My Year of the Bird - Spring Edition

Mountain Bluebird

It wasn’t long into Spring before I heard reports of Mountain Bluebird sightings. One morning, just after dawn, I headed down to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park to see if I could find one for myself. I didn’t even make it to the parking lot before I saw a stunning male bird sitting on a barbed-wire fence along the gravel road. Amazing.

Mountain Bluebird

As the stormwater ponds in my neighbourhood began to thaw, the ducks, geese and grebes returned. The ponds were alive with Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks. Canvasbacks, Pied-billed Grebes, Horned Grebes, American Coots, and of course Mallards and Canada Geese. As the season wore on the Geese and Mallards stayed to nest and were joined by Lesser Scaups, Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeons and Blue-winged Teals. With the waterfowl in their best breeding plumage it became easy to identify them and report them to eBird. Once their young came along, however, and their bright colours faded to drab browns, it became more difficult. In addition to the birds on the water, I could always look up and see many Tree Swallows and the occasional Violet-green Swallow flying over the water in search of insects.

Baby Mallards (I think!)

Blue-winged Teal

Springtime brought new life to every corner of the neighbourhood. I continued to watch and count the Black-capped Chickadees and I was delighted to hear the different calls of the new fledgling birds. The adults were molting and working hard to collect and deliver food to their desperate (and oh so cute!) young. In addition to the Chickadees, the House Sparrows added significantly to their numbers. They seemed to be nesting in every nook and cranny available. Our native Sparrows returned, along with their distinct songs. Savannah Sparrows were first, followed by Song Sparrows, Lincoln’s Sparrows and others. Another frequent bird on my daily bird count was the House Wren.

House Wren

One morning in late May I noticed quite a mess on my front porch. It took me a few moments to realize a pair of American Robins were building a nest under my roof. What a beautiful happenstance that my first Spring of bird watching would yield a Robin’s nest right outside my front door. We blocked access to our entrance and came and went through the side as the adults birds so dutifully completed their nest. It was remarkable to watch the dedication of the mother bird as she sat and sat and sat, incubating her eggs.

Robin Eggs

Once the eggs hatched the nestlings were absolutely helpless. The parents worked hard to keep those hungry babies fed – all five of them!

American Robin Nestlings

In a few short weeks they had transformed from feeble to nearly full-grown. That nest was crowded! One brave soul left the nest and we watched as it tried to make its way. The next thing we knew an American Crow came by and noticed an easy prey. The brood of five was reduced to four.

American Robins missing their fledged sibling

On Father’s Day our family hiked the Tiger Lily Loop at Glenbow Ranch. As we rounded the second curve and headed south down the hill we heard some mewling coming from an Aspen tree. An adult Yellow-bellied Sapsucker emerged from a hole in the tree, flew away and returned shortly with food for its young. It would have been a treat to see inside that nesting cavity!