A Golden Guest

Local nature photographer Duane Starr has taken a series of outstanding pictures of a magnificent Golden Eagle. He says he came across a bird sitting on a rock on a small hill next to the road. Just as he stopped, it took off and flew towards him about 100′ in …

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Wednesday Owlings

When you look up the word ‘disdain’ in the dictionary, there should be an owl picture beside it. It means “the feeling that someone or something is unworthy of one’s consideration or respect; contempt,” which is exactly the feeling I get every time an owl looks at me.  How do …

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The Backyard Bird Count Is Coming!

From February 17-20, take part in a free, family-friendly, educational activity that is loads of fun and supports bird conservation! Each year, tens of thousands of Canadians and Americans take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), counting birds wherever they happen to be. The possibilities are endless! The …

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Advanced Birding Techniques – Finding the Northern Pygmy-Owl

Guest post by Bob Lefebvre The Northern Pygmy-Owl is an elusive creature that can be very difficult for a birder to find.  For starters, it is very small, about the size of a pop can.  But there is no deposit on them, so it seems that people leave them scattered …

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Here A Redpoll, There a Redpoll…

Everywhere a common redpoll. My yard has been full of these appealing little finches for the past couple of months. These small seed eaters aren’t choosy – they like niger seed, black oil sunflowers and sunflower chips. They eat at the feeders or on the ground, but I’ve never seen …

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Wednesday Wings: Boreal Chickadees

Guest Photos by Daniel Arndt, Calgary birder and nature photographer Dan has also written a terrific post for the Birds Calgary blog on these sweethearts of the boreal forest and many other birds that share their habitat. You can check out more of his stunning bird photography on his Flickr …

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Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas

As significant results emerge from the analysis of five years of Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas (MBBA) data, efforts have now shifted to communicating Atlas results to support conservation action. With funding from Environment Canada’s Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP) for Species at Risk, communications products are being developed for stakeholders whose …

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Snowy Owl Invasion

Spectacular Snowy Owls are on the move! The owls are irrupting well south of their usual winter range in Canada, with reports as far south as Kansas. To read more about the phenomenon in eBird, select this link. If you don’t see a Snowy Owl in your birding ventures, you can …

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Snow Bath, Anyone?

Posted by Janet Plante Living in the Boreal Forest is great, but it is even better when we get Chinooks. A Chinook is a warm wind that brings warmer temperatures, often above freezing. We have experienced going from -40 degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit) to 10 above Celsius (50 above Fahrenheit) within …

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