Drumheller Christmas Bird Counts, Dec. 2007 - Dec. 2015

I will add our leader's report from yesterday's trip to the Badlands of Alberta. Three of us travelled from Calgary to Drumheller very early yesterday morning, where we met up with two people from Drumheller. It was the annual Audubon Horseshoe Canyon Christmas Bird Count and our group of 5 people covered Territory #7 of the count circle, which included a walk along the river. Later in the day, from 2:00 pm till 4:00 pm, we also covered an extra, different area, Territory #4. This adult Bald Eagle was seen against a clear blue sky on the top of a distant hill, not too far form the Museum, where we had stopped to eat our lunch - plus delicious Sweet Potato fries bought at the Museum : ) On our second territory, we saw one male Snowy Owl that was just a tiny white speck in the distance. Later, on the drive back to Calgary in fading light, we passed a Snowy Owl sitting on a power pole, but we didn't stop, especially as it was not on our territory. I had left home at 5:45 am to allow plenty of time to get to our meeting place, and I arrived back home at the end of the day around 6:30 pm. I had ended up not going to bed at all the previous night! When I saw that I would need to get up in two hours or so time, I knew that it would be most likely that I would sleep right through my two alarm clocks and kitchen timer and miss the Count. Needless to say, I was very tired by the time I got home, but so happy that I had the chance to be out in such a fascinating landscape for a day. I didn't take a lot of photos, as I knew it was a birding day, not a photography day, though Phil had told me to say if I wanted to stop for a photo : ) Unfortunately, at two of the best locations, the owners were not home, so we didn't walk around their yards where there were so many things to photograph : ( "Horseshoe Canyon CBC, Territory #7, N of Red Deer River, including Royal Tyrrell Museum. 0830-1230, Wed. 23 Dec.2015. Sunny, light west wind, -22 to -15°C. Early morning light fog. Red Deer River 99.99% frozen. 6cm snow on ground. Bald Eagle-1 ad. Rock Pigeon-4 Eurasian Collared-Dove-3 Downy Woodpecker-1 Northern Flicker-1 Horned Lark?-1, heard flying over by Phil Quinn. Blue Jay-2 Black-billed Magpie-37 Common Raven-2 Black-capped Chickadee-22. ALSO ONE HEARD SINGING "SPRING'S HERE." White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Bohemian Waxwing-270 Pine Grosbeak-10 House Finch-12 White-winged Crossbill-5 Common Redpoll-303 PINE SISKIN-65 House Sparrow-13 Coyote-1 Mule Deer- 4 Total party kms by car: 65 ; Total party kms on foot: 3. Total party hours by car: 4 ; Total party hours on foot: 1. -------------------------------------------- Horseshoe Canyon CBC, Territory #4. Eastern pie-shaped Section. 1400-1600, Wed. 23 Dec.2015. Sunny, North wind-10kph. -17°C. Northern Goshawk-1 Rock Pigeon-19 Snowy Owl-1 m. Black-billed Magpie-13 Common Raven-3 Common Redpoll-258 House Sparrow-16 Mule Deer-5 Total party kms by car: 56 ; Total party kms on foot: 0. Total party hours by car: 2 ; Total party hours on foot: 0" A most enjoyable day, as I knew it would be! Thanks for taking over most of the driving, Phil, getting us safely there and back.

Spent the whole day, from about 6:45 a.m.. (yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there today! Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C, but had soared to a balmy -4C when we got back to Calgary. The sunshine made this attractive barn into a delightful scene, when we stopped to browse the area for bird species.

Spent the whole day, from about 6:45 a.m.. (to those of you who know me well, yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there today! Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C, but had soared to a balmy -4C when we got back to Calgary. Photographed these berries on a farm whilst looking to see what birds were around.

Spent the whole day, from about 6:45 a.m.. (to those of you who know me well, yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there today! Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C, but had soared to a balmy -4C when we got back to Calgary. "Rolling fields suddenly give way to steep, dry coulees ridged with the strata of hundreds of years of erosion by time, wind and water. Through it all, the tranquil Red Deer River gently makes its way through parkland and myriad of recreational opportunities." From www.dinosaurvalley.com . The excavation of many dinosaur remains here and in the Dinosaur Provincial Park is known of world-wide. I had never seen this area covered in a light dusting of snow before. I posted a couple of photos ages ago, showing the eroded Hoodoo formations. "Drumheller is a town (formerly a city) on the Red Deer River in the Badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located 110 kilometres (68 mi) northeast of Calgary. Drumheller has been the filming location for more than 50 commercials, music videos and cinematic productions including Shanghai Noon, Unforgiven, Knockaround Guys and Rat Race. South of the traffic bridge on Highway 9 north and south one can find the World's Largest Dinosaur, a 26.2 metres (86 ft) high Tyrannosaurus rex that can be entered for a view of the Badlands, including the adjacent 23 metre (75 ft) water fountain, again one of the largest in Canada. The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is a museum that hosts Canada's largest collection of dinosaur fossils. It boasts 350,000 visitors a year, the largest of all provincial museum attractions. The Royal Tyrrell Museum is located in the northwest quadrant of the Town of Drumheller, in Midland Provincial Park." From Wikipedia. Actually, I dashed into the Museum and bought my grandson a black T-shirt with a Glow-in-the-dark dinosaur skeleton design on it in white : ).

Spent the whole day, from about 6:45 a.m.. (yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there today! Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C, but had soared to a balmy -4C when we got back to Calgary. We were lucky to see two groups of these rabbits today, two in one group and three in the other. I don't remember ever seeing a Nuttall's Cottontail before, so that was exciting. This photo shows the rufous nape and black eyes. "The Nuttall's Cottontail, also known as the Mountain Cottontail, occurs in the Red Deer River valley at Drumheller and the Bow River at Carseland. It is most common along the Milk River. The species was first recorded in Alberta in 1917 and may still be expanding its range northward, perhaps due to global warming. It is mainly an inhabitant of coulees and river bottomlands, rocky valley sides, scrubby bush lands or arid sagebrush areas. It finds shelter in banks, badger or ground squirrel burrows, among rocks or under human-created brush or lumber piles or abandoned machinery. It prefers edges where it can feed in the open, and if necessary, quickly dash into protective brushy cover. It often spends the day resting in a sheltered ‘form', usually in dense, shrubby vegetation. Unlike hares which change colour with the seasons, the Nuttall's Cottontail retains a greyish pelage all year. Its sides are paler than the back. The nape of the neck is rufous, as are the back of its thighs. The short, powder-puff tail is grey on top, white below, as is its underside. The endearing eyes are coal black. The rounded ears are usually shorter than those of the somewhat similar-sized Snowshoe Hare, whose range it seldom overlaps." From www.weaselhead.org .

A fairly typical Prairie view, seen in the morning sun and with a light dusting of snow. Spent the whole day on Saturday 22nd December, from 6:10 a.m.. (to those of you who know me well, yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count north-east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there! Drumheller is a fascinating area, out in the Prairies, and is the land of the badlands and the dinosaurs. Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C (-5.8F), but had soared to a balmy -4C (24.8F) when we got back to Calgary.

I don't often get to see a sunrise, LOL, but it really is worth getting up at some ridiculously early time to be reminded of the beauty I usually miss. Spent the whole day on Saturday 22nd December, from 6:10 a.m.. (to those of you who know me well, yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count north-east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there! Drumheller is a fascinating area, out in the Prairies, and is the land of the badlands and the dinosaurs. Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C, but had soared to a balmy -4C when we got back to Calgary. Don't you just hate electricity/telephone wires, LOL? They seem to be everywhere.

I don't often get to see a sunrise, LOL, but it really is worth getting up at some ridiculously early time to be reminded of the beauty I usually miss. Spent the whole day on Saturday 22nd December, from 6:10 a.m.. (to those of you who know me well, yes, A.M.!) till early evening, on a Christmas Bird Count north-east of the city, in the Drumheller area. I hadn't been out this way for maybe 12 years, so I REALLY appreciated the chance to be driven out there! Drumheller is a fascinating area, out in the Prairies, and is the land of the badlands and the dinosaurs. Not a bad day weather-wise, though it was very cold. Dropped down to -21C (-5.8F), but had soared to a balmy -4C (24.8F) when we got back to Calgary. This was the only sunset photo to turn out OK - the rest were blurry, taken through a moving, tinted-glass window.

These pretty little birds arrive in "predictably unpredictable" numbers each winter. I haven't been seeing much of them, but did get a chance to photograph several at a feeder on a farm north-east of the city, on the way to the Drumheller area. They are almost always focussed on eating, as they are "in constant danger of running out of fuel and dying from hypothermia." Male and female have the red cap, and the males often have a pinkish breast. Had to heavily crop this photo, but thought these two birds were very cute. The temperature was at -21C for part of the day, soaring to a balmy -4c by the time we returned to the city, after a long day's Christmas Bird Count in the Drumheller area.