Tag Archive | Mountain Bluebird

Courting Mountain Bluebirds

Vincent Tolley photographed this Mountain Bluebird pair just after the male had brought a meal to the female.

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebirds near Madden, north of Calgary, May 25, 2018. Photo by Vincent Tolley.

You can find Mountain Bluebirds at their nestboxes along rural roads all over the Calgary region this month. The best areas are NW, West and SW of town. Many of the boxes host Tree Swallows but if you are persistent you can find bluebirds.

On Thursday June 28 you can join Nature Calgary as Don Stiles leads a trip along his Bluebird Nestbox trail. See baby Mountain Bluebirds and Tree Swallows and learn about the nestbox program. For more information see this page.

You can see more of Vincent Tolley’s photos on his Flickr page.

Mountain Bluebirds on Migration

Tony LePrieur saw a flock of ten Migrating Mountain Bluebirds in the Weaselhead Nature Area in SW Calgary on April 1, 2018. All photos by Tony LePrieur.

Mountain Bluebird

Male Mountain Bluebird.

Mountain Bluebird

Six males together.

Mountain Bluebird

A female. Most of the earliest-arriving birds are males, eager to get on territory.

Mountain Bluebirds arrive back in the Calgary area every spring just about right on the equinox. The extended snowy and cold weather we are having this spring will make it tough on them. They eat mostly insects during the breeding season, but will also eat berries to survive the cold weather.

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

Mountain Bluebirds are a cavity-nesting species, and they are now often out-competed for nesting sites by non-native House Sparrows and European Starlings. In an effort to increase the nesting opportunities for Bluebirds, volunteers have erected hundreds of nest boxes in rural Alberta.

See the Mountain Bluebird Trails Conservation Society website.

You can see more of Tony LePrieur’s photos on his Flickr page.

Battling Bluebirds

Tony LePrieur photographed these two male Mountain Bluebirds having a bit of a tussle near Priddis, SW of Calgary, on April 8.

Mountain Bluebirds (males), near Priddis, April 8, 2017. Photo by Tony LePrieur.

The birds may have been battling over a good territory. Many bluebirds are back in the area now, but some of the females have not yet returned. Primarily an insect-eater, Mountain Bluebirds can get into real trouble when we get heavy snowfalls (like we’re having tonight), especially if it stays cold for an extended period. They will also eat berries.

One bluebird gets the upper hand!

The victorious male. Both birds were OK, but only one gets the territory.

Sunday Showcase: Baby Birds, Summer Adults

Photos taken by Tony LePrieur on the weekend of June 26, 2016, at Fish Creek park and Bridlewood Wetlands in Calgary, at Frank lake, and in the Priddis area. There are lots of juvenile birds being fed out there right now!

image1

Male Red-winged Blackbird feeding juvenile.

image2

American Coot babies.

image3

Yellow-headed Blackbird feeding juvenile.

image4

Cedar Waxwing.

image5

Gray Catbird.

image7

Willet in an unusual spot.

image8

Eastern Phoebe.

image9

Mallard with ducklings.

image10

Hungry Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird.

image11

Adult Black Terns.

image12

Female Mountain Bluebird with nesting material – raising a second brood?

image13

Male Mountain Bluebird.

Lafarge Meadows – Spring has arrived!…?

Posted by Dan Arndt

March 20th, 2014 was the first day of spring. The Google Earth image that I’m using for this week’s map was from March 28, 2004, and seems to show much more open water on the Bow River, a bit of open water on both ponds at the park on the east side of the Bow River. It just goes to show how much colder, snowier, and icier this year has been (and continues to be!) than last.

Lafarge Meadows  March 23, 2014

Lafarge Meadows
March 23, 2014

Of course no visit to Lafarge Meadows and Sikome Lake is ever complete without a visit to the resident Great Horned Owls. With Dad on watch and Mom on the nest, it looks like they’re off to another good start this year. In fact, it won’t be too long now until the young start to poke their heads up and explore their new environment!

male Great Horned Owl Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 500

male Great Horned Owl
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/640sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 500

female Great Horned Owl Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

female Great Horned Owl
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

After a few weeks of them being more or less absent on the river, the Canada Goose numbers were back up as migrants began their trip north to their breeding grounds once again. This particular stretch of river is rather good for finding birds staging before their trek further north, or to disperse around the countryside near Calgary.

Canada Goose Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Canada Goose
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Canada Geese in flight Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

Canada Geese in flight
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 800

We were even lucky enough to see a (seemingly) early Mountain Bluebird along the river. While we only saw it at a distance, it was more than enough to be certain of the ID. Chances are good that this bird is finding enough to eat along the edge of the river with the various insects that are still present in the water, as well as egg sacs, larvae, and various other food sources near the banks of the river.

Canada Goose Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 200

Canada Goose
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 200

We ventured quite far south at Lafarge Meadows in hopes of finding some other birds a little bit closer to the water’s edge, but didn’t get anything much more interesting than the Mountain Bluebird until we headed back the other way. It all seemed to come fast and busy, with this adult Bald Eagle landing very close by to start, followed quickly by the sighting of some American Wigeon across the river, and then finding our first Killdeer of the season in amongst them!

Bald Eagle Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 400

Bald Eagle
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 400

American Wigeon and Killdeer Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 500

American Wigeon and Killdeer
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 500

Our last “new” birds of the day was a fly-by of a fairly sizeable flock of California Gulls, two of which flew by quite low, allowing for a much better view (and photos) than we had the previous week at Pearce Estate Park!

California Gulls Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm 1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 160

California Gulls
Pentax K-5 + Sigma 150-500@500mm
1/1000sec., ƒ/6.3, ISO 160

While I didn’t get too many good shots last week, I guarantee you’ll enjoy the ones I was able to capture this week. See you next Monday, and until then, good birding!

May Species Count – Longview Area

One of the areas that I surveyed for the May Species Count on Sunday May 29 was the Longview area, an hour SW of Calgary.  I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get to some of the best birding spots due to the wet weather, but the conditions were pretty good.  There was water flowing across some of the side roads but I did get through.

This creek was very high…

There was still quite a bit of snow at high elevations…

The Bar U Ranch road, looking west to the mountains…

I managed to find 75 species, which is a good total for that territory.  I was quite frustrated near the end of the day by my inability to find a House Sparrow anywhere in the town of Longview!  No House Finches there either.  I also saw about 35 Black Terns in a pond that was just out of my territory, and they refused to come over to a perfectly good pond on my side of the boundary.

But I did have some unexpected birds as well, including two Red-breasted Mergansers.  Here are some other highlights (as usual, you can click on the photos to enlarge them).

Mountain Bluebirds are commonly seen near the bluebird boxes…

Female Mountain Bluebird…

Tree Swallows are nesting in many of the Bluebird boxes…

I got a good look at this Red-eyed Vireo…

Male Red-naped Sapsucker…

Because of the high water, there were few shorebirds other than Spotted Sandpipers and a few of these Wilson’s Snipe…

I was pleasantly surprised to find a pair of Harlequin Ducks on the Highwood River at the Green View campground…

I only saw one pair of Green-winged Teal, but this male swam very close to me…

The final surprise of the day was this beautiful Red Fox, which seemed to be completely unconcerned with my presence, and walked right by me…

Posted by Bob Lefebvre