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Certifiying a Golf Course at 5:00 AM

Every year, a bird search is conducted on the Livingstone Ranch Golf Course. This isn’t a legal requirement, but apparently the golf course is “Audubon Certified” if we do it. We went out, with the courses permission last Saturday, June 4th.

My Dad complained good-heartedly about getting up at 4:30 a.m. – don’t ask me why. It was a pleasant morning, still an hour to sunrise, but we could see quite well. Upon meeting the Calgary part of our group (everybody but us), we learned that they had seen a Grizzly in the middle of a field with two Coyotes. What’s with that, I wonder? We birded the area around the gates until we were let in by a man working on the golf course.

We found an American Kestrel, a Yellow Warbler and some Swallows around the gates.

We split up into two groups, one to go on the more plentiful north side of the course, and one for the south.
My Dad an I ended up going down the south side, but we started by walking along the ridge that formed a natural barrier between the two sides. Tossing down the occasional golf ball, we listned and watched, but there was not much around. A House Wren burbled ahead, and a pair of Grey Jays burst out from the tree-tops.

We stood for a time near a Sapsucker’s nest hole. We had seen a young bird, but it was fully fledged and did not come back while we watched. At the end of the ridge, we met a Red-tailed Hawk and a dozen Clay-colored Sparrows. Continuing into a small grove of trees, the leader of our group unknowingly flushed a Ruffed Grouse. He hadn’t even realized until I pointed it out.

The grouse strutted around imperiously, and for a minute it looked as though it might drum, but no luck.

An unexpected sighting came next. There are usually plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds around the course, but Yellow-headed? Not often. When a dozen females flew over, we were surprised, but when 20 males followed hot on their tails, we were excited. 30 Yellow-heads was the most unusual sighting so far.

At the back end of the Golf Course’s property, we found a pair of White-crowned Sparrows, some Savanah Sparrows, and a Wilson’s Snipe on top of a tree.

It was only 8:00 AM by now, so I will write about the rest of the morning later, to keep it kind of
short. So expect a sequal in short order!

Day 2 of The BowKan Bird Count

Through what could be the biggest schedule change ever, I ended up going on the next day in addition to the usual Saturday. We started at 10:00 at the main parking lot in Dead Man’s Flats, where we heard a Swainson’s Thrush singing continually as we waited for the fourth and last member of our group to arrive.

We strolled around the campground, listening to the Chipping Sparrows, Swainson’s Thrush, and Robins. A Common Merganser flew down the river, across which there were singing Tennessee Warblers and White-throated Sparrows.

In the Hamlet itself, we discovered Northern Waterthrush, White-crowned Sparrow and Yellow Warblers. The three main corvids were everywhere.

We drove down the highway a little ways to a place we call “The Dyke.” Inventive name, right? Oh well.

The Dyke was filled with birdsong, but it was in one spot in particular that the Warbling Vireos, Tennessee Warblers, and American Redstarts came into the spotlight. All of the other birds, exept White-throated Sparrow, fell to the background.

As this part of the count never really lasts that long, we ended then, at 2:00 pm. I have created a list of all the bird species that I saw here, if anyone is interested.

And so I waited patiently for 6 more days until my next big birding excursion. But that will have to wait for later.

The BowKan Bird Count

It seems like every Saturday is a big birding event right now! The BowKan Bird Count is the bird count that I’ve been doing since I was 6 years old. We have two counts per year, one in the spring and one in the winter. While in England, I missed the first count since I started. Back for the Spring count, I car-pooled with 4 other counters for the whole day. We started (as usual) at the Lac Des Arcs campground where we saw the all the regulars exept Belted Kingfisher. It was gloomy and overcast, but that didn’t hold the birds down.

At the Al Lesann Bridge Trail, we were walking along, trying to hear that little peep in the bush when a pair of Rufous Hummingbirds whizzed around us. It was all good fun, until they started trying to kill us. Having a tiny red bullet shooting throught the air at our heads is kind of unnerving, but that was nothing compared to my shock when, after ducking under a low branch, I straightend up and was hit! At first I was worried about the hummer’s health, but when it was obvious that the bird was ok, I started to take photos. I actually got some nice ones of the bird sitting, preening in a tree 30 feet off.

A quarter-hour later, we were stepping out of the van at the Buffalo Bill Pond Trail-head. Chipping Sparrows and Juncos were prominent, with many invisible Least Flycatchers, some Mountain Bluebirds, and a Vesper Sparrow all there.

Farther down, we found one of the two Kingbird species that were there last year.

At the pond itself, there were 5 swallows, many Coot, and a Ruffed Grouse boomed behind us. There were some Spotted Sandpipers and Yellow Warblers down the shoreline. A Pied-billed Grebe in the water.

And lots and lots of Little Blue Butterflies.

We ended the trip back at Lac Des Arcs, but on the other end. Strolling down the path, we came upon some (very) fresh bear scat. It was a place that bears frequented, so this was not surprising. We continued down the path, and found one spot that was rich in birds. Stopping there to watch the Warbling Vireos, Warblers and Redstarts, we followed as the flock moved down the path a little ways. Turning a corner brought us the sight of a large and healthy Black Bear, so we, disappointed, turned back, having completed about 17% of what we wanted to do there.

We decided to end the day then, as it was already 3:45 pm. It was a successful count, on which I found 61 species over two days, in about 11 total hours. I’ll post some photos and the story from the next day soon.

My Great Canadian Birdathon #2

This is the second post in my series of two posts about my Great Canadian Birdathon. In my last post, I mentioned the abundance of waterbirds that we saw. This post is all about the passerines. Find the first post here. To find out more about the Birdathon, listen to my radio interview here:

I woke up early on the Saturday, and toured the local hotspot near my house. Surprisingly, there was not too much new there, but it was still an enjoyable walk.

At 7:30, we stopped by at an Osprey nest to pick them up, and found not only the pair, but a Pileated Woodpecker in addition.

We found ourselves racing against the clock to get to the Banff Birdwalk in time. Screeching to a halt, we jumped out just in time to depart on the walk. The organiser, whose birding by ear is brilliant, was unfortunately not there, so the walk was perhaps slightly slower than we would have liked. The ponds were dried up, and the morning was cold and wet, but the birds were active. By nine, we had seen a few new species including a Western-wood Pewee displaying for us.

At 9:30 I was twitching, and by ten I gave up. “We have to leave the group. We’re not getting anything new, and by my count we need four species still to break 100.” My Dad agreed, and we slipped away from the group and continued, going at a rather faster pace towards a better birding place. On the way we found a Boreal Chickadee.

As we turned a corner, we ran into an off-shoot of the group that had had the same idea as us. “Did you see the Wilson’s Warblers?” they ask. “No.” A Wilson’s would be a new one for the day. Before we had the chance to find one, a thrush flew up onto a branch above us. Northern Waterthrush! And then the Wilson’s called. “That’s it” I crowed, “100 species!” How wrong I would turn out to be.

Nearing the very end of the count, first I, then my Dad ventured into the swampy undergrowth at the side of the marsh, pursuing what would turn out to be a Le Conte’s Sparrow. Out of nowhere, the sharp tic-tic-tic of avian feet walking along thick branch caught our attention. Simultaneously, we swung around just in time to see a Virginia Rail disappear into the bushes. This rarely seen bird is heard on most Christmas Bird Counts here, but to see it is pretty good going. Too bad we didn’t get a photo.

I glanced at my watch. Time was up. By my count, we had broken 100 species by exactly one. Boy was I wrong. In retrospect, going through photos and adding all the lists together, the count was 1 short of my biggest big day ever. We got 120 species. See the full list here: 2016 Great Canadian Birdathon Species List

Oh, and on the way home I got some decent photos of a Black Bear, so I thought that I would share them.

There is still plenty of time to donate! Please help me make this Birdathon even greater by supporting me here! Thank you very much to those who have done so already, your donation is greatly appreciated!

A Special Day

The Canmore Eagle Watch is a volunteer-run bird count targeting the Golden Eagle Migration. Everyday from late February to mid April and mid August to mid October. The purpose is to count all the migrating eagles and others that pass through our area.

A Golden that was released a few years ago, after being treated for lead poisoning.

Last week, I was invited to join some of the people who were on duty on Thursday (April 7). I gladly accepted, and so it was that I was out of the door by 6:30 on the day. we drove to Hay Meadows, where the viewing point is, and were set up by 8:15.

There were Varied Thrushes calling every 30 seconds, a pair of Golden-crowned Kinglets and a Northern Shrike among many others. We didn’t see an eagle until just past 11:00 , but on the two short walks I took that morning, I saw Mountain Chickadees, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Flickers and a Ruffed Grouse on it’s drumming log.

At about 11:45, our main observer was checking the temperature a short distance away and I was scanning the skies when the third member of our trio tapped me on the shoulder and pointed behind me. As soon as I saw it, I was groping for my camera.

That’s right. A Lynx. Literally, a once in a lifetime experience.

That seemed to cost us some eagles, though, as by 7:00 we had seen only 3 Golden and 2 Bald, but, as soon as we had packed up our scopes, we started seeing them every 5 minutes! by the time we left (about 8:45), we had seen 7 more Goldens!

We ended the day having seen 10 migrant and 2 resident Golden Eagles, and 2 resident Balds. And of course, a Lynx.

The Great Canadian Birdathon

The Great Canadian Birdathon is a fundraiser to help endangered species, and to keep common birds common. My webpage is here. It’s that simple! There is no designated amount to donate, so you can give anywhere from $1 to $10,000.

For more information, see here and here. To donate, go to my webpage here. Thank you for your important support!

Spring Arrivals

Spring has hit already. It seems like just a month ago I was watching birds swing through on their way south.Of course, I wasn’t. I was actually wondering why so many Snowy Owls were around, and if winter would ever end.

But now? Between my dad and I, we have seen Song, White-throated and White-crowned Sparrows in addition to the ubiquitous House Sparrows. We have seen many swans, and Snow Geese have been seen as well. Last year, I didn’t find a song sparrow until April, but I saw them in the first week of March this year.

Once it hits, though, migration is unstoppable. American Robins are back in the neighbourhood, and eagles are flying flying through in their hundreds. Some birds are pairing up already, and and two my favourite nest sites have welcomed their owners back already.

Last week, we went to Weed Lake where we saw 5 Snowy Owls, American Widgeon, Lesser Scaup, and an unusual Eurasian Widgeon. The Owls were sitting on the ice, as it was, (for once) the only white substance for miles around.

Soon we can be expecting Swallows, Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Yellow-rumped Warblers and many more Gulls. Here are some photos of birdswe saw at Weed Lake.