Barb Castell is a birder who lives on an acreage SW of Calgary, Alberta, near the community of Priddis. The location is in the foothills, a transition zone between the prairies to the east and the mountains to the west. It is a great place to see birds, including some …
Posted by Bob Lefebvre, Calgary For the past six years, I have participated in the Calgary May Species Count. The area I cover is about an hour’s drive SW of the city, in the Longview area. The territory is prairie on the east side, and it gets more and more …
We have all seen American Robins build their nests very close to houses, or even on them. Usually these nests are in well-protected spots, for example under the eaves of a house. Even if the nest is right by a doorway where people enter and exit, the young robins usually …
Posted by Bob Lefebvre, Calgary The last two winters have seen huge irruptions of redpolls into the Calgary area, and across much of southern Canada and the northern continental US. This doesn’t happen every year, and it has been difficult to find any Common Redpolls in some recent winters. Finding …
Northern Flickers, which are common all across North America, occur in two subspecies, Yellow-shafted in the north and east, and Red-shafted in the west. In flight Red-shafted flickers show a salmon-red colour under the wings and tail, whereas the Yellow-shafted show a golden-yellow colour. That seems straightforward enough: red=Red-shafted, yellow=Yellow-shafted. …