Week 29 Alberta
Monday morning was rainy and after the excitement of getting the Ptarmigan we decided we deserved a sleep in and breakfast in our little log cabin at Becker’s Chalets. It is a lovely spot along the river and 5 minutes from Jasper. We had Elk feed on the lawn and Magpies and Crows come up to our doors. Coyotes are in the area but so far no bears.
Around 9 the rain seemed to stop so we headed out to Lake Annette in search of the two woodpeckers we still needed. We were just driving into the park when we heard and saw a Black-backed on a tree beside the road. Minutes later after starting our walk around the lake we heard tapping right beside us and as we walked around a couple of trees we had a fantastic view of 3 Black-backed Woodpeckers, an adult feeding two juveniles. We were thrilled to get great pics and video and spent many minutes watching them fly around us unconcerned with our closeness.
We continued on around the lake into the area where the fire had burned every tree and the work of the Woodpeckers flaking/stripping the bark of the trees was evident.
Unfortunately the rain started again and became heavy quite quickly. We ended up moving along the trail quickly and getting back to the car very wet. We opted to head back to our chalet and wait out the rain.
We headed back out to Lake Annette in the afternoon and walked the same areas again concentrating on the burned trees but after finding and hearing nothing we headed into a mixed area where some trees had damage and others had nothing. There was movement on a tree and Jerry saw two American Three-toed Woodpeckers (the other woodpeckers have 4 toes). We had our targets.
Rain started again shortly after so we called it a day and headed back to the hotel to pack up, catch up on photos and the blog. Tuesday we drove from Jasper to just past Calgary as there had been a report of a Clark’s Grebe at Frank Lake. I was hoping for another chance at this bird on the way home and here it was. We arrived at Frank Lake at 12:30 and I spent the next few hours scoping all the Western Grebes from the blind and the shorelines. I did find what looked like a Clark’s Grebe family, way out at the maximum zoom of the scope unfortunately. The face was very white and the black cap was indented where the eye was so it looked like a Clark’s. Jerry did his best with pictures but they were so far out all we have is a very blurry picture. I watched the group for 30 minutes or so hoping they would come closer or my scope would miraculously suddenly show them clearly. Because it is a rarity the sighting has to be confirmed by the volunteer reviewer for the Calgary area so I have to wait and see what they think but I have added it onto my list until I hear back. Others have also seen it and put in blurry photos. It would be #390 if it is accepted.
As well as the Clark’s Grebe, we had great looks at Black-necked Stilts, Avocets, a Marbled Godwit, Sora’s and many gulls and shorebirds. We also heard our first Nelson’s Sparrow of the year.
As the afternoon faded we headed to Jerry’s cousin Lynda and Rob’s for a few days. We had a lovely dinner and then were back up on Wednesday morning to head to Weed Lake in hopes of a Stilt Sandpiper. We were in luck as one was feeding soon after we got there. We both had good scope looks and then it flew off before Jerry could snap a picture. We also managed to get quick looks and some distant pictures of a Baird’s Sandpiper. Just like that we had the sandpipers we needed. We then moved on to bird the other spots around Weed Lake and then the Interlake Slough. It was there that Jerry managed to get pictures of Stilt Sandpipers. It had been a very productive few days in Alberta!
We spent the afternoon with Judy, a friend from Ontario and then cooked up a great pasta dinner back at Lynda’s finishing the night with a few too many Black Sambuca’s.
Thursday’s forecast was for rain and rain it did, heavy most of the morning. We had hoped to bird with a couple of Calgarian birders we met at Pelee in May but settled for coffee with one of them instead. It was a delightful few hours discussing our favourite topic…birds! Late afternoon we did a quick run to Weed Lake as there had been reports of Hudsonian Godwit the previous evening but there was nothing new during the time we were there. Jerry took nice pictures of a Willet family.
We had a delicious meal at The Himalayan Restaurant in Calgary and then had a bit of a city tour courtesy of Lynda and Rob.
Friday morning was finally clear and sunny so we headed to Griffith Woods Park to see if we could find a Boreal Chickadee. In 2022 we heard a Boreal at this park but this time we hoped to see it and get pictures of course. Just when we got on the path I suggested we listen to the call to refresh our memory so Jerry played it and I walked about 3 steps and heard the same call! We were super happy! There was a group of three species of chickadees, Black-capped, Mountain and Boreal. They were working along the path, eating and moving quickly but we managed to see all three species and Jerry got some nice pictures of the Boreal Chickadee. Another bird for the list.
Feeling very satisfied with our numbers we headed back to meet up with a second cousin and spend our last evening in Calgary. No Sambuca though, we had to get up early!
Saturday we headed out early to Waterton National Park and I am so glad we did as it was packed by 11. We drove the Red Rock Parkway and hiked around the Red Rock Canyon all the while keeping an eye out for a Dusky Grouse. There have been many reports on ebird over the last few weeks of female grouse and their young on the parkway and along trails so I was hoping we would stumble across one.
We then headed back down the parkway and took the Akamina Parkway where it was a bit quieter away from the crowds. We drove almost to the end of that parkway. Our strategy was to drive slowly looking along the sides of the roads for a grouse shape and then pull off into the many pull-offs and use our bins to scan the grass or hills on either side for any movement. It was slow going and we were feeling discouraged. It was now after 1 and we had arrived at 8:45. I had booked the hotel for two nights planning for two days of searching like this. I drove a bit more and suddenly I saw it. I stopped suddenly and told Jerry to get his camera ready, the bird was on his side of the car standing just off the road but hidden by a shrub where I had stopped. When Jerry was ready I moved the car slowly forward hoping it would not flush and there was our LIFER DUSKY GROUSE! What an ending to our west trip! Jerry took pictures then I slowly backed up and he got out. Thankfully it was at a picnic spot so parking was right there. I quickly parked, grabbed my camera and got some nice video. The female had adorable young ones with her…
While we were enjoying the moment – high fives, smiles and hugs – other cars started stopping thinking we might be looking at bears LOL. They drove on quickly when we said it was a bird. Some people just don’t get the same thrill. Mom Grouse moved the young further away from us and so we headed back to the car and I saw a weird shape in the grass and there was another female with young tucked under her wing. We could barely see her as the grass was quite high but Jerry got some pics and then we headed back to the car and out of the park which by this time was almost bumper to bumper. Do not visit Waterton NP on the weekend!
With that last target completed we opted to cancel our room for Sunday night so we could start the long drive home to Ontario a day early. We knew we wanted to stop in Saskatchewan to see if any Hudsonian Godwits were at Reed or Chaplin Lakes. There had been reports over the last few days so there was a good chance they would be around. We left Pincher Creek at 5:20am and were at the Reed Lake observation tower at 10:00. That 110Km speed limit is a game changer and combined with few cars on the road on a Sunday morning we made good time.
We scoped the salt beach and saw a few Marbled Godwit but no Hudsonian. We quickly moved to the next spot, the road that runs down the side of Reed lake and we saw a larger group of Godwits. Jerry started taking pictures and I started scoping. We are pretty familiar with Marbled Godwit having seen many and at close distance but we have only seen Hudsonian a few times and they have been very distant views. Hudsonian is a bit smaller, the pattern on the back is darker and not as “marbled”. Most importantly the Hudsonian has a white-rump clearly visible in flight. Jerry focused on one he thought was smaller and darker and I waffled. You know me and my second-guessing. I thought it looked different than the others and it seemed to fit the criteria but I was nervous about leaving and finding out later it was not the bird. Then the bird decided to preen and lift its wings and show us a beautiful white rump. Jerry caught the moment on camera and so we had a picture of the white rump. A local birder arrived and we double-checked with him that our bird was a Hudsonian and he confirmed it. There were also Baird’s and Stilt Sandpipers so Jerry got some more pictures of them.
We continued to head east and stopped briefly at Chaplin Lake but there were few birds around compared to when we came through the first week in June. We headed on to Portage La Prairie and our hotel for the night. The plan is to be home late Tuesday and then we will no doubt have lots of visits, chores and errands to do this coming week so it is unlikely that much birding will happen. We finished our West Trip with our Canada list for the year at 396 species seen. What will bird 400 be?
Week 29 9 species added 396 Species Jerry and Ellen
