Tag Archive | Nature Presentation

Birds & Beers, Friday February 10, 2023

Feb4

The next Calgary Birds & Beers meeting will be this coming Friday at the the Horton Road Legion. There will be a presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt about their 2022 trip to Elk Island and Cold Lake parks.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch #285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday February 10, 2023, 6:00-9:00 pm

We start at 6 pm, and there will be time for socializing, eating, and drinking before the presentation begins after 7 pm. Here are the details of the talk.

Sunset at Elk Island Park

Gas Yaki Walk 2022: A camping trip to Elk Island National Park and Cold
Lake Provincial Park by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt


In 2017 a group of us hiked across Southern Alberta with our friend and outstanding naturalist,
Gus Yaki. Since that time some of the group, and anyone else who was interested, has been
conducting an annual trip involving exploring some of the beautiful scenery and wildlife in
Alberta and Saskatachewan. In 2022 we traveled north to visit Elk Island National Park and
Cold Lake Provincial Park. Elk Island, only about 35 kilometres east of Edmonton, is a
wonderful location for seeing wildlife and doing some hiking. Cold Lake, about 250 kilometres
north east of Elk Island, is one of the premiere places in Alberta to witness the spring migration
of warblers.

_______________________________

Everyone is welcome to attend. See you there!

Birds & Beers Schedule For 2023

Dec29

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

We now have the Birds & Beers social events scheduled for the first half of 2023. All the meetings will be held on the second Friday of each month, from 6 to 9 pm, at the Horton Road Legion (9202 Horton Road SW). Everyone is welconme to attend! We will try to have a presentation at each event. The January meeting, on Friday January 13th, will feature Andrew Hart and Lara Fitpatrick speaking about the Calgary May Species Count, with results from 2022 and a look ahead to the 2023 count.

Eastern Kingbird
An Eastern Kingbird in a field of Shooting Stars in the Longview area, on the 2022 May Species Count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

I will post more details on each meeting and each presentation a week or two before the event. Below is the schedule (which is also always posted on the right-hand sidebar of the blog). Remember, the second Friday of each month!

January 13 – May Species Count presentation.

February 10

March 10

April 14

May 12

June 9

We take a break from Birds & Beers in July and August, then resume for the fall season, September to November. I will post that schedule once the dates are booked. See you in January!

Birds & Beers Cancelled, November 2022

Nov1

Unfortunately the Birds & Beers meeting that was scheduled for November 11th has been cancelled. There is an issue with staffing at the venue. We have been unable to re-schedule this month, and we don’t meet in December due to everyone being busy with Christmas Bird Counts and other Christmas events. Therefore, our next meeting will be in January 2023. We have several presentations lined up for the new year already. I will post the schedule for January to June as soon as we have the dates booked.

Eurasian Collared-Dove
Eurasian Collared-Doves looking sad about the cancellation. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Sorry about this, and see you in January!

Birds & Beers, Friday October 14, 2022

Oct11

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

Green-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal

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 May 13, 2022

May10

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

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday May 13, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

After 7 pm, there will be a presentation by the award-winning photographer Mark Garbutt, featuring birds of the world.

Green-winged Macaws. Photo by Mark Garbutt

Growing up in Western Quebec, Mark developed an interest in birding and wildlife at a very young age, and that passion has continued throughout his life.  While many years of his adult life were spent in Alberta, he has also lived in Texas, Alaska, and the UK. This further fuelled his passion for nature and led Mark to a 20+ year career in leading photography trips for groups to Alaska, Brazil, Patagonia, the Galapagos, many countries in Africa, and India.  In addition to leading trips, he and his wife are always looking for new nature destinations to explore, from the Arctic to the Amazon, South America, Europe and beyond.  Mark has received many recognitions for his photography including Natures Best Wildlife Photography Award in North America and runner up in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year.  He currently lives outside Okotoks and can often be found at Frank Lake.

Everyone is welcome. The meeting begins at 6 pm, with the presentation to begin at about 7:15. Come early and have a beer, socialize, and have something to eat. You are welcome to come at 7 just for the presentation if you prefer. We will be meeting in the back room of the Legion.

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.

Birds & Beers Goes Ahead Friday March 11th

Mar9

Finally, the Calgary Birds & Beers meetings will resume, starting this Friday March 11th.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday March 11, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Bob and Dianne Leonhardt will give a presentation on A Visit to Grasslands National Park. See this previous post for details.

Please note that vaccine passports are no longer required or checked, and masks are optional.

Birds & Beers Delayed Until March 11

Feb2

We have had to postpone the return of Birds & Beers once again, to Friday March 11. The programme remains the same:

Covid Protocols will be in place, but anyone who has a vaccine passport is welcome. If anything changes between now and then, I will post an update.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday March 11, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

We will be meeting in the smaller back rooms since the ballroom is not available. There will ba a very small charge to attend since we now have to pay for the rooms. Food and drinks are available at a reasonable cost.

Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew. Photo by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt.

The meeting begins at 6 pm. You may come early if you want to eat before most of the people arrive. At about 7 pm, a special presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt will begin.

A Visit to Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park in South-western Saskatchewan is Canada’s only national park dedicated to the presentation and protection of the Prairie Grasslands Natural Region. It is one of North America’s best parcels of mixed grass prairie habitat. In late May of 2021 we visited the Park to explore and experience the beautiful scenery, birds and other wildlife of the region. We encountered about 100 species of birds, some of which we will show you in this presentation. Bob and Dianne Leonhardt

The Return of Birds & Beers

Jan18

Depending on how things go with Covid, we plan to finally resume the Birds & Beers social events in February! Covid Protocols will be in place, but anyone who has a vaccine passport is welcome. If anything changes between now and then, I will post an update.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday February 11, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

We will be meeting in the smaller back rooms since the ballroom is not available. There will ba a very small charge to attend since we now have to pay for the rooms. Food and drinks are available at a reasonable cost.

Long-billed Curlew
Long-billed Curlew. Photo by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt.

The meeting begins at 6 pm. You may come early if you want to eat before most of the people arrive. At about 7 pm, a special presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt will begin.

A Visit to Grasslands National Park

Grasslands National Park in South-western Saskatchewan is Canada’s only national park dedicated to the presentation and protection of the Prairie Grasslands Natural Region. It is one of North America’s best parcels of mixed grass prairie habitat. In late May of 2021 we visited the Park to explore and experience the beautiful scenery, birds and other wildlife of the region. We encountered about 100 species of birds, some of which we will show you in this presentation. Bob and Dianne Leonhardt

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we can meet in February!

Nature Calgary Bird Study Group – Lyn Hancock

Sep7

Posted By Bob Lefebvre

The 2021-2022 Bird Study Group Speaker Series begins on Wednesday September 8th with a special presentation by Lyn Hancock, honouring Gus Yaki. This will be a virtual presentation using Zoom, and you have to be a Nature Calgary member to link to it.

(Nature Calgary memberships are available on their website here. If you already are a member, you should have received an email with the Zoom invitation.)

Almost forty years ago, Lyn Hancock took part in a 30,000-mile trip around North America led by Gus Yaki, the renowned naturalist who passed away just over a year ago. Gus lived in Calgary for the last twenty-seven years of his life, and he was an inspiration to many local birders.

Gus Yaki
Gus Yaki. Photo by Dan Arndt.

The trip in 1983 followed the route taken by Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher thirty years prior, in 1953. Lyn documented the trip in her book Looking For the Wild.

Looking For the Wild

From Nature Calgary:

Lyn’s special interest was the exciting climax of the trip on the remote Pribilof Islands in Alaska where she had close encounters with fur seals, murres and puffins, species she had raised as orphans in British Columbia in the 1960s and led to her interest in wildlife.

Lyn is the author of 20 books about her experiences with wildlife including THERE’S A SEAL IN MY SLEEPING BAG, LOVE AFFAIR WITH A COUGAR, TABASCO THE SAUCY RACCOON and THE RING: MEMORIES OF A METIS GRANDMOTHER, the pioneer love story of Sam Livingston and Jane Howse, the first settlers in Calgary.

The meeting begins at 7:30 pm and the Zoom link will open at 7:15.

Details of future Bird Study Group meetings and other Nature Calgary events and field trips can be found here.

Note: the books below have all been spoken for. Thanks for your interest. – Bob

If you live in Calgary and would like a copy of Lyn Hancock’s book Looking For the Wild, I have four copies to give away. They are all signed by Gus, and one is also signed by Lyn. I will give them to the first four people who respond and who agree to make a donation to either The Nature Conservancy of Canada or Birds Canada in whatever amount they wish. (These were two organizations that Gus supported.) The books are used, and one is a former library copy, but they are in good shape. Just email me at birdscalgary[at]gmail.com and we can make arrangements to get the book to you.