Northern Alberta Birding Hotline | The Wildbird General Store

Jim Lange on Cattle Egret in Beaumont

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:55:51 +0000

We appreciate the report on the Cattle Egret in Beaumont. Cattle Egrets are not a very big bird & a number of years ago one was seen just north of Camrose. It was walking around with gulls near the Feedmill on Hwy 21 & 13. They are all white so if the bird observed is any other colour then it could be a Black-crowned Night Heron which is about the same size. If you do happen to get a photo please email it to the Wildbird General Store address: info@wildbirdgeneralstore.com

Thanks
Jim Lange

Jim Lange on What kind of hawk?

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:46:59 +0000

Thanks for the pictures of the hawk. As mentioned in your post on Aug.27, you have 2 hawks in your area. With your description of the location & behavior it is evident these are seperate species. Starting with your photos which are a classic field guide photo of an adult Swainson's Hawk. This is a mainly Prairie species with a few traveling as far north as Peace River in some years. Edmonton is approaching the northern edge of its distribution in Alberta with them still nesting aprrox. 90km north of here. In Edmonton & south they are the most common buteo ...

ed on Cattle Egret in Beaumont

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:07:36 +0000

A real stunner seeing this one yesterday afternoon(Aug.29/10). My wife and I I had to give our heads a shake as we've only seen this one in the southern states and on down south. It was feeding along the reeds in Sparrow Lake, the trout pond in Four Seasons Park in Beaumont. Gavin Berg, an Alberta biologist, says it's rare and that a pair once nested at Alberta Beach some time back. We've returned several times in the hope of getting a picture and will keep trying this week.

Doreen Savoie on Hummingbird at hollyhocks in garden

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:31:53 +0000

this bird has been fliting around for a month or so in my yard. There were two of them earlier this summer. On Sunday Aug. 29 I saw only one at the holly hocks. It is so fast and small, I couldn't really get a picture.

vicwalk on What kind of hawk?

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:22:25 +0000

Hello! Can some one help and tell me what kind of hawk this is (apologies for the photos, but it was the best we could do). There have been 2 frequenting our Beaumont house. They have been having a good feed of the swarm of sparrows in our back yard. My guess is a broad winged hawk, immature? He was perched in the lower branches of a spruce tree for about 20 minutes this afternoon, but I was unable to get a picture.

Jim Lange on Northern Mockingibirds in Edmonton

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:09:56 +0000

A pair of Mockingibirds have been seen in an Edmonton neighbourhood carrying food into a hedgerow. The behaviour would indicate they may be feeding young & time will tell. Several years ago a Mockingbird spent the winter in the Clairivew district & at the beginning of June 2010 on was photographed near English Bay (nw corner of Cold Lake) by Ted Hindmarch. Shortly after one (possibly the same bird) was observed at Mildred Lake on the Syncrude Mine site.
The location of the Edmonton pair will not be disclosed until after any young are away from the nest. This ...

Jim Lange on Shorebird, Raptors & Grizzly Bears

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:15:43 +0000

Gerald Romanchuk made a trip Aug.8, to South Cooking L. in search of shorebirds. Highlights were Black-bellied & Semipalmated Plovers, Hudsonian & Marbled Godwit, Semipalmted, Baird's, Least, Pectoral & Stilt Sandpipers. Also seen were both Long-billed & Short-billed Dowitcher & flock of Red-neck Phalarope. Pretty good birding I think!
Don Delaney reported seeing 2 Black & White Warblers & 2 Canada Warblers in the trees above Emily Murphy Park. Rick Palidant heard a Barred Owl calling just north of the campground in Cross L. on Aug. 8.
My friend, Linda Jarmolicz & i made a quick 3 day ...

Bill on Hawks

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 15:20:23 +0000

Hi,

There still is a red tail hawk hanging out on Hwy 631 between 857 and Cty R 131.

Also may be a coopers hawk at the 131 road. To light colored for a red tail.

Also an active beaver den at the corner of 631 and RR 131

Jim Lange on Shorebirds in Elk Island

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:02:26 +0000

Don Delaney went for a walk at The Point in Elk Island Park on Aug.03 and reported a good variety of shorebirds present. Both Lesser & Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher (1), Least & Baird's Sandpipers along with Killdeer & Spotted Sandpipers.
I made a brief but leisurly trip to Cross L. & area just to the south on Aug.3. At the junction of Sec.801 & 663 a Sandhill Crane was heard. It was either a lone bird or a pair that were flying over as the call quickly faded. Cross L. itself was quiet with 11 Common Loons in a ...

Michael Dawson on Hastings Lake Webcam

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 07:16:50 +0000

Camera blurriness is an issue sometimes. The camera isn't the best choice for the outdoor shots; it has trouble adapting to different light levels (e.g. bright sun on the lake in the morning, but shadow in the back yard), and is more blurry in the summer because of the angle of the light. I find that picture quality is better in the winter.

Nonetheless, we enjoy using it to watch the garden or the feeders when we aren't there! I might explore some alternative setup this fall to see if the experience will improve.

Jim Lange on Eastern Bluebird update & Cross Lake birding

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:08:44 +0000

Doug Faulder was at Beaverhill L. on the weekend to look for the Eastern Bluebirds just south of the lake. He found them spending some time around nest box B3 at the junction of Rge. Rd 183 (west side of Kallal Meadows) & Twp 505 (Amisk Cr. bridge). He indicated they are very skittish and best observed with a scope from 200-300 meters away. There are Mountain Bluebirds along Twp 505 just west of here for comparison!
The Weather Network data for Tofield shows 80mm of rain fell between July1-15, 2010 so on this past Sat. morning I drove ...

Jim Lange on Predatory Technique - Cooper's Hawk

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:40:50 +0000

Hawkeye29

Thanks for the story of the Cooper's Hawk. All the accipiter hawks (Goshawk, Cooper's & Sharp-shinned are evolved to hunt & capture birds in the woods. Short wings & long tail give great maneuvrability & they hunt by ambush from a perch or hidden from sight with a short burst of speed. Much the same way that Cheetah hunt. Birds such as Robins, Purple Martin or similar sized prey are the main food choice. The fact they tried to pull the Martins out of the nest would be fairly normal behaviour I would think as accipiters don't give up easily. Sharp-shin Hawks will ...

Hawkeye29 on Predatory Technique - Cooper's Hawk

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:45:59 +0000

Miquelon Lake: Interesting sighting July 13, 2010. We observed a Cooper's Hawk hunting our Purple Martins. The Cooper's Hawk first flew right through the yard and then as all the birds in the yard dove for cover or froze on the trees thye were perched in, the male Cooper's attacked the Martin house. It probed inside the nesting hole with its leg to try and fish out a fledgling from one of the holes (it was unsuccessful). We thought this to be very unusual behaviour (being the first time we had seen this happen since we have lived on our acreage) and ...

Dragomir Vujnovic on Black-crowned Night-Heron nesting in Edmonton

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:57:31 +0000

Last weekend (11-12 July 2010) on island in the lake in Jackie Parker Park, I observed small colony of Black-crowned Night-Herons (3-4 nests). At one point of time there were 8 YOY and 4 adults. Some YOY are already able to fly while others were still in the nests or walking atop of sea hawthorn bushes.

Jim Lange on Eastern Bluebirds, Egrets & Mockingbirds

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:13:33 +0000

On July 2, John Acorn located a pair of Eastern Bluebird at a nest box in the Amisk Cr. area just south of Beaverhill L. The location is Rge Rd. 183 & between Kallal Meadows & Amisk Cr. bridge in box B2. This sigthing is significant for Alberta as Eastern Bluebirds do not usually occur here. The nest box is on the route of the Wildbird General Store Hawk Survey & yet no one saw these birds until now. Mountain Bluebirds were at this location all spring! I personally went on Thurs. evening July 8 to look for them but did not see anything at ...