June 23 2018, 10:38 AM. A trail through a ribbon of urban forest on the south of shore of the North Saskatchewan River, in the Edmonton River Valley. I spotted some movement in the forest shrubs. A female Yellow Warbler. She was building a nest! She moved about in the nest for a while, then sat in it as if incubating eggs, testing its fit. … Continue reading A Yellow Warbler Nest: Part 1
On July 15th, 2017, around 3 PM, I walked along the trail leading to the Cooper’s Hawk nest. The first fledgling I saw was the youngest looking. Another fledgling, of seemingly intermediate maturity (less remaining white down than one sibling but more than the other), was calling its parents repeatedly, because it was hungry, or because it was not comfortable with my presence. It called … Continue reading The Coopers: Part 3
According to eBird data, Common Redpolls are not seen in the Edmonton area between June and September, except for the sighting of a single bird on July 5th, 2014. Their breeding grounds are north of Alberta, in Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta (Semenchuk 1992) does mention occasional nesting in Edmonton. This species also breeds in … Continue reading They’re back!
Winter started early in Edmonton this year. We had a few snow days in mid-September and a few more in early October. The last two weeks though, have been relatively warm, with sunny afternoons in the low to mid-10s (Celcius). Early afternoons aren’t the birdiest in the Mill Creek Ravine woods, but I usually bring my camera just in case. Yesterday, I saw a Wilson’s … Continue reading Fall feathers
Two male Mallards on North Saskatchewan River. October 14, 2018. Henrietta Muir Edwards Park, Edmonton, Alberta. Continue reading Synchronized preening
I was pretty excited about seeing white fluff in the nest on June 27th, so I visited again two days later with hopes of glimpsing wee beaks and eyes. My photo adventure started at 12:41 PM and my first photo was not promising. White fluff??? I watched for two minutes, but no wee hawks appeared. Another cute creature caught my attention though. A nearby yellow … Continue reading The Coopers: Part 2
A little recap… Gwyndolyn and her goslings left the nest on May 6th 2016. For a while, George and them were the only goose family at the pond, but soon another family joined them. Part 3 ended on the morning of May 23rd, with cold rain and both mother geese brooding their goslings under their wings. Part 4 starts a week later, on a much … Continue reading Gwyndolyn’s nest: Part 4
