Post by paulos on Aug 26, 2020 12:18:41 GMT -8
I recently returned from a loop through Alberta to Central BC and back to the Kootenays. We started in July. The trip was ostensibly for a small Covid-sized wedding 
, but I managed to get some great birding in along the way. It was my first time birding Alberta.
, but I managed to get some great birding in along the way. It was my first time birding Alberta. We first headed to the area north of Lethbridge. Franklin's Gulls and shorebirds abounded in the lakes. I quickly found my first Willets and many other shorebirds at Nobleford Lake. Keho lake was another great stop. It was nice to see Marbled Godwits and Stilt Sandpipers, which are a rare sight for me in BC. Stilts were abundant. At one rest stop I unknowingly spooked a very light Great Horned Owl from a tree, and it appeared that one of the Eastern Kingbirds that was chasing it away landed on its neck and held on! Tyranus Tyranus is right. A good reminder to tread lightly near owls.
The next day we headed to the dry grasslands south of Brooks, to Township Road 150 on Ed's recommendation. On the way there I saw my first Gray Partridges and Ferruginous Hawks. Township Road 150 was excellent as advertised. New birds included Chestnut-collared Longspur, Sprague's Pipit, Baird's Sparrow and the Prairie Falcon that has long eluded me.
We headed north from there with a brief mandatory detour to Viking, AB (I'm Norwegian after all), and stayed north of Edmonton. A visit to the small Atim Creek near Spruce Grove brought my first Sedge Wren and Le Conte's Sparrow. I also heard the eerie song of a Nelson's Sparrow, a bird that, given the choice, I would rather hear than see (though I never did get a look at any). It was my first time seeing and hearing Swamp Sparrows in their breeding area.
I spent the next few days exploring the area north of Edmonton, especially around Athabasca. I encountered plenty of Myrtle Warblers, Boreal Chickadees and several Broad-winged Hawks, which are always a treat. I heard but never saw a few Winter Wrens. Birding north of Edmonton added complexity to what is usually straightforward sparrow ID. Flocks of Song, Swamp, Lincoln's and young White-throated Sparrows were surprisingly frustrating to differentiate quickly.
I was primarily looking for some of the eastern warblers I had missed in the Peace (Bay-breasted mostly) and a couple that are occasionally seen in that part of Alberta (Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided). I never did find those, but it was nice to see some mixed flocks of the old faithful eastern warblers, such as Canada, Black-and-white, and Blackpoll at Long Lake. A note on the Blackpoll Warbler--from my initial views I was certain I was seeing a light Bay-breasted. I saw no clear streaking on the breast, and it appeared to have the appropriate light patch pointing up toward the nape. But a look at the obviously orange legs shattered that idea. Another reminder to proceed carefully with such similar species.
A stop on a rural road brought a flock of forty Tennessee Warblers and a tag-along female Mourning warbler. I found a Palm Warbler along the road through some muskeg in visit to the Chain Lakes area. I saw a couple Black-throated Green Warblers, a Purple Martin colony, and my first (distant) Ruby-throated Hummingbird at Long Island Lake where I stayed briefly.
We made a quick drive through Jasper on our way out of the province, with no birding stops. I had 12 new life birds, though 2 were heard only.
I'm sorry that I'm not really a picture-taker where birds are concerned, usually only getting the odd record shot with my phone. You'll have to use your imagination.
But I do have this picture from Viking! I was listening to a Clay-coloured Sparrow and a Starling.
