Christmas Bird Count - Calgary

Plans for a quiet Christmas around town enable me to participate in three Christmas Bird Counts this year.  The first of these was last weekend's Calgary count where I counted with four other birders in South Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead Natural Area.  This area has been referred to as "the long walk" by some as it's a relatively remote area for an urban count, has historically low species diversity and is therefore assigned to birders willing to spend six or seven hours wandering the woods in winter weather.  Nevertheless, I've had fun on this count the last couple of years and looked forward to our day out.  Here are a few shots of some of the twenty-one species we encountered.

Although I've seen a lot of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Regulus satrapa, I've not had much luck photographing them.  That's perhaps not surprising as they are Alberta's tiniest songbirds, barely bigger than our smallest hummingbirds, and weighing in at just six grams - less than a loonie!  Their flight reminds me of hummingbirds too as they flit around the shadowy branches of spruce trees looking for food and somehow eking out a living at thirty below.  This particular bird finally sat still in the sun long enough for me to get a decent shot.

Believe it or not, this photo is also an improvement on previous work.  Of course that's easy when I have never managed to photograph Brown Creeper, Certhia americana, in Alberta!

Pileated Woodpecker, Dryocopus pileatus, started the year as a bit of nemesis for me - never seen in Alberta or anywhere since I started birding in earnest a few years ago.  I finally found one in the spring and then got fantastic looks a few weeks ago.  Two of the members of our group, who were newer birders, had been having similar issues so it was nice to relive my experience through them as we got great looks and a startlingly close flypast from this female.

I don't have much to say about this photo except that it's a Common Redpoll, it's very pretty, we saw a hundred and thirty others just like it, and no, we didn't see any Hoary Redpolls.  But that's fine because these birds are perfectly lovely with their streaks intact.

Boreal Chickadees, Poecile hudsonicus, are a target species for this count area and we found a half dozen of them hanging out with various flocks of Black-capped Chickadees.  They are distinguishable by their brown caps, reddish-brown flanks and different calls but this uncharacteristically bold individual made life easier by feeding a few feet away while we ate lunch.

At the end of the day, we had another great count experience and I look forward to the next one - Sheep River/Turner Valley on December 29th.  There's a full list of counts on the Birds Calgary website and lots of time to get involved.  Hope to see you out there!

Hummingbird Hunt

The last couple of weeks have been a little hectic.  My grandfather in England passed away peacefully at the age of 91.  I went over for the funeral and that had the roll on effect of putting me behind at school, just as report cards are coming due.  Nonetheless, I'm really glad I was able to go over and, as this is a nature blog, I should mention that there was some good birding in the UK.  I will post more on Granddad and the British birds at a later date.

In the here and now, it was nice to rejoin the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park birding group after a two week absence.  Last weekend we looked around Bowmont Park and this week we went back to the Weaselhead Natural Area to look for Calliope and Rufous hummingbirds.  These smallest of birds once again proved to be great ambassadors for birding and the session was very well attended despite the recent heavy rains and muddy trails.  Here are a few photos from the day:

Strictly an ID photo!  This profile view shows the purple and white throat streaks characteristic of a male Calliope Hummingbird, Stellula calliope.  This is the smallest bird species in North America, north of Mexico.

A somewhat clearer image of a Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorous rufus, showing its buffy red flanks and shimmering orange-red gorget (throat feathers).

In the same bushy riverside area where we found the Rufous Hummingbirds there were lots of very approachable Cedar Waxwings, Bombycilla cedrorum.  These ones had pulled a flower from a caragana bush and...

...were passing it back and forth between them, an activity that helps to strengthen bonds between mates and within flocks.  Both of these images also show the red waxy droplets on the wings, from which we derived their name.

The Eastern Phoebe we had seen back in April was now a pair with a nest under the bridge.  This individual waited for us to move on before delivering the package in its beak to the waiting young.

If you are interested in looking for these hummingbirds yourself, check out this excellent post over on "Birds Calgary" which has detailed directions and maps.

An Early Migrant at the Friends of Fish Creek Spring Birding Course

This Saturday morning, and for most of the next 11 Saturdays, I'm assisting with guiding a spring birdwatching course run by the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park.  These courses are very popular with well over 100 participants going out basically every day of the week to various locations in Calgary.  If you're interested, there are a few spots available for some days and the course information can be found here (update April 14th: link no longer works - just goes to FFCPP website as registration is closed).  We had a nice morning birding North Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead.  Highlights included great views of a very early arriving Eastern Phoebe,   a small flock of White-winged Crossbills feeding low down in the trees, and a Northern Shrike - a life bird for me.  It was also nice to see small groups of Trumpeter Swans on the Glenmore Reservoir, along with that other harbinger of spring waterfowl, a Northern Pintail.  A few photos follow below, along with a complete species list.

A pair of Blue Jays flew through the parking lot while I was waiting for the rest of the group to arrive - nice birds for Calgary

Maybe they call it a Least Chipmunk because it fits in a tuna can bird feeder.

In a few days there will be no Pine Grosbeaks left in Calgary, as they head north, but this youngster was still hanging out doing it's best at a spring song. 

A Red-breasted Nuthatch, also looking for treats at the feeders

This Eastern Phoebe has returned unusually early to a customary nesting site under the wooden arch bridge on the Weaselhead trails.  We didn't see any insects but this bird was certainly finding them on the surface of the snow-covered creek.  While the bird sat on a bankside perch performing the tell-"tail" phoebe tail flick, I was able to snap this shot which captures another good field mark - the dark smudges on either side of the breast.

We had great views of a small group of White-winged Crossbills feeding unusually low in the trees.  As crossbill photos go, this one turned out ok.

Checking my list when I got home, I was surprised to find that this White-breasted Nuthatch was my first of the year - must be a book-keeping error! 

A nice morning of birding with a friendly and keen group of people - I'm looking forward to the next one!  Here's the list of species seen/heard:

1. Canada Goose
2. Trumpeter Swan
3. American Wigeon
4. Mallard
5. Northern Pintail
6. Bufflehead
7. Common Goldeneye
8. Ring-billed Gull
9. California Gull
10. Northern Flicker
11. Red-tailed Hawk (2, one of which was Harlan's)
12. Northern Flicker (heard only)
13. Eastern Phoebe
14. Northern Shrike
15. Blue Jay
16. Black-billed Magpie
17. American Crow
18. Common Raven
19. Black-capped Chickadee
20. Boreal Chickadee
21. Red-breasted Nuthatch
22. White-breasted Nuthatch
23. American Robin
24. Bohemian Waxwing
25. American Tree Sparrow
26. Song Sparrow (heard only)
27. Pine Grosbeak
28. White-winged Crossbill
29. Common Redpoll
30. Pine Siskin
31. House Sparrow

Christmas Bird Count Continued

As promised, a few more Christmas Bird Count images to brighten up your mid-week.  More on Flickr if you're interested and Dan Arndt posted his own recollections of our count over on the Birds Calgary blog.

Our count group in the Weaselhead

Common Redpolls busy feeding

Hairy Woodpecker hammering away

A fairly appalling photo of a lifer juvenile Northern Goshawk

I believe I already mentioned there were a LOT of Pine Grosbeaks (male above, female "on approach")

Christmas Bird Count

I joined 5 other birders for the 60th Annual Calgary Area Christmas Bird Count today.  We had a terrific day out exploring South Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead in lovely warm winter weather.  This year continues to be a great one for finches with dozens and dozens of Pine Grosbeaks.  We also found a few pleasant surprises such as Northern Goshawk, Hoary Redpoll, Ruffed Grouse, and Boreal Chickadee.  Here are a few photos with comments as necessary - I'll post some more later in the week.  I have also uploaded some to my Flickr account and Dan Arndt said he would be doing likewise in the next day or two.

If the day had a "theme" bird, I think this was it.  I forget the final tally but we certainly saw a lot more than the 6 Pine Grosbeaks of last year's count!

A single Boreal Chickadee tagging along with half a dozen Black-capped gave me best ever views of this species.

A pair of Ruffed Grouse flushed up into the trees as we walked along a trail beside the reservoir.  The intricate pattern of this bird's feathers is remarkable.

We engaged in what John Acorn refers to as "the Great Redpoll Debate" but remain confident that this is a Hoary Redpoll (in front of a Common) based on the white tail coverts, broad white band on the wing, and overall "frostier" appearance.

Weaselhead by Water

Tuesday was a lovely day for a paddle on the Glenmore Reservoir.  The water levels are still very high and I was also able to paddle a long way up the Elbow River.  The marshy area where the river enters the reservoir was extensively flooded and there was some very cool paddling in among the bushes.

West end of Glenmore Reservoir, photo taken with smartphone

The birding was relatively sparse, at least in part because of the time of day (11:30 to 2:30).  Despite this there were some neat sightings along the way.

Spotted Sandpipers aren't very spotted at this time of year but there were many of them along the south shore of the reservoir, including these two squabbling for space on a log.  There were also many Cedar Waxwings and some tantalizing glimpses of warblers such as Wilson's and Yellow Warblers.  Closer to the west end of the reservoir I enjoyed watching this Least Flycatcher hunting among some shrubs.

Just around the corner I surprised a juvenile Cooper's Hawk.  This was to be the first of two accipiters for the day as a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew across in front of me as I was paddling up a narrow channel in the Weaselhead.

Heading back across the reservoir there were a few ducks, gulls, and grebes scattered across the water but I most enjoyed watching three Double-crested Cormorants swimming and sunning themselves along the mouth of the river.