Tag Archive | nature talks

Birds & Beers, Friday January 13, 2023

Next Friday will be the first Birds & Beers meeting of the new year. We meet at 6 pm at the Horton Road Legion. Everyone is welcome to come.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday January 13, 2023, 6:00-9:00 pm

Red-necked Grebe
Nesting Red-necked Grebes at the Bridlewood Wetland, Calgary, May Species Count 2021. Photo by Bob Lefebvre.

Aftere an hour or so of socializing, eating, and drinking, there will be a presentation by Andrew Hart and Lara Fitzpatrick on the Calgary May Species Count. They will present the history of the count and how it has evolved since its inception in 1976. They will discuss the areas that are covered, how the count is organized, and how and why they have migrated to eBird for data collection. Then the actual 2022 results will be shown, as well as a look ahead to how things may evolve for 2023.

Birds & Beers, Friday September 9, 2022

The fall season of Birds & Beers begins on Friday September 9th. 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 September 9, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Everyone is welcome. We begin at 6 pm and the presentation will start just after 7pm. This month, Caroline Lambert will speak about the Eagle Migration Monitoring project that has been ongoing in Kananaskis for 30 years:

Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle, Coyote Valley OSP, Santa Clara County, CA. Photo by Caroline Lambert

Learn about the eagle migration count in Kananaskis! This count is celebrating its 30th year as a citizen science project contributing to the knowledge of Golden Eagle migration and population dynamics. This talk will cover the history of the count, what it’s like to be out at the count, trends determined so far, and how the count fits with other raptor counts across the continent.

Learn how you can get involved in tracking the birds at this beautiful location in Kananaskis.

Mount Lorette
Mount Lorette. Photo by Caroline Lambert.

Birds & Beers, Friday June 10, 2022

The next Calgary Birds & Beers meeting will take place this Friday, June 10th. There will be a presentation about eBird by Gavin McKinnon.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Friday June 10, 2022, 6:00-9:00 pm

Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.

After 7 pm, Gavin McKinnon will give a presentation on “eBird: The Review Process and How to Make Better Checklists.” Gavin will discuss all of the features that eBird has to offer. He will give regular eBirders a better idea of how observations are reviewed, and will talk abut how to make your checklists more valuable.

This information should prove to be useful for all birders, whether they use eBird or not. Gavin will also allow lots of time for questions and answers.

eBird

Everyone is welcome; food and drinks are available. We meet in the back rooms at the Legion at 6 pm. If you can’t make it at 6, the presentation will be at about 7:15.

Wild Bird Store Speaker Series Begins March 16

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

The Wild Bird Store in SE Calgary not only offers bird feed and every other product for the backyard birder, but they also have a very good Speaker Series featuring many great presenters on a variety of topics of interest to local birders.

The talks will all be done using Zoom. There are six upcoming talks on the next six Wednesdays, starting tomorrow with Dan Arndt speaking on Alberta Owls. (Unfortunately Dan’s presentation is now sold out. Tickets to these events are limited.) Check out the remaining talks below, starting March 23. They are all excellent speakers. I am particularly interested to hear Andrew Barnes on how he established the first breeding colony of Purple Martins in Calgary in many decades!

Please Note: Even though these are virtual seminars, they limit the number of spaces available. This will allow adequate time for the Q&A portion of the presentation. All presentations are through “ZOOM” and they suggest you sign up early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite and are non-refundable. Click the Eventbrite link below each talk description to purchase tickets.
DANIEL ARNDT

Daniel is a wildlife biologist specializing in wild bird surveys and is a tour operator here in Calgary.

Speaker Series Topic: “How and where to find owls in Alberta”
Date: Wednesday March 16, 2022 Time: 6:00 PM Cost: $15.00 (+ fees & gst)Sold Out!
Daniel’s presentation will be on how and where to find owls in Alberta which will include the dos and don’ts of watching and photographing owls.
MYRNA PEARMAN

Retired biologist, passionate observer of nature, keen wildlife photographer and a nature columnist.

Speaker Series Topic: “Appreciating Bird Behaviour”
Date: Wednesday March 23, 2022 Time: 6:00 PM Cost: $15.00 (+ fees & gst)
Inspired by Jennifer Ackerman’s book, The Genius of Birds, Myrna will be giving a presentation that highlights some fascinating aspects of bird behaviour. Her talk will not only encourage a new appreciation for birds, but it also will help us better understand and marvel at the astonishing intelligence and abilities of our wild avian neighbours. She will focus on Alberta birds, especially the common species that grace our yards and gardens.
Eventbrite
JAY INGRAM

Former TV host of the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet and organizer & co-founder of Beakerhead. He is an engaging, provocative speaker who can address complex, scientific issues in non-technical terms.

Speaker Series Topic: “The First Bird”
Date: Wednesday March 30, 2022 Time: 6:00 PM Cost: $15.00 (+ fees & gst)
The fossil animal Archaeopteryx was first identified in the mid 1800s and still, despite competition from a horde of feathered dinosaurs, holds the title of “the first bird”. What does it tell us about the origins of bird flight? How well did it fly? Why have there been so many Archaeopteryx controversies?
Eventbrite
ANDREW BARNES

Purple Martins of Calgary

Speaker Series Topic: “Purple Martin Colony in Calgary”
Date: Wednesday April 6, 2022 Time: 6:00 PM Cost: $15.00 (+ fees & gst)
Andrew Barnes has successfully established a Purple Martin house behind his residence in New Brighton here in Calgary. He has put considerable research and effort to have the first successful PUMA colony in Calgary in 80 years and the most southerly one in Alberta.
Eventbrite
CHRIS FISHER

Best-selling co-author of popular field guide “Birds of Alberta”, filmmaker and television host shares inspiring storylines that connect audiences with skills that organizations value. Trained as a scientist and travelling the world as a lecturer, Chris explored and investigated universal strategies of success common to individuals, institutions and organizations.

Speaker Series Topic: “How wild birds have helped our mental health during the Pandemic”
Date: Wednesday April 13, 2022 Time: 6:00 PM Cost: $15.00 (+ fees & gst)
Chris delves into the popularity and importance wild birds have contributed to society’s mental health during these challenging times and will combine the topic with some local birding stories that have helped folks over the past two years.
Eventbrite

To keep informed about future events hosted by the Wild Bird Store, sign up to receive their monthly newsletter here.

2021 Calgary Christmas Bird Count Results

Here are the preliminary results of the 70th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count (CBC) which was held on December 19. Over 300 people participated this year – 136 field surveyors and 173 feeder watchers at 123 addresses. The current totals are 72 species (plus an additional two species seen during count week), and 75,917 individual birds.

(A previous version of this post had 326 field surveyors. That was an error, and the number has been corrected.)

Rough-legged Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk. Five were recorded on this count. Photo by Bob Lefebvre during the 2011 Calgary CBC.

These numbers are slightly higher than last year. The species total is higher than the long-term average of about 66. There are still some adjustments to be made to the numbers and the possibility of adding another species to the total.

For those interested in hearing all the details of this count, Matt Wallace will be speaking on the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group Zoom presentation on Wednesday January 12, along with the compilers of several of the other local CBC’s (and possibly even the Edmonton count!). Nature Calgary members should receive a link to this meeting by email. If you would like to become a Nature Calgary member, see this page.

Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll. Almost 300 were reported on the Calgary CBC, as well as two Hoary Redpolls. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Below is a more complete summary of the day, by Matt Wallace:

The 70th annual Calgary Christmas Bird Count took place on December 19. We had a highly successful year and I wanted to share the tentative numbers with you all.

Before jumping into the details I want to thank everyone who participated this year and acknowledge the outstanding efforts that were put in. The legacy and continuation of this count would not be possible without everyone’s contributions and appreciation for the natural world. Thank you to all of the participants and especially our section captains for accommodating the many new birders that joined in on the count. Thank you to TsuuT’ina Nation for allowing us the opportunity to visit your land on count day. I also want to give a special shout out to Lara Fitzpatrick and Bob Lefebvre for their superhuman coordination and data entry powers. They were both calm, cool, and enthusiastic about ensuring the collection of data and experience for participants was accessible and fun. Thank you to all!

Note: These are the tentative numbers (without adjustments) received on count day. 

Weather:

A relatively mild day for Calgary in December compared to previous years with temperatures in the -20s. Light winds (~10-15 km/hr) began in the afternoon.

DateMax Temp.Min Temp.
Dec 19 2021‑10.1 °C‑13.4 °C

Circle Sections and Participants

The Calgary Circle was divided into 38 sections this year. This is consistent with previous years as “subsections” were created for teams to survey within an official section of the circle. We now have an up-to-date digital map that includes all subsections. Participants were able to use the map in the field by saving it to their phone. This helped to ensure they were surveying within the circle boundaries and correct sections that they were assigned to. The Circle Section Map can be viewed here.

Participant numbers were strong with a total of 309 participants in total. There were a total of 123 Feeder Watcher residences with some households tag-teaming their yards throughout the day. On count day, a total of 136 people were in the field with many new birders joining the count for the first time. The number of field surveyors matches the average over the past 15 years (136). The field team hours were down from the record in 2020 (330) but we found more individual birds and more species than in 2020.

Number of ParticipantsTotalField SurveyorsFeeder Watchers
309136173
    
Total Counting Hours 615273342
    
Field Surveyor DetailsTotalWalkingDriving
       Counting Hours273203  69  
       Distance Traveled (km)14984611,036

Birds Summary

This year we used two methods to obtain bird data from field teams. Participants could share their eBird checklist with an account we created specific for the CBC. Effort data, mammal sightings, and bird data (not submitted to eBird) were submitted by each section captain using the template.

All eBird checklists (98) shared during count day can be viewed in the  eBird Trip Report here.

Count ResultsTotalCount Week
Total Count – Species722
Total Count – Individual Birds75,917

Below is the summary of all species and individuals counted. Field teams counted a total of 68,115 individuals (70 species) and Feeder Watchers counted 7802 individuals (35 species). Notable species and records are highlighted in yellow. Calgary count data has been collected since 1952.

(Use slider at bottom to reveal more columns.)

SPECIES COUNTED2021 Count10-yr Average2021 vs.
10-yr Avg
% of Years Reported Since 2011% of Years Reported Since 1952Record High CountRecord High YearNotes and Comments
Cackling Goose412-66%80%17%1392004 
Canada Goose23,96712,90286%100%74%27,4522004 
Trumpeter Swan51456%30%12%52017/2021Tie for Record
Tundra Swan1900%10%6%11991/2021Tie for Record
Wood Duck337%80%42%402007 
Gadwall110%50%41%291987 
Mallard17,32311,35653%100%100%24,5061992 
Green-winged Teal1150%20%54%91981 
Canvasback21300%30%14%21963/2021Tie for Record
Redhead181337%70%45%352020 
Ring-necked Duck52213%60%19%52019 
Greater Scaup21300%30%14%62007 
Lesser Scaup5379%80%58%141991 
Harlequin Duck41264%50%38%71989 
Bufflehead144194-26%100%72%3212015 
Common Goldeneye5541,110-50%100%99%5,3562007Low Count Year
Barrow’s Goldeneye310-69%100%72%252016 
Hooded Merganser23-38%90%54%81995 
Common Merganser86807%100%99%1592017 
Ruddy Duck1900%10%3%12018/ 2021Tie for Record
Sharp-tailed Grouse3900%10%39%251986Notable Sighting
Gray Partridge5866-13%100%97%2761977 
Ring-necked Pheasant111012%100%99%1241961 
Rock Pigeon1,4171,992-29%100%70%4,6112006 
Eurasian Collared-Dove226-92%80%13%632015Low Count Year
American Coot11-9%50%22%42018 
Wilson’s Snipe1233%10%17%32005Notable Sighting
Sharp-shinned Hawk46-29%90%33%102014 
Northern Goshawk6446%90%74%92019 
Bald Eagle6933110%100%80%692021Record Year
Rough-legged Hawk57-30%100%71%172015 
Great Horned Owl9730%100%84%261991 
Snowy Owl10%58%151973Notable Sighting
Northern Saw-whet Owl1125%60%25%22005 
Belted Kingfisher3236%100%72%91988 
American Three-toed Woodpecker2182%50%39%51980 
Downy Woodpecker26318146%100%96%2632021Record Year
Hairy Woodpecker393511%100%86%502018 
Pileated Woodpecker42100%90%49%52015 
Northern Flicker36322959%100%78%3632021Record Year
Merlin24228%100%93%432015 
Gyrfalcon1143%40%30%41990 
Northern Shrike8557%100%78%112015 
Blue Jay13711222%100%61%2561994 
Black-billed Magpie2,4012,607-8%100%100%3,0962020 
American Crow65103-37%100%72%1522012Low Count Year
Common Raven62550723%100%70%8582017 
Black-capped Chickadee2,1401,91012%100%100%2,2212006 
Mountain Chickadee7484%60%48%191987 
Boreal Chickadee718-60%100%81%1011987 
Golden-crowned Kinglet218-89%100%86%851990Low Count Year
Red-breasted Nuthatch200382-48%100%75%7272015 
White-breasted Nuthatch1101082%100%81%2032014 
Brown Creeper1720-16%100%84%332014 
American Dipper3236%90%61%71994 
European Starling3263202%100%99%1,4451995 
Townsend’s Solitaire184350%100%48%182021Record Year
American Robin8286-5%100%62%2192001 
Bohemian Waxwing15,81610,26254%100%96%20,0122005 
Cedar Waxwing1112-4%70%45%882003 
House Sparrow7,0966,11316%100%97%10,3042000 
Pine Grosbeak64196-67%90%87%8622011 
House Finch1,9161,04683%100%45%1,9162021Record Year
Common Redpoll272580-53%100%93%2,0251995 
Hoary Redpoll23-20%30%39%221969 
White-winged Crossbill40718-94%90%59%4,4482015Low Count Year
Pine Siskin50187-73%100%62%7722003 
American Tree Sparrow32100%50%45%341999 
Dark-eyed Junco64163-61%100%71%3922018 
White-crowned Sparrow10%3%12005 
White-throated Sparrow93233%70%35%151994 
Song Sparrow21300%40%26%31995 

Count Week Species: Varied Thrush, Prairie Falcon

Species Normally seen but not counted in 2021: Northern Pintail, Ruffed Grouse, Cooper’s Hawk, Red Crossbill

Just a reminder that these numbers are tentative. I will be presenting a more in-depth analysis on the count and describe our methods for adjusting these initial numbers at the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group on January 12 via Zoom.

Thank you all. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

Matt Wallace

Birds & Beers Update

The monthly Birds and Beers socials have not been held since the start of the pandemic. Many local birders are hoping we can resume these events and the presentations soon. I’m sure quite a few birders are vaccinated and keep small cohorts. Joan Walker (who does the majority of the organization of these events) and I have discussed it, and we decided that the situation with the spread of the Delta variant is too uncertain to have such gatherings right now. I certainly would not be comfortable attending since I am in contact with many people every day. I don’t want to pass the virus on to others. So we will have a “wait and see” attitude for now.

Redhead
Redhead, Bridlewood Pond, May 2021. Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Joan has looked into planning events in the next few months. There are a few presentations ready to go. However, there are some complications. Our regular meeting-place is the Horton Road Legion. Of course the pandemic has been a difficult time for businesses like the Legion. They were closed for a while, and are currently only open a few days each week. When they re-opened, all the meeting rooms booked up completely until Christmas. So we are considering possibly re-starting in January.

Another issue is that the Legion will now have to charge for the use of the room. It is a minimal amount, but we would have to pass the cost on to the attendees.

There is the possibility of finding other venues but it would be very difficult to find another one that serves meals and drinks, can accommodate presentations of up to 100 people, and is cheap or free.

We would like to have some feedback on this. Should we plan to resume in the new year (assuming it is safe to do so) at the regular location? Would you be willing to pay a small amount (no more than two or three dollars per person; probably less) to attend? Would you like to try another venue and do you have any suggestions for an alternate location?

If you are a regular Birds & Beers attendee and you have thoughts on this, please email me at wbird7[at]gmail.com. -Bob Lefebvre

Learn About Birds With Dr. Bird

Six-Part Virtual Speaker Series Presented by Dr. David Bird

The Wild Bird Store is presenting a six-part weekly speaker series beginning on June 17. The six lectures will continue every Thursday evening until July 22.

Dr. David Bird poster

David Bird is a respected professor, writer, and speaker with a wealth of knowledge about the birds of Canada. For more information and to purchase tickets to all six of these online presentations, go to this Eventbrite page.

The Wild Bird Store also offers many other speaker events throughout the year. Go to their website and sign up for the newsletter to keep informed of upcoming talks and events.

Birds & Beers, October 3, 2019

Irrigation Canal Calgary
The Irrigation Canal at Gosling Way SE. The water supply will be cut off on Monday September 30, creating a great birding location for the first few weeks of October. See this Nature Calgary page for information on a field trip to the area.

The next Birds & Birds social meeting will be held on Thursday October 3, from 6 to 9 pm, at the usual location.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Thursday October 3, 2019, 6:00-9:00 pm

Birds & Beers is a casual social get-together that is free and open to everyone. Children may attend if accompanied by an adult. Food and drinks are available at reasonable prices.

We will meet in the large auditorium which is to the right after you enter the Legion. At about 7:30 I will be giving more details about the upcoming 2020 city-limits birding challenge. Gavin McKinnon will talk about a recent trip he made to the Cold Lake area in pursuit of 300 species of birds in Alberta.

Thanks to the generosity of our attendees, we now have our own projector, which will be ready for this meeting.

We have booked the dates for the next two Birds & Beers as follows, so mark these dates in your calendars. (Note the unusual Wednesday date in November.)

Thursday October 31

Wednesday November 27

All of these will be in the same location, in the big auditorium at the Horton Road Legion. We plan to have presentations but these aren’t finalized yet.

Birds & Beers, August 22, 2019

Posted by Bob Lefebvre

Birds & Beers will kick off the fall season with a meeting this Thursday, August 22.

Royal Canadian Legion, Centennial Calgary Branch#285,

9202 Horton Road SW.

Thursday August 22, 2019, 6:00-9:00 pm

Birds & Beers is a casual social get-together that is free and open to everyone. Children may attend if accompanied by an adult. Food and drinks are available at reasonable prices.

We will meet in the large auditorium which is to the right after you enter the Legion. After 7 pm, there will be a special presentation by Gus Yaki on colour abnormalities in birds.

Common Grackle
Common Grackle, Calgary, September 17, 2010.
Photo by Bob Lefebvre

Gus will show photos from the Calgary region of many birds with unusual markings. Most birders are aware of terms like albinism, leucism, and melanism, but there are actually six types of colour abnormalities, and many of these terms are often poorly understood and improperly used.

Gus Yaki
Gus with a normally-plumaged but injured Ring-billed Gull.

If you can’t arrive by 6 pm come anytime after that. The presentation will begin by about 7:15. You can also come early if you want – long-time attendees have learned that this is a good way to avoid the lineups at the grill.

We have booked the dates for upcoming Birds & Beers as follows, so mark these dates in your calendars. (Note the unusual Wednesday date in November.)

Thursday October 3

Thursday October 31

Wednesday November 27

All of these will be in the same location, in the big auditorium at the Horton Road Legion. We plan to have presentations but these aren’t finalized yet.

Here is an update on the projector used for presentations. When we started Birds & Beers it was purely a social event, and we had no plans to do presentations. However, Gus suggested we add short talks after the social part of the evening, and after doing this a few times if soon became clear that people really enjoyed this part of the evening. At first we borrowed the Legion’s projector, but this was not always available. Then we borrowed Nature Calgary’s, but they no longer have one as they don’t need it in their new location. So we have been borrowing one from one of our regular attendees, but we felt that if we are going to continue to have presentations we should have our own system.

We brought this topic up at the May Birds & Beers, and people were very enthusiastic, and donated generously towards purchasing our own projector. We collected more money at the June meeting, and we now have $528. This is just about enough to cover the cost of the system we are looking at. We may need about $90 more to purchase a replacement bulb, so we may ask for one more round of (optional!) donations. Then we should have our projector ready for the meeting on October 3.

A big thanks to Joan and Wayne Walker for spearheading the projector search (and for booking the Legion, and for doing almost everything relating to Birds & Beers!), to Dave Russum for lending us his projector for several meetings, and to Dan Arndt for providing his technical expertise in the projector search.

See you on Thursday!

Birds & Beers Facebook page.

Great Big Nature

Note: You have to RSVP by June 19 to attend.

This Thursday there will be an exclusive sneak peek screening of the Great Big Nature project. Brian Keating and Bryan Smith, executive producer of MiMedia, invite you to learn more about their latest project. The video series will be launched later this year, but you have the opportunity to get a glimpse of the unique storylines and segments during a special viewing fundraiser.
Great Big Nature

Come out to hear Brian Keating talk about this exciting new project, and help to get it off the ground. They have a fund-matching opportunity up to $50K, until July 20th, therefore people can double their impact by donating now!

The fundraiser is Thursday June 20, 2019

Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Place: La Cité Des Rocheuses (Community Centre and Theatre)
Address: 4800 Richard Rd SW, Calgary, AB

Light appetizers and drinks will be served.
Please RSVP by June 19th to j_bode[at]ducks.ca