Tag Archive | lectures

Calendar – October 2018

Sep30

Events & Lectures of interest to Calgary birders.

Canal

Birds on the irrigation canal, SE Calgary, October 2011. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Nature Calgary Field Trips: Various dates and times. See this page. Some trips require registering in advance.

Wednesday October 3, 7:30 pm, Cardel Theatre. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group presentation. Backyard Birding by Ken Orich. Ken will talk about backyard birding and specifically how to design and maintain your yard to be a haven for wild birds. Free for Nature Calgary members (bring your card) and $5 for non-members, payable at the door.

Saturday October 6. Global Big Day. Count birds with eBird.

Monday October 15, 7-8 pm. Dr. David Bird, Watching Birds Naked. Presentation and book signing at the Wild Bird Store. $20 to register; information and location here.

Wednesday October 17, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Speaker Series. Can Drones Help Save Our Bird Populations? by Dr. David Bird. Free for Nature Calgary members (bring your card) and $5 for non-members, payable at the door.

Thursday November 1, 6 pm. Birds & Beers social, with a presentation by Dave Russum, beginning at about 7:15, on his Prairie Walks – two walks he led in SE Alberta and the Cypress hills in 2018, and his plans for 2019. Free.

Saturday November 3, 1 pm. Alberta Institute For Wildlife Conservation. Winter Hunters. Learn about winter predatory birds and animals, followed by a tour of the facility. $15.

 

Birds & Beers, September 13, 2018

Sep5

The September Birds & Beers meeting will be held next Thursday, September 13. We will meet in the big room at the Horton Road Legion, where Phil Cram will give a presentation.

American Redstart

American Redstart by Tony LePrieur.

We start at 6 pm as usual, and the presentation will be after 7 pm. Phil Cram has organized the Christmas Bird Count for many years, and his talk will include personal experiences about the counts, as well as a discussion of long-term trends in bird populations in Calgary.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285

9202 Horton Road SW

Thursday September 13, 2018, 6:00-9:00 pm

Everyone is welcome to come to this free event. Arrive by 6 pm if you want to have food or drinks before the presentation, and chat with your fellow birders.

Here is an excerpt from a Calgary Herald article about Phil by Tyee Bridge (“Birdwatching Isn’t Just for the Experts,” Calgary Herald, December 12, 2014):

“Phil Cram worked in the oil industry and has been recording a life-list of birds since he retired 16 years ago. His path was confirmed when he went on a Carburn Park bird count with legendary Calgary naturalist Gus Yaki in 2000—and Yaki pointed out a saw-whet owl perched in the poplars at head-level.  “I’ve seen only probably half a dozen saw-whets in my life, and that was the first,” said Cram. ”It was a pivotal moment in a pivotal year. After that I started making birding a principal activity.” Now he travels in order to spot species: in 2012 Cram and three friends undertook what he calls “Fur and Feathers 500,” a trip criss-crossing Canada to see 500 species of animals. Pack ice in Nunavut’s Repulse Bay kept them from bagging a narwhal sighting, but they did see a polar bear. By year’s end they reached a total of 507 species, 431 of them birds, including a “very rare” rustic bunting in Haida Gwaii.  Among other things Cram is the compiler of the Christmas Bird Count, a holiday tradition among Calgarians since 1952.”

Calendar – September 2018

Sep1

Events & Lectures of interest to Calgary birders.

Wilson's Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler. Photo by Tony LePrieur

Nature Calgary Field Trips: Various dates and times. See this page. Some trips require registering in advance.

Monday September 3. Friends of Fish Creek 14-week fall birding course begins. Sign up here to attend field trips once or twice per week. Outings offered six days per week. Youths aged 16 or younger can do the whole course for only $5 if accompanied by a registered adult.

Wednesday September 5, 7:30 pm, Cardel Theatre. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group presentation. Photographer Marcy Stader will speak on local birds.

September 5-11. Global Shorebird Count. Register here to count shorebirds in this time period around World Shorebird Day on September 6.

Thursday September 13, 6 pm. Birds & Beers. Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. After 7 pm Phil Cram will give a presentation on long-term trends in bird populations in the Calgary Christmas Bird Count, which he has organized for many years.

Thursday September 27, 7 pm. Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. Flights of Fancy – Peter Sherrington will speak on the topic of eagle migration. Alberta Wilderness Association, 455-12 Street NW. $35 to register. See this page to register and for more information.

Upcoming:

Monday October 15, 7-8 pm. Dr. David Bird, Watching Birds Naked. Presentation and book signing at the Wild Bird Store. $20 to register; information and location here.

Calendar – June 2017

Jun1

Events & Lectures of interest to Calgary birders.

Hooded Mergansers, Exshaw, May 2, 2017. Photo by Michael Kim.

Nature Calgary Field Trips: Various dates and times. See this page. Some trips require registering in advance.

Thursday June 8, 7 pm. Alberta Wilderness Association. Living With Wildlife Town Hall.

Saturday June 24, 6 am to 11:30 pm. Canada 150 BioBlitz in the Weaselhead. Volunteers needed for birding walks at 6 am and 8:30 am. Events continue through the day.

Calendar – May 2017

Apr28

Events & Lectures of interest to Calgary birders.

Sora, Valleyview Park Pond, Calgary, 2008. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Nature Calgary Field Trips: Various dates and times. See this page.

Tuesday May 9, 7 pm. Alberta Wilderness Association: Kevin Van Tighem – Our Place: Changing the Nature of Alberta.

Wednesday May 10, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group: Gerald Romanchuk, Chasing 300.

Sunday May 14, 11 am. Calgary Parks and Recreation: International Migratory Bird Day at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

Tuesday May 16, 7 pm. Alberta Wilderness Association: Independent Study Projects by U of C Students. Alyssa Thompson on Ecologly of Grassland Springs, and Brendan Hart on How Old Is the Bow River?

Tuesday May 16, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Speaker Series: Andrew Hart, Nature Calgary at Waterton Park.

Thursday May 18, 7 pm. Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Speaker’s Series: Beavers: Nature’s Engineers.

Friday May 26, 6 pm. Birds & Beers, a casual social get-together for birders. Everyone welcome. Information here.

Saturday and Sunday, May 27-28. Calgary May Species Count. To take part in this annual bird count, see this page to sign up.

Sunday May 28, 1 pm. Alberta Institute For Wildlife Conservation: Baby Boom – a talk, and tour of the facility.

Calendar – April 2017

Apr7

Events & Lectures of interest to Calgary birders.

Nature Calgary Field Trips: Various dates and times. See this page.

Wednesday April 12, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group: Dan Arndt, Pelagic Birding. Information here.

Tuesday April 18, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Speaker Series: Bev Kissinger, More Than Birds in Texas. Information here.

Thursday April 20, 7 pm. Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park: Lori Beattie, Discover Calgary’s Best Walks. Information here.

Saturday April 22, 8:30 am. Alberta Wilderness Association annual Climb For Wilderness. Raise money and increase public awareness of wilderness and wildlife in Alberta. Information here.

Saturday April 22, 10 am to 3 pm. Friends of Fish Creek: Everyone Belongs Outside – Inclusion Showcase. Information here.

Friday April 28, 6 – 9 pm. Birds & Beers, a casual Social get-together for birders. Everyone welcome. Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. Information here.

Calendar – March 2017

Mar6

March. Registration is now open for the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society Spring Birding Course. The twelve-week course starts on April 3. See this page to register.

Tuesday March 7, 7 pm. Alberta Wilderness Association. Sean Nichols, Russia’s Boreal Wilderness: 10,000 km by Bicycle. Information and tickets here.

Wednesday March 8, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group: Greg Wagner, How To Manage an Important Bird Area – My Experiences at Frank Lake. Information here.

Saturday March 11. Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society: Wayne’s Wonderful Winter Walk. Information and tickets here.

Saturday March 11. Cochrane Ecological Institute. Finding Common Ground: the 2017 Symposium on Wilderness, Wildlife and Human Interaction. Speakers and topics; Registration here.

Tuesday March 21. 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Speaker Series: Val Scholefield, The Natural Wonders of Madagascar. Information here.

Sunday March 26, 1 pm. Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation. Wonderful Waterfowl. A talk, and a tour of the facility. Information and tickets.

Friday March 31, 6 pm. Birds & Beers, a social get-together for birders. Information here.

Calendar – February 2017

Jan30

Thursday February 2, 7 pm. Alberta Wilderness Association. Mount St. Helens: A Story of Recovery, by Dr. Evelyn Merril. Information and tickets here.

Wednesday February 8, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group: The Ins and Outs of eBird, by Mike Harrison. Information here.

Friday February 17, 6 pm. Birds & Beers, a social get-together for birders. Information here.

Friday February 17 to Monday February 20. Annual Great Backyard Bird Count. Count birds to contribute to this database of winter birds. Record your sightings on eBird or get started here.

Tuesday February 21. 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Speaker Series: From Ice to Salt and Back Again, by Dr. John Harper. Information here.

Thursday February 23, 7 pm. Friends of Fish Creek Speaker Series: Beaches, Birds, and the Boreal Forest: Lesser Slave Lake Provincial Park, by Ceiridwen Robbins. Information here.

Tuesday February 28, 7 pm. U of C Events: Kananaskis Conservation Officers, Guardians of Alberta Parks, by Donna Schley. Information here.

Tuesday February 28. Last day of the winter birding season (December through February). For this year’s Alberta Winter Bird List, see this page.

 

Calendar – January 2017

Jan11

Monday January 9. Beginning of the 12-week Winter session of the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society birding course. Information and registration on this page.

Wednesday January 11, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Bird Study Group Speaker Series: Christmas Bird Count Results. Phil Cram and others will present the results of local Christmas Bird Counts in the Calgary region. Information here.

Tuesday January 17, 7:30 pm. Nature Calgary Speaker Series: The Nature of Our Unseen Universe by Wesley Ernst. Information here.

Friday January 20, 6 pm. Birds & Beers. A social get-together for birders. Information here.

Wednesday January 25, Friends of Fish Creek Annual General Meeting (members only). Registration and information here.

Thursday January 26, 7 pm. Fish Creek Speaker Series: Growing Up In Alberta’s Eastern Parks, by Alison Cole. Information Here.

If you know of any upcoming local talks or events of interest to birders, please email us.