Loggerhead Shrike on the Radio

I caught an interesting interview on CBC Radio's "As It Happens" this evening, discussing the Loggerhead Shrike with Rebecca Magnus of Nature Saskatchewan.  There was a good description of the bird's interesting life history, focusing of course on the habit of impaling prey on barbed wire and thorns.  There was also discussion of the threats to the species and the decline in the Alberta and Saskatchewan populations.

To listen to the interview follow this link, click on "Listen to Part 2", then fast forward to about 17:20.  More information on the Shrike monitoring program can be found at Nature Saskatchewan.  Lastly, here's a photo of the bird in question, taken by the interviewee - click on the image to link through to their Flickr account:

Life Bird #200 - Father's Day Outing Part 1

The past week has been filled with report cards, exams and other end of term activities.  There has been little time for birding and therefore zero time for blogging (putting blogging about birding before actual birding would be kind of silly!).

Last weekend was Father's Day and we took a day trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.  After touring the museum we drove back by a scenic route, spotting various birds along the way, including some lovely Mountain Bluebirds in the ghost town of Wayne.  With more time to explore I suspect this stretch of road is a fantastic spot for songbirds of all types, with a mix of prairie and riparian habitat.

The real highlight was in a slough on Hwy 56 just north of Hussar.  We found at least 10 nesting pairs of American Coot, some of them right by the road's edge.

We also spotted a pair of black birds flitting back and forth across the marsh, picking insects from the surface.  Eventually we figured out that they were Black Terns, a lifer for me.  These birds are graceful in flight with a slightly notched tail and slender wings.  They migrate out of Alberta in September, wintering as far south as Central America.  Sadly their populations have been declining, due to habitat loss, over the last few decades.

Despite dodging rainstorms all day it was a pleasant prairie drive and I discovered a number of spots that I will try to return to in the summer.  There was also an opportunity to go out exploring in the evening, more of which in my next post.

Black Bird Down

The Black-billed Magpies nesting in the spruce tree in front of our house were unusually noisy the other day - every time we went in or out of the door they were positively screaming at us from the eavestrough.  In the evening, I had a few minutes to poke around in the rain to figure out what the fuss was all about and under our neighbour's hedge this little fledgling was hiding.

Black-billed Magpie, Pica hudsonia, fledgling

Given the number of outdoor cats in our neighbourhood I didn't feel optimistic about this young bird's chances, although Mom and Dad were clearly going to be pretty serious about defending it.  There was no sign of the fledgling the next day and the parents had settled down.  I've read that fledglings are much more capable of flight and/or self-defense than we generally assume so perhaps it made it through after all?

What's going on down there?

No pictures please!

Back in the saddle...

Literally!  After a family emergency and a persistent out-of-season cold I managed to get out again for the first time since the May species count day.  As usual it was a short after-work bike ride that did the trick and I headed down to Edworthy Park, then back along the south side of the river, through Lawrey Gardens.  There is a decent size colony of Cliff Swallows under the pedestrian bridge at Edworthy.  It was fun to stand on the bridge and have them swoop just a few meters away, although the best views of the nests were to be had from the riverbank (or what's left of it during this peak meltwater time).

Under the bridge - nests visible through the upper circle and at the top of the frame

Zooming in - Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, in centre

and zooming in again (a bad digital crop)

There were more swallows to be found further along the trail, in this case Tree Swallows perching and presumably nesting in the dead trees along the river bank.  The Cedar Waxwings are back in force now too - I saw 5 individuals today and heard a few more, although neither the numbers nor the noise matched up with the flock in our yard and alley on the weekend.  Yellow Warblers were also vocal and numerous but the real treat of the day came, as is so often the case, just when it was time to head home.

As I was biking along a few hundred metres west of Crowchild Trail there was flash of gray across the trail and, as I screeched to a stop, a Gray Catbird alit on branch by the trail and then disappeared into the undergrowth.  It turned out to be a pair and a likely nest.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their proximity to the busy bike path, they were quite relaxed and cooperative and I had great views and managed to get a couple of decent shots in the shady undergrowth.

Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis 

All in all a nice hour or so of weekday birding and great to be out enjoying the birds on a sunny day again.

Calgary May Species Count

This weekend brought the annual spring species count - a team of birders fanning out to count all the bird species within an 80km radius of Calgary.  My partner and I were assigned an area north of Strathmore - a fairly unremarkable stretch of rolling prairie that was nonetheless filled with birds and we managed to round up 61 species on a lovely sunny day of birding.  The sloughs were filled to the brim from the past week of rainy weather so duck counting was a large part of the day with many Mallards, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, and Northern Shovelers.

Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata, looking a little goofy

Last week, when we drove out to Kinbrook Island, we had seen lots of hawks in the area immediately east of Strathmore so I was expecting more good things today.  We saw a total of 14 Swainson's Hawks and 7 Red-tailed Hawks, some at very close distances as they performed aerial courtship displays, and some on or around nests.  Another raptor highlight was a Northern Harrier, easily identified by its trademark low altitude hunting across a field and along a roadside ditch.  For one heart-stopping moment we thought that the hawk was going to be hit by a passing truck but fortunately it continued its leisurely glide to the other side and then circled around to make another close pass behind us.

Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni

There were relatively few shorebirds to be found, perhaps due to high water levels, but we did see a number of Marbled Godwits, several Wilson's Snipe, and a huge flock of Wilson's Phalaropes.  We also found a Long-billed Curlew which was very cooperative while we admired the cinnamon belly through the scope and double checked our field guide.

Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata

Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, Digiscoping skills are slowly improving!

Birding by ear is not an area of strength for me but I had lots of practice and a good teacher on this trip.  We found many sparrows including Savannah, Clay-coloured, Vesper, Lark and Chipping, but the "small bird" highlight for me was a large flock of Cliff Swallows swooping around our heads and under us through a culvert!  Just a short distance down the road from that experience we found three Horned Larks, another new bird for me.

Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris

Another great day out on the prairie and I found once again that participating in a bird count is a wonderful way to hone one's birding skills.  I'll wrap this post up with a map of the route we took through the area and a list of species seen.

View Calgary Area Bird Count 2011 Route in a larger map

1	Canada Goose
2	Gadwall
3	American Wigeon
4	Mallard
5	Blue-winged Teal
6	Cinnamon Teal
7	Northern Shoveler
8	Northern Pintail
9	Canvasback
10	Redhead
11	Lesser Scaup
12	Bufflehead
13	Common Goldeneye
14	Ruddy Duck
15	Ring-necked Pheasant
16	Pied-billed Grebe
17	Horned Grebe
18	Eared Grebe
19	Great Blue Heron
20	Northern Harrier
21	Swainson's Hawk
22	Red-tailed Hawk
23	American Kestrel
24	Merlin
25	American Coot
26	Killdeer
27	American Avocet
28	Willet
29	Spotted Sandpiper
30	Long-billed Curlew
31	Marbled Godwit
32	Wilson's Snipe
33	Wilson's Phalarope
34	Rock Pigeon
35	Mourning Dove
36	Least Flycatcher
37	Western Kingbird
38	Eastern Kingbird
39	Black-billed Magpie
40	American Crow
41	Horned Lark
42	Bank Swallow
43	Cliff Swallow
44	Barn Swallow
45	House Wren
46	Marsh Wren
47	American Robin
48	European Starling
49	Yellow Warbler
50	Chipping Sparrow
51	Clay-colored Sparrow
52	Vesper Sparrow
53	Lark Sparrow
54	Savannah Sparrow
55	Red-winged Blackbird
56	Western Meadowlark
57	Yellow-headed Blackbird
58	Brewer's Blackbird
59	Brown-headed Cowbird
60	American Goldfinch
61	House Sparrow

Kinbrook Island Provincial Park

We've just returned from a great long weekend camping trip to Kinbrook Island Provincial Park near Brooks, which is about 200km south-east of Calgary.  The park is on the east shore of a large reservoir,  Newell Lake, and the campground is basically an island covered in poplar trees and surrounded by marsh.  The existence of these three habitats together in the middle of vast prairie grassland is, as you can see below, a real bird magnet.

In the campground there were several species of flycatcher ranging from the easily identified and bold to the tricky and hyperactive.  (As usual all photos in the post are click to enlarge!)

Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis

Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus

Least Flycatcher, Empidonax minimus - OK, I heard several Least Flycatchers, this bird was close by, and it looks like a Least Flycatcher but those empids are tricky!

A birding highlight of the weekend came while I was washing breakfast dishes.  There was a flurry of activity in the understory.  A group of 4 male Brown-headed Cowbirds chasing one female were displaying to each other on branches and, ultimately, on the grass about ten yards in front of me.

Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater

Brown-headed Cowbird, Molothrus ater

There are nice walks (if you aren't freaked out by bugs like our 3 year old!) around the marshes, including an interpretive trail around the northeast area that was a little long for our crew of preschoolers.  The dominant species in this area is Red-winged Blackbirds, but spaced out among these territorial birds were Yellow-headed Blackbirds and a large number of Marsh Wrens.

Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris

Yellow-headed Blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

During one of these walks we bumped into a group of birders doing the 13th Annual Brooks Species Count.  They commented on the lack of shorebirds, an observation supported throughout the weekend and the drive back to Calgary (one yellowlegs, one snipe, and three large shorebirds on a far off muddy field was all I saw).  I was generally surprised by the lack of birds on the main bodies of water in the park but along with the usually half dozen species of duck we did see Red-necked Grebes, Forster's Tern, and some American White Pelican.

American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, displaying breeding season "horn"

This relative lack of species on the open water was entirely compensated for by the continual displays of flycatchers, Tree Swallows, Yellow Warblers, blackbirds, sparrows, and ever-friendly American Robins around the campsite.  I would highly recommend this campsite as a destination for the birding-inclined camper or any family looking for a prairie getaway.

In total, 48 species were seen on the weekend getaway and a birder working the area in a more focused way would have no trouble finding many more.  For those interested here's the list of species seen either at Kinbrook or in the immediate Brooks area:

Canada Goose	Branta canadensis
American Wigeon	Anas americana
Mallard	Anas platyrhynchos
Blue-winged Teal	Anas discors
Northern Shoveler	Anas clypeata
Northern Pintail	Anas acuta
Redhead	Aythya americana
Lesser Scaup	Aythya affinis
Ruddy Duck	Oxyura jamaicensis
Red-necked Grebe	Podiceps grisegena
American White Pelican	Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Northern Harrier	Circus cyaneus
Swainson's Hawk	Buteo swainsoni (on nest)
Red-tailed Hawk	Buteo jamaicensis
American Coot	Fulica americana
Yellowlegs sp.	Tringa sp.
Wilson's Snipe	Gallinago delicata
Ring-billed Gull	Larus delawarensis
Forster's Tern	Sterna forsteri
Rock Pigeon	Columba livia
Mourning Dove	Zenaida macroura
Great Horned Owl	Bubo virginianus (adult with two fledglings)
Northern Flicker	Colaptes auratus
Least Flycatcher	Empidonax minimus
Western Kingbird	Tyrannus verticalis
Eastern Kingbird	Tyrannus tyrannus
Black-billed Magpie	Pica hudsonia
American Crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos
Common Raven	Corvus corax
Tree Swallow	Tachycineta bicolor (on nest - tree cavity)
Barn Swallow	Hirundo rustica
Marsh Wren	Cistothorus palustris
American Robin	Turdus migratorius (on nest)
Hermit Thrush	Catharus guttatus
European Starling	Sturnus vulgaris
Yellow Warbler	Dendroica petechia
Common Yellowthroat	Geothlypis trichas
Chipping Sparrow	Spizella passerina
Clay-colored Sparrow	Spizella pallida
Vesper Sparrow	Pooecetes gramineus
Song Sparrow	Melospiza melodia
Red-winged Blackbird	Agelaius phoeniceus
Western Meadowlark	Sturnella neglecta
Yellow-headed Blackbird	Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus
Brewer's Blackbird	Euphagus cyanocephalus
Brown-headed Cowbird	Molothrus ater
Baltimore Oriole	Icterus galbula
House Sparrow	Passer domesticus

Update to Inglewood Return

Moments after posting the last post, I noticed that Birds Calgary has posted the results of the Big Sit, and apparently bumped into the same very friendly Swainson's Hawk.  Details here.