Calgary May Species Count

This weekend brought the annual spring species count - a team of birders fanning out to count all the bird species within an 80km radius of Calgary.  My partner and I were assigned an area north of Strathmore - a fairly unremarkable stretch of rolling prairie that was nonetheless filled with birds and we managed to round up 61 species on a lovely sunny day of birding.  The sloughs were filled to the brim from the past week of rainy weather so duck counting was a large part of the day with many Mallards, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Blue-winged Teal, and Northern Shovelers.

Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata, looking a little goofy

Last week, when we drove out to Kinbrook Island, we had seen lots of hawks in the area immediately east of Strathmore so I was expecting more good things today.  We saw a total of 14 Swainson's Hawks and 7 Red-tailed Hawks, some at very close distances as they performed aerial courtship displays, and some on or around nests.  Another raptor highlight was a Northern Harrier, easily identified by its trademark low altitude hunting across a field and along a roadside ditch.  For one heart-stopping moment we thought that the hawk was going to be hit by a passing truck but fortunately it continued its leisurely glide to the other side and then circled around to make another close pass behind us.

Swainson's Hawk, Buteo swainsoni

There were relatively few shorebirds to be found, perhaps due to high water levels, but we did see a number of Marbled Godwits, several Wilson's Snipe, and a huge flock of Wilson's Phalaropes.  We also found a Long-billed Curlew which was very cooperative while we admired the cinnamon belly through the scope and double checked our field guide.

Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata

Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, Digiscoping skills are slowly improving!

Birding by ear is not an area of strength for me but I had lots of practice and a good teacher on this trip.  We found many sparrows including Savannah, Clay-coloured, Vesper, Lark and Chipping, but the "small bird" highlight for me was a large flock of Cliff Swallows swooping around our heads and under us through a culvert!  Just a short distance down the road from that experience we found three Horned Larks, another new bird for me.

Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris

Another great day out on the prairie and I found once again that participating in a bird count is a wonderful way to hone one's birding skills.  I'll wrap this post up with a map of the route we took through the area and a list of species seen.

View Calgary Area Bird Count 2011 Route in a larger map

1	Canada Goose
2	Gadwall
3	American Wigeon
4	Mallard
5	Blue-winged Teal
6	Cinnamon Teal
7	Northern Shoveler
8	Northern Pintail
9	Canvasback
10	Redhead
11	Lesser Scaup
12	Bufflehead
13	Common Goldeneye
14	Ruddy Duck
15	Ring-necked Pheasant
16	Pied-billed Grebe
17	Horned Grebe
18	Eared Grebe
19	Great Blue Heron
20	Northern Harrier
21	Swainson's Hawk
22	Red-tailed Hawk
23	American Kestrel
24	Merlin
25	American Coot
26	Killdeer
27	American Avocet
28	Willet
29	Spotted Sandpiper
30	Long-billed Curlew
31	Marbled Godwit
32	Wilson's Snipe
33	Wilson's Phalarope
34	Rock Pigeon
35	Mourning Dove
36	Least Flycatcher
37	Western Kingbird
38	Eastern Kingbird
39	Black-billed Magpie
40	American Crow
41	Horned Lark
42	Bank Swallow
43	Cliff Swallow
44	Barn Swallow
45	House Wren
46	Marsh Wren
47	American Robin
48	European Starling
49	Yellow Warbler
50	Chipping Sparrow
51	Clay-colored Sparrow
52	Vesper Sparrow
53	Lark Sparrow
54	Savannah Sparrow
55	Red-winged Blackbird
56	Western Meadowlark
57	Yellow-headed Blackbird
58	Brewer's Blackbird
59	Brown-headed Cowbird
60	American Goldfinch
61	House Sparrow