Rumours of my death....

or at least this blog's death, are greatly exaggerated.

Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus, nr. Langdon, Alberta

October was a hectic month - a nasty cold made the rounds of the family, we helped my parents move house, and one of the kids had his appendix out.  Combined with lots going on at school there wasn't a whole lot of time for birding and I watched Rare Bird Alerts go through my mailbox with little action on my part.  The last few days have improved somewhat and I managed to catch a few nice migrant birds, mostly on and around Glenmore Reservoir (click above for map) over the course of three visits.  The rarity images are a little Bigfoot/UFO-like but it's nice to have a record of a significant sighting.

An immature Red-necked Grebe, Podiceps grisegena.  The bay where this youngster was feeding was ice-covered when I went by this afternoon, so I'm sure it is long gone.

A very cooperative Townsend's Solitaire, Myadestes townsendi, gave the best views I've ever had of this species before diving back down from the windy treetops.

The Western Grebe, Aechmophorus occidentalis, is a new Calgary city bird for me

A pair of migrant Surf Scoters, Melanitta perspicillata, have been hanging around the reservoir for a while now.  I finally had a chance to add them to my Alberta list.

Worst picture, best bird?  My lifer Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyemalis 

A Prairie Drive and A Milestone

Yesterday I headed out on a hot prairie drive to Frank Lake and Weed Lake, two of the best spots for waterfowl and shorebirds in the Calgary region.  I had an enjoyable day out and, when I tabulated my list at home, I made a pleasant discovery - scroll down for more.

A map of my route (I went anti-clockwise).  Click to enlarge.

Highlights included a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron that I flushed from the reeds and a Northern Harrier hunting shorebirds along the edge of Frank Lake.  I had my digiscoping kit with me and caught some images of the shorebirds and others.

Long-billed Curlews are stunningly elegant birds

Marbled Godwits aren't bad either

As I've mentioned before, sometimes the scope is kind of overkill!  Nevertheless, this Barn Swallow  apparently doesn't mind posing.

A Black-necked Stilt pauses to reflect (while Franklin's Gulls take a nap)

These are Red-necked Phalaropes - at least I hope it's not a botched identification because that's my 200th ABA (i.e. North American) species!

Calidris sandpipers are confusing - what species do you think this one is, and why?

Weed Lake Shorebirds

This afternoon I headed out to Weed Lake, a short drive east of the city near the town of Langdon.  There had been reports of Black-crowned Night Heron, which would be a new bird for me.  This lake is also a decent spot for shorebirds.  As it turns out, with relatively high water levels in so many places in the province, there was much to be seen.  Here a few digiscoped images.

See how many species you can see in this photo (click to enlarge).  I put my answers at the bottom of this post, if you have any additions or subtractions to my list PLEASE let me know in the comments.

I was excited to see some Sanderling, a new bird for me.  I based my identification on size (compare to the Willet and ducks), the reddish breast with abrupt transition to a white belly, and the behaviour (remaining relatively far from the water and moving around very rapidly).  There are six of them lined up in the centre of this image, the Willet is the pale bird to the right.  These little sandpipers can be tough so if you have any suggestions, please let me know.

There were, of course, many waterfowl on the lake with rapidly growing young.  They included many species of duckling, huddling together in huge rafts far out on the lake...

... and some grebelings (a new term that I have just made up, although I'm probably not the first person to do so!).  In this case, they were Eared Grebes hanging out with a Ruddy Duck mom and three young - she is at the centre of the image.

After leaving the main body of the lake, I drove through some wetland to the south on the charmingly named Dead Horse Road.  A Great Blue Heron flushed from the side of the road, either startled by my van or by the three Red-winged Blackbirds that were in hot pursuit.  Fortunately the target species Black-crowned Night Herons were further from the road and apparently less threatening to the blackbirds.  I found a total of three birds hanging out in the reeds, two very close together, perhaps a breeding pair?

On my way home I saw this Solitary Sandpiper - it was far away from all the other sandpipers ;)

Answers to photo number one: I was able to ID Willet, Black-necked Stilt, Long-billed Dowitcher, Sanderling, Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalarope, and Forster's Tern.  Your feedback is welcome. 

Lastly, I was able to get some video of some dowitchers doing their trademark sewing maching impersonation and will post it as soon as I have it uploaded.  Stay tuned!