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
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.
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:
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.)
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.
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.
Date
Max 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 Participants
Total
Field Surveyors
Feeder Watchers
309
136
173
Total Counting Hours
615
273
342
Field Surveyor Details
Total
Walking
Driving
Counting Hours
273
203
69
Distance Traveled (km)
1498
461
1,036
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 Results
Total
Count Week
Total Count – Species
72
2
Total Count – Individual Birds
75,917
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 COUNTED
2021 Count
10-yr Average
2021 vs. 10-yr Avg
% of Years Reported Since 2011
% of Years Reported Since 1952
Record High Count
Record High Year
Notes and Comments
Cackling Goose
4
12
-66%
80%
17%
139
2004
Canada Goose
23,967
12,902
86%
100%
74%
27,452
2004
Trumpeter Swan
5
1
456%
30%
12%
5
2017/2021
Tie for Record
Tundra Swan
1
900%
10%
6%
1
1991/2021
Tie for Record
Wood Duck
3
3
7%
80%
42%
40
2007
Gadwall
1
1
0%
50%
41%
29
1987
Mallard
17,323
11,356
53%
100%
100%
24,506
1992
Green-winged Teal
1
150%
20%
54%
9
1981
Canvasback
2
1
300%
30%
14%
2
1963/2021
Tie for Record
Redhead
18
13
37%
70%
45%
35
2020
Ring-necked Duck
5
2
213%
60%
19%
5
2019
Greater Scaup
2
1
300%
30%
14%
6
2007
Lesser Scaup
5
3
79%
80%
58%
14
1991
Harlequin Duck
4
1
264%
50%
38%
7
1989
Bufflehead
144
194
-26%
100%
72%
321
2015
Common Goldeneye
554
1,110
-50%
100%
99%
5,356
2007
Low Count Year
Barrow’s Goldeneye
3
10
-69%
100%
72%
25
2016
Hooded Merganser
2
3
-38%
90%
54%
8
1995
Common Merganser
86
80
7%
100%
99%
159
2017
Ruddy Duck
1
900%
10%
3%
1
2018/ 2021
Tie for Record
Sharp-tailed Grouse
3
900%
10%
39%
25
1986
Notable Sighting
Gray Partridge
58
66
-13%
100%
97%
276
1977
Ring-necked Pheasant
11
10
12%
100%
99%
124
1961
Rock Pigeon
1,417
1,992
-29%
100%
70%
4,611
2006
Eurasian Collared-Dove
2
26
-92%
80%
13%
63
2015
Low Count Year
American Coot
1
1
-9%
50%
22%
4
2018
Wilson’s Snipe
1
233%
10%
17%
3
2005
Notable Sighting
Sharp-shinned Hawk
4
6
-29%
90%
33%
10
2014
Northern Goshawk
6
4
46%
90%
74%
9
2019
Bald Eagle
69
33
110%
100%
80%
69
2021
Record Year
Rough-legged Hawk
5
7
-30%
100%
71%
17
2015
Great Horned Owl
9
7
30%
100%
84%
26
1991
Snowy Owl
1
–
–
0%
58%
15
1973
Notable Sighting
Northern Saw-whet Owl
1
1
25%
60%
25%
2
2005
Belted Kingfisher
3
2
36%
100%
72%
9
1988
American Three-toed Woodpecker
2
1
82%
50%
39%
5
1980
Downy Woodpecker
263
181
46%
100%
96%
263
2021
Record Year
Hairy Woodpecker
39
35
11%
100%
86%
50
2018
Pileated Woodpecker
4
2
100%
90%
49%
5
2015
Northern Flicker
363
229
59%
100%
78%
363
2021
Record Year
Merlin
24
22
8%
100%
93%
43
2015
Gyrfalcon
1
1
43%
40%
30%
4
1990
Northern Shrike
8
5
57%
100%
78%
11
2015
Blue Jay
137
112
22%
100%
61%
256
1994
Black-billed Magpie
2,401
2,607
-8%
100%
100%
3,096
2020
American Crow
65
103
-37%
100%
72%
152
2012
Low Count Year
Common Raven
625
507
23%
100%
70%
858
2017
Black-capped Chickadee
2,140
1,910
12%
100%
100%
2,221
2006
Mountain Chickadee
7
4
84%
60%
48%
19
1987
Boreal Chickadee
7
18
-60%
100%
81%
101
1987
Golden-crowned Kinglet
2
18
-89%
100%
86%
85
1990
Low Count Year
Red-breasted Nuthatch
200
382
-48%
100%
75%
727
2015
White-breasted Nuthatch
110
108
2%
100%
81%
203
2014
Brown Creeper
17
20
-16%
100%
84%
33
2014
American Dipper
3
2
36%
90%
61%
7
1994
European Starling
326
320
2%
100%
99%
1,445
1995
Townsend’s Solitaire
18
4
350%
100%
48%
18
2021
Record Year
American Robin
82
86
-5%
100%
62%
219
2001
Bohemian Waxwing
15,816
10,262
54%
100%
96%
20,012
2005
Cedar Waxwing
11
12
-4%
70%
45%
88
2003
House Sparrow
7,096
6,113
16%
100%
97%
10,304
2000
Pine Grosbeak
64
196
-67%
90%
87%
862
2011
House Finch
1,916
1,046
83%
100%
45%
1,916
2021
Record Year
Common Redpoll
272
580
-53%
100%
93%
2,025
1995
Hoary Redpoll
2
3
-20%
30%
39%
22
1969
White-winged Crossbill
40
718
-94%
90%
59%
4,448
2015
Low Count Year
Pine Siskin
50
187
-73%
100%
62%
772
2003
American Tree Sparrow
3
2
100%
50%
45%
34
1999
Dark-eyed Junco
64
163
-61%
100%
71%
392
2018
White-crowned Sparrow
1
–
–
0%
3%
1
2005
White-throated Sparrow
9
3
233%
70%
35%
15
1994
Song Sparrow
2
1
300%
40%
26%
3
1995
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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