A Few Good Routes need a Few Good Birders!

Posted By Bob Lefebvre

The Calgary May Species Count is next Weekend, Saturday May 27 and Sunday May 28. There are a few routes still uncovered this year. You have a choice of several small city areas or some larger rural routes. You can do the count either day. Simply cover the area as well as you can, while recording all species of birds you can identify, and the numbers of each. While eBird is the preferred way to do this, you will still be able to participate and submit your observations for the count if you don’t use eBird.

The count organizer, Andrew Hart, will be able to give you more details on each route and on the procedure for the count. If you are interested, contact Andrew by email at andrewhartch@icloud.com, or by phone at (403) 608-8918.

City Routes Available:

Confluence Park. This is the area along the two branches of Nose Creek just north of Beddington Trail and west of Deerfoot Trail. There are paved paths throughout and it is a great area for birds.

Nose Hill North. This part of Nose Hill has never been covered so if you know the area, you can really contribute.

Twelve-Mile Coulee. A really nice area on the eastern side of Tuscany in the far NW.

Paskapoo Slopes. A significant wild area of the city near Canada Olympic Park. It has many hills and ridges and can be tough walking.

Nose Creek Valley. Another area along Nose Creek.

St. Patrick’s Island and Princes Island. Two adjacent parks in the downtown on the Bow River. I know many people have been attending all the birding walks on St. Patrick’s Island, so one of you should be able to cover this!

I spend one of the two count days doing a large rural route, and the other day going to a few small city areas. If someone wants some nice city routes or is familar with the areas, I would give them up so I could help on a larger rural route. The city routes are:

Bridlewood Pond. A really nice set of two small ponds where you can get up close and personal with the birds. Located on the SE edge of Bridlewood, just north of 22X near Spruce Meadows.

Strathcona Ravines. Two adjacent ravines in Strathcona in the west end. Really nice area to walk.

Rural Routes – refer to the numbered map areas below:

Area 15 – Water Valley South. Quite a different habitat than you find in the city.

Area 18 – Kananaskis – Mount Lorette. This is the spot where the Golden Eagle count is conducted.

19b – SW of Cochrane. Not too far out of the city.

30 – Didsbury East Bluebird Trail. The far northeast edge of the circle.

32 – Strathmore North. The eastern edge of the circle.

37 – Acme/Carbon. A large rural area, also in the northeast near the Didsbury area.

We want to cover the count circle as completely as possible. Please contact Andrew if you have any interest in this count, or if you may be interested in future years.