Pile Bay, November 28

Brown Pelican

I stopped at Pile Bay on my way home yesterday after work to see what seabirds were there.  I was surprised to find a Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) in among the accustomed Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus) sitting on one of the buoys.  I observed it fishing, plunging into the water to catch fry, a process which displayed the incredible sack under its bill.  Another surprise visitor was a Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus). These large gulls are becoming a  yearly visitor to the island of late.  I saw 13 species in the few minutes I was there.  

See the list below

1. Zenaida Dove (Zenaida aurita)
2. Antillean Crested Hummingbird (Orthorhyncus cristatus)
3. Sanderling (Calidris alba)
4. Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
5. Laughing Gull (Leucophaeus atricilla)
6. Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus)
7. Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus)
8. Magnificent Frigatebird (Fregata magnificens)
9. Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster)
10. Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)
11. Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)
12. Yellow Warbler (Golden) (Setophaga petechia [petechia Group])
13. Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola)

Calgary, Alberta - Day 8 - August 8th ( Frank Lake)

Observation Hut at Frank Lake

I started my morning as normal at Burnsmead, and what a beautiful morning it was.  I followed the trail next to the river in a northerly direction towards the park Bankside, recording  24 species but no lifers or new birds for the trip.  The highlight of the morning was watching a Merlin (Falco columbarius), unsuccessfully, go after a Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus).  The Flicker, though slower than the bird of prey, kept evading it by flying a circuit in and out and between branches of a tree.  All the while, the deafening calls of a group of Black-billed Magpies (Pica hudsonia) tried their best to distract and confuse the raptor.  In the end, the Merlin gave up the chase and the Flicker survived another day.

In the afternoon my uncle took me to one of the primary birding hotspots in the province, Frank Lake,  located about 30 miles (50 km) south of Calgary.  I enjoyed the long drive along highway 23 as it allowed me to see more of the beauty of Alberta, but after an hour or so we turned off of the highway onto a dirt trail and drove for about 1.5 miles (2.4km) to the end of that trail and a very large lake came into view.  I followed a wooden boardwalk to a lookout hut. While on the boardwalk I got my first lifer, a  Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris).  At the hut four photographers were busy photographing the spread of birds before them, one of them was trying to photograph the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) fishing.  The lake was massive and many of the birds were really too far to identify but the photographers, one in particular, were helpful in pointing out a few birds to me and also directed me to the best spot along the lake to see my targeted birds. 

Because of following their directions I saw birds such as the grebes - Horned  (Podiceps auritus), Eared (Podiceps nigricollis) and Western (Aechmophorus occidentalis) also one of the main birds I wanted to see, White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), sadly I cannot remember their names, I blame it on aging, but would like to thank them once again.

I really enjoyed my trip to this Important Bird Area, it is a fine example of conservation at work and I am looking forward to visiting it again on my next trip to Calgary.  At the end of day 8 I saw 11 new birds for the trip, six of which were lifers.

Trip Tally

New Species for the Day: 11

New Lifers for the Day: 6

Total Species for the Trip: 92

Total Lifers for the Trip: 63

Horned Grebe; Eared Grebe; Western Grebe; Black-necked Stilt;  American Avocet;

Killdeer; Long-billed Dowitcher; Black Tern; White-faced Ibis; Barn Swallow;

Marsh Wren

<---Day 7 | Main |Days 9&10

Frank Lake

Pied-billed Grebe

American Avocet (Lifer)

Eared Grebe (Lifer)

Eared Grebe (Lifer)

Eared Grebe (Lifer)

Horned Grebe Juvenile (Lifer)

Calgary, Alberta - Day 7 - August 7th (Lafarge Meadows)

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Lafarge Meadows is located on the south side of Highway 22x, which is over 2.5 miles (4km) from Burnsmead, my entry point into Fish Creek.  My target birds were Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) and Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula).

I started my morning at Burnsmead recording 25 species, including one new bird for the trip, a Lesser Yellowleg.  I followed the trail through Hull Wood, passed the Boat Launch, passed under the underpass for Highway 22x, and into the Lafarge Meadows.   Lafarge consisted of several ponds and one large lake, as well as a few grassy and wooded areas along the bank of the Bow River. 

At the first pond, I saw a grebe but it turned out to be a Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), however, in the lake I saw a Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena) with a chick.  A large percentage of the birds were too far out in the lake to identify but the ones I was able to identify were American Coot (Fulica Americana), Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), and of course Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).  In one area along the pathway, I saw a large number of Swallows, mainly Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), sitting on the road.  It presented the perfect opportunity to have a closer look and to photograph these very active birds at rest.

Going in the opposite direction, heading back towards the highway, I followed a trail next to the Bow River.  This trail started out with a grassy area and some spots of shrubbery.  I recorded three lifers in these areas, one being an unexpected lifer.  The lifers were Orange-crowned Warbler (Leiothlypis celata) and Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrine) and the surprise was Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), a bird I thought I saw in Trinidad in 2016 but that bird was really a Yellow-hooded Blackbird (Chrysomus icterocephalus).  I recorded another lifer,  Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) just before entering the wooded area next to the river.  In the wooded area I saw lots of warblers mainly Yellow (Setophaga petechia) and Yellow-rumped (Setophaga coronate) along with a few I was unable to identify.  I was able to identify my second targeted bird, Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) as it flew low among the shrubs along the undergrowth of the woods.

In total, I spent close to 3 hours on the trails at Lafarge Meadows and walked just over 3 miles (5km),  observing 36 species, 8 species were first for the trip and 6 of them were lifers.  I had hopes of visiting the meadow trails before the end of my trip but never made it back.  It is at the top of my list for my next trip.

Trip Tally

New Species for the Day: 9

New Lifers for the Day: 6

Total Species for the Trip: 81

Total Lifers for the Trip: 57

Lesser Yellowlegs; Pied-billed Grebe; Red-necked Grebe; Bank Swallow; Yellow-headed Blackbird; Baltimore Oriole; Brewer's Blackbird; Tennessee Warbler; Orange-crowned Warbler 

<---Day 6 | Main | Day 8 --->

Gray Catbird -Dumetella carolinensis

Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Tree Swallows

swallows

Brewer's Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus

Tennessee Warbler

Clay-colored Sparrow Spizella pallida

Calgary, Alberta - Day 6 - August 6th

Great Horned Owl

After I took day 5 off from Fish Creek, day 6 found me again at Burnsmead.  Straight away I recorded a lifer, a Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus lobatus), but my goal was to try once more to see the owls at the ranch.  On my walk to the ranch, I met a birder on a bicycle who asked if I saw the owls.  I told him no.  He said he just saw two owlets and tried to explain to me, without any success, where he saw them.  He finally decided it was best and faster to just take me to them and got off his bike and lead me in the opposite direction to the one he was traveling in.  After a brisk walk for about 2 to 3 minutes, we turned off of the paved trail, to first, a grassy area and then into a wooded area just below a hill.  Not too far in, he stopped and pointed out to me the two Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) chicks perched on a dead tree.  I took a few photographs and we both left them as we found them.  I spent another hour or so birding along the creek and the woods, getting good looks at the Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus) and Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus).

As I was leaving the woods heading back towards Burnsmead, a lady, probably noticing my camera, asked me if I saw the Bobcats.  I told her no and she told me that there was a bobcat and two kittens by a pedestrian bridge, not too far from the visitor’s center.  I hurried to the bridge and saw a few persons congregated at both ends.  

As I looked across the bridge, I got my first look at a bobcat looking right back at me.  It was a lot smaller than I expected, about the size of a medium-sized dog, reminding me of a large domestic cat.  The cat was surprising, well at least to me, docile.  It allowed persons to pass, even with dogs, without making a fuss.  I got a few images of the mother and kittens; this was one of the highlights of my trip. 

I made my way to the visitor’s center which was now open and I toured the museum, which highlighted the history and natural history of the area.  Just after leaving the visitor’s center I recorded another lifer, Hairy Woodpecker ( Dryobates villosus).  This woodpecker resembled the Downy but had a larger bill.  Day 6 was one of my most memorable days of the trip with the owls, the bobcats and the tour of the museum.  I added 7 more species, 3 of which were lifers.

Trip Tally

New Species for the Day: 7
New Lifers for the Day: 3
Total Species for the Trip: 72
Total Lifers for the Trip: 51

Red-necked Phalarope; Solitary Sandpiper; Great Horned Owl; Belted Kingfisher; Hairy Woodpecker; Ruddy Duck; Sora

 <---Day 5 | Main | 7 Day -->

Red-necked Phalarope

Least Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

Western Wood-Pewee

Hairy Woodpecker

Swainson's Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Bobcat

Rainy November Birding

This morning’s weather prompted me to make a trip to the northern parish of St. Lucy in the hope of seeing migratory warblers.  It was very overcast with periods of rain, the type of weather that may briefly interrupt the journey of these small travelers.  Sadly, for me,  I saw not one migratory warbler but did see over 40 species, including two Upland Sandpipers, a year bird for me. This increased my local tally to 104 species for the year. 

See the morning’s checklist along with a few images:

1. Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - Dendrocygna autumnalis
2. Blue-winged Teal - Spatula discors
3. Scaly-naped Pigeon - Patagioenas squamosa
4. Eurasian Collared-Dove - Streptopelia decaocto
5. Common Ground Dove - Columbina passerina
6. Zenaida Dove - Zenaida aurita
7. Yellow-billed Cuckoo - Coccyzus americanus
8. Antillean Crested Hummingbird - Orthorhyncus cristatus
9. Common Gallinule - Gallinula galeata
10. American Golden-Plover - Pluvialis dominica
11. Southern Lapwing - Vanellus chilensis
12. Semipalmated Plover - Charadrius semipalmatus
13. Upland Sandpiper - Bartramia longicauda
14. Ruddy Turnstone - Arenaria interpres
15. Least Sandpiper - Calidris minutilla
16. White-rumped Sandpiper - Calidris fuscicollis
17. Pectoral Sandpiper - Calidris melanotos
18. Semipalmated Sandpiper - Calidris pusilla
19. Wilson's Snipe - Gallinago delicata
20. Spotted Sandpiper - Actitis macularius
21. Greater Yellowlegs - Tringa melanoleuca
22. Lesser Yellowlegs - Tringa flavipes
23. Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias
24. Great Egret - Ardea alba
25. Little Egret - Egretta garzetta
26. Snowy Egret - Egretta thula
27. Little Blue Heron - Egretta caerulea
28. Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis
29. Green Heron - Butorides virescens
30. Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus
31. Rose-ringed Parakeet - Psittacula krameri
32. Caribbean Elaenia - Elaenia martinica
33. Gray Kingbird - Tyrannus dominicensis
34. Black-whiskered Vireo - Vireo altiloquus
35. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica
36. Shiny Cowbird - Molothrus bonariensis
37. Carib Grackle - Quiscalus lugubris
38. Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia
39. Grassland Yellow-Finch - Sicalis luteola
40. Bananaquit - Coereba flaveola
41. Barbados Bullfinch - Loxigilla barbadensis
42. Black-faced Grassquit - Melanospiza bicolor

Wilson's Snipe - the master of camouflage

Yellow-billed Cuckoo #1

Yellow-billed Cuckoo #2

American Golden-Plover

Great Blue Heron

Cattle Egret