(Belated) Images from the 2018 Alberta Fall Bird Migration

As usual, I’m miles behind in processing my bird images from this year, but here’s a sample from the period July-Sep 2018 that I took in Calgary or within a 2-hour drive of the city. When we hit mid-July, I start thinking about warblers and shorebirds and try to capture a few during their stopovers on their way back south to their wintering grounds. At one particular slough where I was ‘chasing’  sandpipers (aka, lying in the mud on the bank hoping some would come by!) and the like, luck was on my side when a small group of Marbled Godwits alighted just in front of me and I was able to focus and bang off a few shots as they came in:

 

However, the godwits didn’t stay long, so I turned my attention to a pair of American Avocets that swept their way back and forth in front of me:

 

Not far from the Avocets was a family of Black-necked Stilts – such dainty, but yappy – birds with incredibly long legs, I was able to get some interesting backgrounds courtesy of the canola fields bounding the slough:

Later, over the August long weekend, I checked out some local Calgary parks and was pleased to find a young female Belted Kingfisher:

As always, this species is very wary and difficult to get close too, so I was forced to take these from quite a distance while crouching behind shrubs and tall grass for cover:

Towards the end of August, warbler and songbird migration really started to take off and around Calgary I was able to find a number of warblers, including:

American Redstarts:

Canada Warbler:

and Northern Waterthrush:

As well as a few young songbirds, not quite ready to start migrating, such as this Least Flycatcher:

 

But my best day came while out camping with my family when I was able to photograph no less than a dozen warbler species in one very special morning (where I nipped off from our trailer at sunrise with promises of being back for breakfast, only to return at lunchtime due to the bonanza of birds – luckily my wife & kids are very understanding!):

Townsend’s Warbler:

Northern Waterthrush:

Bay-breasted Warbler:

Yellow Warbler:

Blackpoll Warbler:

Ovenbird:

Mourning Warbler:

Black & White Warbler:

Magnolia Warbler:

Wilson’s Warbler:

Canada Warbler:

 

 

Finally, while out chasing warblers, I came across this rather-late-in-the-season Lesser Scaup duckling who was just too cute not to share:

 

 

You can see some of my other wildlife images here: