodpecker
A Downy Woodpecker I photographed on April 24, 2020 for the City Nature Challenge.
Calgary, photo by Bob Lefebvre

You can view the Project Page on iNaturalist to see all the local observations. Some highlights include a bobcat with prey, a raccoon seen downtown, and a moose in Fish Creek Park. There were 110 bird species reported, including uncommon species like Steller’s Jay, Turkey Vulture, and Wild Turkey (the local celebrity Ramsay Turkey).

You can explore all of the bird reports here.

Calgary was one of eleven Canadian Cities that took part in the Challenge, and led them all in number of particpants, number of species reported, and number of observations made.

There were 244 cities worldwide which took part in 2020. See the Project Page on iNaturalist to view all the results. The most observations made was 34,474 in Cape Town, South Africa. San Francisco had the most people making observations with 2,678. The highest number of species reported was 2,937 in Houston-Galveston. In all, over 33,000 species were reported.

City Nature Challenge 2020

Congratulations to Matthew Wallace for his efforts in organizing and promoting the Calgary City Nature Challenge. I look forward to next year’s event!

Birding and the City Nature Challenge

I mentioned before that a smartphone is the best tool for taking photos of insects and getting close-ups of plants, but not great for birds since they are usually too far away. But many of you birders carry cameras these days, and you can submit your bird photos for the City Nature Challenge. They can easily be uploaded to the iNaturalist website on your desktop computer.

So if you are out this weekend (anytime until Monday at midnight), take lots of bird photos to upload later. You have until May 3rd to upload them, and if they are taken in the city, in Airdrie, Chestermere, or Cochrane, they will be added to the Calgary Challenge.

If you’re lucky you might find an unusual species. Last year I found a Fox Sparrow at Carburn Park.

Fox Sparrow
Fox Sparrow, Carburn Park, Calgary, April 28, 2019. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

But remember, iNaturalist and the City nature Challenge is about documenting all living things, so don’t neglect common species, and get them in multiple locations too. You may also see some mammals, trees, and other things you can photograph. You can also photograph evidence of life, such as feathers, nests, spider webs, hare forms, and so on.

Check out this page to see how many species and observations have been submitted so far in Calgary. We are at over 1000 observations and 300 species reported already by 10 am Saturday morning!

Birds, Bats, and Building Collisions

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Window strikes, or birds colliding with windows, is a big problem – not just in residential yards, but in urban downtowns where tall glass structures are a big obstacle to migrating birds (and bats too). Many birds migrate at night, and skyscrapers can cause a lot of bird mortality. You may have seen some of the disturbing photos of hundreds of dead birds of many species that are collected in Toronto’s downtown every year by the Fatal Light Awareness Project (FLAP). A similar effort is undertaken in Ottawa by Safe Wings Ottawa.

Toronto, unlike Calgary, is located on a major migratory flyway. So how big is the problem here, and what can be done to minimize the damage? This is what Kathleen Johnson has set out to discover, by creating the Calgary Migratory Species Response Team.

Chipping Sparrow
A Chipping Sparrow found in downtown Calgary by Kathleen in the spring during one of her preliminary checks for birds killed by window strikes.

Kathleen has done an amazing job of assembling a team of experts and setting up a detailed and well-prepared group of volunteers to begin surveys of Calgary’s downtown. The CMSRT will plot the locations of all birds and bats found, to learn where the problem areas are. The Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society is directly involved as well, so that any injured animals can be rescued.

CMSRT Poster

This weekend there will be a two-part orientation session for anyone wishing to volunteer. The first part will be an information and training session at the Central Library downtown, and the second part will be in the field (downtown) early Sunday morning. See the event on Facebook here.

Please visit the group’s Facebook page to learn more about this effort. You can also follow them on Twitter (@CalgaryResponse). If you want to volunteer, email them at calgaryresponse[at]gmail.com.

Tonight, August 22nd, Kathleen will give a brief overview of the project at the Birds & Beers event (6-9 pm, at the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW) and will have more information available for anyone interested in getting involved. This is a really exciting initiative and I hope everyone can get behind it and help out!

City Nature Challenge Workshop at Pearce Estate

Come out to Pearce Estate Park in Calgary this Saturday morning to learn how to participate in the City Nature Challenge.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet at Pearce Estate last October. They could be back! At any rate the bush should still be there.
Photo by Bob Lefebvre

At this event you will learn all about how to use the iNaturalist app and how to make observations so you can participate in the upcoming City Nature Challenge.

Everyone is welcome; just show up at 10 am at Pearce Estate with your phone, tablet, or camera. Sign up for an iNaturalist account on the app or online first. Be prepared to do a mini-BioBlitz of all the wild animals, insects and plants we can find!

Please read all about it on the Calgary CNC website here. There will be more such events coming up before the Challenge so if you can’t make it this week, plan to attend a future one.

Birdboy Birdathon

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

In May, Ethan Denton completed his 2017 Great Canadian Birdathon to raise money for bird research and conservation. He was part of a team with Gavin McKinnon, called the Saw-it Owls. Here are just a few photos of birds the team saw on their birdathon.

Harlequin Duck (male), Lake Minnewanka, May 20, 2017. Photo by Ethan Denton.

Harlequin Ducks (female on left, male right), Lake Minnewanka, May 20, 2017. Photo by Ethan Denton.

Common Loons, Vermillion Lakes, May 20, 2017. Photo by Ethan Denton.

Sharp-tailed Grouse (male) on lek, southern Alberta, May 14, 2017. Photo by Ethan Denton.

Sharp-tailed Grouse (male) on lek, southern Alberta, May 14, 2017. Photo by Ethan Denton.

You can read about Day One of their birdathon on Ethan’s blog, Bird Boy.

The Great Canadian Birdathon (formerly called the Baille Birdathon) is a program of Bird Studies Canada. Participants are sponsored to count as many birds as they can every May. You can contribute to Ethan’s personal donation page here. Gavin McKinnon’s page is here. Please help them to reach their fundraising goals!