John Cantelo
Well-known member
Part I – Calgary & the Rockies
Mine was not an high octane birding trip with a group of manic birders, but a fatherly trip out to see daughter No2 with my non-birding wife – hence I didn’t bother with a pre-trip hit list and took the birding pretty casually. However, these few notes might be of interest and may entice others to take a close look at birding Canada. Having visited the Seattle area 10 years back at the same time of year I wasn’t expecting too many lifers.
Calgary Thursday 1st April 2010
A late afternoon arrival meant little time for birding even of the half hearted sort. The first shock was realisation that in Canada all hire cars were automatics – a species of car I’d never come across. My instinctive use of the non-existent clutch meant that, having caught the super-sharp brakes instead, but we managed to bunny hop through Calgary’s rush hour without incident. The first bird I saw was a tick …. of sorts. The numerous Black-billed Magpie can be readily be told from our European version by a) it’s very different vocalisations and b) it’s scientific name “Pica hudsonia” not “Pica pica”; plumage wise it looked identical. Today’s supporting cast included Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, American Robin (one of the few passerine migrants to have arrived), American Crow, Ring-billed & Californian Gulls, Goldeneye & Goosander (aka Common Merganser). I also had my first mammal tick – Richardson’s Ground Squirrel.
Calgary – Banff – Lake Louise Friday 2nd April 2010
A pre-breakfast walk in a suburban park tallied many of the birds seen yesterday plus Downy Woodpecker and Black-capped Chickadee. However, it was a shock to realise just how birdless it still was here (more like February than April). A latish start, then compounded by a 2 hour traffic jam north of Banff meant this wasn’t going to be a big list day. However, annoyance at the delay was dispersed on learning the jam was due to a fatal accident. Clark’s Nutcracker – my second tick – duly appeared in typical habitat; on the scrounge in a large car park at Lake Louise. A badly glimpsed Gray Jay also appeared as did a chickadee in a dense squabble of branches. OK a probable Boreal Chickadee, not bad after 30 secs. in the woodland; several hours and much pishing later it turned out to be the only chickadee, and just about the only small/medium sized passerine in the darn woods! This pattern repeated itself every time we ventured into suitable habitat – no small birds other than Black-capped Chickadee & American Robin. En route a few hundered Trumpeter Swans and all the usual duckish suspects.
Calgary – Inglewood Saturday 3rd April 2010
More domestic than hard core birding …. But Inglewood (a part of Calgary) has a nice little bird reserve just a shame birds still remained few in number – the woods held many Black-capped Chickadees & Starlings, half a dozen or so each of Downy ‘pecker & Red-shafted Flicker whilst the river played host to Bufflehead, Hooded Mergansers and various gulls. A traipse round a section of Fish Creek Park added House Finch and Hairy Woodpecker to the tally. I was still gobsmacked at how few birds were about.
Calgary – Kananaskis- Sibbald Trail 4th Sunday April 2010
Another poverty stricken day birdwise despite superlative mountain scenery. An hour or more walking through pine woods produced precisely ‘small’ passerines – both American Robin. Great views of Golden Eagle though. A good ‘dirt road (the Sibbald trail) took us through some more superb scenery – but again pretty birdless … until at the Calgary end of the trail we entered obvious bluebird habitat. Obvious not so much due to the more open nature of the habitat, but rather the nest boxes on many fenceposts. Within minutes I’d seen three glorious Mountain Bluebirds – even better than they look in books and that’s saying something! Also seen were more Trumpeter Swans and a couple of Red-tailed Hawk. Later that evening I heard (via ‘Albertabirds’) that a Prairie Falcon and Goshawk had been seen along the trail later in the day.
Calgary – Banff Monday 5th April 2010
Mainly a sight seeing trip up to Banff (which was so crowded on Sunday that I couldn’t find a parking space!). I saw the same limited mix of species en route (mainly waterfowl), but despite walking round a mixed area of marsh and woodland near the town still could find virtually no passerines in the snowy conditions - more American Robins, a lone Varied Thrush (ID'd by call despite not having heard one for 10 or so years - my proudest moment of the trip!) and heard, but didn’t see a couple of chickadee. The poverty in the numbers of small birds continued to astonish me; I wanted to focus on backyard feeders in Banff, but guessed this wouldn’t be a popular move! A single Bald Eagle seen.
I'll post part II (Vancouver) anon - but as I write comes news that daughter No1 who's now visiting her sister, has gripped me off on her first day in the Rockies by seeing both Black Bear & Moose (plus an Osprey - I didn't know she knew what they looked like!),
Mine was not an high octane birding trip with a group of manic birders, but a fatherly trip out to see daughter No2 with my non-birding wife – hence I didn’t bother with a pre-trip hit list and took the birding pretty casually. However, these few notes might be of interest and may entice others to take a close look at birding Canada. Having visited the Seattle area 10 years back at the same time of year I wasn’t expecting too many lifers.
Calgary Thursday 1st April 2010
A late afternoon arrival meant little time for birding even of the half hearted sort. The first shock was realisation that in Canada all hire cars were automatics – a species of car I’d never come across. My instinctive use of the non-existent clutch meant that, having caught the super-sharp brakes instead, but we managed to bunny hop through Calgary’s rush hour without incident. The first bird I saw was a tick …. of sorts. The numerous Black-billed Magpie can be readily be told from our European version by a) it’s very different vocalisations and b) it’s scientific name “Pica hudsonia” not “Pica pica”; plumage wise it looked identical. Today’s supporting cast included Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, American Robin (one of the few passerine migrants to have arrived), American Crow, Ring-billed & Californian Gulls, Goldeneye & Goosander (aka Common Merganser). I also had my first mammal tick – Richardson’s Ground Squirrel.
Calgary – Banff – Lake Louise Friday 2nd April 2010
A pre-breakfast walk in a suburban park tallied many of the birds seen yesterday plus Downy Woodpecker and Black-capped Chickadee. However, it was a shock to realise just how birdless it still was here (more like February than April). A latish start, then compounded by a 2 hour traffic jam north of Banff meant this wasn’t going to be a big list day. However, annoyance at the delay was dispersed on learning the jam was due to a fatal accident. Clark’s Nutcracker – my second tick – duly appeared in typical habitat; on the scrounge in a large car park at Lake Louise. A badly glimpsed Gray Jay also appeared as did a chickadee in a dense squabble of branches. OK a probable Boreal Chickadee, not bad after 30 secs. in the woodland; several hours and much pishing later it turned out to be the only chickadee, and just about the only small/medium sized passerine in the darn woods! This pattern repeated itself every time we ventured into suitable habitat – no small birds other than Black-capped Chickadee & American Robin. En route a few hundered Trumpeter Swans and all the usual duckish suspects.
Calgary – Inglewood Saturday 3rd April 2010
More domestic than hard core birding …. But Inglewood (a part of Calgary) has a nice little bird reserve just a shame birds still remained few in number – the woods held many Black-capped Chickadees & Starlings, half a dozen or so each of Downy ‘pecker & Red-shafted Flicker whilst the river played host to Bufflehead, Hooded Mergansers and various gulls. A traipse round a section of Fish Creek Park added House Finch and Hairy Woodpecker to the tally. I was still gobsmacked at how few birds were about.
Calgary – Kananaskis- Sibbald Trail 4th Sunday April 2010
Another poverty stricken day birdwise despite superlative mountain scenery. An hour or more walking through pine woods produced precisely ‘small’ passerines – both American Robin. Great views of Golden Eagle though. A good ‘dirt road (the Sibbald trail) took us through some more superb scenery – but again pretty birdless … until at the Calgary end of the trail we entered obvious bluebird habitat. Obvious not so much due to the more open nature of the habitat, but rather the nest boxes on many fenceposts. Within minutes I’d seen three glorious Mountain Bluebirds – even better than they look in books and that’s saying something! Also seen were more Trumpeter Swans and a couple of Red-tailed Hawk. Later that evening I heard (via ‘Albertabirds’) that a Prairie Falcon and Goshawk had been seen along the trail later in the day.
Calgary – Banff Monday 5th April 2010
Mainly a sight seeing trip up to Banff (which was so crowded on Sunday that I couldn’t find a parking space!). I saw the same limited mix of species en route (mainly waterfowl), but despite walking round a mixed area of marsh and woodland near the town still could find virtually no passerines in the snowy conditions - more American Robins, a lone Varied Thrush (ID'd by call despite not having heard one for 10 or so years - my proudest moment of the trip!) and heard, but didn’t see a couple of chickadee. The poverty in the numbers of small birds continued to astonish me; I wanted to focus on backyard feeders in Banff, but guessed this wouldn’t be a popular move! A single Bald Eagle seen.
I'll post part II (Vancouver) anon - but as I write comes news that daughter No1 who's now visiting her sister, has gripped me off on her first day in the Rockies by seeing both Black Bear & Moose (plus an Osprey - I didn't know she knew what they looked like!),
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