The Enthusiastic Birder: Calgary, Alberta - Day 7

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

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