What is Project 366? Read more here! The Ring-billed Gull is perhaps the most ubiquitous gull in these neck of the woods (Alberta, Canada and North America). Sometimes it gets a bad rap as it tends to hang out where people either have food (Granville Island outdoor plaza in Vancouver comes to mind) or where…
Yesterday its was the Global Big Day of Birding. As it turned out, The Force was with us all weekend and a Big Day of Birding became a Big Weekend of Birding. It all started off with a whirlwind of a Big Day birding tour of central Alberta with the Edmonton Nature Club, followed up with an pre-dawn Sharp-tailed Grouse Tour with the Wainwright Wildlife Society and wrapped up with a mellow and quick tour of the pelicans of Sherwood Park.
What is Project 366? Read more here! Coots are cute and unmistakable, resembling plump aquatic chickens. This might explain why they are called poule d’eau in some parts of the world (which translates to water hen). This fella was chugging along like a little tug boat on one of the ponds at Heritage Wetland Park…
What is Project 366? Read more here! There are many cultural depictions of black birds, such as ravens and crows, that associate these birds with ill omen and death. Clearly these are figments of peoples’ imaginations. Black birds are highly intelligent, uber cool, and ecologically important as they are ubiquitous, globally distributed and take on…
What is Project 366? Read more here! Swallows can be tricky to id and photograph. They are small, always seem to be airborne, skipping back and forth at breakneck speeds, never stopping and seemingly never landing. During a field trip in southern Chile in December I found these swallows flying around above a pasture. Despite…
What is Project 366? Read more here! I came across a single Double-crested Cormorant at Heritage Wetlands Park in Sherwood Park a few days ago. Cormorants tend to hang out in colonies so this is likely an early bird. eBird records show that up to 16 cormorants were recorded at this location last summer (in…
What is Project 366? Read more here! I recently ventured to Heritage Wetlands Park in Sherwood Park. This wetland is in a curious place, located smack dab in the middle of a sub-divisions in Sherwood Park where it is surrounded by residential properties to the North and South and bounded by Clover Bar Road to…
What is Project 366? Read more here! The secret is out, someone saw one of the Great Horned Owl chicks peaking out of the nest the other day. I am obviously talking about Edmonton’s own celebrity owl family down in the Whitemud Ravine. Last time I was down there, four days ago, mom owl was…
It was a cold and windy spring day. Heavy wet snow had blanketed Edmonton overnight. I thought the chances of seeing any birds was slim, but I was mistaken. Found this Song Sparrow going to town in the blistering breeze and among the swirling snowflakes.
What is Project 366? Read more here! I had been bushwhacking along the trails and through the brush at the Whitemud Creek for a few hours and the sun was getting low in the sky. I had just finished checking part of the trail where Pileated Woodpeckers often hang out (with no luck). As I…