BUSHWHACKING

     Bushwhacking is when you go off trails and make your way through the bush by going around or over anything in the way.  

     Today for birding we bushwhacked an area. It's hard going but you see some very different things. 

      We saw thousands of ducks on the river. Around every bend were hundreds of ducks. There were also many Canada geese and a few other species of duck mixed in with the mallards. The river is not frozen over but full of ice which is flowing along with the current.

      We did see and identify the following: blue jay, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, boreal chickadee, bald eagle, Canada geese, gold eye, downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch and a common raven. We also saw four mule deer.

      The weather was pleasant: sunny and about minus 3 C.

                 

BIRDERS HAVE GONE HIGH TECH

      About ten years ago I took over a bird watching group that had fallen apart. No one wanted to organize anymore. I spent much of my time wandering around the area bird watching or watching many other things. So I said to myself, " It's my time to lead a bird watching group." My first session brought out only one person. Things improved after that. I soon learned how to publicize things. We had bird watching activities on our web site.

     There are quite a few excellent birding areas within the city. We go out of town to visit half a dozen sites. One of them is the Ellis bird Farm.

    When I started the only thing people brought with them were binoculars. I carried a bird book in my backpack. We had fun but didn't find a lot of birds.



    Tony is checking on his bird app.


    As time went on a few people showed up with some high end cameras. They also turned out to be excellent photographers. Now we usually got a few excellent photos of the bird that was hard to see and just a quickly flew away. So there we were with a photo. We could look at the bird as long as we wanted. We had evidence and took as much time as needed to make an identification.

   Then people started showing up with an app on their phone which was better than a bird book. One could see several photos, watch the bird fly and listen to a call.

    So in ten years bird watching changed a great deal. Bird watching is still fun, maybe more fun, as we get to identify more birds.

    Now covid -19 has prevented us from going out as a group. Birders are bad for getting in a close group to look at pictures in order to identify what was seen. So what to do about bird watching. Well, one of our birders suggested that people go out on their own and report their sightings and photos to our facebook page. It was a roaring success. People went to different areas and reported many sightings. It's a good way to watch birds but since birders are such a social group we are just waiting to go back out as a group.



    Notice Ariane in the middle looking at photos . Then there's someone behind ariane with a humungous lens.

   

    This is one of my favorites. some wise guy said there's a bird. I wonder what it is. In about a minute Gary told us it's flight # and its going from Germany to LA. 

A GOOD BIRD WATCHING DAY

      Yesterday (Jan. 25) we had a fine winter day with a high of 4 C and clear.  What better thing to do than to do a little bird watching.

      At 4 above C it's reasonable to use field glasses and cameras.

      I had put this on my bird watching call list Fri. night so had 2 people show up to go with me. I also persuaded the Micro Manager that it would be very good for her to go with me. She enjoyed herself.

    One of my favorite winter birding sites is Mackenzie Trails. It's an area of old growth forest. It has never been logged. It's a mixture of aspen and spruce. We are fortunate to have this right inside the city.

     Here the birds we will see in the winter is quite predictable. So yesterday we saw: black-capped chickadees, red-breasted nuthatch, white breasted nuthatch, pine siskin, common raven, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, woodpecker and a blue jay. Possible sightings could have been: boreal chickadee, black-backed wood pecker, great horned owl, brown creeper.

               A look toward the forest.

      I can't understand why birders would go the wrong way. But this shows the dense forest.

       I look at a bit of a clearing caused by a viscous wind storm five years ago.

       Bird nests are easy to find in winter when the leaves are gone.

      
    

BIRDS KEEP CHANGING

    In my last post the idea that bird species could be divided into several species caught some attention. So guess what? Another post on birds comes up.

    The example I used was the consideration by the International Ornithological Union (There other ornithological groups.) to  divide Canada geese into six different species. Many people are quite happy to go along with just Canada geese. For some people to divide geese into 6 groups is horrifying . However, scientific study shows that there are big differences within Canada geese. One of them is size. One group of geese is about 1/4 the size of other geese. We think of most Canada geese as having a standard color pattern. Not so.

     There are many other species of geese in the world but this is only happening to Canada geese as far as I know.

    Juncoes have been divided a few times. Sometimes species are put back as one species. There is an American crow and then a northwestern  crow which is very much smaller.

    So I am a birder ... and a bit nerdy, but a book I read a few years ago got me thinking! It's pretty hard to get me thinking.

    The book was called "To See Every Bird on Earth" written by Dan Koeppel. It's a neat book where Koeppel writes a history of his father but manages to write very much about birds. Koeppel's father was one of a few people in the world who try and see every bird in the world. They are obsessed with this mission. The go to all corners of the earth and spend no end of money.

    So Koeppel tells his father's life story and tells about birds and how the International Ornithological Union classifies and reclassifies birds.

    I found this a very interesting story and it opened my eyes to bird watching.

    So for anyone who's interested in birds  or science , this is a good read.

SATURDAY BIRDING

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     As you know, I lead a birding group for two hours on Saturdays. This fall we were out 13 times. Once it gets to December it's too cold for cameras and field glasses.  From December to April we will get the same 8 - 10 suspects . They're the only ones here.

     So it was that we had our wind up for the end of the fall season. This fall we saw 59 species and had 36 people participate. Usually we had 10 to 12 people each session.

     Our windup is a coffee and cake session

     This year I was most surprised when some one pulled out a bag and pushed it my way. Okay , what's going on? 
   
      The first bag contained a mug. When I looked at it I nearly fell off my chair. There was a very candid shot of me attached to the mug. I was touched.  Lynette takes awesome bird photos. ( I've used some on this blog.) and some cool candid shots of birders. She had a mug done up with me and some good bird shots of the fall of 2018.

     Now I think I have another nick name ...Duck! Just as she took the photo I pointed and hollered "duck" as some ducks flew over. That's why "duck" is on the photo.

    The second gift was also hand done. A craft that is new to me uses pebbles to make a combination of sculpture and painting. Again there's  humor and a great caption. Estelle caught the idea of bird watching.

     So the thank you for the card and gifts. They were most appreciated.

LAST SPRING BIRD WATCH SESSION

      Many of you know that I lead a weekly bird watching session. I take people for two hours on Saturday mornings. We meet at various locations throughout the season and see how many bird species we can find.

    I have from 8-16 people attend and a total of 25 people who have participated. This spring we went out 9 times and 7 were at in town locations. We saw 70 species in that amount of time.

    We know our birds as several people are super knowledgeable on birds and they don't mind sharing information. They are good teachers. However , we are a fun group and lots of good visiting takes place. There are standard jokes like seeing the " penguin." 

    We don't bird in the summer so our last session was June 20. We went to a place known as Spring Brook Natural Area. It's 160 acres of natural habitat. There are wetlands, grass areas, riparian, brush and old growth forest so a wide variety of habitat.

    I didn't take photos on Saturday but I have photos from last year.

SPRING BIRD COUNT.

      Spring bird count takes place sometime during the bird breeding season. Of  course, the idea is to count everything we see and hear. I've participated in this event for many years.

       I find spring bird count rather frustrating. Half the breeding birds are on a nest so you won't see them. Many of the breeding birds forage in the new leaves so it's difficult to see them in the leaf canopy. Warblers sing their little hearts out but you can rarely see them amongst the leaves. I was within 3 meters of a yellow warbler yesterday but I didn't see it. If it's windy or hot you see fewer birds . If you go in the afternoon many birds are on their afternoon nap.

       So with all this whining I'm working up to tell you that I had a lousy bird count yesterday. Yes , it was very windy. It was also very bright. So I ended up with 15 species but my numbers were small.

     I count in  ravine area which has many different habitats.There's old growth forest...spruce and poplar. There's riparian area along the stream banks. There are areas of brush. There's even a little grass in some areas.

    So I took some photos of the area but I didn't get any bird photos.

A BIRD WATCHING MORNING

     As you know I lead a bird watching group every Saturday morning. This Saturday we were able to visit a private piece of property. The property has been in the family since about 1900. The family left lots of native habitat and there is about a 50 acre lake. Usually we tour public areas in and around the city.

     The last family inhabitant was a great granddaughter who retired on the farm. She was an excellent birder and had set up all kinds of devices to attract birds. So there were super feeders, bird baths, lots of nest boxes and of course, the native habitat was left.

     So the property is a birders paradise. We found 23 species in an hour and a half. I had 13 birders show up and they were suitably impressed by what they saw.

     I took my camera and managed only one bird picture and it was poor...too much light and a very wiggly elderly photographer. However, the birders gave me some opportunities for photos.

    Lots of birds on the water


    

  
       Anybody see  the swan. I just about took the guy's head off too.

  
       We begin and what do we find. There's a Yellow-bellied sapsucker in there someplace.

  
     Sometimes birders get tired.

        I wonder what this thing has to do with birds?

  
And what does this do for birds?

   
  Oh another machine that might be for birds?

  
       Some funny bird skulls here.

      Time for home.

     The home on the property was situated so they had a great view of the lake.

BIRDERS

          I lead a group of birders every Saturday morning for a couple of hours. There are enough interesting areas in town to keep up our interests. We are fortunate to have many natural areas that were left by past residents who had a great  vision. Very little is being left today as it is being developed.

          So when we go out we generally  find the usual suspects and once in  while we see something very different and interesting.

          Last week we spent our time on a trail between the river and a golf course. We saw: Cormorant, Crow, Canada geese, Mallard, Song sparrow, Red-winged blackbird, Common goldeneye, Raven, Robin, Black-capped chickadee, Red-breasted nuthatch, Bald eagle, Downy woodpecker, Magpie, Boreal chickadee, Greater yellowlegs.

         Now the greater yellowlegs was an interesting find. The bird was on the trail and dead. Some predator had captured the bird and was probably sitting in a tree above the trail when it was disturbed and dropped its prey. Now no gory photos. The head had been pulled off the bird as some predators like to eat the head first.

       The other find was Bald eagles nesting. I knew the nest had been there for a few years but this was the first time I had been out when the birds were nesting. The nest was across the river but Jurgen got a great photo. You can just see  the female's head above the nest.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT

    I participated in our Christmas bird count on Sun. Dec. 18. I have participated in the bird count for close to 50 years. I've written about the Christmas bird count most years.

   I promised somebody that I would report the species I found. So I found blue jay, magpie, black capped chickadee, bohemian waxwing, raven, crow  house finch.  The crow was a first for me in a winter bird count. I was also expecting to see red breasted nuthatches, boreal chickadees, downy woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers, house sparrows. However in one day you can't run into everybody.




    So to top the day off we got together for a potluck supper.

A busy Bird Morning

      This morning was an extremely busy morning in my backyard as far as birds go. I saw 12 species from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM.

       I live in a very regular urban subdivision. We have many trees in our yards. We have open spaces for parks that have lots of trees. As nice as this environment is , it's not great bird habitat. All these plants and trees are not natural and the birds know that. Once in a while you get lucky and see many birds in a short time. Usually we see a few chickadees, nuthatches, house sparrows and the odd other bird most days. It's not an active bird habitat. I see from 30 to 35 species per year in my yard.

      Now the fall migration of songbirds is at it peak. So this morning many of these birds found my backyard, and vegetable garden in particular, a good place to have breakfast.

     From 7:30 to 9:30 I saw: White throated sparrows, white breasted nuthatch, red breasted nuthatch, house wren, yellow warbler, black capped chickadee, blue jay, house finch, house sparrow, hummingbird, robin and white crowned sparrow. There were a couple of LBJ's that I couldn't identify and also a couple of warblers.

     The white throated sparrows put on a great show. They run at a tremendous speed and scoot around under the heavy garden vegetation. They chase each other.

     The humming bird spent a whole two minutes with me today.

      Various flocks of robins will pass through for the next 6 weeks. Some will stay all year. Robins from further north keep coming south. Robins have been found nesting on Banks Island in the Arctic. It will take them a long time to get this far south.

     And yes , you're going to have to trust me on this one. I did not get one photo. I was looking through my window into the light and into a dark garden. That's not the best light for photos. There also was a nasty reflection in my window glass. If I went outside , that would have ended the bird visit immediately. 

    There will be more song birds coming through for the next month. I'll be watching. I'm expecting three species of black birds and lots of yellow rumped warblers. The yellow rumps seem to stick around for most of September. 

Christmas Bird Count

      As most readers know, the Christmas bird count is an important event for me. It's fun to be outside for a whole day and have a good excuse for watching birds. 

      In the last 45 years I have done the count close to 40 times. I have always done the same area and the odd year have taken on a second area when no one was able to count in an important area. 

     As you can see I prefer to count in natural areas.

I spend time on this bridge as birds cross the open area of the creek

Habitat varies

There are some open areas.

Edges of treed areas are good places to look

     Sometimes it's been very cold and a couple of times I didn't go out as the birds would not be moving and so there wouldn't be much to count. Besides, I'm not that dedicated that I would freeze my nose.

     Yesterday was just about right. We had temperatures from minus 2 C(28 F) to plus 2 C(36 F). There was very little wind and it was partly cloudy. In my last 10 minutes the wind started to blow. You will see from photos that it's pretty dull for partly cloudy conditions.

    My count was about average. I saw 9 species. (Red breasted nuthatch, black capped chickadee, blue jay, magpie, raven, house finch, house sparrow, downy woodpecker and pileated woodpecker). I saw one species that I couldn't identify as I couldn't get close enough to them. Other possibilities were 3 species of owls, bohemian waxwings, hairy woodpecker, black backed woodpecker, kinglet, pine siskin, crossbills, pigeons, brown creeper, pine grosbeak, evening grosbeak. So there's lots out there to see. Some of these may have been in the area but I missed them.  My total of birds was about 45. I saw a magpie "hissy fit" and I didn't get a count but there were probably 50 birds that flew by.

    To top off the day we had a super pot luck supper. I forgot my camera but last years photo will give you the idea.

More good food

More great people

Trifanatic

       There, I coined a new word!

       Most readers know that I am a fanatic about ice skating. Many of my posts are on skating. Most readers know that I am a fanatic about cycling. I cycle a minimum of 1000 km (625 miles) a summer.

     One other thing I'm a fanatic about is bird watching. I don't get nearly enough time as I would like to watch birds. 

     Sunday I was to meet a group and spend a couple of hours bird watching. I managed to mangle the time and location so as a result I did not meet up with the group. However, that was not a problem. I spent time on my own. So there I was with binoculars and camera looking for birds.

     Sunday here was very windy. Birds stay close to cover when it's windy. As a result I saw only two birds... a couple of female common mergansers. I didn't even see a crow and we are in the middle of crow migration. They will probably leave this area in about ten days.

     However, all was not lost. Fall colors were in abundance. So I got some photos to show a great area for birding.

    The Red Deer River Naturalists have just finished a birding guide for Central  Alberta called Central Alberta Birding Trails. We hope to set up a website so that people can download the map we produced.

Usually you find many species and numbers of birds on this section of river

The fine trail I had to follow

The other side of the river always looks more inviting

Young poplar 

A clump of trees at the edge of the parking lot

Escarpment view