Tag Archive | social events

Birds & Beers, January 8, 2026

Jan3

Thursday’s meeting will feature a presentation by Dianne and Bob Leonhardt on Birding in Colombia.

Birds & Beers resumes on January 8th at the usual time and location – the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW, starting at 5 pm. This is an informal social get-together, so come any time after 5:00 and have dinner or a drink, and a chat with your fellow birders. Everyone is welcome!

You can arrive any time up to 7 pm, when there will be a presentation by Bob and Dianne Leonhardt about the first half of a birding tour of Colombia they attended in January 2025.

Multi-colored Tanager
Multi-colored Tanager, La Florida, Colombia

Birding In Colombia- The First Ten Days Bob and Dianne Leonhardt   

In January of 2025, Gavin McKinnon of Meadowlark Birding Tours led a group of Calgarians on a tour of Colombia to view some of the over 1900 species of birds found in that country.  Prior to the beginning of the actual Birding Tour, John and Lorrie Anderson and ourselves traveled to the historic city of Cartagena.  The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1533 and served as the main port for the shipments of gold pillaged from South America and sent to Spain.  Today it is one of the most touristic locations in Colombia with an active nightlife.  We also located a wonderful birding location outside the city known as Agricola Camelias.  By the time the Birding tour was to begin we had already counted well over 100 species.

After four days in Cartagena, we flew to Cali, in the Western Andes, where we were met at the airport and transported to Araucana Lodge, about 29 kilometers northwest of the city.  This beautiful and modern lodge served as our home for the next six nights.  From here we did day trips to a variety of environments with a diverse assortment of colorful birds.  Several of the locations had feeding stations which provided extraordinary opportunities for viewing and photographing the birds.

The first part of the Birding Tour came to a close as we drove to Manizales in the Central Andes.  During these first ten days we viewed about 250 species.  By the end of the entire tour, which finished up in the Santa Marta area of Northern Colombia, we had counted about 560 species of birds.  A number of the photographs shown in our presentation were provided by our traveling companions, John and Lorrie Anderson.

The next Birds & Beers will be on Thursday, February 12th.

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Birds & Beers, November 13, 2025

Nov7

Featuring a presentation on the wildlife of Southern Africa by Calvin van der Merwe

Next Thursday, November 13th, is our next Birds & Beers event in Calgary. We meet at the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW, from 5 to 9 pm. Here is a message from Calvin van der Merwe, who will be presenting about the wildlife of Southern Africa:

Hello Calgary Birding Community. My name is Calvin van der Merwe, and my presentation is about birds and wildlife in Southern Africa. I grew up in Pretoria, studied in Cape Town, and have now found myself in the Alberta Wilderness. From the myriad of habitats in Northern Namibia, to the pans and rolling hills of the Kalahari Desert, to the endemics of the Cape and the forested and grassed extents of the Drakensberg escarpment, the tropical north-eastern coastline and it’s impressive wetland systems, to the Kruger National Park and the remote corners of Limpopo. If you enjoy incredible habitat, species diversity, exploration, and the array of other animals Southern Africa has to offer, this is the presentation for you. Here’s a Cape Parrot to whet the appetite.

Cape Parrot
Cape Parrot. Photo by Calvin van der Merwe.

The doors at the big ballroom will open for us at 5 pm. Come early to visit and have dinner and a drink. Or you can arrive any time before 7 pm when the presentation will begin. Everyone is welcome!

Note: There is no Birds & Beers meeting in December. We will resume in January.

Birds & Beers, October 9, 2025

Oct2

Featuring a presentation by Stephen Boucher called “The Roughly Right Guide to Botswana”

Next Thursday, October 9th, the Calgary Birds & Beers group will meet for our monthly social get-together and presentation. We are at the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW in Calgary. We meet in the big ballroom, starting at 5 pm. Stephen’s presentation will begin at about 7 pm.

African Lion
All photos by Stephen Boucher.

I am Stephen Boucher, retired from a long career in medicine and professional people watching as a psychiatrist.  In retirement I help with the Monday morning Friends of Fish Creek birding group and generally enjoy the outdoors and travel.

I have been asked to talk about my trip last year to Botswana. In retirement travel decisions lie at the nexus of interest, health, finances and at best, the opportunity to travel with great friends.

Botswana in September 2024 met all of the criteria. But why a Safari?

I grew up in the United Kingdom close to Chester Zoo and during my childhood, I remember clearly hearing the calls of the Sea-lions at 3pm feeding time and roar of the lions at dusk in the warm summer evenings. I have always enjoyed visiting Zoos. But the animals, though well cared for, are captive and some show abnormal repetitive behaviours.  It had been a lifelong dream to go on Safari and see the animals and birds of Africa in their wild habitat. In the era of Mass Tourism and “Selfie sticks”, I wondered if it was still possible to go on Safari and have a Robert Redford and Meryl Streep moment, like in the 1985 movie “Out of Africa”

The word Safari comes from the Arabic word “to journey”.  And along with my two Calgary friends Karen and Ed, plus John (a vet friend from the UK who is called “Mr. Safety”, by his hiking group) we had an amazing journey.

Tonight, I want you to sit back and come on Safari with me……

Everyone is welcome to join us at Birds & Beers. The cost is about a dollar per person to cover the charge for the room. See you there!

African Elephant

Birds & Beers Returns September 11, 2025!

Sep4

With a Presentation on “Birding in Belize” by Daniel Arndt.

The fall season of Birds & Beers begins next Thursday, September 11th. As usual, we meet from 5-9 pm in the ballroom at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW. Everyone is welcome!

Come early if you can, but be sure to be there by 7 pm, when Dan Arndt will present “Birding in Belize: An Introduction to Birding the Tropics.”

Ocellated Turkey
Ocellated Turkeys. Photo by Dan Arndt, Belize, 2020.

Dan has travelled Belize extensively, and visited some of the best birding locations the country has to offer. In March 2026, Dan will be leading a tour to Belize along with local guide, Roni Martinez, to La Milpa Biological Station, Blue Creek, Mountain Pine Ridge, Caracol, Chiquibul Forest Reserve, La Milpa Archaeological Site, and Crooked Tree Lagoon. Some of the most sought after birds in Belize include Ornate Hawk-Eagle, Ocellated Turkey,  King Vulture, Jabiru Stork, and Agami Heron. 

Belize is an excellent introductory tour for folks new to birding the tropics, with many familiar species that breed in North America on full display and preparing for their northern migration, and travel throughout the relatively small country allows for quick access to a variety of habitats. The archaeological history of the Mayan people, and the great birding found at these archaeological sites is a unique blend of human history and ecological conservation that is rarely found elsewhere in the world.

Here is a link to Dan’s 2026 Belize Birding Tour on the Meadowlark Birding Tours website.

This will be a great start to the Birds & Beers season. Upcoming meeting dates are Thursday October 9, and Thursday November 13 (all are on the second Thursday of the month). We take the month of December off, and then resume again in January.

One change this year is that we are being charged a little more for the use of the room. (It is still very reasonable at $100.) So we will again ask that people make a small donation, if they wish, to help cover this. We usually get anywhere from 50 to 100 attendees, so if you give a dollar or two, that will be plenty. Paying is optional, though, so please don’t feel you have to contribute! Attendees have been very generous with this, and we have always received more than was needed to cover the room cost, and we just donated the extra money to the Legion. We will continue to do this.

See you there!

Birds & Beers, May 22, 2025

May15

With a presentation on Birding By Ear by Annie Finch.

Next Thursday’s Birds & Beers will feature a presentation by Annie Finch on Bird Sounds: Birding Better by Ear. Birding by ear is an extremely important skill, and one which many birders find difficult to master. Annie is a great birder and really knows bird calls and songs. She will teach us how to use apps and online resources to hone our skills, and will give practical advice on identifying and finding birds in the field. She will also go into recording bird sounds and contributing sounds to online databases.

Western Meadowlark, Weed Lake, April 30, 2017. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.

Birds & Beers is a social gathering of birders that is open to anyone. We meet at the Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW. The ballroom is open at 5 pm and the presentation will be at about 7 pm. Everyone is welcome!

Birds & Beers, April 10, 2025

Apr4

Featuring a presentation by Jody Allair on the state of Canada’s Birds.

The next Birds & Beers meetup is next Thursday, April 10th. This is a social get-together of birders, open to everyone. We meet at the Royal Canadian Legion at 9202 Horton Road SW in Calgary. Doors to the big ballroom open at 5 pm. If you can, come early to socialize, eat and drink.

Jody Allair of Birds Canada.

At about 7 pm there will be a presentation by Jody Allair of Birds Canada. The topic is “The State of Canada’s Birds and actions we can take to help our feathered friends.”

Jody Allair with a Bald Eagle.

About Jody Allair:

Jody is an avid birder and naturalist who enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for the natural world. He has been birding and banding since his teens, when he began volunteering at Long Point Bird Observatory (LPBO) in Southern Ontario. He is now the Director of Communications at Birds Canada where he manages the organization’s public relations and media, is the co-editor of BirdWatch Canada Magazine, producer of the Warblers Podcast and a coordinator of eBird Canada.

Over the years Jody has coordinated a variety of different bird-related projects including the Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Program, the Ontario Nocturnal Owl Survey, Birds Canada’s Youth Education Program, and the Southern Ontario Forest Birds at Risk Program.

Jody regularly speaks about birds and conservation to audiences across Canada and has written numerous articles on birds, birding and connecting with nature. He is the monthly birding columnist for CBC Radio’s Daybreak Alberta, has appeared on CBC’s Rick Mercer Report, presented at Ideacity, was a featured bird expert on Season 2 of the Love Nature Television series ‘Battle of the Alphas’ and is a regular guest, and occasional guest host, on the American Birding Association podcast.

In addition to his 20+ years at Birds Canada, he has been leading birding tours with Eagle-Eye Tours since 2008.

See you on Thursday!

Birds & Beers, March 13, 2025

Mar5

Featuring a Presentation on An African Adventure

Thursday March 13th is the next Birds & Beers in Calgary. Everyone is welcome to join us from 5 to 9 pm for food, drinks, and fellowship! We meet at the Royal Canadian Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. Come any time from 5 to 7 as this is very informal. But arrive by 7 pm, since you won’t want to miss any of the presentation!

This month’s presentation is An African Adventure by Karen McDaniel.

African mammals
Some of the mammals that will be featured in Karen’s talk. All photos by Karen McDaniel.

An introduction by Karen:

Karen McDaniel is a former teacher and administrator with the CBE and SAIT but right now she is a full-time traveler, birder, photographer and geocacher (ask her about that)! Add in grandmother, and she has the perfect life! She has travelled to too many countries to count and has finally matched her photographic equipment to her travels. To celebrate her youngest daughter’s 30th birthday, the two of them took a trip to Africa to photograph anything that walked, swam or flew. It was an amazing adventure in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Botswana. They managed to photograph the Big Five and had an elephant experience that neither will ever forget!

See you there!

Future Birds & Beers dates are April 10, May 22, and June 12. After the summer break, we resume in September.

Birds & Beers, February 13, 2025.

Feb7

Featuring a talk on the Birds of Indonesia.

Thursday, February 13, is the next Birds & Beers in Calgary. Join us from 5 to 9 pm at the Royal Canadian Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. Everyone is welcome.

At 7 pm there will be a presentation by Dianne and Bob Leonhardt on The Birds of Indonesia.

Bali Myna
Critically endangered Bali Mynas in West Bali National Park. Photo by Bob Leonhardt.

Note: This is a repeat of the talk given in January 2024, with some changes. If you missed it, make sure to attend this time!

Indonesia is the fourteenth largest country in the world by area.  It consists of over 17,000 islands.  By population it is the fourth largest country in the world with approximately 279 million people.  This may seem like an odd choice for a birding tour; however, Indonesia also contains approximately 1800 species of birds, including 786 endemics.  So in September of 2023 we flew from Calgary to Vancouver to Tokyo and on to Jakarta to participate in a 20 day birding tour with Naturalist Journeys.  On this tour we visited five islands, including Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores and Komodo.  We experienced several different types of environments and ended up seeing approximately 270 species of birds, the majority of which were lifers for us.  Some of the most notable species were the Javan Trogon, the Javan Banded Pitta, the Bali Myna, Red and Green Jungle Fowl, and Milky Storks.  There were many more, some of which will be shown in this presentation.  A final highlight of the tour was a trip to Komodo National Park on Komodo Island to see the infamous Komodo Dragons.

Birds & Beers, January 9, 2025

Dec31

Featuring Journey through the Fabled North-west Passage by John McFaul.

The 2025 season of Calgary Birds & Beers kicks off on Thursday January 9th at the Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW. We meet in the big ballroom starting at 5 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend these social get-togethers.

At about 7 pm there will be a presentation by John McFaul on his Journey through the Fabled North-west Passage.

Northwest Passage
Photo by John McFaul.

John’s description: The presentation will take the viewers on a 17 day arctic cruise through the North-west Passage from Greenland to Kugluktuk (formerly known as Coppermine). Images of the majestic land and seascapes, the wildlife and the cultural and historical features of this fabled passage are sure to entice everyone to consider undertaking their own journey to Inuit Nunangat – land of the Inuit.

Northwest Passage
Photo by John McFaul.

John is a long-time Calgary naturalist and former President of Nature Calgary. He runs the nature guiding company Alpenglow Nature Hikes.

Join us for Birds & Beers!

Birds & Beers Reminder and Update

Nov27

Kenya Birds Presentation, Christmas Bird Count, Calendars for sale, Bird Book Exchange – Thursday November 28

Tomorrow night (Thursday the 28th) at the Legion, 9202 Horton Road SW, is our last Birds & Beers of the fall. I wrote about this before but here is an update on some of what you can expect tomorrow evening.

The main presentation, after 7 pm, will be on Birding in Kenya in the summer of 2024, presented by Gavin McKinnon. His presentation will feature many photos of Kenyan birds and mammals, plus information on future tours that he will be leading through his company Meadowlark Birding Tours.

Red Bishop
Red Bishop. Photo by Gavin McKinnon.

Before the main presentation, Matthew Wallace will speak about the upcoming Calgary Christmas Bird Count (on Sunday December 15). Find out how you can take part in this long-running Citizen Science project! Read more about the CBC here.

Once again this year, Daniel Arndt has produced a beautiful 2025 wall calendar featuring some of his best bird photos of 2024. He will have calendars available at Birds & Beers for $20 (cash or eTransfer). For those of you who are interested in purchasing a calendar but can’t make it to Birds & Beers, they are available at the Wild Bird Store in Calgary, or you can email us here at birdscalgary@gmail.com and we will put you in touch with Dan. (There is a $5 shipping charge for mail orders.)

calendar
calendar

Finally, we have talked about having a birding book exchange at Birds & Beers, and thanks to a generous donation by a long-time Calgary birder, we will have several books available to kick it off tomorrow! Feel free to bring a few books if you’d like to exchange them. We don’t want to take any books home after, so please help yourself until they are all gone!

Books
Just a few of the books that will be available tomorrow night..

If you haven’t been to Birds & Beers before, Thursday would be a great time to start!