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03 Jul Re: Paucity of Gophers [Barb Beck ] 3 Jul Paucity of Gophers ["Brian Lewis" ] 3 Jul Dusky Flycatcher ["Bill Walker" ] 02 Jul RBA, Calgary, AB, July 2, 2009 [Jean Moore ] 02 Jul Canada Warblers on Canada Day ["Gerald Romanchuk" ] 1 Jul Elbow River Monthly Survey, 0630-1000, 01Jul09. Sunny, calm, 05-16C. ["Gus Yaki" ] 01 Jul Sedge Wren & Swamp Sparrow NW of Cochrane ["William J. F. Wilson" ] 01 Jul Elk Island National Park ["Sean D. Smith" ] 01 Jul Poorwill seem to be absent in those hills! ["naturalistbob60" ] 01 Jul Long Lake BBS route ["Gerald Romanchuk" ] 30 Jun CFNS Birds, Griffith Woods Park, 1830-2015, 30Jun09, Heavy overcast, rain at end. ["Gus Yaki" ] 30 Jun FFCPPSoc Birding -To W. Bragg Creek, Kananaskis Country, Tues, 30 June 2009. ["Gus Yaki" ] 29 Jun New Photos - A Bird and Butterflies [Douglas Faulder ] 29 Jun Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 ["Patricia Mitchell" ] 29 Jun Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 ["Patricia Mitchell" ] 28 Jun Nature Calgary Fieldtrip to Water Valley Area [Eric Tull ] 28 Jun Lorette & Sibbald Trail ["William J. F. Wilson" ] 28 Jun Alberta Bird Record ["Grahame Booth" ] 27 Jun Re: Re: NMT birding Nose Hill to Fish Creek, Calgary ["William J. F. Wilson" ] 27 Jun Re: Re: name for baby loon [savagebirder ] 28 Jun ENC Elk Island Century Day Jun 27 2009 ["bjsedmonton" ] 28 Jun Re: NMT birding Nose Hill to Fish Creek, Calgary ["Curtis Manly" ] 27 Jun Re: Re: name for baby loon ["Sid Andrews" ] 27 Jun NMT birding Nose Hill to Fish Creek, Calgary ["William J. F. Wilson" ] 27 Jun Ovenbird ["Bill Walker" ] 27 Jun Re: name for baby loon ["Ted Hindmarch" ] 26 Jun RE: name for baby loon ["akayokaki AT yahoo.com" ] 27 Jun Re: name for baby loon ["kjcbhere" ] 27 Jun Re: name for baby loon ["Dave Elphinstone" ] 26 Jun name for baby loon [savagebirder ] 26 Jun Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow (Brewer's?) [savagebirder ] 26 Jun Black-crowned Night Heron ["banksia1412" ] 26 Jun Dusky Flycatcher ["Bill Walker" ] 25 Jun RBA, Calgary, AB, June 25, 2009 [Jean Moore ] 25 Jun Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow (Brewer's?) ["Mike Mulligan" ] 25 Jun Re: Soltstice at Sundial Cont ["kjcbhere" ] 24 Jun Soltstice at Sundial Cont [Ryan Heavy Head ] 24 Jun Solstice at Sundial [Ryan Heavy Head ] 24 Jun Le Conte's Sparrow [Allan Cole ] 24 Jun Big chill in Churchill - Winnipeg Free Press ["Mike Mulligan" ] 24 Jun New Member ["silfox11" ] 24 Jun Re: Cold Lake this weekend ["Curtis Manly" ] 23 Jun Tuesday Morning at Frank Lake [Dwight Knapik ] 23 Jun Re: Help with bird ID - New Bird Photographs [Barb Beck ] 23 Jun Help with bird ID - New Bird Photographs ["dlilly154" ] 23 Jun Cold Lake this weekend ["Gerald Romanchuk" ] 22 Jun Birds Calgary 2010 [Eric Tull ] 23 Jun Crimson lake ["Don Delaney" ] 23 Jun Wilson's Snipe just outside High River on the NW ["Jill" ] 22 Jun RBA, Calgary, AB, June 22, 2009 [Jean Moore ] 21 Jun Re: Upland Sandpiper and Three-toed Woodpecker [Adam Blake ] 21 Jun Upland Sandpiper and Three-toed Woodpecker ["dlilly154" ] 21 Jun Griffith Woods Park, June 21/09 [James Brydle ] 21 Jun RE: RFI - Baird's Sparrow [Jason Rogers ] 21 Jun RE: Timberline - Species? [Jason Rogers ] 20 Jun Timberline - Species? [savagebirder ] 20 Jun FFCPPSoc. Birding, 9-12noon, Sat. 20 Jun 2009. Weaselhead Natural Area. ["Gus Yaki" ] 20 Jun Results of the CFNS Dawn Chorus, Weaselhead Natural Area, 0330-0715, 20June 2009. ["Gus Yaki" ] 20 Jun N. Goshawk, S. Shannon Terrace, FCPP. 19 June 2009 ["Gus Yaki" ] 20 Jun NMT Birding - Glenmore-Weaselhead, Calgary ["William J. F. Wilson" ] 19 Jun Friday Morning along the Ribbon Creek Trail [Dwight Knapik ] 19 Jun RBA, Calgary, AB, June 19, 2009 [Arina/Hank ] 18 Jun Sage Thrasher south of Turner Valley [Arina/Hank ] 18 Jun NMT Birding in Calgary: Inglewood to Mallard Point ["William J. F. Wilson" ] 18 Jun Mallard congregation ["Marcel Gahbauer" ] 18 Jun Waterton Park and Milk River Natural Area [Milton Spitzer ] 17 Jun Corrections [Ryan Heavy Head ] 17 Jun From Lonely To The Man [Ryan Heavy Head ] 16 Jun RBA: Calgary, AB, June 15, 2009 [Arina/Hank ] 15 Jun Re: Edmonton June 14/15 [Barb Beck ] 15 Jun Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow [savagebirder ] 15 Jun Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow [Eric Tull ] 15 Jun Edmonton June 14/15 [Martin Sharp ] 16 Jun Re: Elk Island National Park ["Gerald Romanchuk" ] 15 Jun Golden Eagle and White Marmot at Buffalo Jump [Ryan Heavy Head ] 15 Jun Elk Island National Park ["Sean D. Smith" ] Subject: Re: Paucity of Gophers From: Barb Beck <barb AT birdnut.obtuse.com> Date: Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:25:57 -0600 There used to be a lot of Richardson's Ground Squirrels particularly in the 70s and 80s in the edmonton area. You could not drive down a road without seeing the road littered with dead squirrels. Highway 16 used to be splattered with them and more waiting on the side of the road to get squashed. It has been a while since I have even seen one killed on the road although they are still around in small numbers. About 10 years ago (maybe sooner) they almost completely disappeared from the Hannah area as did the Burrowing Owls. I think that was due to a disease. The last two years on our BBS routes in the Hanna area the Ground Squirrels have started to come back a little. Down there I always keep an eye on the ground squirrel colonies to look for Burrowing Owls. Barb Beck Edmonton. Brian Lewis wrote: > Folks is it just me or are you noticing that there are very few Richardson's > Ground Squirrels this year? We live west of Calgary near the Yellow Rail > marsh on Horse Creek Rd. and normally we see lots of them. But this year I > really haven't seen many gophers at all between here and Calgary, either > along either the 1A or along Hwy 567. Neighbours have also been commenting. > This phenomenon will no doubt affect the success rate of hawks raising > chicks this year. Has anyone else noticed this drop in the gopher > population? Is it more widespread than our area? Any thoughts as to why it > may be happening? Are gophers going through a cyclical downturn? > > Comments appreciated. > > Brian & Lois Lewis > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > ------------------------------------ > > _____________________________________________________________ > > * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com > * Guidelines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: Paucity of Gophers From: "Brian Lewis" <blewis2006 AT gmail.com> Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:59:35 -0600 Folks is it just me or are you noticing that there are very few Richardson's Ground Squirrels this year? We live west of Calgary near the Yellow Rail marsh on Horse Creek Rd. and normally we see lots of them. But this year I really haven't seen many gophers at all between here and Calgary, either along either the 1A or along Hwy 567. Neighbours have also been commenting. This phenomenon will no doubt affect the success rate of hawks raising chicks this year. Has anyone else noticed this drop in the gopher population? Is it more widespread than our area? Any thoughts as to why it may be happening? Are gophers going through a cyclical downturn? Comments appreciated. Brian & Lois Lewis [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Dusky Flycatcher From: "Bill Walker" <whwalker AT shaw.ca> Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2009 10:48:45 -0600 Yesterday I returned to the heronry area and found it still calling in the same patch of willows. I'm wondering if it has a mate with nest. This time it flew up into the spruce that overlooks the shrubbery and I was able to get several pics. I have posted my best in my Albertabird album. Next to the call the lower mandible is probably the most reliable guide and this the pic shows very well - a pale isosceles triangle with dusky tip. It also has a white spot on the lores that is more prominent than in my other empidonax pics. There are vague dusky streaks on the breast not shown in any of my guides. Bill W.H.Walker whwalker AT shaw.ca Calgary, Alb., Canada 403-278-7271 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RBA, Calgary, AB, July 2, 2009 From: Jean Moore <jmmoore AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:06:30 -0600 - RBA * Alberta (Canada) * Calgary, AB * July 2, 2009 * ABCA0907.02 -Birds mentioned Yellow Rail Upland Sandpiper Olive-sided Flycatcher Sedge Wren Swamp Sparrow Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow -Transcript Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society Bird Alert. Number: 403-221-4519 To Report: 403-221-4519 Coverage: Southern Alberta Compiler: Terry Korolyk Transcriber: Jean Moore (jmmoore AT ucalgary.ca) Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Thursday, July 2, at 10 am. To report a bird sighting, call 403-221-4519 and leave a message after the recording. To bypass the recorded message, press the pound key on your touch tone phone. To speak to a naturalist, phone 311 during office hours and ask for the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. SIGHTINGS FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 SEDGE WREN - observed by Bill Wilson at a wetland on Horse Creek Rd 9.5 km north of Hwy 1A (west of Cochrane). If coming from the north, the wetland is 0.6 km south of TwpRd 270. SWAMP SPARROW - by BW at above wetland NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW - by BW at above location 2 YELLOW RAILS - by BW at above location UPLAND SANDPIPER - by BW near the above location SIGHTINGS FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 28 SWAMP SPARROW (probable) - heard by Terry Korolyk east of Winchell Lake, south of Water Valley - the bird was on the south side of TwpRd 290, just west of the Deer Springs junction. OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER - by TK east of the above junction SIGHTINGS FOR SATURDAY, JUNE 27 SWAMP SPARROW - reported by Eric Tull and a CFNS field party - in the Water Valley area 2 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS - by ET et al in above location UPLAND SANDPIPER - by ET et al in above location. For more detailed information on above locations, call Eric Tull at 403-295-0830. (Another reliable area for finding SWAMP SPARROW in the Calgary area is the wetland on Hwy 68 just west of the Powderface Trail junction.) The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, July 6. BIRD STUDY GROUP - Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September-May at 7:30pm., Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary. BIRDING FIELD TRIPS: All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone. Willing to share your knowledge with others? If so, call 403- 243-2248 to specify date and location. Sat Jul 4, 8am: Birding Bebo Grove, FCPP, S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Tue Jul 7, 6:30pm: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Jul 14, 6:30pm: Bird FCPP, S. of Hwy 22. Meet at Boat Launch, S. end of Bow Bottom Tr SE. Leader, Nimali Seneviratne, 403-836-5146. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Weed Lake & Wyndham/Carseland Prov. Park. Meet at Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Jul 19, 7:30am. Bird Bow Valley Provincial Park. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Tue Jul 21, 6:30pm: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet parking lot, 37 St/66 Av SW. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Tue Jul 28, 6:30pm: Bird Bowness Park, 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first parking lot. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 1, 7am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Tue Aug 4, 6:30pm: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Aug 8, 8am: Bird Carburn Park. Meet in parking lot. S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sat Aug 8, 9am: Bird E of Calgary for autumn migrant shorebirds, etc. Meet at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at E end of 9 Av SE. Bring lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Aug 9, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 720-4957. Tue Aug 11, 6:30pm: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 15, 8am: Bird Hull's Woods, FCPP, for autumn migrating warblers, etc. Meet in first parking lot, E of Bow Bottom Tr after entering Park. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Aug 16, 7:15am: Birding Frank Lake for autumn migrants. Meet Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr), S of pedestrian overpass. Bring lunch. Leader, Ian Halladay, 403-243-1420. Sun Aug 16, 8:30am: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Aug 18, 6:30pm: Bird Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Tue Aug 25, 6:30pm: Bird Edworthy Park, Meet S side of Boothman Pedestrian Bridge accessed from Shaganappi Tr & Bowness Rd if N of river, or from W end of Spruce Dr if S of river. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Tue, Sep 1, 7:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is a City of Calgary natural area. Staff offer information, courses and field trips relating to natural history. Nature Calgary (Calgary Field Naturalists' Society) promotes the observation, study, and conservation of the native habitat through lectures, field trips and collection of scientific data. Nature Calgary publishes a monthly newsletter.For membership or event information email naturecalgary AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at www.naturecalgary.com. The Birding section of the website http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/index.html includes descriptions of Birding Locales in the Calgary area. -End transcript For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu Subject: Canada Warblers on Canada Day From: "Gerald Romanchuk" <geraldjr AT telusplanet.net> Date: Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:37:43 -0000 Went back up to Long Lake today & was surprised to find 5 Canada Warblers. Have never seen more than 1 in a day before, so this was a treat. I'm sure they just turned up, otherwise how could I have missed them last weekend? :) Beside's the Canada's, there was a nice variety of warblers; Orange-crowned, Tennessee, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, Black & White, Redstart, Waterthrush, & Mourning. Gerald Romanchuk, Edmonton Subject: Elbow River Monthly Survey, 0630-1000, 01Jul09. Sunny, calm, 05-16C. From: "Gus Yaki" <gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca> Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:01:23 -0600 Elbow River Monthly Survey, 01Jul09. Sunny, calm, 05-16C. 5 participants. One had to scrape ice off windshield. 1.. Canada Goose-6 + yg 2.. Mallard-11 + yg 3.. Common Merganser =4f +yg 4.. Ring-necked Pheasant-1m 5.. Osprey-4 at two nests 6.. Merlin-1 7.. Franklin's Gull-50+ 8.. Sterna Tern-1 9.. Rock Pigeon-3 10.. Downy Woodpecker-2 11.. Northern Flicker-5 12.. Black-billed Magpie-80 (many young out of nests) 13.. American Crow-12 14.. Tree Swallow-10 15.. N. Rough-winged Swallow-1 16.. Bank Swallow-1 17.. Cliff Swallow-2 (Dam colony greatly reduced). 18.. Black-capped Chickadee-7 19.. Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 20.. House Wren-9 21.. Am. Robin-40 22.. Gray Catbird-2 23.. Cedar Waxwing-5 24.. Eur. Starling-6 25.. Yellow Warbler-11 26.. Chipping Sparrow-2 27.. Clay-colored Sparrow-5 28.. Lincoln's Sparrow-2 29.. Common Grackle-1 30.. Brown-headed Cowbird-4 31.. House Finch-5 32.. House Sparrow-20 Eastern Gray Squirrel-12 Gus Yaki [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Sedge Wren & Swamp Sparrow NW of Cochrane From: "William J. F. Wilson" <wjfwilso AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:02:31 -0600 One Sedge Wren and one Swamp Sparrow were singing at the north end of the Yellow Rail marsh on Horse Creek Road this morning at 6 am. At one point a second small bird interacted with the Sedge Wren and they both flew off into the shrubbery, but I couldn't tell if it was a second Sedge Wren or a sparrow. A bit later I moved a bit south to check the marsh there and a Swamp Sparrow sang once loudly at the south end of the big patch of shrubbery (on the east side of the road), but it may have been the same one as before, just moving around. It was nice to see seven species of sparrow in one spot - Clay-coloured, Le Conte's, Lincoln's, Nelson's Sharp-tailed, Savannah, Swamp, and Vesper. Also two Yellow Rails heard, and one Upland Sandpiper some distance away on the west side of the road. Happy Canada Day, Bill Wilson Calgary Subject: Elk Island National Park From: "Sean D. Smith" <seansmith64 AT hotmail.com> Date: Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:30:56 -0000 Hi: I've a nice male RUFOUS HUMMINBIRD visiting some fuchias & sugar water in the residential area. There's perhaps one other park record. It's reckoned to be accidental (seldom) on the Edmonton & area checklist. Like this one, there's a few fledgling & dispersing birds around: seeing Black-and-White Warblers, chickadees, etc. where their weren't any before...Still GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHERS CHASING each other in the admin. compound zone. I finally caught up with Gerald's LARK SPARROW a couple of weeks ago. The guy has eyes like a hawk-owl. I just wish he'd take some decent pictures of his records :-). Outside the park there was a likely 2nd year male harrier, probably failed or non-breeding (it's always good to have someone who did their Phd on harriers to determine these things), at a marsh (212 & 544) where, just like last year, a few YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS have recently disappeared. Cheers! Sean Elk Island Subject: Poorwill seem to be absent in those hills! From: "naturalistbob60" <vintagebob AT shaw.ca> Date: Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:41:44 -0000 I recently talked with the Medicine Hat crew who reported no sign of any Poorwill in the Cypress Hills. They visited the usual spots including the Trail but alas no sign as of yet. Subject: Long Lake BBS route From: "Gerald Romanchuk" <geraldjr AT telusplanet.net> Date: Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:09:20 -0000 Well, this is a bit late but I'm still recovering from last weekend. On Sat I birded from 7am til 5:30pm with the ENC group at Elk Island. Thanks to Brian Stephens for posting the results & all the sharp eyed & eared participants that helped us get our 100 birds. After that I went for a quick bite, then gave a presentation on birds at the Astotin Theatre. Then drove up to Long Lake (just south of Boyle) so I could run my BBS route Sun am. My favourite part is the 4:23 am start time! After a long day of birding 4 hours of sleep just isn't enough. Most of the birds were pretty routine, but I did get a Connecticut Warbler on the 4th stop. Also had several Black & Whites. The first third or so of the route goes through some nice boreal habitat, but the last part is mostly agriculture & counting crows & Savanah Sparrows gets old real quick. Definately had some trouble staying awake. After finishing the route, I went back to the provincial park for, most importantly, a snooze! When I woke up, I walked a few trails - found a couple Chestnut-sided Warblers & more B & W's. Now that I'm almost recovered, maybe it's time to head south... Gerald Romanchuk, Edmonton Subject: CFNS Birds, Griffith Woods Park, 1830-2015, 30Jun09, Heavy overcast, rain at end. From: "Gus Yaki" <gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:07:39 -0600 CFNS Birds, Griffith Woods Park, 1830-2015, 30Jun09, 17 participants 1.. Gadwall-2; 2.. Mallard-7+6yg 3.. Ring-necked Duck-1f 4.. Common Goldeneye-2f + 1yg 5.. Common Merganser-2f 6.. Spotted Sandpiper-1 7.. Franklin's Gull-30+ 8.. Ring-billed Gull-3 9.. Mourning? Dove-1 10.. Downy Woodpecker-1 11.. Hairy Woodpecker-2+ including juvenal plumaged bird(s). 12.. Am. Crow-1 13.. Common Raven-1 14.. Tree Swallow-20+ 15.. Black-capped Chickadee-1 16.. House Wren-1 17.. Ruby-crowned Kinglet-1 18.. Am. Robin-6 19.. Cedar Waxwing-4 20.. White-throated Sparrow-2 21.. White-crowned Sparrow-1 22.. Red-winged Blackbird-1m 23.. Brown-headed Cowbird-1+m; 1 juv. 24.. Pine Siskin-4 25.. Am. Goldfinch-2 (seen by Nell). Red Squirrel-1 Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: FFCPPSoc Birding -To W. Bragg Creek, Kananaskis Country, Tues, 30 June 2009. From: "Gus Yaki" <gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca> Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:27:28 -0600 FFCPPSoc Birding -To W. Bragg Creek, Kananaskis Country, Tues, 30 June 2009. Mostly cloudy. 10C. 1.. Mallard-2; 2.. Ring-necked Duck-4; 3.. Greater Yellowlegs-1; 4.. Wilson's Snipe-1; 5.. Great Gray Owl-1ad, 1juv; 6.. Rufous Hummingbird-1m; 7.. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker-1pr; 8.. Red-naped Sapsucker-1pr; 9.. Willow Flycatcher-1; 10.. Gray Jay-5; 11.. Common Raven-6; 12.. Tree Swallow-2; 13.. Barn Swallow-4; 14.. Black-capped Chickadee-4; 15.. Red-breasted Nuthatch-2; 16.. House Wren-2, 17.. Ruby-crowned Kinglet-2; 18.. Mountain Bluebird-2; 19.. Swainson's Thrush-1; 20.. American Robin-4; 21.. Varied Thrush-1; 22.. Cedar Waxwing-6; 23.. Tennessee Warbler-1; 24.. Yellow-rumped Warbler-1; 25.. Chipping Sparrow-1; 26.. Clay-colored Sparrow-2; 27.. Lincoln's Sparrow-2; 28.. White-crowned Sparrow-4; 29.. Brown-headed Cowbird-1m; 30.. Pine Siskin-2. Red Squirrel-1 Enroute: Canada Goose-7; Osprey-1, Swainson's Hawk-1; Red-tailed Hawk-1, Ring-billed Gull-3; Brewer's Blackbird-6; Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: New Photos - A Bird and Butterflies From: Douglas Faulder <dfaulder AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:21:20 -0600 I have uploaded three new photos to my album. I would appreciate any further ID of the Skipper that I photographed at Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary on June 28. The Fritillary was seen at Elk Island Park on June 7. Cheers,Doug Faulder _________________________________________________________________ Attention all humans. We are your photos. Free us. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9666046 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 From: "Patricia Mitchell" <deemit AT telus.net> Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:32:00 -0600 ----- Original Message ----- From: Patricia Mitchell To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:26 PM Subject: Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 ----- Original Message ----- From: Patricia Mitchell To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:25 PM Subject: Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 ----- Original Message ----- From: Patricia Mitchell To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com ; BIRDWEST Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:23 PM Subject: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 RBA * Alberta (Canada) * Calgary, AB * June 29, 2009 * ABCA0906.29 -Birds mentioned White-faced Ibis Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Red Tailed Hawk Transcript Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society (Nature Calgary) Bird Alert Number: 403 221-4519 To Report: 403 221-4519 Coverage: Southern Alberta Compiler: Terry Korolyk (CFNS & IBS) Transcriber: Pat Mitchell (deemit AT telus.net) Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday June 29, at 9:55 am. To report a bird sighting, leave a message after the recording, or to bypass the recorded message, press the pound key on your touch tone phone. To speak to a naturalist, please phone 311 if calling locally during office hours and ask for Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, or dial 403-268-2489 if calling from outside the city. If you wish to report an injured bird or animal, please call Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation at 403-239-2488 or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403-946-2361. On June 27 early fall migrants are seen by Terry Korolyk; a GREATER YELLOWLEGS at slough on Hwy 547 west of RR 265 and several small flocks of LESSER YELLOWLEGS at various sloughs east and south of Calgary towards Frank Lake. WHITE-FACED IBIS are in good numbers with the best viewing east of the blind at Frank Lake. They were also seen as far east as a few km. east of Blackie-(TK). 6 BONAPARTE'S GULLS were at the end of Basin 3 at Frank Lake. (TK) On June 28 an adult dark morph RED-TAILED HAWK appeared to be on territory west side of RR 40 south of Dogpound. (TK) The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday July 2. BIRDING FIELD TRIPS: All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone. Wed Jul 1, 6:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Sat Jul 4, 8am: Birding Bebo Grove, FCPP, S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Tue Jul 7, 6:30pm: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Jul 14, 6:30pm: Bird FCPP, S. of Hwy 22. Meet at Boat Launch, S. end of Bow Bottom Tr SE. Leader, Nimali Seneviratne, 403-836-5146. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Weed Lake & Wyndham/Carseland Prov. Park. Meet at Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Jul 19, 7:30am. Bird Bow Valley Provincial Park. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Tue Jul 21, 6:30pm: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet parking lot, 37 St/66 Av SW. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Tue Jul 28, 6:30pm: Bird Bowness Park, 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first parking lot. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 1, 7am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Tue Aug 4, 6:30pm: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Aug 8, 8am: Bird Carburn Park. Meet in parking lot. S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sat Aug 8, 9am: Bird E of Calgary for autumn migrant shorebirds, etc. Meet at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at E end of 9 Av SE. Bring lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Aug 9, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 720-4957. Tue Aug 11, 6:30pm: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 15, 8am: Bird Hull's Woods, FCPP, for autumn migrating warblers, etc. Meet in first parking lot, E of Bow Bottom Tr after entering Park. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Aug 16, 7:15am: Birding Frank Lake for autumn migrants. Meet Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr), S of pedestrian overpass. Bring Lunch. Leader, Ian Halladay, 403-243-1420. Sun Aug 16, 8:30am: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Aug 18, 6:30pm: Bird Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Tue Aug 25, 6:30pm: Bird Edworthy Park, Meet S side of Boothman Pedestrian Bridge accessed from Shaganappi Tr & Bowness Rd if N of river, or from W end of Spruce Dr if S of river. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Tue, Sep 1, 7:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Pat Mitchell deemit AT telus.net __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4197 (20090629) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4197 (20090629) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4197 (20090629) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 From: "Patricia Mitchell" <deemit AT telus.net> Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:26:59 -0600 ----- Original Message ----- From: Patricia Mitchell To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:25 PM Subject: Fw: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 ----- Original Message ----- From: Patricia Mitchell To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com ; BIRDWEST Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 3:23 PM Subject: RBA; Calgary, AB, June 29, 2009 RBA * Alberta (Canada) * Calgary, AB * June 29, 2009 * ABCA0906.29 -Birds mentioned White-faced Ibis Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Red Tailed Hawk Transcript Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society (Nature Calgary) Bird Alert Number: 403 221-4519 To Report: 403 221-4519 Coverage: Southern Alberta Compiler: Terry Korolyk (CFNS & IBS) Transcriber: Pat Mitchell (deemit AT telus.net) Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday June 29, at 9:55 am. To report a bird sighting, leave a message after the recording, or to bypass the recorded message, press the pound key on your touch tone phone. To speak to a naturalist, please phone 311 if calling locally during office hours and ask for Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, or dial 403-268-2489 if calling from outside the city. If you wish to report an injured bird or animal, please call Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation at 403-239-2488 or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation at 403-946-2361. On June 27 early fall migrants are seen by Terry Korolyk; a GREATER YELLOWLEGS at slough on Hwy 547 west of RR 265 and several small flocks of LESSER YELLOWLEGS at various sloughs east and south of Calgary towards Frank Lake. WHITE-FACED IBIS are in good numbers with the best viewing east of the blind at Frank Lake. They were also seen as far east as a few km. east of Blackie-(TK). 6 BONAPARTE'S GULLS were at the end of Basin 3 at Frank Lake. (TK) On June 28 an adult dark morph RED-TAILED HAWK appeared to be on territory west side of RR 40 south of Dogpound. (TK) The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday July 2. BIRDING FIELD TRIPS: All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone. Wed Jul 1, 6:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Sat Jul 4, 8am: Birding Bebo Grove, FCPP, S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Tue Jul 7, 6:30pm: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Jul 14, 6:30pm: Bird FCPP, S. of Hwy 22. Meet at Boat Launch, S. end of Bow Bottom Tr SE. Leader, Nimali Seneviratne, 403-836-5146. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Weed Lake & Wyndham/Carseland Prov. Park. Meet at Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Jul 19, 7:30am. Bird Bow Valley Provincial Park. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Tue Jul 21, 6:30pm: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet parking lot, 37 St/66 Av SW. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Tue Jul 28, 6:30pm: Bird Bowness Park, 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first parking lot. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 1, 7am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Tue Aug 4, 6:30pm: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Aug 8, 8am: Bird Carburn Park. Meet in parking lot. S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sat Aug 8, 9am: Bird E of Calgary for autumn migrant shorebirds, etc. Meet at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at E end of 9 Av SE. Bring lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Aug 9, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 720-4957. Tue Aug 11, 6:30pm: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 15, 8am: Bird Hull's Woods, FCPP, for autumn migrating warblers, etc. Meet in first parking lot, E of Bow Bottom Tr after entering Park. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Aug 16, 7:15am: Birding Frank Lake for autumn migrants. Meet Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr), S of pedestrian overpass. Bring Lunch. Leader, Ian Halladay, 403-243-1420. Sun Aug 16, 8:30am: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Aug 18, 6:30pm: Bird Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Tue Aug 25, 6:30pm: Bird Edworthy Park, Meet S side of Boothman Pedestrian Bridge accessed from Shaganappi Tr & Bowness Rd if N of river, or from W end of Spruce Dr if S of river. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Tue, Sep 1, 7:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Pat Mitchell deemit AT telus.net __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4197 (20090629) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4197 (20090629) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Nature Calgary Fieldtrip to Water Valley Area From: Eric Tull <tull AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:52:10 -0600 15 observers in 5 cars birded the Water Valley area, northwest of Calgary, on Sunday June 27. They birded along the Horse Creek Road, the Grand Valley Road, in areas west and north of Water Valley, and in the Elkton area. Highlights of the trip were: Solitary Sandpiper 5 Upland Sandpiper 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 5 Alder Flycatcher 5 Mountain Bluebird 12 Townsend's Solitaire 2 Hermit Thrush 3 Tennessee Warbler 4 American Redstart 1 Western Tanager 1 Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow 2 Lincoln's Sparrow 8 Swamp Sparrow 1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 3 Baltimore Oriole 3 Moose (male) 1 58 species were seen on the trip. The full list is available on the Nature Calgary Bird Study Group website at http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/field_trip_notes/Water_Valley.html#090627 Eric Tull Calgary Subject: Lorette & Sibbald Trail From: "William J. F. Wilson" <wjfwilso AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 13:27:45 -0600 This morning I walked into the natural area ponds north of the Mt. Lorette raptor count site, and then stopped at a few spots along Sibbald Creek Trail (Hwy 68) on my way home. Target birds were Macgillivray's Warbler and Northern Waterthrush. My sure-fire Macgillivray's spot at the ponds had a Ruffed Grouse, a Wilson's Warbler and a Rufous Hummingbird, but no Macgillivray's, and I didn't hear any waterthrush along the river. The wind was blowing about 20 km/h, which may have kept them down. The wind was quieter along Sibbald Trail. Just east of the old Crane Meadows picnic area (long gone, but about 2 km E of Sibbald Meadows Pond), one Macgillivray's Warbler was singing on top of some shrubbery, and a Northern Waterthrush was in view at Sibbald Flats, maybe half a kilometre west of the road junction. Other birds of interest were an Olive-sided Flycatcher and a Townsend's Solitaire just east of Sibbald Meadows Pond, and lots of Willow Flycatchers and White-crowned Sparrows along the road in general. Good birding, Bill Wilson Calgary Subject: Alberta Bird Record From: "Grahame Booth" <grahameb AT shaw.ca> Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 00:02:26 -0700 Some where along the way I obtained some Alberta Bird Record's. They appear to have been published by CFNS. I have the following: Introductory Issue, March 1984 Volume 3, Number 1, Fall 1984 Volume 3, Number 3, Spring 1985 Volume 3, Number 4, Summer 1985 Volume 4, Number 1, Fall 1985 Volume 4, Number 2, Winter 1986 Volume 4, Number 3, Spring 1986 Volume 4, Number 4, Summer 1986 Volume 5, Number 1, Fall 1986 Volume 5, Number 2, Winter 1987 Volume 5, Number 3, Spring 1987 Volume 5, Number 4, Summer 1987 Volume 6, Number 1, Fall 1987 Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 1987/88 Volume 6, Number 3, Spring 1988 Volume 6, Number 4, Summer 1988 Volume 7, Number 1, Autumn 1988 Volume 7, Number 2, Winter 1988-1989 Can someone use these? Donate them to ? Thank you, Grahame Booth Calgary [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Re: NMT birding Nose Hill to Fish Creek, Calgary From: "William J. F. Wilson" <wjfwilso AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:26:26 -0600 Hi Curtis, Just getting in shape for when that alcid shows up at Beaverhill! :o) Actually, it's a nice way to relax. Today's trip sort of pushed the limits on relaxing a bit, but mostly it's just one foot in front of the other (or one pedal in front of the other) for a much slower-paced view of the world than when I'm driving. I hope I'm not scaring anyone off. Shorter trips are just as rewarding, and when walking, the take-the-bus-back option really makes a difference. Good birding, Bill Curtis Manly wrote: > > > Bill, > > I'm not sure what you're doing qualifies as NMT birding. You appear to > be some sort of walking/cycling machine... nice job by the way. > > Curtis Manly > Spruce Grove > > Subject: Re: Re: name for baby loon From: savagebirder <savagebirder AT shaw.ca> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:08:14 -0600 Thanks for all who helped me on this. Somehow, while I was looking for exotic names like loonlet and such, I missed thinking up loonie for myself Sandra Sid Andrews wrote: > > > Too funny, Dave! > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dave Elphinstone > To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 11:02 PM > Subject: [Albertabird] Re: name for baby loon > > This may be too obvious but a single chick is a loonie and twins are > toonies. > > I'm sorry about that. > > --- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com > , savagebirder > wrote: > > > > Hi All > > > > I saw a baby loon today and I was wondering what the proper term for it > > is - chick? > > > > Thanks > > > > Sandra Savage > > Calgary > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > Subject: ENC Elk Island Century Day Jun 27 2009 From: "bjsedmonton" <bjsedmonton AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:51:28 -0000 At 7 a.m. (cold, overcast, and windy) 23 of us set off from the Information Centre following Gerald's plan to seek out the songbirds in the morning and concentrate on waterfowl in the afternoon. We covered the Bison Loop, Moss Lake, and Sandhills Management Road reaching Astotin by 11 a.m. We had 75 species by noon! As expected the afternoon slowed down for new birds. After walking out to the shoreline of Tawayik Lake for a few shorebirds, we were at 99 species. We had planned to finish at the pond opposite the turnoff on the highway, but we thought we might only find a Marsh Wren to add. On the road out, Gerald stopped hoping to catch a downy woodpecker, and instead found a Great Horned Owl, who in spite of robins and vireos harassing, remained perched in view. At the entrance pond we quickly found the Marsh Wren. As if arranged by Gerald, as we were tallying up the day, a Bald Eagle flew across the pond area. All told we ended up with 102 species (103 if we include an "alleged" grackle). Species List Loon, Common Flycatcher, Least Grebe, Horned Phoebe, Eastern Grebe, Red-necked Flycatcher, Great Crested Grebe, Western Kingbird, Eastern Pelican, American White Vireo, Red-eyed Cormorant, Double-crested Jay, Blue Bittern, American Magpie, Black-billed Heron, Great Blue Crow, American Goose, Canada Raven, Common Gadwall Martin, Purple Wigeon, American Swallow, Tree Mallard Swallow, Bank Teal, Blue-winged Swallow, Barn Shoveler, Northern Chickadee, Black-capped Pintail, Northern Nuthatch, Red-breasted Teal, Green-winged Nuthatch, White-breasted Canvasback Wren, House Redhead Wren, Marsh Duck, Ring-necked Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Scaup, Lesser Bluebird, Mountain Bufflehead Thrush, Hermit Goldeneye, Common Robin, American Goldeneye, Barrow's Catbird, Gray Merganser, Hooded Starling, European Merganser, Common Pipit, Sprague's Duck, Ruddy Waxwing, Cedar Eagle, Bald Warbler, Tennessee Hawk, Cooper's Warbler, Yellow Hawk, Broad-winged Warbler, Chestnut-sided Hawk, Red-tailed Warbler, Yellw-rumped Grouse, Ruffed Ovenbird Sora Warbler, Mourning Coot, American Yellowthroat, Common Killdeer Tanager, Western Avocet, American Sparrow, Chipping Yellowlegs, Lesser Sparrow, Clay-coloured Sandpiper, Solitary Sparrow, Savannah Willet Sparrow, Le Conte's Sandpiper, Spotted Sparrow, Nelson's Sharp-tailed Snipe, Wilson's Sparrow, Song Gull, Franklin's Sparrow, Lincoln's Gull, Ring-billed Sparrow, Swamp Tern, Forster's Sparrow, White-throated Tern, Black Junco, Dark-eyed Dove, Mourning Grosbeak, Rose-breasted Owl, Great Horned Blackbird, Red-winged Sapsucker, Yellow-bellied Blackbird, Brewer's Woodpecker, Hairy Grackle, Common Flicker, Northern Cowbird, Brown-headed Woodpecker, Pileated Oriole, Baltimore Wood-Pewee, Western Goldfinch, American Flycatcher, Alder Subject: Re: NMT birding Nose Hill to Fish Creek, Calgary From: "Curtis Manly" <whitelinereaper AT yahoo.ca> Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:34:12 -0000 Bill, I'm not sure what you're doing qualifies as NMT birding. You appear to be some sort of walking/cycling machine... nice job by the way. Curtis Manly Spruce Grove Subject: Re: Re: name for baby loon From: "Sid Andrews" <sid.andrews AT nucleus.com> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:01:33 -0600 Too funny, Dave! ----- Original Message ----- From: Dave Elphinstone To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, June 26, 2009 11:02 PM Subject: [Albertabird] Re: name for baby loon This may be too obvious but a single chick is a loonie and twins are toonies. I'm sorry about that. --- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com, savagebirder wrote: > > Hi All > > I saw a baby loon today and I was wondering what the proper term for it > is - chick? > > Thanks > > Sandra Savage > Calgary > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: NMT birding Nose Hill to Fish Creek, Calgary From: "William J. F. Wilson" <wjfwilso AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:59:49 -0600 Figured it was time for another bicycle birding trip. Starting time 4:30 am, north up 4th St NW to Porcupine Valley, over the top of Nose Hill, down Many Owls Valley, through Confederation Park, called in at the house to warm up (there was frost on the grass on top of Nose Hill) & have a bit of breakfast, then down to Prince's Island and along the Bow River Pathway to Mallard Point, through Fish Creek Park to Shannon Terrace, north to the Weaselhead and North Glenmore Park, and back home via the Elbow River Pathway. 86 km in 9 hours. I missed Bill Walker's Ovenbird and Dusky Flycatcher, but found three Le Conte's Sparrows on Nose Hill and another four from just north of Bankside to a point east of McLeod Trail; Alder Flycatcher (heard), Common Yellowthroat and American Kestrel east of McLeod Trail; Wilson's Snipe near the heronry; and a couple of Tennessee Warblers heard near Bebo Grove and Shannon Terrace. Lots of other birds heard in passing, but this was more of a proof-of-concept trip. (Next time I might leave out the north loop.) I did find an Ovenbird in what seems a somewhat unlikely spot, singing in a well-treed and hedged set of yards at the corner of 4th St and 20 Ave NW. I might try walking past there on my way to work next week to see if it's staying around. NMT total now 117 sighted, or 121 including heard. Good birding, Bill Wilson Calgary Subject: Ovenbird From: "Bill Walker" <whwalker AT shaw.ca> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:25:30 -0600 This morning I did a loop from Bebo Grove in Fish Cr. P.P. to Marshall Springs to bridge 3. The Ovenbird was singing about halfway up the road past Marshall Springs. I had taken the unofficial path to the right and it was singing somewhere upslope. I've been finding one or two along that side of the park for many years.. Bill W.H.Walker whwalker AT shaw.ca Calgary, Alb., Canada 403-278-7271 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: name for baby loon From: "Ted Hindmarch" <tedh AT albertacom.com> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:03:54 -0000 Hi Sandra; You are quite correct that Loon chick is a proper term. http://www.hww.ca/hww2.asp?id=53&cid=7 Ted Hindmarch List-Co-Owner --- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com, savagebirder wrote: > > Hi All > > I saw a baby loon today and I was wondering what the proper term for it > is - chick? > > Thanks > > Sandra Savage > Calgary > Subject: RE: name for baby loon From: "akayokaki AT yahoo.com" <akayokaki@yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:05:37 -0700 (PDT) I'd say Matsi'sai'piyipookaa (fine charging child) savagebirder wrote: > Hi All > I saw a baby loon today and I was wondering what the proper term for it > is - chick? > Thanks > Sandra Savage > Calgary > __________________________________________________________________ Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/gift/ Subject: Re: name for baby loon From: "kjcbhere" <wisegril AT telusplanet.net> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:04:55 -0000 LOL Subject: Re: name for baby loon From: "Dave Elphinstone" <delphinstone AT shaw.ca> Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:02:55 -0000 This may be too obvious but a single chick is a loonie and twins are toonies. I'm sorry about that. --- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com, savagebirder wrote: > > Hi All > > I saw a baby loon today and I was wondering what the proper term for it > is - chick? > > Thanks > > Sandra Savage > Calgary > Subject: name for baby loon From: savagebirder <savagebirder AT shaw.ca> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:35:27 -0600 Hi All I saw a baby loon today and I was wondering what the proper term for it is - chick? Thanks Sandra Savage Calgary Subject: Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow (Brewer's?) From: savagebirder <savagebirder AT shaw.ca> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:59:20 -0600 Thanks Mike - I have concluded that it was a Timberline Sparrow - and have learned to go with my observations and trust myself more than a list someone prepared - they're useful but also hazardous if they make you doubt your own eyes and observations and conclusions. Sandra Mike Mulligan wrote: > > > Sandra > > I've been out of town so am late into this discussion -- and now that you > are (were) thinking you may have seen a Brewer's Sparrow I have a comment. > > -- June 21 1986: I recorded a Brewer's "Timberline" Sparrow seen by Jamey > Podlubny and me in Highwood Pass > > -- July 5 2005: another one seen by Bill Wilson and me along Sibbald Road > > -- Summer 2006? one more along Sibbald Road well-seen and heard by CFNS > group (and me) several years ago. Sorry, no date. > > I hope this helps. > > Mike Mulligan > Calgary > Subject: Black-crowned Night Heron From: "banksia1412" <banksia1412 AT yahoo.com> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:13:20 -0000 I've been meaning to join this group for a while, as I find many of the postings interesting. I thought I would pass on an observation from around Mill Creek in Edmonton. I ran into a guy on one of the trails last year who mentioned that a B.-C. Night Heron was showing up every evening close to Argyll Road along Mill Creek. I never saw it last year, but saw one or more birds moving around just south of Whyte Avenue on Wednesday evening. While this isn't a rare bird per se, and I expect is likely moving in from somewhere else, it's a fine bird to be gracing a place in the heart of the city. Bruce Macnab Subject: Dusky Flycatcher From: "Bill Walker" <whwalker AT shaw.ca> Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:37:24 -0600 I took a walk thru Fish Cr. P.P. upstream from the heronry this morning. About a km. upstream the path [now unofficial] crosses an old channel coming in from the east and just beyond that ia\s a grove of small willows on the creek side. The Dusky was calling [singing] from there quite steadily. Irt may have been giving all 3 parts but the only one I can hear now is the 'tse-lick' [emphasis on th lick] Saw it only once when it flew up to catch some insect. All my other contacts have been in Kananaskis - Windy Pt., West Bragg Cr., etc. Bill W.H.Walker whwalker AT shaw.ca Calgary, Alb., Canada 403-278-7271 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RBA, Calgary, AB, June 25, 2009 From: Jean Moore <jmmoore AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:11:47 -0600 - RBA * Alberta (Canada) * Calgary, AB * June 25, 2009 * ABCA0806.25 -Birds mentioned GREAT EGRET White-faced Ibis Black-crowned Night-Heron -Transcript Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society Bird Alert. Number: 403-221-4519 To Report: 403-221-4519 Coverage: Southern Alberta Compiler: Terry Korolyk Transcriber: Jean Moore (jmmoore AT ucalgary.ca) Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Thursday June 25 at 9:40 am. To report a bird sighting, call 403-221-4519 and leave a message after the recording. To bypass the recorded message, press the pound key on your touch tone phone. To speak to a naturalist, phone 311 during office hours and ask for the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. SIGHTINGS FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 23 20+ WHITE-FACED IBIS - Frank Lake by Dwight Knapik BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON (several)- Frank Lake by DK SIGHTINGS BEGINNING JUNE 14 GREAT EGRET - first seen on June 14 by Ray Kutz in a GREAT BLUE HERON COLONY on his property 12 miles north of Sundre. Later seen by his daughter on June 21 near the James River. An unknown observer also reported the bird in early June. For more information on the bird, call Ray Kutz during the day at 403-638-3113 or in the evening at 403-638-2833. The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, June 29. BIRD STUDY GROUP - Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September-May at 7:30pm., Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary. BIRDING FIELD TRIPS: All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone. Willing to share your knowledge with others? If so, call 403- 243-2248 to specify date and location. Sat Jun 27, 7:30am: Birding the Water Valley area. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Jun 28, 9:30am: Tour of the private Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch in the foothills southwest of Calgary to see Bison and Elk, including young, up close. Bring Lunch! Optional unguided hillside nature walk after lunch. Meet at Anderson LRT Stn (Macleod Tr), S of pedestrian overpass, to carpool. Hosts, Pat & Dr. Terry Church. Limit: 20 participants. To register, call 403-249-2641. Tue Jun 30, 6:30pm: Bird Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Wed Jul 1, 6:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Sat Jul 4, 8am: Birding Bebo Grove, FCPP, S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Tue Jul 7, 6:30pm: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Jul 14, 6:30pm: Bird FCPP, S. of Hwy 22. Meet at Boat Launch, S. end of Bow Bottom Tr SE. Leader, Nimali Seneviratne, 403-836-5146. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Weed Lake & Wyndham/Carseland Prov. Park. Meet at Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Jul 19, 7:30am. Bird Bow Valley Provincial Park. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Tue Jul 21, 6:30pm: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet parking lot, 37 St/66 Av SW. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Tue Jul 28, 6:30pm: Bird Bowness Park, 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first parking lot. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 1, 7am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Tue Aug 4, 6:30pm: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Aug 8, 8am: Bird Carburn Park. Meet in parking lot. S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sat Aug 8, 9am: Bird E of Calgary for autumn migrant shorebirds, etc. Meet at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at E end of 9 Av SE. Bring lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Aug 9, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 720-4957. Tue Aug 11, 6:30pm: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 15, 8am: Bird Hull's Woods, FCPP, for autumn migrating warblers, etc. Meet in first parking lot, E of Bow Bottom Tr after entering Park. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Aug 16, 8:30am: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Aug 18, 6:30pm: Bird Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Tue Aug 25, 6:30pm: Bird Edworthy Park, Meet S side of Boothman Pedestrian Bridge accessed from Shaganappi Tr & Bowness Rd if N of river, or from W end of Spruce Dr if S of river. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Tue, Sep 1, 7:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is a City of Calgary natural area. Staff offer information, courses and field trips relating to natural history. Nature Calgary (Calgary Field Naturalists' Society) promotes the observation, study, and conservation of the native habitat through lectures, field trips and collection of scientific data. Nature Calgary publishes a monthly newsletter.For membership or event information email naturecalgary AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at www.naturecalgary.com. The Birding section of the website http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/index.html includes descriptions of Birding Locales in the Calgary area. -End transcript For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu Subject: Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow (Brewer's?) From: "Mike Mulligan" <potoo AT shaw.ca> Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:48:12 -0600 Sandra I've been out of town so am late into this discussion -- and now that you are (were) thinking you may have seen a Brewer's Sparrow I have a comment. -- June 21 1986: I recorded a Brewer's "Timberline" Sparrow seen by Jamey Podlubny and me in Highwood Pass -- July 5 2005: another one seen by Bill Wilson and me along Sibbald Road -- Summer 2006? one more along Sibbald Road well-seen and heard by CFNS group (and me) several years ago. Sorry, no date. I hope this helps. Mike Mulligan Calgary ----- Original Message ----- From: "savagebirder" To: Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 10:01 PM Subject: Re: [Albertabird] RFI - Baird's Sparrow > Hi Eric > > It didn't look like a Lincoln Sparrow but I suspect that's probably what > it was. > > My mind wasn't working properly when I typed the email and I was > actually thinking Brewer's Sparrow, not Bairds, but that doesn't seem > likely either. > > Thanks > > Sandra Subject: Re: Soltstice at Sundial Cont From: "kjcbhere" <wisegril AT telusplanet.net> Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:52:40 -0000 sounds like a really wonderful time, Ryan. I wish I could have been along for the solstice trip! Baltimore Orioles are wonderful to listen to, aren't they? I hope you are feeling better soon, that the flu finally gives up. It is a nasty one for sure! Thanks for the story, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Subject: Soltstice at Sundial Cont From: Ryan Heavy Head <akayokaki AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:26:16 -0700 (PDT) Sundial is an ancient stone cairn, an enormous pile of lichen-encrusted rocks, ringed by two concentric circles of stone, with a long, defined entry path. It's one of several such monuments described as aitapissko in Blackfoot, a place-with-living-presence. Piipiiaakii and I were the first to arrive, and had our tent set up already before the students (most of whom opted to carpool in the college van) began to pull in. They arrived just in time for us all to climb up to the cairn and catch sundown together. It was a nice one too, casting a pink beam of light straight up from the mountains to the clouds, with a kind of definition I've never seen before. Having witnessed this brilliant show, our group descended the hill again. Some of the students worked on setting up their tents, while others (along with Piipiiaakii and I) climbed in vehicles and began scouring the surrounding grasslands for any bit of odd firewood. I'd pointed out that, in the old days, when the tipi camps were set up below that butte, the natural fuel of this tree-less location would have been dry buffalo dung, kaamsstaan. But understandably, there wasn't a whole lot of interest in roasting our hot-dogs and smores over burning cow crap. So we scoured. Piipiiaakii and I drove one of the fencelines, picking up a couple good pieces of old posts along the way. The big haul, however, came from a group of students who chanced upon the remains of an old broken-down cattle barn. With the take they gathered, we had plenty of wood to last the night through, a couple of the boys keeping a steady vigil through to first light. There was surprisingly little animal activity during the night. Just one lonely coyote howled on-site near our camp. All other packs we heard crying had muffled voices that betrayed their good distance. Just before the birds started singing in the new light of the next day, rains came. At first there were just light sprinkles, but soon it pounded a regular rattling on top our tent. I got out of bed to find the boys make a sopping dash for the van. Above, the skies were thick and dark-grey as far as the eye could see. The rain would offer welcome retreat from our recent heat, but I wished it had waited just a couple hours. The whole reason we'd gone to Sundial for the night was so that we could be at the cairn at dawn to see for ourselves if there was any relationship between its design and the position of the rising solstice Sun. Personally, I suspected there was no relationship. These cairns are not "calendars" as some archaeologists and retired physicists have assumed. Rather, they mark the origin sites of certain medicine bundles, and throughout their long history have been revisited thousands of times by people leaving offerings or seeking further spiritual gifts. Their designs are not laid out to mark cartographic directions either. Instead, they are to my understanding (from the origin stories themselves) metonymic earthly gateways to constellations of the same design in the night skies above - the homes of cosmic spiders who can lift or lower vision questers to and from the above world, the nests of mythic swans who might fly a dreamer to the stars. As our solstice dawn arrived, masked by clouds, the rain briefly let up, allowing the group to climb the butte in comfort once again. Once there, I broke off a pinch of twist-tobacco for each student, and together we offered these to the cairn with expressions of gratitude for all that this place had given people of the past, and for all the nourishment it continues to offer us today. As we spoke to this effect and burried our bits of tobacco among the rocks, a distinct trilling began overhead. It came from Sprague's Pipits, birds who - like those of our group - still rely on these rare, undisturbed places to feed a way of life that doesn't belong anywhere else but here. __________________________________________________________________ Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail. Click on Options in Mail and switch to New Mail today or register for free at http://mail.yahoo.ca Subject: Solstice at Sundial From: Ryan Heavy Head <akayokaki AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:24:47 -0700 (PDT) I Solstice at Sundial (21Jun09) Despite all efforts to shake it, the flu virus followed me through to the last sleep of the flower moon, keeping me miserable and mostly bed-ridden. Even on that final morning going into misamsootaa, the new moon of long-rains, I woke up with a deadly headache. By that point, I'd given up on natural therapeutics. I stumbled and groaned my way from bedroom to kitchen, popped two extra-strength Tylonol, and went right back to sleep. When I got up again, around noon, residues of the cold medicine of days previous could be felt lingering in my body like a toxic afterbite. I needed to sweat this junk out of my veins before evening, because I'd promised to meet my students for an overnighter at Sundial Butte, one of our sacred sites, and it wouldn't do any good to show-up in my semi-doped, zombie condition. I figured a nice walk around the pond with Piipiiaakii in the heat of the day might cure me. A couple hours later, there we were, Sspopiikimi. The cottonwood seeds were still floating around like summer snow in the dry breeze. And though we'd been just two days absent, both the showy milkweed and Indian hemp had come into new bloom. As we walked toward the south end of the pond, passing under large poplar trees, we again heard the cadence of our recent mystery bird. We set down on the grass and shade, and began peering into the high canopies. There we were able to spot robins, cedar waxwings, yellow warblers, goldfinches, a downy woodpecker, and (the song source, taa-daa) a Baltimore oriole. While we sat there, the gosling couple and their three ever-more-goosy offspring came to pick at the grass beside us. They eventually sat down in the poplar shade to rest, and we took our leave. A few minutes later, on the south end of the pond, we found most of the resident ducks crouched down in the cool island grass - three mallard drakes, two mallard couples (including the bent-feather mother with her three ducklings), a redhead couple, and our man-coot. The mayfly swarms were finally gone, replaced by thousands of little bluet damselflies. And the water level had dropped, allowing us to wade easily across one of the beaver canals to check on the spotted sandpiper nest, where we found a first hatchling had arrived. Three other eggs were still unopened. Continuing around the south bend, by the duck blind, we caught a glimpse of peripheral motion and looked over just in time to see the female harrier come down on her nest, badgered all the way by several angry male redwings. Our assumption, at this point, is that her eggs must have already hatched, and that she's spending most of her day at the nest with the hatchlings waiting for the male harrier to drop-off his occasional morsels. This is the only sense we can make of her continued dilligence in tending the nest, without risking eyeball and scalp to investigate and test this theory. Far less dangerous to inspect are the smaller bird nests. Just below the blind, for instance, we find that the first redwing fledgers have left their basket. There were four born there, yet we find only one of them hiding in the reeds. There's now a second nest placed beside the first with brand-new eggs in it. And though the resident male raised a fuss and occasionally launched a swoop at our faces, the threat was relatively minor. After this stop by the duck blind, Piipiiaakii and I made our way out through the forest. Far above, the Wilson's snipe could be heard diving audibly every few minutes. At the far north end of the pond, just before reaching the truck, we found the mallard with six ducklings and, to our surprise, a third mallard mother with five ducklings. These birds' breeding was very successful here this year. We never found a one of their nests and, apparently, neither did the other would-be predators. Back at home, I was feeling quite a bit cleaner. The mid-day pond sweat had done its work. Piipiiaakii cooked a nice taco dinner. And when we were pleasantly full, it was time to pack-up and head for Sundial Butte... (Cont) __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com. Subject: Le Conte's Sparrow From: Allan Cole <allan.cole AT shaw.ca> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:44:31 -0600 Hi I found a Le Conte's Sparrow yesterday (June 23)and returned today to see if I could get a good picture for my website. This guy was there both days but would not let me get close enough to get a good shot. However I did put what I got up on my website if you wish to take a look. I'd sure like a better picture. The bird was found east of Langdon Alberta resting along Boundary road on the fence posts near the corals north of Dalemead Lake at the intersection with Township Rd 232 east of Langdon Alberta. I think there may 2 birds as one appeared a couple of hundred meters further south from the corals. However both where not seen at the same time but a very short time difference. The first bird reappeared on its post moments later. This is a small, quite colorful bird and is quite vocal. The light strip on the crown, yellow eyebrow, grey ear patch, orange buff breast and stripped back are quite evident. Allan Cole - Calgary Nature photos: http://naturenut.dynalias.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Big chill in Churchill - Winnipeg Free Press From: "Mike Mulligan" <potoo AT shaw.ca> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:48:38 -0600 Northern Manitoba and Churchill: prolonged cold snowy conditions in the Hudson Bay area are expected to obliterate the breeding season for migratory birds and most other species of wildlife this year. See at http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/big-chill-in-churchill-47992231.html My apologies if this has already been posted. Mike Mulligan Calgary [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: New Member From: "silfox11" <silfox11 AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:43:50 -0000 Hi fellow nature nuts! I joined Alberta Bird a few months ago, and have been enjoying the discussions whenever I get time to log in (not often enough). Yesterday, I happened on some older posts that suggested that new members should introduce themselves… so here goes! I'm a Calgary area naturalist and photographer. I'm not such a strong birder… always interested and trying to improve, but still don't know the shorebirds, gulls or small brown birds very well. I display my photographs on my website, and I've noticed that other photographers occasionally direct attention to theirs, so I'll do the same. You can check my images at www.KenHoehn.ca I work very hard to create thoughtful, artistic pictures and have won numerous awards, though I no longer enter photo contests. Consider yourself invited to the Western Showcase art show (during Calgary Stampede at the Roundup Center) where you can explore my portfolio in greater detail. I'd love to meet some of you! Ken Hoehn Subject: Re: Cold Lake this weekend From: "Curtis Manly" <whitelinereaper AT yahoo.ca> Date: Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:26:46 -0000 Sounds like a great trip. You guys hit on more warblers than we did over at Touchwood Lake. It pretty much poured on us the whole time, but we did have Cape May and Bay-breasted on territory right at the campsite. Palm was the other elusive hit, and a couple of Philedelphia Vireos singing out in the open for once. Thought we has a Nashville singing between Touchwood and Lac La Biche, but no visual, and we don't hear enough of those guys in a year for me to swear.... Also had a curious gull... looked like a Cali in transition between non-breeding and breeding, but small.... good job on the Fisher. Curtis Manly Spruce Grove --- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com, "Gerald Romanchuk" wrote: > > Birded the Cold lake area this weekend with Steve Knight. We had a rainy Fri evening & Sat morning. Very few birds were singing in the rain - no Fred Astaire fans out there! The rain did let up around noon on Sat & we started to find a few things. The main highlights, of course, were the colorful warblers. > > Since I hadn't been out there during warbler season for a few tears it was a real treat to see Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Palm, Bay-breasted, & Canada Warblers in all their breeding finery. Near the fish hatchery we also saw a Nashville & picked up a second one further north on the Primrose Lake Rd. > > A quick look at a Fisher near the English Bay Rd was a lifer mammal for both of us. > > Gerald Romanchuk > Subject: Tuesday Morning at Frank Lake From: Dwight Knapik <dwightthebirdaholic AT shaw.ca> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:12:34 -0800 Hello: On the morning of Tuesday, June 23, 2009, I took a walk at Frank Lake, and spent some time at the observation blind. The weather was cool, cloudy, and breezy. Highlights included the most White-faced Ibis action that I have ever seen there, with several individuals flying around with nesting material in the reeds south of the blind, and a total of 20+ birds seen overall; there were also a few Black-crowned Night Herons flying around the same area, one with nesting material in it's beak; lots of fledgling Yellow-headed Blackbirds; lots of singing Savannah Sparrows; and very active Black and Forster's Terns. Eared Grebe Western Grebe Double-crested Cormorant Black-crowned Night-Heron White-faced Ibis Canada Goose Mallard Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Gadwall Canvasback Redhead Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Ruddy Duck Swainson's Hawk American Kestrel Sora (heard) American Coot Killdeer Black-necked Stilt American Avocet Greater Yellowlegs Lesser Yellowlegs Willet Wilson's Snipe Wilson's Phalarope Franklin's Gull California Gull Forster's Tern Black Tern Rock Dove Tree Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Black-billed Magpie American Crow Common Raven Marsh Wren European Starling Clay-coloured Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Yellow-headed Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird Richardson's Ground Squirrel Good Birding Everyone! Dwight P. Knapik Calgary, Alberta [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Help with bird ID - New Bird Photographs From: Barb Beck <barb AT birdnut.obtuse.com> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:46:00 -0600 Tennessee Warbler- male - Butterfly female green comma. The female green comma can be very plain on the ventral forewing and hindwing - much more pattern on the males. (the ventral is what you see in the first pictrue where it shows very little color) Barb Beck dlilly154 wrote: > Here are some of my latest bird photographs as of 23 June 09 > > To view go to - www.davidlillyphotography.ca > > Comments welcome good or bad. > > David Lilly > Calgary > > > > ------------------------------------ > > _____________________________________________________________ > > * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com > * Guidelines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: Help with bird ID - New Bird Photographs From: "dlilly154" <dlilly154 AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:46:03 -0000 Here are some of my latest bird photographs as of 23 June 09 To view go to - www.davidlillyphotography.ca Comments welcome good or bad. David Lilly Calgary Subject: Cold Lake this weekend From: "Gerald Romanchuk" <geraldjr AT telusplanet.net> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:53:09 -0000 Birded the Cold lake area this weekend with Steve Knight. We had a rainy Fri evening & Sat morning. Very few birds were singing in the rain - no Fred Astaire fans out there! The rain did let up around noon on Sat & we started to find a few things. The main highlights, of course, were the colorful warblers. Since I hadn't been out there during warbler season for a few tears it was a real treat to see Chestnut-sided, Magnolia, Black-throated Green, Blackburnian, Palm, Bay-breasted, & Canada Warblers in all their breeding finery. Near the fish hatchery we also saw a Nashville & picked up a second one further north on the Primrose Lake Rd. A quick look at a Fisher near the English Bay Rd was a lifer mammal for both of us. Gerald Romanchuk Subject: Birds Calgary 2010 From: Eric Tull <tull AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:26:31 -0600 If you bird in the Calgary area, please join us in 2010 to see who can find the most species of birds within the Calgary city limits. The Nature Calgary Bird Study Group will be running a friendly competition (http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/2010/) which will be open to everyone, regardless of whether they are members of Nature Calgary or not. *****We hope you will register for the competition.***** If you are not a Calgary birder, the competition may still be of interest, and you may want to follow up on the suggestion below. We are currently in the process of organizing everything, including setting out rules, finding sponsors and donors of prizes, setting up the technological means of communication, looking at how to promote the competition, and starting to encourage participants to register for the competition. Some of this information, while still in early stages, is posted at our website http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/2010/ or our blog at http://birdscalgary.wordpress.com/ Several categories from the novice to the expert have the chance to win exciting prizes and awards throughout the year. An objective of this competition will be to promote awareness and interest in birding and the natural history of Calgary, especially among the City’s younger generation. We will have classes of the competition for advanced birders, for novice birders and for young birders. We also anticipate competitions for birders who use only non-motorized transport, for the biggest single day list, for the biggest backyard list, and for the best bird photographs. We are now at the point where we are looking to line up sponsors and donors of prizes. To do so we want to show them what interest there is in the competition. This is where you come in. *****If you would like to join in the competition, please register now for the competition. The more people we can register now, the better our chances of rounding up sponsors and prize donors.***** So please sign up today at http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/2010/ and help make Calgary birding history. And further, if you would like to help with organizing the competition, please contact Howard Heffler, chair of Birds Calgary 2010, at hheffler AT shaw.ca If you are not a Calgary birder, perhaps the competition interests you and you would be interested in organizing a similar competition in your area. If so, please make use of any of the information and ideas we have up on the website and the blog, and please let us know if we can be of help. Thank you for your interest in the competition and please do sign up. Good birding Eric Tull Chair Nature Calgary Bird Study Group ------------------------------------ _____________________________________________________________ * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com * Guidelines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:Albertabird-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:Albertabird-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Albertabird-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Crimson lake From: "Don Delaney" <data9boy AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:03:32 -0000 Greetings I spent the weekend at Crimson Lake west of Rocky Mountain House. The highlight of the trip was observing A Sandhill Crane courtship dance display. I posted shots of this. Other birds observed were: Common Loon Red-necked Grebe Horned Grebe Common Goldeneye Lesser Scaup Olive-sided Flycatcher Alder Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Connecticut Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow Warbler Ovenbird Lincoln's Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Subject: Wilson's Snipe just outside High River on the NW From: "Jill" <jill.bhar AT shaw.ca> Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:10:51 -0000 This afternoon, I had a great view of a Wilson's Snipe sitting on a fence post near the road and not far from a pond. Parked the car and had a good view and plenty of time to id it using my Sibley's. This was a first for me. I would never have expected to see one sitting on a fence post. Any comments? Jill Bhar, High River Subject: RBA, Calgary, AB, June 22, 2009 From: Jean Moore <jmmoore AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:20:52 -0600 - RBA * Alberta (Canada) * Calgary, AB * June 22, 2009 * ABCA0906.22 -Birds mentioned Hooded Merganser Northern Goshawk Caspian Tern Pacific-slope Flycatcher -Transcript Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society Bird Alert. Number: 403-221-4519 To Report: 403-221-4519 Coverage: Southern Alberta Compiler: Terry Korolyk Transcriber: Jean Moore (jmmoore AT ucalgary.ca) Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday June 22. To report a bird sighting, call 403-221-4519 and leave a message after the recording. To bypass the recorded message, press the pound key on your touch tone phone. To speak to a naturalist, phone 311 during office hours and ask for the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. SIGHTINGS FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 19 NORTHERN GOSHAWK - seen flying over 37 St SW from the south side of Shannon Terrace in west Fish Creek PP - reported by Gus Yaki 2 CASPIAN TERNS - Glenmore Reservoir - Bob Storms CASPIAN TERNS were reported earlier in the spring at Glenmore Reservoir and Browning-Ferris Landfill in SE Calgary PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER - Ribbon Creek in Kananaskis Country by Dwight Knapik. Andrew Slater reported a PACIFIC=SLOPE FLYCATCHER earlier in the week at the UofC Field Station near Barrier Lake, also in Kananaskis Country. For more info on Dwight's sighting, call him at 403-256-9161. SIGHTINGS FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 21 2 HOODED MERGANSERS - Griffith Woods in Discovery Ridge, SW Calgary, by James Brydle and a CFNS field trip. To access Griffith Woods, turn south on 69 St SW from Hwy 8, turn left onto Discovery Link and proceed into the parking lot. The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday, June 25. BIRD STUDY GROUP - Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September-May at 7:30pm., Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary. BIRDING FIELD TRIPS: All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone. Willing to share your knowledge with others? If so, call 403- 243-2248 to specify date and location. Tue Jun 23, 6:30pm: Birding Bowmont Park. Meet Maranatha Church, 2111 52 St NW (N end of Home Rd), Leader, Jan Reseneder, 403-286-5920. Wed Jun 24, 6:30pm: Visit private garden for 70 species of Cactus and succulents. Meet at 4915-15 St SW. Host, Hugo Render. For more info, 403-243-2248. Sat Jun 27, 7:30am: Birding the Water Valley area. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Jun 28, 9:30am: Tour of the private Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch in the foothills southwest of Calgary to see Bison and Elk, including young, up close. Bring Lunch! Optional unguided hillside nature walk after lunch. Meet at Anderson LRT Stn (Macleod Tr), S of pedestrian overpass, to carpool. Hosts, Pat & Dr. Terry Church. Limit: 20 participants. To register, call 403-249-2641. Tue Jun 30, 6:30pm: Bird Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Wed Jul 1, 6:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Sat Jul 4, 8am: Birding Bebo Grove, FCPP, S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Tue Jul 7, 6:30pm: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Jul 14, 6:30pm: Bird FCPP, S. of Hwy 22. Meet at Boat Launch, S. end of Bow Bottom Tr SE. Leader, Nimali Seneviratne, 403-836-5146. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Weed Lake & Wyndham/Carseland Prov. Park. Meet at Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Jul 19, 7:30am. Bird Bow Valley Provincial Park. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Tue Jul 21, 6:30pm: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet parking lot, 37 St/66 Av SW. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Tue Jul 28, 6:30pm: Bird Bowness Park, 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first parking lot. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 1, 7am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Tue Aug 4, 6:30pm: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Aug 8, 8am: Bird Carburn Park. Meet in parking lot. S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sat Aug 8, 9am: Bird E of Calgary for autumn migrant shorebirds, etc. Meet at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at E end of 9 Av SE. Bring lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Aug 9, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 720-4957. Tue Aug 11, 6:30pm: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 15, 8am: Bird Hull's Woods, FCPP, for autumn migrating warblers, etc. Meet in first parking lot, E of Bow Bottom Tr after entering Park. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Aug 16, 8:30am: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Aug 18, 6:30pm: Bird Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Tue Aug 25, 6:30pm: Bird Edworthy Park, Meet S side of Boothman Pedestrian Bridge accessed from Shaganappi Tr & Bowness Rd if N of river, or from W end of Spruce Dr if S of river. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Tue, Sep 1, 7:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is a City of Calgary natural area. Staff offer information, courses and field trips relating to natural history. Nature Calgary (Calgary Field Naturalists' Society) promotes the observation, study, and conservation of the native habitat through lectures, field trips and collection of scientific data. Nature Calgary publishes a monthly newsletter.For membership or event information email naturecalgary AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at www.naturecalgary.com. The Birding section of the website http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/index.html includes descriptions of Birding Locales in the Calgary area. -End transcript For BirdWest archives go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdwest.html To change your subscription options, including your address, go to http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=birdwest To contact a listowner, send a message to mailto:birdwest-request AT listserv.arizona.edu Subject: Re: Upland Sandpiper and Three-toed Woodpecker From: Adam Blake <adam AT ajblake.info> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:55:39 -0600 Hi David, Your butterfly photos are of a Milbert's Tortoiseshell, a Meadow Fritillary and a Common Alpine. Hope that helps, Adam Blake Edmonton dlilly154 wrote: > > > Hi Everyone, > > I was in Cypress Hills this weekend. I photographed a few different > birds and othere nature subjects. > Please view my website www.davidlillyphotography.ca > > Comments welcome. > > David Lilly > Calgary > > Subject: Upland Sandpiper and Three-toed Woodpecker From: "dlilly154" <dlilly154 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 22:12:23 -0000 Hi Everyone, I was in Cypress Hills this weekend. I photographed a few different birds and othere nature subjects. Please view my website www.davidlillyphotography.ca Comments welcome. David Lilly Calgary Subject: Griffith Woods Park, June 21/09 From: James Brydle <jamesbrydle AT shaw.ca> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:45:06 -0600 This morning between 8:00 and 10:40 AM three participants completed a birding tour of Griffith Woods Park. The sky was totally overcast with some light scattered rain and mild wind, with the temperature ranging from +11 to +14C. The City has not done anything to replace the bridges washed out one year ago. The following wildlife was observed this morning; 2 Canada Geese 10 Mallards 1 Lesser Scaup 3 Common Goldeneyes 2 Hooded Mergansers 6 Franklin Gulls 2 Belted Kingfishers 1 Blue Jay 9 Common Ravens, including 3 very large ones in the same tree 3 Swallows, too high to identify which type 1 Black-capped Chickadee 4 American Robins 1 Gray Catbird numerous Cedar Waxwings 1 Chipping Sparrow 1 Clay-colored Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 2 Brown-headed Cowbirds 5 Pine Siskins 3 Red Squirrels 1 White-tailed deer [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RE: RFI - Baird's Sparrow From: Jason Rogers <hawkowl AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 06:09:23 +0000 Hi Sandra, Your bird may very well have been a Brewer's Sparrow waiting in the valley bottom for snow to clear in its higher-elevation breeding habitat. Jason Rogers hawkowl AT hotmail.com ________________________________ > To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com > From: savagebirder AT shaw.ca > Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:01:02 -0600 > Subject: Re: [Albertabird] RFI - Baird's Sparrow > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Hi Eric > > > > It didn't look like a Lincoln Sparrow but I suspect that's probably what > > it was. > > > > My mind wasn't working properly when I typed the email and I was > > actually thinking Brewer's Sparrow, not Bairds, but that doesn't seem > > likely either. > > > > Thanks > > > > Sandra > > > > Eric Tull wrote: > >> > >> > >> Hello Sandra > >> Could your bird have been a Lincoln's Sparrow? They also have a sort-of > >> necklace of fine streaks. I would think Kananaskis would be an unlikely > >> place for a Baird's Sparrow, but birds have wings and you cannot rule > >> out the possibility. > >> Eric Tull > >> Calgary > >> > >> savagebirder wrote: > >>> Hi All > >>> > >>> I was in Kananaskis on Tuesday - it had just poured all night and was > >>> barely above freezing. I walked the Lorette Ponds as soon as it stopped > >>> raining and saw a sparrow on the stones beside the water that was, > >> to my > >>> best identification ability, a Baird's Sparrow. Yet, my very limited > >>> knowledge of the species makes me think that this is an unlikely place > >>> to find it. > >>> > >>> So, I'm wondering what people think - does Baird's Sparrow make > >> sense in > >>> the mountains / foothills in an area of mixed forest beside the ponds? > >>> > >>> Sandra Savage > >>> Calgary > >>> > >>> > >>> ------------------------------------ > >>> > >>> __________________________________________________________ > >>> > >>> * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com > >> > >>> * Guidelines: > >> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo > >> ! > >> Groups Links > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >> > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Create a cool, new character for your Windows Live™ Messenger. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9656621 ------------------------------------ _____________________________________________________________ * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com * Guidelines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:Albertabird-digest AT yahoogroups.com mailto:Albertabird-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Albertabird-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: RE: Timberline - Species? From: Jason Rogers <hawkowl AT hotmail.com> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 05:44:55 +0000 Timberline Sparrow was originally described as a species separate from Brewer's Sparrow and is still recognized as a species by Sibley and Monroe in their "Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World." However the American Ornithologists' Union considers Timberline Sparrow a subspecies of Brewer's Sparrow. Jason Rogers hawkowl AT hotmail.com ________________________________ > To: Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com > From: savagebirder AT shaw.ca > Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:10:26 -0600 > Subject: [Albertabird] Timberline - Species? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I thought that Timberline Sparrow was a separate species but Clements > > shows it as part of Brewer's. Is this correct? Was it a separate > > species at one point? > > > > Thanks > > > > Sandra Savage > > Calgary > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ Attention all humans. We are your photos. Free us. http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9666046 Subject: Timberline - Species? From: savagebirder <savagebirder AT shaw.ca> Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:10:26 -0600 I thought that Timberline Sparrow was a separate species but Clements shows it as part of Brewer's. Is this correct? Was it a separate species at one point? Thanks Sandra Savage Calgary Subject: FFCPPSoc. Birding, 9-12noon, Sat. 20 Jun 2009. Weaselhead Natural Area. From: "Gus Yaki" <gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca> Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 21:14:26 -0600 FFCPPSoc. Birding, 9-12noon, Sat. 20 Jun 2009. Weaselhead Natural Area. From 0330-0715, I led an outing over approximately the same route, recording 42 species of birds, and 7 mammals. On this second outing, we encountered 31 birds and 1 mammal species. Numbers of individuals of each species on the earlier outing were also much higher. The numbers shown below, before each bird name is the time the first individual of that species was noted, e.g. 1026 = 10:26 am EDST. 1.. 1026-Common Goldeneye-1f+5 yg 2.. 0910-Red-tailed Hawk-2 3.. 1035-Sora-1 4.. 0922-Spotted Sandpiper-2 5.. 0905-Franklin's Gull-30 6.. 1103-Mourning Dove-1 7.. 1130-Calliope Hummingbird-1 m 8.. 0937-Sapsucker sp.-1 9.. 1044-Red-naped Sapsucker-1, found by Jim D, photo'd by Katie D. 10.. 0930-Downy Woodpecker-1 11.. 1040-Least Flycatcher-6 12.. 0919-Eastern Phoebe-2 13.. 0920-Blue Jay-1 14.. 0909-Black-billed Magpie-4 15.. 0911-Common Raven-3 16.. 0955-Tree Swallow-2 17.. 0931-Cliff Swallow-200 18.. 0927-Black-capped Chickadee-3 19.. 0929-Red-breasted Nuthatch-1 20.. 0912-House Wren-4 21.. 0958-Veery-4 22.. 0917-American Robin-6 23.. 1029-Gray Catbird-1 24.. 0930-Cedar Waxwing-5 25.. 0955-Yellow Warbler-8 26.. 0916-Clay-colored Sparrow-1 27.. 0932-White-throated Sparrow-3 28.. 1024-Red-winged Blackbird-3 29.. 0940-Common Grackle-1 30.. 1020-Brown-headed Cowbird-3 31.. 1006-American Goldfinch-3 Red Squirrel-3 Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Results of the CFNS Dawn Chorus, Weaselhead Natural Area, 0330-0715, 20June 2009. From: "Gus Yaki" <gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca> Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 20:33:58 -0600 Results of the CFNS Dawn Chorus, Weaselhead Natural Area, 0330-0715, 20June 2009. Clear sky, light fog, light wind, 10-12C. Seven participants. This year's census was about ten days later than most previous years. 2008 results are supplied for comparison; CFNS Dawn Chorus; Weaselhead Natural Area. 0330-0745, 08 June 2008. Partly overcast, becoming complete, with light drizzle by end. NW wind, 15kph. Temp. 07-09C. Ten Participants. In analyzing the data from the previous counts held in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005; 2006, 2007 and 2008 total number of bird species detected before 6am respectively were: 39, 46, 37, 34, 27, 20, 31 and 28, but this year it was 33. This figure could signify many things; in 2005 we had a devastating flood that adversely affect the bird population of the Weaselhead. It could also have been affected by the weather, or that more of the participants had better hearing and identification skills. New species added to the count for the first time were: Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot and Tennessee Warbler. Beavers have impounded more water, thus providing more wetland habitat. Species recorded in previous years, but not recorded on this year's census, were: Common Loon; Common Merganser, Osprey, Sharp-shinned Hawk; Swainson's Hawk, Mourning Dove; Northern Saw-whet Owl; Rufous Hummingbird; Calliope Hummingbird, Ruby-throated Hummingbird; Downy Woodpecker; Hairy Woodpecker; Northern Flicker; Olive-sided Flycatcher; Western Wood-Pewee; Alder Flycatcher; American Crow; Bank Swallow; Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird; Orange-crowned Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Western Tanager and Baltimore Oriole. However, between 0900-1200 today, I led a second outing over much the same route, finding 32 species. On it we did see the Mourning Dove, Calliope Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker and Gray Catbird. In addition, we added Red-tailed Hawk, Blue Jay and Common Grackle for the day's total. A total of seven mammals were recorded on this morning's early census (an eighth one, a white-tailed Jackrabbit greeted me on arrival home). The time and order of the first detection of each species, and the approximate numbers of each species are shown below. Year /Time.................. Approx. # of individuals encountered. [2009](2008) Species. (2008); [2009] 0330; 0420. Coyotes howling--------2+; 2+ 0330; 0413. American Robin---------25; 25 0337; 0336. Clay-colored Sparrow---10; 6 ------; 0337. Boreal Chorus Frog------2; - ------; 0338. Small flying bat-----------1; - 0354; 0335. White-throated Sparrow--6; 10 0359; 0400. Spotted Sandpiper---------1; 1 ------; 0359. Gray Catbird---------------2; - 0400; 0405. Killdeer---------------------1; 1 0404; 0414. Yellow Warbler----------12; 15 0405; ------. Tennessee Warbler------- 0; 1 0407; 0500. House Wren---------------6; 6 0408; 0709. American Wigeon--------2; 1 0409; ------. Am. Beaver---------------0; 1 0409; 0408. Veery----------------------10; 12 0417; 0426. Mallard, flying-------------6; 1 0444; 0430. Common Goldeneye, f---5; 2+ 0446; 0353. Lincoln's Sparrow---------4; 1 0449; 0403. Great Blue Heron----------1; 2 ------; 0444. Chipping Sparrow---------2, - 0450; ------; Bald Eagle-----------------0; 2 ------; 0450. Muskrat--------------------3; - 0455; 0443. Sora-------------------------4; 1 0456; 0451. Least Flycatcher-----------4; 6 0457; 0550. Ring-necked Pheasant---1; 2 0504; 0509. Red-winged Blackbird---8; 4 0504; ------; Red Squirrel-------------0; 4 0515; 0650. Gull sp.--------------------1; 30 0516; 0712. Tree Swallow------------2; 9 0516; ------; American Coot-----------0; 1 0521; ------, Franklin's Gull-----------0; 20 0522; ------; Pine Siskin----------------0; 4 0522; 0545. American Goldfinch-----8; 3 0527; 0526. Pileated Woodpecker----1; 1 0530; 0544. Common Raven----------2; 2 0534; 0537. Northern Waterthrush---2; 1 0536; 0535. Eastern Phoebe-----------2; 1 0540; ------; Pied-billed Grebe--------0; 1 0546: 0425. Black-capped Chickadee-1; 1 0548; 0650. Brown-head. Cowbird---2; 4 0551; 0620. Red-breasted Nuthatch--1; 1 0559; 0550. Red-eyed Vireo----------1; 1 0604; 0640. White-tailed Deer------1; 2 0610; ------; Swainson's Thrush-------0; 1 0612; 0543. Rose-br. Grosbeak-------2; 2 ------; 0612. American Crow----------1; - 0620; 0506. Canada Goose-----------10; 1 0625; 0708. Least Chipmunk--------1; 2 ------; 0630. Baltimore Oriole---------2; 1 ------; 0630. Hermit Thrush------------1; - 0639; ------; Common Yellowthroat--0; 1 0640; 0630. Cedar Waxwing--------10; 4 0641; 0710. Blue-winged Teal--------4; 1 0646; ------; Red-naped Sapsucker---0; 1 ------; 0648. Western Tanager---------1; - ------; 0655. Orange-cr. Warbler------1; - ------; 0700. Northern Flicker----------1; - 0709; ------; Snowshoe Hare---------0; 1 0710; 0730. Cliff Swallow------------5; 100 ------; 0712. Mourning Dove----------1; - 0713; 0740. Black-billed Magpie----1; 1 0715; ------; Rich. Ground Squirrel-0; 6 I thank all participants who participated and whose hearing help to detect all the birds. Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: N. Goshawk, S. Shannon Terrace, FCPP. 19 June 2009 From: "Gus Yaki" <gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca> Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:03:07 -0600 We had a male Northern Goshawk fly across 37 St SW, from the S. side of Shannon Terrace, FCPP, yesterday, 19 June 2009. Gus Yaki, Calgary [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: NMT Birding - Glenmore-Weaselhead, Calgary From: "William J. F. Wilson" <wjfwilso AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:55:12 -0600 Birds sing mostly in the early morning, and when it's a three-and-a-half hour walk to Glenmore Reservoir it is hard to be there for sunrise - so I finally dug the bike out of my garage and had it tuned up. Left the house at 4:45 am, followed the Elbow River Pathway through Sandy Beach, arrived at the north entrance to the Weaselhead at 5:45 am (about 25 minutes past sunrise), birded mostly in the Weaselhead, and returned home via the south side of the reservoir and the Elbow River Pathway. Just north of the green bridge I met Gus and his group, who had started even earlier than I had! 46 species in about 34 km riding in 5 3/4 hours. All birds were seen in the Weaselhead or along the pathway around the reservoir. Double-crested Cormorant Canada Goose American Wigeon Gadwall Mallard Northern Pintail Common Goldeneye Bald Eagle Swainson's Hawk American Avocet Spotted Sandpiper Ring-billed Gull California Gull Franklin's Gull Rock Pigeon Calliope Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Northern Flicker Least Flycatcher Eastern Phoebe Bank Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Cliff Swallow Cedar Waxwing House Wren Gray Catbird Veery Hermit Thrush (heard) American Robin Black-capped Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch American Crow Common Raven Warbling Vireo (heard) Red-eyed Vireo American Goldfinch Yellow Warbler Spotted Towhee Chipping Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Savannah Sparrow White-throated Sparrow (heard) Rose-breasted Grosbeak Red-winged Blackbird Brown-headed Cowbird NMT total now 114 Good birding, Bill Wilson Calgary Subject: Friday Morning along the Ribbon Creek Trail From: Dwight Knapik <dwightthebirdaholic AT shaw.ca> Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:45:58 -0800 Hello: On the morning of Friday, June 19, 2009, I took a nice long walk along the peaceful and beautiful trails around Ribbon Creek, in Kananaskis Country, west of Calgary. The weather was relatively mild, and partially cloudy. Highlights included a number of singing Swainson's Thrushes, Yellow-rumped, Townsend's, and Tennessee Warblers, as well as a Varied Thrush and Orange-crowned Warbler. There was also a calling Pacific-slope Flycatcher near Kananaskis Village. An American Dipper trying to sing over the roar of the rushing water in Ribbon Creek was another treat. Ruffed Grouse (heard) Northern Flicker (heard) Pacific-slope Flycatcher Common Raven Black-capped Chickadee American Dipper Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Townsend's Solitaire Swainson's Thrush American Robin Varied Thrush (heard) Tennessee Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Townsend's Warbler Chipping Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Brown-headed Cowbird Red Crossbill (heard) Pine Siskin Red Squirrel Good Birding Everyone! Dwight P. Knapik Calgary, Alberta [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: RBA, Calgary, AB, June 19, 2009 From: Arina/Hank <rhvander AT shaw.ca> Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:51:23 -0600 >> >> >> - RBA >> * Alberta (Canada) >> * Calgary, AB >> * June 19, 2009 >> * ABCA0806.19 >> >> -Transcript >> >> Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society >> Bird Alert. >> Number: 403-221-4519 >> To Report: 403-221-4519 >> Coverage: Southern Alberta >> Compiler: Terry Korolyk >> Transcriber: Hank Vanderpol (rhvander AT shaw.ca) >> >> Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird >> Alert was >> recorded on Friday June 19th. To report a bird sighting, call >> 403-221-4519 and leave a message after the recording. To bypass >> the recorded >> message, press the pound key on your touch tone phone. To speak to a >> naturalist, phone 311 during office hours and ask for the >> Inglewood Bird >> Sanctuary. SIGHTINGS FOR THE PAST WEEK: >> >> A colony of YELLOW RAIL has been located just west of Bragg Creek. >> The birds were found by Michael Woertman. To reach the location, >> drive west on the West Bragg Cr. Rd. to Rge.Rd.52, then on this >> road go north for about 2 km. to the depression. Grassland species seen on a recent CFNS field trip to the Taber/ Purple Springs area of southern Alberta included several GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, 2 BAIRD'S SPARROWS, 2-3 BREWER'S SPARROWS, 5 CHESTNUT- COLLARED LONGSPURS, 1 SHORT-EARED OWL, 1 UPLAND SANDPIPER and 1 SPRAGUE'S PIPIT. For more details about specific locations, call Eric Tull in Calgary at 403-295-0830, or Lloyd Bennett in Taber at 403-223-0456. A SAGE THRASHER was reported by Bill Cutfield from the Cornflower Ranch, which is south of Turner Valley along 208th. Str. W. Birders wishing to look for this bird are welcome. >> The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Monday, June 22. >> >> BIRD STUDY GROUP - Meets the first Wednesday of the month, >> September-May at 7:30pm., Room 211, BioSciences Building, >> University of Calgary. >> BIRDING FIELD TRIPS: All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone. Willing to share your knowledge with others? If so, call 403- 243-2248 to specify date and location. Sat Jun 20, 3:30am: Dawn Chorus, Weaselhead. Hear 40+ bird species. Meet parking lot, 66 Av & 37 St SW. Dress warmly. Leaders, Gus Yaki/ Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sun Jun 21, 7am: Sheep River Valley for Lazuli Buntings. Meet Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr) S of pedestrian overpass. Bring lunch, Leader, Mike Harrison, 403-236-4700. Sun Jun 21, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5 km W from Sarcee Tr. on Hwy 8, then left on 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery link to parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 403-720-4957. Sun Jun 21, 9am: See 30 of the largest or most unusual trees species within a 3 km radius in Calgary. Meet at Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, two blocks W of Macleod Tr. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Email gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca to register and receive advance information. Tue Jun 23, 6:30pm: Birding Bowmont Park. Meet Maranatha Church, 2111 52 St NW (N end of Home Rd), Leader, Jan Reseneder, 403-286-5920. Wed Jun 24, 6:30pm: Visit private garden for 70 species of Cactus and succulents. Meet at 4915-15 St SW. Host, Hugo Render. For more info, 403-243-2248. Sat Jun 27, 7:30am: Birding the Water Valley area. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Jun 28, 9:30am: Tour of the private Canadian Rocky Mountain Ranch in the foothills southwest of Calgary to see Bison and Elk, including young, up close. Bring Lunch! Optional unguided hillside nature walk after lunch. Meet at Anderson LRT Stn (Macleod Tr), S of pedestrian overpass, to carpool. Hosts, Pat & Dr. Terry Church. Limit: 20 participants. To register, call 403-249-2641. Tue Jun 30, 6:30pm: Bird Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Wed Jul 1, 6:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Sat Jul 4, 8am: Birding Bebo Grove, FCPP, S end of 24 St SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Tue Jul 7, 6:30pm: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Jul 14, 6:30pm: Bird FCPP, S. of Hwy 22. Meet at Boat Launch, S. end of Bow Bottom Tr SE. Leader, Nimali Seneviratne, 403-836-5146. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Weed Lake & Wyndham/Carseland Prov. Park. Meet at Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Bring lunch. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Jul 18, 8am: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end of Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Jul 19, 7:30am. Bird Bow Valley Provincial Park. Meet Assumption School, 34th Av NW (NW corner of Sarcee Tr, at Hwy #1). Bring Lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Tue Jul 21, 6:30pm: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet parking lot, 37 St/66 Av SW. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Tue Jul 28, 6:30pm: Bird Bowness Park, 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first parking lot. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 1, 7am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Tue Aug 4, 6:30pm: Bird Mallard Point, E end of Canyon Meadows Dr SE. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Sat Aug 8, 8am: Bird Carburn Park. Meet in parking lot. S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sat Aug 8, 9am: Bird E of Calgary for autumn migrant shorebirds, etc. Meet at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at E end of 9 Av SE. Bring lunch. Leader, Eric Tull, 403-295-0830. Sun Aug 9, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link into parking lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 720-4957. Tue Aug 11, 6:30pm: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leader, Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. Sat Aug 15, 8am: Bird Hull's Woods, FCPP, for autumn migrating warblers, etc. Meet in first parking lot, E of Bow Bottom Tr after entering Park. Leader, Al Borgardt, 403-281-4306. Sun Aug 16, 8:30am: Bird Beaverdam Flats Park. Meet S parking lot (Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av SE). N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St SE, then left. Leader, Andrew Hart, 403-279-5209. Tue Aug 18, 6:30pm: Bird Carburn Park, S from Glenmore Tr E at 18 St SE to second stoplight, then right & follow signs. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. Tue Aug 25, 6:30pm: Bird Edworthy Park, Meet S side of Boothman Pedestrian Bridge accessed from Shaganappi Tr & Bowness Rd if N of river, or from W end of Spruce Dr if S of river. Leader, TBA, 403-243-2248. Tue, Sep 1, 7:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is a City of Calgary natural area. Staff offer information, courses and field trips relating to natural history. Nature Calgary (Calgary Field Naturalists' Society) promotes the observation, study, and conservation of the native habitat through lectures, field trips and collection of scientific data. Nature Calgary publishes a monthly newsletter.For membership or event information email naturecalgary AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at www.naturecalgary.com. The Birding section of the website http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/index.html includes descriptions of Birding Locales in the Calgary area. -End transcript [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Sage Thrasher south of Turner Valley From: Arina/Hank <rhvander AT shaw.ca> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:43:42 -0600 A birding friend of mine from Kelowna, Bill Cutfield, phoned to report that he had seen a Sage Thrasher on the Cornflower Ranch, south of Turner Valley, this afternoon. He is visiting family on this ranch, and told me that anyone wishing to look for this bird is welcome to come to the ranch house to ask for permission . Bill said he was able to scope the bird and had a great look at it. The ranch is located along 208Str. W., which is straight south of TV. Hank Vanderpol Calgary Subject: NMT Birding in Calgary: Inglewood to Mallard Point From: "William J. F. Wilson" <wjfwilso AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:19:37 -0600 It sure is different in June than in January! The trees have leaves on them!! (Oh yeah, it's warmer, too.) Left home at 5:00 am, and caught the #44 bus on Canyon Meadows Drive at 1:45 pm. 49 species in 23 km walking in 8 3/4 hours. Inglewood Bird Sanctuary American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Canada Goose Wood Duck American Wigeon Mallard Common Goldeneye Franklin's Gull Rock Pigeon Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Eastern Kingbird Bank Swallow Tree Swallow Barn Swallow Cedar Waxwing House Wren Gray Catbird American Robin Black-capped Chickadee Black-billed Magpie American Crow European Starling Warbling Vireo House Finch Yellow Warbler Clay-colored Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Common Grackle Baltimore Oriole Added at Beaverdam Flats & Carburn/Southland Parks: Gadwall Common Merganser Osprey Swainson's Hawk Ring-necked Pheasant Spotted Sandpiper Least Flycatcher Western Wood-Pewee Northern Rough-winged Swallow House Sparrow Song Sparrow Brown-headed Cowbird North of Ivor Strong Bridge: Great Blue Heron Added at Mallard Point: Bald Eagle Hairy Woodpecker White-breasted Nuthatch The walk added 18 new species to my NMT year list, now standing at 107 sighted plus pheasant heard. No alcids yet. Good birding, Bill Wilson Calgary Subject: Mallard congregation From: "Marcel Gahbauer" <marcel AT migrationresearch.org> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:16:51 -0600 Hi everyone, I was driving on a range road east of Edmonton this morning and stopped briefly beside a couple of wetlands to check out the birds ... as expected, a decent variety of waterfowl and a few others (Sora, Wilson's Snipe, Le Conte's Sparrow), but nothing out of the ordinary. However, at one small (<100 m diameter) pond I counted over 120 Mallards - mostly males. The only other bird in this wetland was a lone coot, and at other wetlands nearby there were no Mallards at all. It seemed like a very odd congregation to me, especially this early in summer. Marcel Gahbauer Calgary AB marcel AT migrationresearch.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Waterton Park and Milk River Natural Area From: Milton Spitzer <milton.spitzer AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:42:09 -0600 On Saturday Elaine and I participated in a Grasslands Naturalists field trip to the Pinhorn Ranch and Milk River natural area. This is a very remote area of Alberta and after a two hour trip from Medicine Hat to Aden it took us another two hours or so to get into the the Ranch and Natural Area. We were guided to and around the area by William King an Aden area rancher who is on the board of the Natural Area Society and who is particularly interested in the preservation of this magnificent area. Unfortunately because of the remoteness and lack of time we weren't able to give the area a true birding coverage ( and in fact lack of time prevented us from getting to Kennedy Coulee itself). However we did tally a large number of Long-billed Curlews, several Upland Sandpipers, Lark Sparrows and Rock Wrens in the Milk River badlands, and Chestnut-collared and McCowan's Longspurs as we drove the trails. I'm sure if one got on site early this would be an excellent locale for some of the rarer grassland sparrows. Two of the participants did get a good look at a fly over Mountain Plover but unfortunately a search of the aretalliea from where it flew did not reveal any other of the species and it seemed to have flown across the Milk River into the Onefour ranch. It is likely that this bird wasn't on territory as it seemed to be in cruise mode perhaps in a search for a companion. Elaine and I continued on to Waterton Park and birded the park from Sunday through Tuesday! The park didn't disappoint as we turned up many year birds and in fact tallied 84 species even though we gave short shrift to the duck species. Unfortunately we didn't bird Highway 501 from Cardston to Mountain View and thus have still failed to turn up a Bullock's Oriole even though they keep being reported from all around us. We did however see the Bobolinks near Mountain View (no Smew). At the wetlands neat the entrance to the park we had a pumping American Bittern, a vociferous and persistent Virginia Rail, a family of Common Loons, a grazing Sandhill Crane and a Black-headed Grosbeak in a nearby copse of trees. Along the Hay Barns picnic site road we saw several Calliope Hummingbirds on territory and at the picnic site many calling Veerys. A hike up Blackiston Creek, above the falls, turned up both Cassin's Vireo and Cassin's Finch (in spite of a determined search we were unable to turn up a Cassin's Kingbird). We also found a pair of McGillvray's Warblers along this trail. At Cameron Lake we had Northern Waterthrush (these were quite ubiquitous throughout the park), Winter Wren, Varied Thrush, Steller's Jays, and Townsend Solitaires. All in all a great trip to this super park. By the way the wildflowers were incredible. Milt Spitzer Mexican Hat [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Corrections From: Ryan Heavy Head <akayokaki AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 02:39:27 -0700 (PDT) Here's a few bad I.D. Corrections, for the record: Several times I reported that Piipiiaakii and I had seen a "least sandpiper" at our pond. I knew from my readings that this was not likely, but went with it anyway because the thing was so tiny. Thanks to Gus Yaki, I had to confront my denial this week, re-examine the images we'd taken, and it does to me look like a solitary sandpiper now Learning to recognize these smaller critters reminds me of being a child, where every furry thing absolutely "dog" or "kitty". Can't wait to mature Okay, then the other day I reported a canvasback couple arriving. Later, looking at their eyes in the photos, they're clearly redheads... Big redheads, mind, bigger than I remembered them being when they stayed in the pond for those couple months while the geese got to nesting. Anyway, this couple's return I figure may suggest a failed attempt at nesting elsewhere Lastly, this evening's account. I spliced our "potential ovenbird" song into an MP3 and sent it up to Barb, who thinks it more likely an oriole, even if not a classic song. Makes sense, in a way, because we've seen some orioles in the last couple weeks. So we are now going with "Baltimore oriole" as a placeholder until we hear it again and can confirm. Btw terribly sick tonight with flu and can't sleep even though exhausted. Only reason I'm up at this late hour making these confessions. Thanks for your patience Ryan Heavy Head __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com Subject: From Lonely To The Man From: Ryan Heavy Head <akayokaki AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:01:57 -0700 (PDT) III ) llllllllllllllllllllll From Lonely To The Man (16Jun09) 1952 Sspopiikimi, sitting on shore between the islands and the main beaver lodge. Still suffering the flu, but not about to let it keep me from dusk at the pond 2000 Walking in, we flushed two grey partridge, and I noticed another of those small bluet damselflies. The beavers are still eating water milfoil in the shallows. Painted turtles are swimming around, their heads just above the surface. The gosling couple are moving their brood from the mainshore meadows to the now-green islands. And the lone coot, who was preening on the gosling couple's nest island when we arrived, is now swimming about directly across from us, eating off the water surface in the reeds 2009 The surface of the pond tonight is covered in cottony seeds that're gliding down from the trees like snow on the breeze 2020 A female redhead passes by the reeds where the lone coot had been eating, and from deep within one of the denser patches of new growth we hear a second coot give a couple short grunts. Perhaps the lone coot is not so lonely after all, but is only staying in this vicinity because it's mate has nested in the reeds. If so, who knows how long this nest has gone unnoticed by Piipiiaakii and I. We'll have to check another evening, tonight we sit 2026 The mallard mother with her six, maybe seven ducklings (so hard to tell given their tendency to cluster together, resembling a single body) brings her brood to feed in a small bulrush tuft. A few minutes later, the other mallard mother, who we previously believed had only one baby, swam over to a nearby island with three little puffs of black and yellow beside her. We recognize her from before, because she has some feathers out of joint on one wing 2041 Well, that definitely seals the deal, there's got to be a nest. We just watched "lone coot" take a piece of dry bulrush stem from over by one of the beaver canals and carry it right to the reeds where we heard the other one earlier. He climbed up into the tuft, deposited the stem, and swam back out again. Surely it was a gift for his lady, although she has plenty of other old, dry burdock at her disposal right where she sits 2054 I'm changing Lone Coot's name to Ninna or "The Man". He's claimed the gosling couple's old nesting island as his sentinel station, and a few minutes ago he ran off an eastern kingbird to prove it. Having experienced success with the kingbird, he then swam out to the small bulrush tuft where the mallard mother with the big brood were eating, and went head to head with her until she took her ducklings and moved on 2136 We're all too aware that there's much we're missing as a result of not yet knowing all our local bird songs. I envy those who've come to embody this other sound world. There's been a seamless stream of bird voices out here this evening. We've come to recognize the familiar, those we watch regularly. Now comes the adventure of learning, just a couple at a time, those we may only hear. I carry an i.c. recorder to aid in our learning, and Piipiiaakii has IBirds on her phone. From somewhere near the forest across the pond, we could hear what seemed like an inordinate amount some kind of wing flutter which reminded me of mourning dove flight chatter. But now that the Sun has moved out of sight in the west, this sound has recently subsided. We take a moment to attempt an identification through IBird and come up with Wilson's common snipe. (Visiting other sound databases later at home, it seems IBird was successful). Behind us, in the tops of the poplars, there's a very distinct mantra being sung every two or three minutes. I've placed the i.c. recorder up there in the hollow of a branched trunk to capture a sample of this melody. (Once at home our best guess using all the resources we have at hand was ovenbird) 2208 Coyote chorus just started from up on the coulee top, and we're packing to head home __________________________________________________________________ Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail. Click on Options in Mail and switch to New Mail today or register for free at http://mail.yahoo.ca Subject: RBA: Calgary, AB, June 15, 2009 From: Arina/Hank <rhvander AT shaw.ca> Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:03:00 -0600 >> -RBA >> * Alberta (Canada) >> * Calgary, AB >> * June 15, 2009 >> * ABCA0906.15 >> >> -Birds mentioned: Greater Scaup Lesser Yellowlegs Bonaparte's Gull Pacific-slope Flycatcher Loggerhead Shrike Rock Wren >> >> >> Transcript >> >> Hotline: City of Calgary and Nature Calgary's (CFNS) Bird Alert >> Number: 403 221-4519 >> To Report: 403 221-4519 >> Coverage: Southern Alberta >> Compiler: Terry Korolyk (Nature Calgary & IBS)(403-254-1878) >> Transcriber: Hank Vanderpol(rhvander AT shaw.ca) >> >> Welcome to the City of Calgary and Nature Calgary's (CFNS) Bird >> Alert. This Bird Alert was recorded on Monday June 15, 2009. To >> report a bird >> sighting, leave a message after the beep at the end of the recording. >> To bypass the recorded message press the pound key on your touch >> tone phone. To >> speak to a naturalist during office hours dial 0 after reaching >> the Bird >> Alert. For inquiries after office hours please call 311 to speak >> with a Customer >> Service Agent. To report injured wildlife please call Calgary >> Wildlife >> Rehabilitation Society at 403 239-2488, or the Alberta Institute >> for Wildlife >> Conservation at 403 946-2361. >> >> SIGHTINGS FOR June 12: --LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE(1) Irricana slough area, one km. east of Rge.Rd. 252 on Twp.Rd.270, by Ian Halladay, and (1) on June 14th on Rge.Rd 252 just n. of Twp.Rd.270, by Terry Korolyk. SIGHTINGS FOR June 13: --GREATER SCAUP(2), on Rge.Rd. 265 just east of Calgary, by TK --LESSER YELLOWLEGS(3), east of Calgary. One bird was se of Shepard on a slough on Twp. Rd. 231 just w. of Rge. Rd. 284, and (2) in Langdon corner slough which is in the sw corner of Hwy.#1 and Hwy. #9., BY TK --BONAPARTE'S GULL(2), Cattleland Feedlot slough, n. of Strathmore at the end of #817, and (2) on June 14th at McElroy slough n. of Chestermere lake, by TK. SIGHTINGS FOR June 14: --ROCK WREN(1), on the middle of the dam at Barrier lake, by A. Slater --PACIFIC SLOPE FLYCATCHER(1), on the grounds of U of C. Kananaskis Field Station in Kananaskis country. >> The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is Thursday June 18th. >> >> BIRD STUDY GROUP - Meet September - May, 7:30 PM on the 1st Wednesday >> of the month, Room 211, BioSciences Bldg, University of Calgary. >> >> BIRD FIELD TRIPS >> Check the website field trips pages for new trips and updates. > >> >> Tue Jun 16, 6:30pm: Bird Votier's Flats, FCPP, S end or Elbow Dr >> SW. Leader, Wayne Hewitt, 403-256-7609. >> >> Sat Jun 20, 3:30am: Dawn Chorus, Weaselhead. Hear 40+ bird >> species. Meet parking lot, 66 Av & 37 St SW. Dress warmly. >> Leaders, Gus Yaki/Aileen Pelzer, 403-243-2248. >> >> Sun Jun 21, 7am: Sheep River Valley for Lazuli Buntings. Meet >> Anderson LRT (Macleod Tr) S of pedestrian overpass. Bring >> lunch, Leader, Mike Harrison, 403-236-4700. >> >> Sun Jun 21, 8am: Birding Griffith Woods Park, 2.5 km W from Sarcee >> Tr. on Hwy 8, then left on 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. Continue >> straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery link to parking >> lot. Leader, Grant Brydle, 403-720-4957. >> >> Sun Jun 21, 9am: See 30 of the largest or most unusual trees >> species within a 3 km radius in Calgary. Meet at Stanley Park, 42 >> Av SW, two blocks W of Macleod Tr. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. >> Email gyaki AT calcna.ab.ca to register and receive advance information. >> >> Tue Jun 23, 6:30pm: Birding Bowmont Park. Meet Maranatha Church, >> 2111 52 St NW (N end of Home Rd), Leader, Jan Roseneder, >> 403-286-5920. >> >> Wed Jun 24, 6:30pm: Visit private garden for 70 species of Cactus >> and succulents. Meet at 4915-15 St SW. Host, Hugo Render. For more >> info, 403-243-2248. >> >> Sun Jun 28, 9:30am: Tour of the private Canadian Rocky Mountain >> Ranch in the foothills southwest of Calgary to see Bison and Elk, >> including young, up close. Bring lunch! Optional unguided hillside >> nature walk after lunch. Meet at Anderson LRT Stn (Macleod Tr), S >> of pedestrian overpass, to carpool. Hosts, Pat & Dr. Terry Church. >> Limit: 20 participants. To register, call 403-249-2641. >> >> Tue Jun 30, 6:30pm: Bird Griffith Woods Park, 2.5km W on Hwy 8 >> from Sarcee Tr SW, then left at 69 St SW into Discovery Ridge. >> Continue straight at traffic circle, then left on Discovery Link >> into parking lot. Leader, Gus Yaki, 403-243-2248. >> >> July >> >> Wed Jul 1, 6:30am: Monthly Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet >> Stanley Park, 42 Av SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore >> Reservoir, ride back (3.5 hours). Call leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus >> Yaki, 243-2248, to ensure vehicle space for return. >> >> Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is a City of Calgary natural area. Staff >> offer >> information, courses and field trips relating to natural history. >> >> >> Nature Calgary (Calgary Field Naturalists' Society) promotes the >> observation, study, and conservation of the native habitat through >> lectures, field >> trips and collection of scientific data. Nature Calgary publishes >> a monthly >> newsletter.For membership or event information email naturecalgary AT >> cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at www.naturecalgary.com. The >> Birding section of the website >> http://birdcomp.fanweb.ca/index.html includes descriptions of Birding >> Locales in the Calgary area. >> >> >> -End transcript >> >> >> >> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] >> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Edmonton June 14/15 From: Barb Beck <barb AT birdnut.obtuse.com> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:25:40 -0600 It nests on gravel. Gravel rooftops also do. Barb Beck Edmonton Martin Sharp wrote: > Last night I saw a Common Nighthawk over the Lansdowne area of Edmonton (my > 4th sighting in the area since 2002 - I always wondered if they might nest > somewhere in Whitemud Ravine). Today, on my way home from work, there was a > Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrow calling from the wetland that lies just south > of the bike path that crosses the University Farm (east of 119 St from just > north of the traffic lights at Grandview) - around 5.30 pm. First one I've > heard at that location.Martin Sharp > Edmonton Subject: Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow From: savagebirder <savagebirder AT shaw.ca> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:01:02 -0600 Hi Eric It didn't look like a Lincoln Sparrow but I suspect that's probably what it was. My mind wasn't working properly when I typed the email and I was actually thinking Brewer's Sparrow, not Bairds, but that doesn't seem likely either. Thanks Sandra Eric Tull wrote: > > > Hello Sandra > Could your bird have been a Lincoln's Sparrow? They also have a sort-of > necklace of fine streaks. I would think Kananaskis would be an unlikely > place for a Baird's Sparrow, but birds have wings and you cannot rule > out the possibility. > Eric Tull > Calgary > > savagebirder wrote: > > Hi All > > > > I was in Kananaskis on Tuesday - it had just poured all night and was > > barely above freezing. I walked the Lorette Ponds as soon as it stopped > > raining and saw a sparrow on the stones beside the water that was, > to my > > best identification ability, a Baird's Sparrow. Yet, my very limited > > knowledge of the species makes me think that this is an unlikely place > > to find it. > > > > So, I'm wondering what people think - does Baird's Sparrow make > sense in > > the mountains / foothills in an area of mixed forest beside the ponds? > > > > Sandra Savage > > Calgary > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > __________________________________________________________ > > > > * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com > > > * Guidelines: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo > ! > Groups Links > > > > > > > > > > Subject: Re: RFI - Baird's Sparrow From: Eric Tull <tull AT ucalgary.ca> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:47:16 -0600 Hello Sandra Could your bird have been a Lincoln's Sparrow? They also have a sort-of necklace of fine streaks. I would think Kananaskis would be an unlikely place for a Baird's Sparrow, but birds have wings and you cannot rule out the possibility. Eric Tull Calgary savagebirder wrote: > Hi All > > I was in Kananaskis on Tuesday - it had just poured all night and was > barely above freezing. I walked the Lorette Ponds as soon as it stopped > raining and saw a sparrow on the stones beside the water that was, to my > best identification ability, a Baird's Sparrow. Yet, my very limited > knowledge of the species makes me think that this is an unlikely place > to find it. > > So, I'm wondering what people think - does Baird's Sparrow make sense in > the mountains / foothills in an area of mixed forest beside the ponds? > > Sandra Savage > Calgary > > > ------------------------------------ > > _____________________________________________________________ > > * List owner: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com > * Guidelines: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Albertabird/files/Guidelines.txtYahoo! Groups Links > > > > Subject: Edmonton June 14/15 From: Martin Sharp <martin.sharp AT ualberta.ca> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:35:42 -0600 Last night I saw a Common Nighthawk over the Lansdowne area of Edmonton (my 4th sighting in the area since 2002 - I always wondered if they might nest somewhere in Whitemud Ravine). Today, on my way home from work, there was a Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrow calling from the wetland that lies just south of the bike path that crosses the University Farm (east of 119 St from just north of the traffic lights at Grandview) - around 5.30 pm. First one I've heard at that location.Martin Sharp Edmonton [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Elk Island National Park From: "Gerald Romanchuk" <geraldjr AT telusplanet.net> Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:27:20 -0000 I've been birding out at the park for about 10 years & haven't heard a Sprague's Pipit out there before, but thanks to Sean's report this weekend I walked out to the fence in the bison loop & just barely picked up the pipit's song. I'm sure Sean was wondering what I was spiking my drinking water with... But I did see a Lark Sparrow on the west side of the loop & have a mediocre pic to prove it! If Sean wasn't convinced by then that I'd been drinking, I also told him that I thought I heard a Nashville Warbler on the Sandhills Tr. The bird was singing it's 2 parted song repeatedly - but I couldn't find it - this was just as you come out of the spruce trees. Listened to the tapes & I'm pretty sure I wasn't dreaming it up. Also had nice views of a White-winged Scoter, Philadelphia Vireo, Veery, & Chestnut-sided & Mourning Warblers. Gerald Romanchuk, Edmonton --- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com, "Sean D. Smith" wrote: > > Hi: > > I spent most of my birding time this weekend chasing Gerald's reports. Saturday morning I was about 5km down Wood Bison trail listening to yet another GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, when Gerald he called with another LARK SPARROW, this time on the Bison Loop Road. I went back there, but couldn't find it. Bison Loop is still good for nesting MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, VESPER SPARROWS and SPRAGUE's PIPITS. > > The first two km of "Sandhills" Trail has MOURNING, YELLOW-RUMPED, TENNESSEE,COMMMON YELLOWTHROAT,CHESTNUT-SIDED,YELLOW,BLACK-AND-WHITE and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS & OVENBIRD for the discerning listener, as well as WESTERN TANAGER and the usual sprucy species. > > Sunday, Jay VanderGaast and his Field Guides birding tour had WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS (the first I've heard of here in a year or so)around the white spruce in the visitor's info center area, an AMERICAN REDSTART just past(nw)of the first beaver pond on Admin. Rd. and a nesting CINNAMON TEAL in the first pond on the right past Admin/Parkway junction. There has been a number of adult BALD EAGLE sightings recently and they may be nesting. > > Leps:Lots of Northern Cloudy Wings, Dreamy Dusky Wings (probably), Western Tailed Blues, Common Alpines (I finally saw Red-disked Alpines a few weeks ago) and the first White Admirals and Northern/Pearl Crescents are some of the butterflies I've been able to identify or almost identify lately. > > Mammals:It's great for viewing mammal offspring right now in the park. Moose & deer calves/fawns, Richardson Ground Squirrel babies and of course young bison, aka 'reds' have been repeatedly observed in the last week. There are still Black Bear in the park-always good to have some top predators around. > > Cheers! > Sean > > Elk Island > Subject: Golden Eagle and White Marmot at Buffalo Jump From: Ryan Heavy Head <akayokaki AT yahoo.com> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:26:45 -0700 (PDT) III ) lllllllllllllllllllll White Marmot of Omahksipisskan (15Jun09) Went up into the drive basin above Omahksipisskan this evening. I was miserable achy with flu onset, so really didn't get to enjoy it to the fullest. But I was in awe of the vast width of the basin, and could almost see and hear the collective drive event... the past really became present in a way I can't imagine happening for people within the interpretive center itself. I carried my toddler niece, Isskohkitopiiaahkoyinnimaakii (Rides Back With A Pipe Woman) all the way to the top. Though she'd been awake all day, she refused to shut her eyes until we were on our way down. During the hike, she hummed and sang, and I got the feeling this place was somehow familiar to her. Piipiiaakii stuck patiently with me all day, even through my moaning from the fever pain. My colleague and in-law Ki'naksaapo'p understood when I decided to head back down ahead of the group after leaving my offering on the high rocks demarcating one extreme of the basin. Highlights for me was the opportunity to show a few of my phenology students wild onions and death camas growing side by side, hopefully avoiding any future mistakes. I also very much enjoyed seeing the Sun, Moon, and Morning Star carved in stone on the rocks, reminding me of the songs we still have, used in Ksisskstaki and Okaan ceremonies, that were once part of the complex of assuring a safe and successful hunt. On our way back down the hill alone, Piipiiaakii and I saw many marmots, one of which was completely white (albino?), and a huge golden eagle. At the end, stuck above the interpretive center by virtue of locked doors, much tight barbwire, and of course sheer cliff-side, we did the only thing we could do, we scaled our way down the architecture of the building itself, and experience perhaps few could claim __________________________________________________________________ Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail. Click on Options in Mail and switch to New Mail today or register for free at http://mail.yahoo.ca Subject: Elk Island National Park From: "Sean D. Smith" <seansmith64 AT hotmail.com> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:29:23 -0000 Hi: I spent most of my birding time this weekend chasing Gerald's reports. Saturday morning I was about 5km down Wood Bison trail listening to yet another GREAT-CRESTED FLYCATCHER, when Gerald he called with another LARK SPARROW, this time on the Bison Loop Road. I went back there, but couldn't find it. Bison Loop is still good for nesting MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, VESPER SPARROWS and SPRAGUE's PIPITS. The first two km of "Sandhills" Trail has MOURNING, YELLOW-RUMPED, TENNESSEE,COMMMON YELLOWTHROAT,CHESTNUT-SIDED,YELLOW,BLACK-AND-WHITE and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS & OVENBIRD for the discerning listener, as well as WESTERN TANAGER and the usual sprucy species. Sunday, Jay VanderGaast and his Field Guides birding tour had WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS (the first I've heard of here in a year or so)around the white spruce in the visitor's info center area, an AMERICAN REDSTART just past(nw)of the first beaver pond on Admin. Rd. and a nesting CINNAMON TEAL in the first pond on the right past Admin/Parkway junction. There has been a number of adult BALD EAGLE sightings recently and they may be nesting. Leps:Lots of Northern Cloudy Wings, Dreamy Dusky Wings (probably), Western Tailed Blues, Common Alpines (I finally saw Red-disked Alpines a few weeks ago) and the first White Admirals and Northern/Pearl Crescents are some of the butterflies I've been able to identify or almost identify lately. Mammals:It's great for viewing mammal offspring right now in the park. Moose & deer calves/fawns, Richardson Ground Squirrel babies and of course young bison, aka 'reds' have been repeatedly observed in the last week. There are still Black Bear in the park-always good to have some top predators around. Cheers! Sean Elk Island