Tag Archive | Fish Creek Park

Pileated Woodpeckers

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The spectacular crow-sized Pileated Woodpecker is always a treat to see, and they are not very shy birds, so occasionally you can get great close-up looks at them. They are not common in Calgary. Look for them in three areas: Around the Glenmore Reservoir, including the Weaselhead, and upstream on the Elbow River through Griffith Woods Park; The west end of Fish Creek Park; The east end of Fish Creek Park on the Bow River, and north on the river as far as Carburn Park. They are year-round residents here, so look for them any time you are out in these parks. If you live near these areas you may also get them coming to suet or nut feeders occasionally.

All photos by Tony LePrieur.

Pileated Woodpecker (male), Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, December 4, 2016.

In the above photo you can see the distinctive rectangular hole that these birds make when feeding. They eat Carpenter Ants, which often infest large trees and deadfall. If you see a fresh hole like this, often near the base of a large tree, you will know you are in a Pileated Woodpecker’s territory.

Female Pileated Woodpecker, Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Park, December 4, 2016.

The female above (likely the mate of the male in the first photo) is distinguished from the male by the black stripe from the bill to the throat, which is red in males. In addition, the red crest does not extend all the way to the front of the head on the female as it does on the male.

The nest hole of a Pileated Woodpecker is a large oval, usually high in a dead tree, or occasionally in a power pole (as seen in Griffith Woods Park). The male will make a new nest hole each year.

Below are more of Tony’s photos of Pileated Woodpeckers in Calgary.

Pileated Woodpecker (female), Fish Creek Park, January 31, 2016.

Pileated Woodpecker (male), Fish Creek Park, November 26, 2015.

Pileated Woodpecker (male), Fish Creek Park, October 25, 2015.

For more photos of Pileated Woodpeckers see these posts.

You can see more of Tony LePrieur’s photos on his Flickr Page here.

Sunday Showcase: Swan and Woodpecker

Nov27

Photographs by Tony LePrieur.

Young Tundra Swan at Carburn Park, November 13, 2016.

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The same swan at Carburn Park, November 13, 2016.

American Three-toed Woodpecker photographed at Bebo Grove, Fish Creek Provincial Park, November 13, 2016.

August Birds of Calgary and Frank Lake

Sep24

Here are the last of Tony LePrieur’s summer photos from the Calgary area for this year.

Great Horned Owls, Fish Creek Park, August 12, 2016.

Black-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile), Fish Creek Park, August 12, 2016.

American Beaver, Fish Creek Park, August 12, 2016.

The remainder of the photos below were taken on the weekend of August 28, 2016, in Carburn Park and at Frank Lake.

Cedar Waxwings (juveniles).

Downy Woodpecker.

Western Grebes.

Western Grebe.

Solitary Sandpiper.

Baird’s Sandpiper.

American Avocet.

Lesser Yellowlegs.

Great Blue Fisher

Aug20

Judi Willis took these photos of a Great Blue Heron fishing in the Stormwater pond in Votier’s Flats, Fish Creek Park, in early August.

Angry Heron

A determined-looking heron looking for food.

Heron with Fish

Success! A good-sized meal.

Does anyone know what species the fish is? The down-turned mouth suggests a sucker or other bottom-feeder.

Bonus photo: an American White Pelican landing on the water:

Pelicn landing edited

Sunday Showcase: Fish Creek and Carburn Parks

Aug7

Some birds and Mammals photographed in Fish Creek Provincial Park and Carburn Park on the weekend of July 2, by Tony LePrieur.

Yellow Warbler (male).

Great Blue Heron.

Gray Catbird.

Franklin’s Gull.

Ruddy duck (male).

Another male Yellow Warbler.

Mule Deer fawns.

Sunday Showcase: Birds of Late Spring

Jun26

Here are some photos taken by Tony LePrieur in the Calgary region in mid-June. Many young birds have now fledged. The photos were taken in Fish Creek Park and at Frank lake.

American Avocet.

American Avocets with chick.

American Avocet.

American Avocet chick.

Great Horned Owl (juvenile).

White-faced Ibis.

Swainson’s Hawk with Meadow Vole.

Eastern Kingbird.

Western Kingbird.

Clay-colored Sparrow.

House Wren.

Least Flycatcher.

Cedar Waxwing.

Warbling Vireo.

American Coot with chick.

Do you have bird photos you’d like to share? Send them to our email address and we may post them.

Furry Friday: Tony’s Mammals

Apr29

A selection of mammals seen in and around Calgary in the last few months.

All photos by Tony LePrieur.

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Coyote pair, Weaselhead, October 18, 2015.

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Porcupine, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, October 25, 2015.

White-tailed Deer, Carburn Park, January 31, 2016.

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White-tailed Jackrabbit, Queen’s Park Cemetery, January 31, 2016.

Coyote, Weaselhead, January 31, 2016.

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Meadow Vole, Weaselhead, February 27, 2016.

Meadow Vole, Weaselhead, February 7, 2016.

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American Mink, Fish Creek Park, November 16, 2015.

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Long-tailed Weasel, Fish Creek Park, November 15, 2015.

Weasel Nov 15 2

Long-tailed Weasel, Fish Creek Park, November 15, 2015.

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Long-tailed Weasel, Fish Creek Park, November 16, 2015.

And finally, a Feral Rabbit at Frank Lake, April 10, 2016.

Sunday Showcase: Residents, Winter Visitors, and Overwintering Birds

Feb7

Tony LePrieur photographed these birds on January 30 and 31, 2016.

Pileated Woodpecker (female), a year-round resident of Fish Creek Park.

Downy Woodpecker (male), a resident of Carburn Park.

White-winged Crossbill (female or immature), an annual winter visitor to Queen’s Park Cemetery.

White-winged Crossbill (male), Queen’s Park Cemetery.

White-winged Crossbill (female or immature), Queen’s Park Cemetery.

Varied Thrush (male), an occasionally overwintering bird, Fish Creek Park.

Varied Thrush (male), Fish Creek Park.

Fish Creek Park: HQ, Boat Launch, & Mallard Point

Oct13

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

For week three and week four of the Friends of Fish Creek fall birding course, we explored three areas in the east end of the park along the bow river: The Park Headquarters and the Boat Launch/Sikome Lake area on September 20, and the Mallard Point region on September 27. Once again Dan Arndt was away so I filled in for him for the first walk, but a back injury caused me to miss the Mallard Point walk. George Best and Rose Painter attended both walks as leaders, and once again George provided the photos.

hq and Sikome map

Our route on September 20. We drove between the the HQ and the Boat Launch.

Beginning at the headquarters, we looked unsuccessfully for the resident Great Horned Owls in the double row of spruce trees by the parking lot. They roost here in the daytime in the winter, but it may be too early for that. We did see a flock of American Goldfinches and quite a few Pine Siskins in the spruces farther west. All photos by George Best.

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch.

Pine Siskin

Pine Siskin. There are quite a few of these erratic birds in the city right now.

After driving over to the boat launch, we scanned the river. On a gravel bar to the north was a lone pelican with some Ring-billed Gulls.

American White Pelican

American White Pelican.

A little later in the walk, we were treated to a low flyover by a small flock of these enormous birds. This was the highlight of a quiet day.

American White Pelican in flight

American White Pelican in flight.

The woods near Sikome Lake were quiet (no owls seen here either) so we checked the ponds near the highway 22X bridge. Here we saw this pair of Horned Grebes.

Horned Grebes

Horned Grebes.

The following week, as I said, I wasn’t able to attend, but George was there twice, on Monday and the following Sunday, and he got some great photos.

Mallard point map 3

The Mallard Point area. The group explored a bit of the channel between Poplar Island and the parking lot, and crossed the Sue Higgins bridge and walked south along the east side of the Bow River.

Here are some photos from September 21: