Tag Archive | confederation park

Spring Waterfowl at Confederation Park, Part 2

More duck species photographed at Confederation Park in NW Calgary in March and April 2018 by Ron Chiasson. See Part 1 for more photos and a map of the park.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male, with female Mallard in background.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail, male.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, male.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, female.

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, male.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler, male.

Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler, male.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male, with Mallards in background.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon, male (front), with male Northern Pintail (middle), and male Mallard (back).

You can see more of Ron Chiasson’s work here.

Spring Waterfowl at Confederation Park, Part 1

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser, Confederation Park, Calgary, April 14, 2018. Photo by Ron Chiasson.

As I mentioned in a previous post (Winter Birds of Confederation Park), this NW city park is under-appreciated by many local birders, who only go there for the fall warbler migration.

Confederation Park runs on both sides of 10 Street NW but the best birding is along the creek and around the pond that is in the western half, between 10 Street and 14 Street. There is a parking lot at the Rosemont Community Association, and plentiful on-street parking on Roselawn Crescent, near the pond, and on other nearby residential streets.

Confederation Park

Confederation Park between 10 Street and 14 Street NW.

Here are some of the many waterfowl species that can be seen during the spring migration on the pond. More will follow in part 2.

All photos are by Ron Chiasson, and were taken in March and April of 2018.

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye, female.

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye, female.

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye, male.

Common Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye pair.

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser, male.

Hooded Merganser

Hooded Merganser, male.

Mallard

Mallard dabbling.

Mallard

Mallard (male) landing. Northern Pintail in background.

Mallard

Mallard, female.

Mallard

Mallards mating.

You can see more of Ron Chiasson’s work here.

Winter Waxwings of Calgary – Cedar and Bohemian

Posted by Bob Lefebvre. All photos by Ron Chiasson.

One of the awesome things about winter birding in Calgary in the chance to see flocks of up to 5000 Bohemian Waxwings in flight, feeding on berries and apples, or eating snow on rooftops.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.

These beautiful birds are only here in the winter, and their relatives, the Cedar Waxwings, are an uncommon summer breeder here. Although Cedar Waxwings are a late migrant, arriving in late May, and departing in October, there are usually some that attempt to overwinter here and they can sometimes be seen mixed in with the Bohemian Waxwings.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018, .

We usually find at least a couple of dozen Cedar Waxwings on the Calgary Christmas Bird Count. They seem to be concentrated in the Elbow Valley downstream from the Glenmore Dam. This year, there were quite a few in Carburn Park in the southeast, and in the north end of the city, in Confederation Park and Queen’s Park Cemetery. In February I saw a flock of 36 Cedars in a residential neighbourhood near those north-end parks.

Here are two shots of Ron’s that show the two species side-by-side:

Waxwing

Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.

Waxwing

Bohemian (left) and Cedar Waxwing (right), Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.

These shots show some of the most obvious differences between the two: Bohemian Waxwings have cinnamon-red undertail coverts whereas Cedars have white; Bohemians are larger and more round-bodied than the sleek Cedars; Bohemians have a gray body including the belly, whereas Cedars are more brownish and have a pale yellow belly (sometimes white, but never gray). In the following shots you will also see that Bohemians have white tips on their wings (as well as red and yellow on adult birds) while Cedars only have the red tips (the wax) on adult birds and never show white in the wing.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing flock, Calgary, February 6, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Carburn Park, February 6, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 1, 2018.

Bohemian Waxwing

Bohemian Waxwings, Confederation Park, March 1, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing portrait, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Confederation Park, February 28, 2018.

Cedar Waxwing

Cedar Waxwing, Queen’s Park Cemetery, March 6, 2018.

See more of Ron Chiasson’s photos here.

Young Goshawk at Confederation Park

An immature Northern Goshawk has been hanging around Confederation Park this winter, feeding on Mallards that frequent the open water there. Ron Chiasson has photographed this bird in action. All photos taken at Confederation Park by Ron Chiasson.

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

Northern Goshawk

To see more of Ron’s photos, go to his website here, or follow him on Instagram.

 

Winter Birds of Confederation Park

Confederation Park in NW Calgary gets a lot of attention from birders during the fall warbler migration, but it is good birding spot year-round. You can see a variety of bird species even in winter, as these photos show.

The photographer is Ron Chiasson, who is a new contributor to the blog. You can see more of his photos at Ron Chiasson Photography, or follow him on Instagram here.

All of these photos were taken between November 2017 and February 2018 in Confederation Park.

Brown Creeper

Brown Creeper

Northern Flicker

Northern Flickers

House Finch

House Finch

House Finch

Blue Jay

Blue Jay

Black-capped Chickadee

Mallard

Mallard

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak

Common Redpoll

Common Redpoll

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Eastern Gray Squirrel

White-tailed Jackrabbit

White-tailed Jackrabbit

Thistle

There is also a young Northern Goshawk hanging around the park, feeding on Mallards. Ron’s photos of the Goshawk will be in the next post.

Travel Tuesday: Fall Migration in Confederation Park

Posted by Dan Arndt

 

Now here’s a post that’s a major blast from the past.

I originally started this post over a year ago, with the plan of getting out as often as I could during the height of warbler and vireo migration to the titular hotspot in the Calgary area, or at least, the one I see the largest number of people at the most often. While I didn’t get out nearly as much as I wanted last year, with my current employment situation I had more than enough time on my hands, and was out visiting Confederation Park at least three days a week for four weeks straight. While it was a lot more birding and a lot more challenging than I was prepared for, I was quite happy to nab a handful more life birds and as wide a variety of warblers and vireos as I have ever seen in my life.

Confederation Park is located between 24 Ave. & 14 St. N.W. and 30 Ave. & 10 St. N.W.. and covers over 400 acres. It contains stream channel whose banks are covered with water willow, aspen, and a wide variety of small shrubs which are perfect for insects to roost on in the evening and overnight, and even more perfect for the vireos and warblers to hunt in the early morning light. As the insects warm and begin to fly, so do the warblers, allowing brief, and rarely satisfying views of each and every one of them. Another advantage to the park is that is is a fairly continuous green belt, which is the last major park before the Bow River Valley, and following the expanses of relatively poorly vegetated communities and grassed over parks, perfect for warblers to end a night of nocturnal migration.

The attached map shows the three primary locations where the majority of the warbler activity is localized, but since they’re birds, and they do have the ability to fly, just about anywhere in the park can be a hot spot. That said, about 75-80% of all the warblers, vireos, thrushes and the like that I have seen in this park have all been at one of these three locations.

Confederation Park

Confederation Park

One major advantage to birding this area in the fall, especially during warbler migration, are the huge number of other birders around, some of which are incredibly experienced and know their warbler IDs pretty much spot on every single time. I’ve learned a lot just by tagging along with some of them on some of the more productive days!

One of the most amazing things I noted this year, while keeping track of both my own sightings and those of others, is that it appeared that just about every species that breeds in the boreal forests of Alberta, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon were found on their way through at this magical place.

Here are just a few of the warblers, vireos and sparrows that I’ve managed to find here at Confederation Park in the past few years.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - September 11, 2011 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/250sec., ƒ/8, ISO 1250

Yellow-rumped Warbler – September 11, 2011
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/250sec., ƒ/8, ISO 1250

 

White-crowned Sparrow - September 15, 2012 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/500sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

White-crowned Sparrow – September 15, 2012
Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/500sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

Ruby-crowned Kinglet – September 15, 2012
Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/500sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

Lincoln's Sparrow - August 12, 2012 Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/180sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

Lincoln’s Sparrow – August 12, 2012
Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/180sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

Blue-headed Vireo - August 29, 2013 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 250

Blue-headed Vireo – August 29, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 250

Black-and-White Warblers - August 29, 2013 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1000

Black-and-White Warblers – August 29, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/800sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 1000

Northern Waterthrush - August 12, 2012 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/400sec., ƒ/8, ISO 1600

Northern Waterthrush – August 12, 2012
Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/400sec., ƒ/8, ISO 1600

Wilson's Warbler - August 29, 2013 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 640

Wilson’s Warbler – August 29, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 640

Warbling Vireo - August 21, 2013 Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 250

Warbling Vireo – August 21, 2013
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 250

American Redstart Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/640sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

American Redstart
Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

 

And of course, anywhere you find small songbirds, there’s always someone looking for a quick meal.

Cooper's Hawk - August 12, 2012 Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/250sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800

Cooper’s Hawk – August 12, 2012
Pentax K-30 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/250sec., ƒ/8, ISO 800