A Prairie Spring

It is a very strange year for birders in this area. Our winter birds are still here, while reports are increasing daily of returning spring visitors.

The weather is ideal, with day after day of sunshine and temperatures around 13C (56F). Staying indoors on Sunday was just impossible, so we headed out for another prairie drive. My goal was to see both a winter and a summer bird in the same day.

The first object of our quest was a snowy owl. There have been few reports of them this year, and their migratory numbers have been very low. I had a tip though, so off we went.

Here is my problem.  How many white owls can you see in this picture?

Actually, there are no snowy owls in that picture. I just wanted to give you a feel for what it’s like to look for these birds around here!

We did find one beautiful lady, perched atop a telephone pole in the sunshine.

I even got out of the truck and walked down the road to get closer to her. Nothing says disdain and complete indifference like an owl. That’s why I love owls, they always put me in my place.

She eventually got tired of ignoring me, and soared off across the prairie fields.

That was to be our only snowy owl sighting of the day. But a few minutes after the snowy, we watched this beautiful golden eagle soar overhead for a while.

All the fields held Canada geese, as there is a non-migratory population here. They spend the evenings on the Bow River which doesn’t freeze over, and their days in farmers’ fields.

And where you have masses of Canada geese, you also have the ubiquitous coyotes.

There have been reports of both Red-tailed and Swainson’s hawks in southern Alberta already this spring, and these were the birds I was looking for. Unfortunately, none of these raptors presented themselves to me, even though the Richardson’s ground squirrels are out and about everywhere. My summer birds for the day would turn out to be horned-larks, which were quite abundant on our drive.

So while I didn’t get to see a snowy owl and a Swainson’s hawk on the same day, any birding trip that includes a snowy owl and a golden eagle is a winner with me. We found a new farmer’s market, and took in a few typical prairie scenes on our drive.

For those of you not up on your horse identification, these big guys are Clydesdales, draft horses used to pull heavy wagons in the past.

I love it when grassland farmers leave these buildings standing. Every time I see one, I think about the people who built it, no doubt with hopes of a bright future on the prairies. I wonder if they found it.