Hi Tweets,

I just returned from a four-day visit to old friends now living in Calgary,
Alberta. They were gracious and actually enthusiastic about accommodating
my desire to bird the area as it gave them a chance to see some corners,
ponds, and potholes on the prairies to the east of town that they had not
yet visited. I used the ABA guide for birding North American cities, which
has a section on Calgary. The possibilities for the May passerine migration
were particularly attractive as it is a convergence zone for Western and
Eastern birds. However, after reading Gina Sheridan's May Day report of a
migration off to a slow start, I toned down my expectations. That was a
smart decision because the only migrating warbler around was the
Yellow-rumped Myrtle, which often seems to be the scout species. I suspect
a lot of the aspen groves and shrub thickets we prowled will be full of
activity in another week or two.

Within 20 miles east of Calgary are several areas of interest. Sadler
Slough is a mile-and-a-half series of ponds and wetlands on either side of a
gravel farm road heading north from the Trans-Canada highway. The wetlands
were very productive for waterfowl and shorebirds. The fields hosted
various raptors. Ten+ miles south of the Trans-Canada, on the Bow River, is
an area known as Carseland Weir. It is a provincial park with camping.
This is an area of lots of thickets and back water reputed, to be a major
migrant trap. It looked very promising and I wished that I had booked a
flight a week or two later. I could envision incredible activity in the
very near future.

Heading back west toward town on Highway 22X takes you to an area where
Upland Sandpipers are seen consistently from late May to September. We saw
lots of prairie dogs and one Swainson's Hawk perched on a fence post within
10 feet of our rolled-down windows! The sandpipers had not yet arrived.
The next stop is Langdon Reservoir, an agricultural reservoir, mostly birded
in its southern third. The book encouraged walking the perimeter. If we
had had time I would have set off. The final area, Shepherd Slough will
await a return visit, perhaps a little later in the month next May.

We also explored and birded the Cross Conservation Area, operated by The
Nature Conservancy of Canada, to the southeast of the metropolitan area. It
should also host good activity once the migration reaches that latitude. It
was a wonderful, quiet walking area although there was so little bird
activity that we headed for the hamlet of Bragg Creek for lunch and an art
gallery visit.

Sadler Slough

Redhead (M&F)
Canvasback (M&F)
Ruddy Duck (M)
Lesser Scaup (M&F)
Horned Grebe (drop-dead gorgeous in its summer plumage)
Mallard (M&F)
Canada Goose
Red-winged Blackbird (M&F)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (M&F)
Gadwall (M&F)
Northern Shoveler (M&F)
American Coot
Avocet (8-10)
Marbled Godwit (4-5)
Blue-winged Teal (M&F)
Cinnamon Teal (M&F)
Northern Pintail (M&F)
Northern Flicker (1 F)
Dowitcher (short-billed?)
Semi-palmated Sandpiper
Crow
European Starling
Magpie
American Robin
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Harrier (M&F)
Western Meadowlark
Greater Yellowlegs
Bonaparte's Gull
Savannah Sparrow

Kannanaskis Country

Bald Eagle
Trumpeter Swan
Swainson's Hawk
Canvasback (M&F)
Ring-necked Duck (M&F)
Lesser Scaup (M&F)
Crow
Coot
Red-winged Blackbird (M&F)
Tree Swallow
Red-necked Grebe
Mountain Bluebird (M&F)
Barrow's Goldeneye (M&F)
Mallard (M&F)
Bufflehead (M&F)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
Red-naped Sapsucker (M)
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed hawk
Common Merganser (M&F)
Gray Jay
Spotted Sandpiper
American Robin
Northern flicker (F)
Dipper (2-3 on the Elbow River just below Elbow Falls)

Cross Conservation Area

American Robin
Mountain Bluebird (M&F)
Hermit Thrush
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-naped Sapsucker (M)
White-crowned Sparrow
Crow
Common Raven

Carseland Weir

Blue-winged Teal (M&F)
Avocet
Marbled Godwit
Willet
Bonaparte's Gull
Franklin's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Dowitcher (short-billed?)
Canada Goose
Crow
American Wigeon (M&F)
Gadwall (M&F)
White Pelican (75+)
Killdeer
Western Grebe (2)
Northern Shoveler (M&F)
Coot
Magpie
Semi-palmated Sandpiper

Langdon Reservoir

Lesser Scaup (M&F)
Redhead (M&F)
Common Goldeneye (M&F)
Mallard (M&F)
Blue-winged Teal (M&F)
Willet
Avocet
Gadwall (M&F)
California Gull
Double-crested Cormorant (50+)
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird (M&F)
Northern Shoveler (M&F)
Northern Pintail (M&F)
Coot
Canada Goose
Savannah Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
American Golden Plover (3)

The northwestern suburb where my friends live have the houses situated above
ravines that are public land. The ravines have thickets, ponds, and trails.
We saw White-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee,
House Sparrow, Gray Partridge, Killdeer, Magpie, Mallard, Red-winged and
Yellow-headed Blackbird, American Wigeon, and Yellow-rumped Warbler
(Myrtle).

Good birding,
Carol Riddell
Edmonds, WA
cariddell at mac.com