Western Meadowlark

On this day, 26 July 2015, 22 of us drove out to Marsland Basin, E of Calgary. This beautiful wetland belongs to our friend, Lyn, and her partner - they have a house and yard that overlooks the wetland. This was the second time that I had visited the area, the first being on 28 June 2015. Each time, we have to sign a small guestbook. Also, everyone who can is asked to please submit a list of species seen to eBird. The birds on the water are very distant, so you need binoculars (which I don't have) and even better, a spotting scope. Really, they are too far away for photos, though I can get a distant shot with my point-and-shoot camera set at 48x zoom and then cropped. However, we did see 53 bird species there.

Like last time, I took a long look over the lake and then wandered round Lyn's property, this time finding a mushroom or two, a beautiful moth, a Thistle or two, their two donkeys, a House Wren, an Eastern Kingbird, a Mourning Dove, and a family of Western Kingbirds (that were just about impossible to see as they flitted in amongst the high branches.

The highlight of the visit for many of us was seeing a very, very distant family of American Badgers that were in a neighbour's field (so, private land), digging for prey (probably the nearby Richardson's Ground Squirrels). There are four family members, though some of us only saw three. I think I have only ever seen a Badger three times before in 37 years, the last one being on 11 June 2012, on one of Don Stiles' annual Mountain Bluebird outings.

The General Status of the American Badger in Alberta is Sensitive. More detailed Status is "Data Deficient" - not enough current information to determine its status.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_badger

After our visit to the Marsland Basin, friends Dorothy and Stephen drove two of us back to Calgary again, travelling the roads slowly so that we could see a number of perched Swainson's Hawks, and a Meadowlark with mouth full of insects to feed to her babies. We also called in briefly at Weed Lake, closer to Calgary. Weed Lake is a popular place with birders, though I have still never driven out there myself.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_meadowlark/id

Thanks so much, Stephen, for the safe ride there and back. As always, hugely appreciated!

For a list of the 53 species of bird that were seen yesterday morning, look under the Badger family photo.

flic.kr/p/wygV8B