Tag Archive | Frank Lake

Birds & Beers, Friday October 14, 2022

The next Birds & Beers event is this Friday, October 14th. Birds & Beers is a social get-together for birders at which you can meet and connect with others, have a meal and a drink, and enjoy a short presentation of interest to local birders.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday October 14, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Everyone is welcome to attend. Unfortunately we had a late cancellation by our scheduled presenter, but we hope to have an update from Greg Wagner on the proposed Frank Lake solar power project. Greg may not be able to make it, but in that case we will still have some information from him on the status of the project, how to get more information on it, and how you can get involved.

Come out and meet your fellow birders!

Birds & Beers, Friday April 8, 2022

Apr6

The next Calgary Birds & Beers meeting will take place this Friday.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday April 8, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Greg Wagner will present a talk on “Will the Foothills Solar Project Impact Bird Populations At Frank Lake?” Greg manages the Frank Lake Important Bird Area and is the expert on the birds of Frank Lake and area. There is a proposal to build a large solar array immediately adjacent to the lake.

White-faced Ibis. These birds are relatively recent additions to the breeding birds of Frank Lake. Photo by Tony LePrieur

Everyone is welcome. The meeting begins at 6 pm, with the presentation to begin at about 7:15.

For more information on Frank Lake, see this page.

Spring Birds at Frank Lake and Carburn Park

May19

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Here are some birds that Tony LePrieur photographed at Frank Lake on April 27. All of these species can still be found there throughout the breeding season, along with dozens more. All photos by Tony LePrieur.

American Avocet, Frank Lake, April 27, 2019.

American Coot, Frank Lake, April 27, 2019.

Black-necked Stilt, Frank Lake, April 27, 2019.

The next day, after an overnight snowstorm in Calgary, there were quite a few migrating songbirds at Carburn Park. Tony was able to get some great shots of Yellow-rumped Warblers.

These are the Myrtle subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler. The Audubon’s subspecies has a yellow throat and lacks the dark mask. Most of the ones we see here are Myrtles heading for the boreal forest. Audubons breed farther west, but we do see both on migration.

There are still flocks of Yellow-rumps moving through the city now. Keep an eye out in parks and even in your yard!

Shorebirds at Frank Lake

Sep10

Game bird hunting season has begun in most areas around Calgary, so fewer birders will be heading to Frank Lake. Tony LePrieur made a final trip there on September 2 and took these amazing water-level photos.

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover, Frank Lake, September 2, 2018. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Semipalmated Plover

Semipalmated Plover, Frank Lake, September 2, 2018. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper, Frank Lake, September 2, 2018. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Baird's Sandpiper

Baird’s Sandpiper, Frank Lake, September 2, 2018. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

You can see more of Tony LePrieur’s photos on his Flickr page at this link.

Evenings at Frank Lake

Jun16

Tony LePrieur has spent a few evenings at Frank Lake recently and he took these wonderful photos.

White-faced Ibis

White-faced Ibis.

American Avocet

American Avocet.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalaropes.

Willet

Marbled Godwit.

Willet

Willet.

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope.

Killdeer

Killdeer.

California Gull

California Gull with egg.

Black-bellied Plover

American Golden-Plover. (Originally identified as a Black-bellied Plover. Misidentifications are the fault of the poster, in this case Bob Lefebvre, not the photographer.)

Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope.

Willet

Willet.

Willet

Willet.

Black-bellied Plover

Tony in action, with Wilson’s Phalaropes. Frank Lake, May 27, 2018.

You can see more of Tony’s photos on his Flickr page at this link.

Summer Birds by Tony LePrieur

Aug28

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

We’re back! After a really long summer hiatus, it’s time to get posting again. I have a lot of great photos that readers have sent in, and we’ll start with some of Tony LePrieur’s excellent photos of summer birds. Be sure to check back on Friday for his photos of a wide variety of mammals.

First I wanted to mention that although it may seem like a quiet time of year, especially with the steady hot weather we have had, the past couple of weeks have been pretty good for fall warblers and other migrants. Confederation Park in the NW and several locations in the river valleys (notably Mallard Point in Fish Creek Park and Carburn Park in the SE) have had some good birds. Black-and-white, Townsend’s, Magnolia, Canada, Blackburnian, Mourning and Cape May Warblers have all been reported, among others. A Lark Sparrow has been seen at Mallard Point.

I also wanted to mention that a Peregrine Falcon has been seen perched on the Peter Lougheed Hospital in NE Calgary on two occasions by reader R. Michael Fisher, on August 12 and 20. It may be worth checking for it if you’re in the area.

And now for Tony’s photos.

Cedar Waxwing, Fish Creek Park, June 18, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Eastern Kingbird, Fish Creek Park, June 18, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Spotted Sandpiper, Fish Creek Park, June 18, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Great Gray Owl, Priddis area, June 18, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Calliope Hummingbird, Weaselhead. June 18, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Sora, Bridlewood Wetlands, June 25, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Fish Creek Park, June 25, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Wood Duck female with chicks, Carburn Park, June 25, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Yellow Warbler, Carburn Park, June 25, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Frank Lake, June 25, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Wilson’s Phalarope, Frank Lake, June 25, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Yellow Warbler, Fish Creek Park, July 3, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

Black-crowned Night-Heron, Fish Creek Park, July 3, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

To see more of Tony’s photos, go to his Flickr page.

Nature Calgary’s Big Week of Birding

Jun1

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

For many years Nature Calgary has held a Big Day on the Victoria Day holiday – an attempt to find as many species as possible in one day, in this case all of them inside the Calgary city limits (we had 116 species this year). During the 2015 Calgary Birding Competition we decided to add a Big Day in the Calgary Region–the 80-km diameter circle centred in Calgary. We did the trip again last year. In both cases we saw lots of good birds (151 species in 2015, and 132 in 2016) but it is a long day with quite a few dead stretches of driving.

Great Gray Owl, one of two seen on our 80-km Circle Big Day in 2016. Horse Creek Road, June 18, 2016. Photo by Saravana Moorthy.

For this year, we decided to try something new: A Big Week instead of a Big Day in the 80-km circle. There will be a series of field trips offered from June 4 to 10, and we will try to reach a cumulative total of 175 species on these trips.

Most of the trips will be led by myself, Andrew Hart, and Rose Painter. We will kick it off with a day-long trip to the northwest corner of the circle, around Water Valley, on Sunday June 4. The final day will feature another long trip to the south and southwest. Both of these trips require registration because car-pooling will be required and spaces will be limited.

There will also be several field trips offered during the week, including trips inside the city to the Weaselhead and Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. A couple of other trips will be Twitch ‘n’ Tours, our term for for a field trip with a known starting point but for which the destinations are not decided until the last minute, so that we can chase rare birds or ones we have not been able to find so far.

If you want to see how many species you can find in the Calgary region in one week in June, join us for some or all of these outings. See the Nature Calgary field trip page for details and to register.

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.

Sunday Showcase: Summer in Alberta, Part 2

Aug21

Tony LePrieur took these photos on the weekend of July 23-24, 2016. The Stilts were at Frank Lake; the rest in Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary.

Black-necked Stilt chick.

Black-necked Stilts are a relatively new arrival in Alberta. They were first observed to breed in Canada in 1977, and are now found in several provinces. They breed as far north as the Edmonton area now. We are lucky to be able to see them breeding at many areas in the region, including at Frank Lake and Weed Lake.

Black-necked Stilt adult.

House Wren.

This looks like a young LeConte’s Sparrow.

And some mammals: North American Beaver…

… and White-tailed Deer fawn.

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.