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Alberta Birds

Updated on Tuesday, December 11 at 08:28 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

 Jerry Pilny and I took a quick trip to Carseland this afternoon.
4 Snowy Owls were seen on the way there and back. 1 Bald Eagle at 
Strathmore. At Carseland we saw 1 Merlin,1 Northern Shrike, 3 Redheads,
1 G.B.Heron,1 Bufflehead, 30 Goldeneye, 10 Canada Geese, and 15 
Redpolls.
At TWP 224 and RR 274 one Gyrfalcon.

Alan Fishkin  Calgary

Thanks Doug

I suspect most of the other birders know where it is.  I was just 
wondering if I could get there from Calgary easily.

Sandra

Douglas Faulder wrote:
>
> Sorry not to be more precise. Manawan Lake (also known as Egg Lake) is 
> on the west side of Highway 2, a few miles north of Morinville. Range 
> Road 260 actually cuts across the most northwestern part of it. See 
> Ted Hindmarch's report of December 8 as well.
>
> Doug Faulder
> __________________________________________________________
> Exercise your brain! Try Flexicon!
> http://puzzles.sympatico.msn.ca/chicktionary/index.html?icid=htmlsig 
> 
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>  


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sorry not to be more precise. Manawan Lake (also known as Egg Lake) is on the 
west side of Highway 2, a few miles north of Morinville. Range Road 260 
actually cuts across the most northwestern part of it. See Ted Hindmarch's 
report of December 8 as well. 

 
Doug Faulder
_________________________________________________________________
Exercise your brain! Try Flexicon!
http://puzzles.sympatico.msn.ca/chicktionary/index.html?icid=htmlsig

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yesterday afternoon there were at least 3 Short-eared Owls hunting on both 
sides of RgRd 260, just north of TwpRd 571. At one point two flew quite closely 
overhead going from one side of the road to the other. When not actively 
hunting they were perched on fence posts, bushes and once rather high up in a 
poplar. 

 
Doug Faulder
_________________________________________________________________
Discover new ways to stay in touch with Windows Live! Visit the City  AT  Live 
today! 

http://getyourliveid.ca/?icid=LIVEIDENCA006

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Albertabirds;

Winter Birding Highlights in Canada - 

Environment Canada's long-term forecast [ http://tinyurl.com/yu46t7 ] 
is calling for below average temperatures for the December-February 
period for pretty much the entire country, and links this prediction 
to the resurgence of "La Nina" in the Pacific Ocean.   This means 
that Canadians will experience a winter colder than any in the past 
15 years, a return to winters as we used to know them, before climate 
change really kicked in.

And as you might expect, given the early onset of cold weather, the 
winter bird lists of all the Canadian provinces are off to a slower 
start than in recent years.  But Canadian birders are a hardy bunch, 
eh?   They persevere.   And despite the cold temperatures each 
province has enjoyed some unusual birds to liven up a day's outing.

The rarest bird is certainly the Cook's Petrel in British Columbia, a 
first for Canada.   It flew against a home-owner's door in Lillooet 
following a vicious storm.  Although the bird was taken into care, it 
subsequently died.

Here are the various regional totals, with a few highlighted species, 
for nine provinces, as well as the French islands of Saint-Pierre et 
Michelon, as of Dec. 11.   The province of Ontario still refuses to 
play.   Note that the British Columbia list has not been updated in a 
few days. I've also provided links to each region's winter birding page.

FROM EAST TO WEST:

Newfoundland:  http://tinyurl.com/2jqo5p
         135 species - Greater White-fronted Goose, Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Nova Scotia:  http://tinyurl.com/2u2ulg
         147 species - White-eyed Vireo, Grasshopper Sparrow, Indigo 
Bunting, Bullock's Oriole

Prince Edward Island:  http://tinyurl.com/3bkhwz
         80 species - Carolina Wren, Bullock's Oriole

New Brunswick:  http://tinyurl.com/36hpe4
         126 species - White-winged Dove, Lark Sparrow

Quebec:   http://tinyurl.com/2ngu7n
         140 species - Eurasian Collared-Dove, American Pipit

Manitoba:   http://tinyurl.com/yjtx52
         64 species - Green-winged Teal

Saskatchewan:  http://tinyurl.com/2qde59
         74 species - Barrow's Goldeneye, Gray Catbird

Alberta:   http://tinyurl.com/yke4sl
         101 species - Wood Duck, Red-bellied Woodpecker

British Columbia:   http://tinyurl.com/33bmzc
         160+ species - Cook's Petrel, Bobolink, Vesper Sparrow

French Islands of Saint-Pierre et Michelon   http://tinyurl.com/y45kl5
         68 species: Nashville Warbler, Brown-headed Cowbird

Good (winter) birding,


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blake Maybank
maybank AT ns.sympatico.ca

Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds"

author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia"
http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS.htm

White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada 
  ----------



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2:51 PM 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

An early morning walk along Sterling Lake (now frozen) found the area 
quite desolate looking however I did come across 2 separate flocks of 
Gray Partridge (8 and 7 in number) and a Prairie Falcon believed to be 
an adult male which is the first I have seen this winter.

Del Huget
Lethbridge

I apologise for the message to Robin and Cedric. I intended it to be private.

Mike Mulligan
Calgary

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Robin and Cedric

It WAS a grand trip! We saw so many excellent birds.

I'm working on a Galapagos trip, plus an antpitta extension in Ecuador, 
probably for early 2009 (dates uncertain at the moment). You may have "done 
that" already, but I'll certainly ensure that you receive the announcement 
when I've got the details ironed out.

I'm going to NW Mexico with Michael Carmody right after Christmas. I hope to 
hit 800 for the country on that one. Likely no lifers however. Then Panama 
in late January with my group. So I'll be showering you with trip notes!

I wish you a Blessed and Peaceful Christmas Season

Mike


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "hitchonr" 
To: 
Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 8:25 PM
Subject: Re: [Albertabird] Costa Rica birding, October 2007


> Hi Mike
> Great list Mike.  Keep us in mind for future birding trips.  Cedric and 
> Robin
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Mike Mulligan
>  To: AlbertaBird
>  Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 4:35 PM
>  Subject: [Albertabird] Costa Rica birding, October 2007
>
>
>
>  You may read about my trip to Costa Rica at
>
>  http://maybank.tripod.com/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/CostaRica-10-2007.htm
>
>  The report is short, but the birdlist is long at 466 species.
>
>  Mike Mulligan
>  Calgary
>
>  [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
> [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.txt
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
> 

- RBA
* Alberta (Canada)
* Calgary, AB
* December 10, 2007
* ABCA0712.10

- Birds mentioned

Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Long-tailed Duck
Common Loon
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Northern Pygmy-Owl
American Tree Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Lewis's Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker

-Transcript

Hotline: City of Calgary and Calgary Field Naturalists' Society Bird Alert
Number:
To Report:
Coverage: Southern Alberta
Compiler: Terry Korolyk
Transcriber: Mike Mulligan (potoo AT shaw.ca)

Welcome to the City of Calgary and CFNS Bird Alert. This Bird Alert was
recorded on Monday December 10 at 11:10am. To report a bird sighting, call
 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.

A possible LEWIS'S WOODPECKER was seen in a yard at 16 Ranchridge Way in 
Ranchlands, northwest Calgary, on December 8 by Diane Dodsworth. For details 
call Diane at .

On December 8 Joanne Jones spotted the male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER once more 
in her yard at  Street in Ponoka. It's been seen in the 
neighbourhood for over two months. On the same day Wayne Hewitt found a 
COMMON LOON in the hydro canal above Canmore, and Lois and Bill Lange noted 
a GREAT BLUE HERON at Wyndham-Carseland PP. Bill Wilson watched a juvenile 
light-morph RED-TAILED HAWK in Carburn Park on December 9, and that day Rob 
Worona reported 2 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS from the Burnsmead section of Fish Creek 
PP. Tim Allison and Gus Yaki saw an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW along the Elbow 
River below Glenmore Dam, also on December 9.

Weekend waterfowl included a LONG-TAILED DUCK seen by Bill Wilson on 
December 9 in Carburn Park -- Bill also found a male and 2 female HARLEQUIN 
DUCKS in the Carburn - Beaverdam Flats area. Gus Yaki saw a GREATER SCAUP 
there the day before.

A NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL entertained birders over the weekend in the Bebo Grove 
parking lot, Fish Creek PP. Lois and Bill Lange saw the bird there Saturday, 
and Ted Hindmarch watched it Sunday.

Terry Korolyk heard a bird which may have been an EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in 
Chestermere. The location was along East Chestermere Drive just south of 
Lakeview Rise.

The next scheduled update of the Bird Alert is on Thursday December 13.


BIRD STUDY GROUP - Meets the first Wednesday of the month, September - May
at 7:30 pm, Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary. The next
meeting will be on Wednesday January 2. Doors open at 7:00pm.
Program:  Review of the 2007 Christmas Bird Counts in the Calgary region.


BIRD FIELD TRIPS
     All CFNS field trips are free and open to everyone.

Sat Dec 15, 9am: Birding Votier's Flats, FCPP. Meet parking lot, S end of
Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Mary Huston, .

Fri Dec 21, 7pm: See the overnight concentration of 5000+ Common Goldeneyes
S of Eric Harvie Bridge. Meet at Southland Park parking lot, off Southland
Dr SE, just E of Deerfoot Tr. Leader, Gus Yaki, .

Sun Dec 23, 9:30am: Nature Walk (birds, mammal tracks, plants), Inglewood
Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, .

Wed Dec 26: Boxing Day: 9:30am: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet Parking
lot, 37 St & 66 Av SW. Leader, TBA. Call .

Tue Jan 1, 10am: Birding Bowmont Park. Meet Maranatha Church, 2111 52 St NW
(N end of Home Rd). Leader, Horst Grothman, .

Thu Jan 3, 8:30am: Elbow River Birding Survey. Meet Stanley Park, on 42 Av
SW, just W of Macleod Tr. Walk to Glenmore Reservoir, ride back. (3.5hrs).
Call leaders, A. Pelzer/G. Yaki,  to ensure vehicle space for
return.

Sat Jan 5, 8am: Bird Sibbald/Exshaw/Harvie Heights area for
foothills/mountain birds - Clark's Nutcracker, Evening/Pine Grosbeaks,
Mountain Chickadee, Rosy-Finch, etc. All day, by car. Bring Lunch. Meet
Assumption School, 34 Av NW at Sarcee Tr (just N of Hwy 1). Leader, Bill
Wilson, .

Sun Jan 6, 9am: 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,
.

Wed Jan 9, 9:15am: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet Parking lot, 37 St &
66 Av SW. Leader, Bruce Barnetson, .

Sat Jan 12, 9:30am: Bird Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE, Leader,
Penny Smith, .

Sun Jan 13, 9am: Birding Bowmont Park. Meet Maranatha Church, 2111 52 St NW
(N end of Home Rd). Leader, Jan Roseneder, .

Sat Jan 19, 9am: 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, Mike Harrison,
.

Sun Jan 20, 9am: Birding, Animal tracks, Trees and Shrubs, S. Glenmore Park.
Meet parking lot at W end 90 Av SW. Leader, Gus Yaki, .

Sat Jan 26, 9am: Bird the Bow River, Burnsmead to Hwy 22X. Meet at Burnsmead
parking lot, FCPP, off Bow Bottom Tr SE, turning left just before entering
Park. Leader, Tony Timmons, .

Sun Jan 27, 9am: Birding Shannon Terrace, W end FCPP. W on Anderson Rd which
curves south onto 37 St SW. Turn left (East) at 130 Av. Go 1 block, turn
right into park. Leader, Andrew Hart, .


Inglewood Bird Sanctuary is a City of Calgary Natural Area. Staff offer
information, courses and field trips relating to natural history. For
information call 311 during office hours and ask for the Inglewood Bird
Sanctuary.

Calgary Field Naturalists' Society promotes the observation, study and
conservation of the native habitat through lectures, field trips and
collection of scientific data. CFNS publishes a monthly newsletter. For
membership or event information,  email cfns AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the
website at www.cfns.fanweb.ca

- End transcript

Hi Mike
Great list Mike.  Keep us in mind for future birding trips.  Cedric and Robin
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike Mulligan 
  To: AlbertaBird 
  Sent: Monday, December 10, 2007 4:35 PM
  Subject: [Albertabird] Costa Rica birding, October 2007



  You may read about my trip to Costa Rica at 

  http://maybank.tripod.com/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/CostaRica-10-2007.htm

  The report is short, but the birdlist is long at 466 species.

  Mike Mulligan
  Calgary

  [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



   

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

A Lethbridge resident called me and advised that he had 10 birds that 
he believed were doves coming to his feeders daily over the past 
month.   He was sure that they were neither pigeons nor Mourning Doves 
by referring to his Birds of Alberta book and that they had a black 
ring on their neck area.   Attendance to his residence found 9 Eurasian 
Collared-Doves.  He has very active feeders in a well treed yard. In 
addition to the common visitors including House finches and sparrows, 
BC Chickadees, Northern Flickers and Magpies he has a Robin hanging 
around for the winter.

Del Huget
Lethbridge

You may read about my trip to Costa Rica at 

http://maybank.tripod.com/CentralAmerica/CostaRica/CostaRica-10-2007.htm

The report is short, but the birdlist is long at 466 species.

Mike Mulligan
Calgary

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I just had a phone call that the red-bellied woodpecker is still eating 
at a local Ponoka suet feeder. It looks like he may make it over the 
winter?
  "Merry Christmas to all"
D Murray Mackay

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Wlad Franco-Valias 
To: Albertabird-owner AT yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 8:10 PM
Subject: re: RFI - Bebo - Woodpecker? Owl?


I was at Bebo Grove and west today, Dec 09, between 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm. The 
Pymy Owl was there, right at the parking lot, activelly hunting voles and 
stashing them in the spruces. It did not care at all about all the traffic 
around it. Many thanks to the gentleman photographer who pointed it out to me. 


The only woodpecker I saw was a Downy. There was a Townsend's Solitaire on the 
slope west of Bebo Grove, a Brown Creeper in the spruce trees and small flocks 
of White-winged Crossbills. 


Wlad Franco-Valias
Calgary

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Birds seen along Elbow River, Calgary, scouting Christmas Bird Count territory. 


1.  Canada Goose-250
2.  Wood Duck-30
3.  Mallard-200
4.  Common Goldeneye-2
5.  Bald Eagle-2
6.  Merlin-1
7.  Rock Pigeon-70
8.  Downy Woodpecker-2
9.  Northern Flicker-2m
10.Blue Jay-2
11.Black-billed Magpie-35
12.Black-capped Chickadee-15
13.Red-breasted Nuthatch-4
14.White-breasted Nuthatch-3
15.Brown Creeper-1
16.Townsend's Solitaire-1
17.European Starling-4
18.Bohemian Waxwing-500
19.Am. Tree Sparrow (Seen only by Tim Allison).
20.Dark-eyed Junco-3
21.House Finch-5
22.House Sparrow-40

Eastern Gray Squirrel
Gray morph-10
Black morph-20

Gus Yaki, 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Allow me to change the duck seen in Canmore to a Lesser Scaup.

RW

--- In Albertabird AT yahoogroups.com, "Rob Worona"  wrote:

Made a short trip to Canmore and Exshaw this afternoon. Saw a Lesser Scaup in 
Canmore, 30 

Gray-crowned Rosy-finches in Exshaw and 5 km east of Exshaw were ten Red and 
one 

White-winged Crossbills.
 
 Robert Worona
 Calgary

Sandra, I was there this morning and saw the owl. A photographer told
me the owl hunts every morning and can be seen from the parking lot.
If you have not seen one yet you need to spend time looking closely.
They are a lot smaller than I would have thought. I had seen one before
but from a distance they look a bit larger.

Tanya Barkauskas
Calgary Alberta
http://www.flickr.com/photos/featheredfriend/

Sandra, I was there this morning and saw the owl. A photographer told
me the owl hunts every morning and can be seen from the parking lot.
If you have not seen one yet you need to spend time looking closely.
They are alot smaller than I would have thought. I had seen one before
but from a distance they look a bit larger. 

Hello All

Fred Whiley and I spent the day birding the Wabamun Lake and 
Keephills area in the hope of adding a few winter list birds.

Highlights included

PACIFIC LOON-1 bird still in mostly BREEDING PLUMAGE at the TransAlta 
farm lake
Common Loon-1 observed from Wabamun Town dock
Horned Grebe-1 town dock and possible TransAlta farm
EARED GREBE-1 TransAlta Farm
Western Grebe-5+ birds TransAlta farm
Tundra Swan- a single swan probably Tundra and 2 Tundras flying over 
and calling TransAlta farm
Duck species included Gadwall, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, CANVASBACK-4+ 
males,Redheads, Ring-necked Duck-1 male, Lesser Scaup and a possible 
Greater (too far to be sure), Bufflehead, Common Merganser 1 male and 
5 possible Red-breasted Mergansers (Town dock).
8+ Bald Eagles
2 Gyrfalcons (1 Grey phase Wabamun Town and a dark morph along west 
side of Trans Alta farm ponds)
AMERICAN COOT-100+
A Pileated Woodpecker-new for winter province list was observed north 
of HW 16 north of Wabamun Lake

Richard Klauke
Vilna AB   

I checked Bebo Grove about 2 pm and couldn't find either woodpecker. I 
didn't try further west for the owl.

Good birding,
Bill Wilson
Calgary

savagebirder wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> Did anyone have success with any of: Black-backed Woodpecker;
> Three-toed Woodpecker; or Pygmy Owl (or other owls or other rarer
> species) at Bebo today? I'm trying to determine if I should make a trip
> there tomorrow.
>
> Thanks
>
> Sandra Savage
> Calgary
>
> savagebirder AT shaw.ca 
>
>  

Hi

Did anyone have success with any of:  Black-backed Woodpecker; 
Three-toed Woodpecker; or Pygmy Owl (or other owls or other rarer 
species) at Bebo today?  I'm trying to determine if I should make a trip 
there tomorrow.

Thanks

Sandra Savage
Calgary

savagebirder AT shaw.ca

Greetings

I checked out the Hawrelak Park feeders in Edmonton around 11:30 
this morning. There were 2 Juncos present as well as a Flicker with 
yellow shafts. There were the usual BC Chickadees, WB and RB 
Nuthatches, Jays and Magpies and a pair of Downy Woodpeckers.

A walk along the Whitemud trails resulted in observations of the 
above as well as Ravens, Siskins, and a flock of Pine Grosbeaks 
flying overhead.

I went back to Hawrelak Park on the way home about 3:30 and there 
were several Pine Grosbeaks in the area, but none landed near the 
feeders as the light grew dim.

Cheers

Don Delaney

Made a short trip to Canmore and Exshaw this afternoon. Saw a Redhead in 
Canmore, 30 

Gray-crowned Rosy-finches in Exshaw and 5 km east of Exshaw were ten Red and 
one 

White-winged Crossbills.

Robert Worona
Calgary

Highlights of a series of walks today along the Bow River were:

Harlequin Duck - 3 (1m 2f) Beaverdam Flats
Long-tailed Duck - 1f near the green pumphouse south of the Eric Harvie 
Bridge
Killdeer - 1 south of the Eric Harvie Bridge
Red-tailed Hawk - 1light-phase juvenile flew from the SE over the Eric 
Harvie Bridge and landed in trees north of there, visible from the 
bridge. I had good views from the back and fleeting views as it flew, 
and as far as I could see it was a standard-issue red-tail; e.g., it 
didn't appear to be a Harlan's. Very white throat, not shown in Sibley, 
but shown in some other books.

Bill Wilson
Calgary

This afternoon my husband Jeff saw a gray gyrfalcon with very light
underparts on Rg Road 31, west of Calgary, just south of #1 highway,
near the Lutheran Church.   (Turn off on the Old Banff Coach Road
interchange).

Linda Vaxvick

While walking the dog this morning I saw a Townsend's Solitaire on the
hillside above the Glencoe Club, Mount Royal, Calgary. I also saw about five
Dark-eyed Juncos, which seem to be quite numerous in our neighbourhood at
present (up to 20 seen daily in our yard).
 
Cheers,
 
Phil
--
Phil Cram
crampj AT telusplanet.net

 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

In the early afternoon at Burnsmead at Fish Creek Provincial Park were a 
Northern Harrier, a 

Northern Pintail and two Rusty Blackbirds.

Robert Worona
Calgary

With all the reports of Snowy Owls lately from Calgary area, I decided to take 
a look around Egg lake (west of Hwy 2 between Morinville and Legal) late this 
afternoon. 


Success: 2 SNOWY OWLs spotted. One south of the lake, in field north of TR564 
between RR255 and 260 (this a probably adult male), and the second on a power 
pole NW side of the lake along RR260 just north of TR572 ( a dark bird, 
probably 1w). This was augmented by two SHORT-EARED OWLs hunting the weedy 
field between RR260 and west shores of the lake, just south of TR572. 


The yard and feeders just north of TR570/RR260 also continued its tradition of 
some great "winter" birds. A juvenile male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD and a juv 
male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD were among the many Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, 
and single Hairy Woodpecker and W-B Nuthatch observed during a brief stop. 


Ted Hindmarch
Hillsborough Estates
N of Gibbons AB

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

The Northern Goshawk that has been around for a few weeks was seen over
Aspen Gardens yesterday afternoon. Today I saw 2 W-W Crossbills in Whitemud
Ravine upstream from the Toboggan Hill. The 3 American Goldfinches that have
been frequenting my feeders in Lansdowne for several weeks were seen again
today.
Good Birding all.
Martin Sharp


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Birds, Beaverdam Flats Park, 08 Dec.07, 9-11am.
1.   Canada Goose -5000;
2.   Mallard-4000
3.   Redhead-1m
4.   Greater Scaup-1m
5.   Harlequin Duck, 1m/2f
6.   Bufflehead-50
7.   Common Goldeneye-400
8.   Barrow's Goldeneye-6m
9.   Common Merganser-10
10. Bald Eagle 7 (10). All immature/sub-adult. The most mature had a white head 
but the tip of the tail was still black. We saw 7 at one time (six in one tree) 
but they were all flying about, chasing each other and being harried by ravens 
- so it was difficult to keep track of them. A CFNS group led by Jim St. 
Laurent coming from the other direction figured that they had seen ten of them. 
None of us had ever seen that number locally before. 


11. Unknown hawk-1. Possibly a Harlan's Hawk.
12. Rock Pigeon-10
13. Downy Woodpecker-3
14. Northern Flicker
15. Black-billed Magpie-20+
16. Common Raven-11
17. Black-capped Chickadee-5
18. White-breasted Nuthatch-2
19. House Sparrow-2.

In addition, Jim's group had also seen 
Green-winged Teal-1
Hooded Merganser-1m
Great Horned Owl-2
Gus Yaki, 




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I was down at Goldbar Park to see if I could find the Wood Duck reported
earlier this week. It was quite cold with a lot of fog coming off the river.
There were lots of mallards and a few C. Goldeneye. I did not find the Wood
Duck. I also saw 50 or so White-wing Crossbills just north of the parking
lot.

 

Rick Palindat



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mid-day we watched a Common Loon on the hydro canal above Canmore.  It 
was on open water by the bridge over the canal.  It appears in good 
condition.  We saw it dive under the ice but did not see it actually 
catch anything. It completely ignored us, swimming within ten feet on 
occasion.   

Wayne Hewitt

 I guess I should have waited a day to post my last message, since a lot of 
good birds have turned up since then. I had some time to go around my area 
yesterday afternoon and again this morning. Yesterday I saw my first harrier of 
the winter, flying over my farm, as well as the first Common Redpoll. One road 
west of my place I found an American Kestrel, as well as a badger. I took a 
walk to the spot on the Oldman River where the water stays open, which allows 
ducks to overwinter there. The open water was just over 100 meters long, but it 
had maybe 3000 Mallards, so they were very thick. I was able to pick out a m. 
pintail, and a f. shoveller. This morning I went northeast of my place, hoping 
to spot a Golden Eagle near the river north of Purple Springs. I saw 2 eagles 
flying there, but they turned out to be ad. Bald Eagles. I was able to find 
about 6 Sharp-tailed Grouse in a field, and when I saw a blackbird land there I 
went to investigate. I was surprised to find over a dozen Red-wings, feeding on 
grain in the edge of the field. A brown bird flew up with them, and I was 
excited to see that it that it was a meadowlark. It flew to the west, where it 
was joined by another one, then another, and another, and yes, even one more, 
until 5 meadowlarks were visible at once. I have never seen more than one at a 
time in winter before. They are likely feeding in a part of that field that has 
some unharvested grain. As I left that area, I found a couple of Tree Sparrows. 
Winter is good. 

 
Lloyd Bennett
Taber
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We spent some time today along the Bow River at Beaverdam Flats and Carburn.
Highlights were a HARLEQUIN duck at Beaverdam Flats (opposite the building
with the "Cardell Homes" sign), a male HOODED MERGANSER opposite the storm
sewer outlet south of the Calf Robe bridge, a LONG-TAILED DUCK and a pair of
GREATER SCAUP south of the Eric Harvie bridge, and a female RING-NECKED DUCK
further south at the old green-coloured building (an old pump house?)

 

Joan & Malcolm McDonald

Calgary


 



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi, everyone,

Found the female Black-backed Woodpecker again at Bebo Grove around 
3:15 p.m. today.  Same place, exactly the same tree.  Down the steps 
from the parking lot, start to follow main path towards picnic area, 
but stop shortly after the path starts bending to the right not far 
from steps.  There is a very stripped, thin tree on your left hand side 
just before going down the first small "hill".

After watching the Woodpecker for a short while, I began to follow some 
Mule Deer back up towards the parking lot.  I could see that two 
gentlemen had their enormous lenses focussed on "something" in a tree, 
which turned out to be a Northern Pygmy Owl.  I started taking photos 
about 3:40 p.m. and will add several to my "album" here.  Thank you, 
gentlemen, for the info, and for putting up with the annoying beep of 
my little point-and-shoot every time I had to focus!  The credit for 
spotting this owl certainly isn't mine!

- RBA
* Alberta (Canada)
* Calgary, AB
* Dec 6, 2007
* ABCA0712.06

- Birds mentioned

Mallard?
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Barrow's Goldeneye
Killdeer
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Townsend's Solitaire
Red-winged Blackbird

- Transcript

Hotline:  City of Calgary and Nature Calgary's Bird Alert
Number: 
To Report: 
Coverage:  Southern Alberta
Compiler:  Terry Korolyk
Transcriber:  Chris Havard (ckhavard AT shaw.ca)

Welcome to the City of Calgary and Nature Calgary's Bird Alert.  This Bird
Alert was recorded on Thursday, Dec 6 at 12:20pm. 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
during office hours, please dial 0 after reaching the Bird Alert.
For inquiries after hours, call 311 to speak with a Customer Service Agent.

If you wish to report an injured bird or animal, please call Calgary
Wildlife Rehabilitation at  or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife
Conservation at .

Two unusual winter-season birds were reported in a yard in the Lynnwood
Ridge subdivision of Calgary on Monday, Dec 3.  The birds were reported by
Pat Bumstead; one was a juvenile male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, the other was a
MOURNING DOVE.  For more information call Pat at .  Another unusual
winter bird, a WILSON'S SNIPE was observed by Dave Elphinstone at Griffith
Woods Park on Mon Dec 3.  To reach Griffith Woods, turn left on to 69 St SW
off Hwy 8, go straight through the traffic circle, turn left onto Discovery
Link, then follow it into the parking lot.  A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE continues
to visit a yard in the Woodbine subdivision.  The bird was last reported on
Dec 1, but has been coming to this yard for 3 weeks.

Dave Elphinstone reported an unusually plumaged duck at the Inglewood Bird
Sanctuary on Wed Dec 5.  The bird resembled a female MALLARD, but had a tan
speculum with white borders.  Other waterfowl reported this week included a
female REDHEAD, 2 LESSER SCAUP and 6 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE seen at Carburn Park
in southeast Calgary by Gus Yaki on Tue Dec 4.  Gus also reported 8 KILLDEER
there.

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Monday, Dec 10

BIRD STUDY GROUP

Wed Jan 2, 7:30pm - Review of the 2007 Christmas Bird Counts in the Calgary
Region.  

Bird Study Group meets 1st Wednesday of the month, at 7:30pm in Room 211,
BioSciences Building, U of C except June through August when field trips
replace the meeting.
Contact Phil Cram 

CFNS FIELD TRIPS

Sat Dec 8, 9am: Birding Beaverdam Flats Park. N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St
SE, then left. Meet S parking lot at Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av
SE. Leader, Jim St Laurent, .

Sun Dec 9: Advance scouting of Calgary Christmas Bird Count territory.
Gather with friends - or join Gus Yaki, : Call to establish time and
meeting place.

Sat Dec 15, 9am: Birding Votier's Flats, FCPP. Meet parking lot, S end of
Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Mary Huston, .

Sat Dec 15: If not on the above trip, call your friends to scout your
Calgary CBC area today for Count-week birds. Those species seen today, not
tomorrow, are countable.

Fri Dec 21, 7pm: See the overnight concentration of 5000+ Common Goldeneyes
S of Eric Harvie Bridge. Meet at Southland Park parking lot, off Southland
Dr SE, just E of Deerfoot Tr. Leader, Gus Yaki, .

Sun Dec 23, 9:30am: Nature Walk (birds, mammal tracks, plants), Inglewood
Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, .

Wed Dec 26: Boxing Day: 9:30am: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet Parking
lot, 37 St & 66 Av SW. Leader, TBA. Call .

Calgary Field Naturalists' Society (Nature Calgary) promotes the
observation, study and conservation of the native habitat through lectures,
field trips and collection of scientific data.  For membership or event
information, email cfns AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at
www.naturecalgary.com.  The Birding section of the website includes
descriptions of BIRDING LOCALES in the Calgary area. Nature Calgary
publishes a monthly newsletter, CFNS News, available on the website.   

- End transcript

Hello Albertabird;

Here is the second installment of my 
comprehensive report of our trip in June/July 
2007 to the Yukon and the Northwest Territories 
(in Canada), and eastern Alaska.

Part 02 of this report, covering the North Klondike Highway, is here:

http://tinyurl.com/3cos2g

(With respect to Part 01, I added a number of 
print references to the planning section, as I 
had forgotten a few.  I�ll try to avoid too 
revisions as I continue with this report.)

Part 01 �  Introduction, planning, logistics, 
equipment, references, and the first day's birding (in Whitehorse):

http://tinyurl.com/3dklnl

The future parts will appear as they are completed.

Comments and corrections welcome.

Good birding,


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blake Maybank
maybank AT ns.sympatico.ca

Editor, "Nova Scotia Birds"

author, "Birding Sites of Nova Scotia"
http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS.htm

White's Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada 
  ----------



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 I took a drive around the Taber area for a few hours Saturday, and had a few 
surprises. The lakes were all frozen up, except for 2 tiny patches of open 
water in Fincastle Lake. These were full of Canada Geese, and I was able to 
find a Cackling and a Snow Goose, but no ducks. The feedlot just north of there 
had about 20 Brewer's Blackbirds, but I couldn't spot the Yellow-heads that 
were there not long ago. 6 Red-winged Blackbirds were seen in one spot north of 
Taber, and 2 in another. A drive through the south side of Taber revealed 6 
Eurasian Collared-Doves, and a lone bird perched on the top of a tree turned 
out to be a Townsend's Solitaire. A Snowy Owl near Purple Springs was my first 
of the fall, and another was seen the next day. I found only one flock of 
Horned Larks that day, with about 40 south of Taber, and I was happy to find a 
Lapland Longspur with them. A Prairie Falcon was seen yesterday near my place. 

 
Lloyd Bennett
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It took the shrike no longer than five minutes to catch and then devour 
the mouse. I have several other images of the event. Indeed I was very 
fortunate to have such an accommodating bird. Murray Mackay

Saw a female mallard yesterday on the lagoon at the Sanctuary. It was 
all tan (or blondish)with its wing marks being tan with white borders.  
I didn't see its eyes well enough to determine if it was partial albino 
(although I don't think it was). 

It would be interesting to track this bird over the winter.

Greetings fellow birders, 
   
 Today (~3pm, 12/5), I saw a NORTHERN SHRIKE in the bushy glassland/meadow just 
east of the off-leash parking lot at Sir Wilfred Laurier park. 

   
 Prior to the N. Shrike (~2pm), 27 Common Redpolls were seen at the parking lot 
of Emily Murphy Park. No Hoary Redpolls were observed. 

   
 Yesterday (12/4/07), I saw 19 Bohemian Waxwings along Saskatchewan Drive, 
directly across from the Biological Sciences building at the Univ. of Alberta. 

   
  Happy Birding and Holidays,
   
  Brett Scheffers
  Edmonton, Alberta
   
   

       
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I got a call yesterday from Kurt Brauner, who had gone to Goldbar PK to 
see if he could relocate some of the birds that had been seen on the 
ENC field trip this past Sunday. He found a pretty darn good bird, a 
male Wood Duck, that we apparently missed (I think the bird must have 
come in on Monday - that's my story & I'm sticking to it!)

I went out there today & the duck was still there, a little ways down 
stream from the sewage plant outflow. Still lots of Mallards, a few 
Goldeneyes & I also saw an adult Bald Eagle.

It may just have been my imagination (insert witty comment here), but I 
thought I heard a Kingfisher calling just before the eagle cruised over.

Gerald Romanchuk,
Edmonton

- RBA
* Alberta (Canada)
* Calgary, AB
* Dec 3, 2007
* ABCA0712.03

- Birds mentioned

Tundra Swan
American Wigeon
Northern Pintail
Redhead
Northern Harrier
Harlan's Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
Killdeer
Snowy Owl
Short-eared Owl
Townsend's Solitaire

- Transcript

Hotline:  City of Calgary and Nature Calgary's Bird Alert
Number: 
To Report: 
Coverage:  Southern Alberta
Compiler:  Terry Korolyk
Transcriber:  Chris Havard (ckhavard AT shaw.ca)

Welcome to the City of Calgary and Nature Calgary's Bird Alert.  This Bird
Alert was recorded on Monday, Dec 3 at 10:25am. 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
during office hours, please dial 0 after reaching the Bird Alert.
For inquiries after hours, call 311 to speak with a Customer Service Agent.

If you wish to report an injured bird or animal, please call Calgary
Wildlife Rehabilitation at  or the Alberta Institute for Wildlife
Conservation at .

Two SHORT-EARED OWLS were seen at Namaka Lake southeast of Strathmore on Sun
Dec. 2.  The birds were seen by Terry Korolyk in the late afternoon as they
hunted over grassland off Twp Rd 232 at the north end of the lake.

A HARLAN'S HAWK was seen by Gus Yaki along the Elbow River in southwest
Calgary on Sat Dec. 1.  For more details, call Gus at .  Joan and
Malcolm Macdonald reported an adult PEREGRINE FALCON east of Calgary on Fri
Nov 30.  The bird was on Twp Rd 262 just east of Keoma, which is visible
just east of Hwy 9.  They also saw a NORTHERN HARRIER and a SNOWY OWL in
this area, then saw 3 more SNOWY OWLS on their way to Wyndham-Carseland
Prov. Park.  Terry Korolyk reported a NORTHERN HARRIER just north of Namaka
Farms southeast of Namaka Lake on Dec 2 and he saw 2 SNOWY OWLS and a
PRAIRIE FALCON on Twp Rd 230 east of Hwy 24.

Waterfowl reported over the weekend included an immature male hybrid
BARROW'S-COMMON GOLDENEYE seen on Sun Dec 2 by Terry Korolyk on the Bow
River just north of the Hwy 22X bridge.  Joan and Malcolm Macdonald reported
3 immature TUNDRA SWANS, 4 male NORTHERN PINTAILS, an AMERICAN WIGEON, 3
REDHEADS and 8 KILLDEER were at the Weir in Wyndham-Carseland Prov Park on
Fri Nov 30.  Deanna Campbell and Deb Bradley reported a KILLDEER was at the
Cave and Basin Marsh in Banff, also on Nov 30, while Rob Worona found 4
KILLDEER at Calgary's Carburn Park on Dec 1.

Jeff Banks and 3 other observers watched a RUSTY BLACKBIRD at the main
bridge at the main lagoon at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary at 4pm on Dec 2, while
Gus Yaki reported 2 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES in the Elbow River valley on Dec
1.  There were no reports over the weekend on the male RED-BELLIED
WOODPECKER in Ponoka.  

The next scheduled update of the bird alert is on Thursday, December 6.

BIRD STUDY GROUP

Wed December 5, 7:30 pm Jocelyn Hudson "What Makes Birds Red?"

Bird Study Group meets 1st Wednesday of the month, at 7:30pm in Room 211,
BioSciences Building, U of C except June through August when field trips
replace the meeting.
Contact Phil Cram 

CFNS FIELD TRIPS

Wed Dec 5, 9:30am: Bird Bowness Park 48 Av, W of 85 St NW. Meet first
parking lot. Leader, Lucille Harrison, .  

Sat Dec 8, 9am: Birding Beaverdam Flats Park. N from Glenmore Tr at 18 St
SE, then left. Meet S parking lot at Lynnview Rd & Lynnview Way, S of 62 Av
SE. Leader, Jim St Laurent, .

Sun Dec 9: Advance scouting of Calgary Christmas Bird Count territory.
Gather with friends - or join Gus Yaki, : Call to establish time and
meeting place.

Sat Dec 15, 9am: Birding Votier's Flats, FCPP. Meet parking lot, S end of
Elbow Dr SW. Leader, Mary Huston, .

Sat Dec 15: If not on the above trip, call your friends to scout your
Calgary CBC area today for Count-week birds. Those species seen today, not
tomorrow, are countable.

Fri Dec 21, 7pm: See the overnight concentration of 5000+ Common Goldeneyes
S of Eric Harvie Bridge. Meet at Southland Park parking lot, off Southland
Dr SE, just E of Deerfoot Tr. Leader, Gus Yaki, .

Sun Dec 23, 9:30am: Nature Walk (birds, mammal tracks, plants), Inglewood
Bird Sanctuary, E end of 9 Av SE. Leaders, Aileen Pelzer/Gus Yaki, .

Wed Dec 26: Boxing Day: 9:30am: Bird Weaselhead Natural Area. Meet Parking
lot, 37 St & 66 Av SW. Leader, TBA. Call .

Calgary Field Naturalists' Society (Nature Calgary) promotes the
observation, study and conservation of the native habitat through lectures,
field trips and collection of scientific data.  For membership or event
information, email cfns AT cfns.fanweb.ca or visit the website at
www.naturecalgary.com.  The Birding section of the website includes
descriptions of BIRDING LOCALES in the Calgary area. Nature Calgary
publishes a monthly newsletter, CFNS News, available on the website.   

- End transcript

Birds, Carburn Park, Calgary, 04 Dec. -1130am. Mostly overcast,, 
Calm, -19 - -16C. 


1.  Canada Goose-4000
2.  Mallard-60
3.  Redhead-1f
4.  Ring-necked Duck-1f
5.  Lesser Scaup-2
6.  Bufflehead-20
7.  Common Goldeneye-250
8.  Barrow's Goldeneye-6
9.  Common Merganser-1m
10 Bald Eagle-2 adult/1 imm.
11 Killdeer-5
12 Rock Pigeon-8
13 Downy Woodpecker-6
14 Northern Flicker-2
15 Black-billed Magpie-6
16 Common Raven-11
17 Black-capped Chickadee-18
18 White-breasted Nuthatch-2
19 House Sparrow-5.

In spite of excellent viewing conditions, we did not see the Snow/Ross' Goose 
or the Long-tailed Duck seen on 02 Dec when misty conditions obscured the view 
on the river. We did, however, see the three Aythya diving duck species. 




Mule Deer-1m
Eastern Gray Squirrel, 5 all dark morph.

Gus Yaki, 


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At about 8.45 this morning, both a Northern Three-toed Woodpecker and a Downy 
were chipping bark off dead Spruce very close to the location in Bebo Grove 
reported for the Black-backed Woodpecker last week. 


Near the south end of bridge 3 were ten White-winged Crossbills, and I heard 
that a Northern Pygmy Owl was seen west of Bebo Grove. 


Andrew Slater, Calgary

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THere has been no recent reported sighting of the Red-bellied 
woodpecker in the Ponoka area.
I have added an earlier image of him. 
Murray Mackay

Temp was about -19 but wind mild.  Beautiful walk.
Entered at central location near Rockwork. Birds seen:

Mallard
Canada Goose
1 Snipe
No Woodpeckers this time
B Waxwing
BC Chickadee (2 bathing in -19c)
Boreal Chickadee
1 Mtn Chickadee
RB Nuthatch
WB Nuthatch
1 Brown creeper
1 GC Kinglet
Blue Jay
Raven
Crow
Magpie
WW Crossbill
3 House Finch (in Strathcona)

If anyone is interested, I have just added four photos to my folder - 
poor photos, but sufficient for ID purposes!  The first is of the male 
Black-backed Woodpecker seen at Griffith Woods on 24th November.  The 
second and third show the female Black-backed Woodpecker that I saw at 
Bebo Grove on 29th November.  The last photo shows the Three-toed 
Woodpecker that I found at Bebo Grove on 30th November and 
photographed, thinking that I had again come across the Black-backed 
from the previous day.  From the side view and at quite a distance, 
they looked so much alike.  Checked Bebo again on 1st December, but 
nothing, not even a Chickadee.

Hi Birders,

With Thomas Simonsen, Jason Dombroski, and my son Jesse, we had a  
fine day trip to the almost-frozen Cold Lake.  A male Hooded  
Merganser was the only water bird apparent when we arrived, but we  
did find a small group of huddled-up Ring-billed Gulls, and a few  
Common Goldeneye.  On the way there, we saw both Northern Shrike and  
Bald Eagle.

John Acorn

Bald Eagle - 2
Northern Goshawk - 1
Northern Shrike - 1
Common Raven - ~20

Regards,
Jason Rogers
Banff, AB
hawkowl AT hotmail.com

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This Sunday afternoon at Frank Lake were a Bald Eagle, a Northern Harrier, a 
Ruddy Duck, a 

Redhead and a Killdeer. A Snowy Owl and two Prairie Falcons were about five km 
east of 

Frank Lake.

At WCPP were a Red-tailed Hawk, a Bald Eagle, a Northern Pintail, a Greater 
Scaup, three 

Trumpeter Swan and six Killdeer.

There were two Snowy Owls about five km west of Strathmore.

Robert Worona
Calgary

Greetings

I checked out Hawrelak Park this morning and later in the afternoon. 
The usual suspects were there in abundance, I saw BC Chickadees, WB 
and RB Nuthatches, male and female Downy Woodpeckers, one female Hairy 
Woodpecker, as well as a Blue Jay and two Magpies. Terry Thormin was 
there in the afternoon. and he said he saw the same expected species.

On the Whitemud trail from Fox Farm, just past the first bridge, I got 
a shot of a Brown Tree creeper. I also heard the wheezy chickadee call 
of Boreal Chickadees.

On the south Whitemud trail, I encountered a flock of at least 40 
Common Redpolls feeding on Birch buds.

Cheers,

Don Delaney