American Tree Sparrow

American Tree Sparrow - Spizella arborea

The Tree Swallow is one of the first swallows to arrive in spring as the bird migrated to the Arctic breeding grounds. Some nest at the northern edge of Alberta.  

These sparrows shake weed stems to cause the seeds to fall to the ground to facilitate feeding. The sparrows either jump against the stem or beat the stem with their wings during flight.

This Tree Sparrow managed to find sunflower seeds
below my feeders on a very snowy April 14, 2013.

This Tree Swallow was on the way south on October 12, 2012

References

The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Federation of Alberta Naturalists. 2007.

Baicich PJ, Harrison CJO. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Princeton UP. 2005

Beadle D, Rising J. Sparrows of the United States and Canada. Princeton UP. 2003. 

Fisher C, Acorn J. Birds of Alberta. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton. 1998

Sibley David A. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. Alfred A Knopf, Inc. New York. 2001.

Tudge Colin. The Bird. Crown Publishers. New York. 2008

Mink

Mink - Mustela vison

Both the genus and species names mean "weasel."  Mustela is the Latin word, and vison is the Swedish word for weasel. 

Mink often use the ice that forms on the edge of a river as a highway to move from one place to another. In late March 2013, I spotted this mink scampering along an Elbow River ice ledge. Mink also like to slide on snow.  

The mink eats anything that comes by including fish, frogs, small rodents, waterfowl, eggs, worms, and insects. Mice are common prey. Mink will follow a muskrat to the den, kill and eat the adult, then the brood, and then live in the den for a few days. Mink change dens regularly. About seven summers ago, there were at least half a dozen muskrat in the Discovery Duck Pond and then suddenly there were none. Perhaps a Mink found them?  

The mink has an anal musk gland that discharges a liquid as stinky as a skunk. The Swedish word Menk means, "the stinking animal from Finland."

References

Gadd, Ben. Handbook of the Canadian Rockies. Corax Press. Jasper, Alberta. 1986.

Rezendes, Paul. Tracking and the Art of Seeing. How to Read Animal Tracks and Signs. Firefly Books. Willowdale, Ontario. 1999.   

Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk - Buteo Lagopus

The species name means "hare's foot," and refers to the feathered "leggings" that reach all the way to the feet of this Buteo. 

The Rough-legged Hawk is a spring migrant that nests in the Arctic or Subarctic. When northern lemming numbers are high, more Rough-legged Hawks are fledged. Eggs are laid a day or two apart and in years with food shortage this insures only the first chicks laid will likely survive, since the older chicks out-complete with the younger siblings. 

All the food is caught on the ground either from a perch or dropping down from a hover. Mice, ground squirrels, and hare are the principle prey. The Rough-legged Hawk favours lower perches than the Red-winged. 

Plumage polymorphism (distinct, non-clinal, light and dark plumages that occur within a brood) occurs in these Buteos, as with Swainson's and Ferruginous hawks. The long white tail with a single or multiple dark bands is a good identification feature.  

References

The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Federation of Alberta Naturalists. 2007.

Baicich PJ, Harrison CJO. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Princeton UP. 2005.

Dunne P, Sibley D, Sutton C. Hawks in Flight. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston. 1988.

Fisher C, Acorn J. Birds of Alberta. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton. 1998.

Sibley David A. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. Alfred A Knopf, Inc. New York. 2001.

Scotter GW, Ulrich TJ, Jones EJ. Birds in the Canadian Rockies. Prairie Books. Saskatoon. 1990.

Tudge Colin. The Bird. Crown Publishers. New York. 2008.

Merlin

Merlin - Falco columbarius

The species name is derived from the Latin word for pigeon, because the Merlin looks similar to a pigeon in flight. The Prairie Merlin variety is common in the Calgary region. Females are larger than males. 

Merlins take smaller birds on the wing. Waxwings are popular in the winter and house sparrows in summer. These falcons often fly fast in a straight line and hope to surprise flocks of smaller birds and then take the slowest to react. Sometimes they stun the bird first with their feet. They kill with a short strongly hooked bill that has a small "tooth" near the tip, which serves to sever the spinal cord of the prey. The bill has a round peg in the center of the nostril, which is thought to disrupt airflow and to allow breathing at high speed. 

The young fly at 25 to 30 days and are independent by six weeks. 

This adult male Merlin was stunned after flying into the living room window. An hour or so later he flew off, hopefully without sequelae.  

As I opened the living room curtains on March 13, 2013, I saw a small raptor flash across the lawn in pursuit of a Common Redpoll. The Merlin alighted on a branch of the Mayday and was patient enough for me to capture this photo. Another Redpoll happened by and in a flash the hawk was again in hot pursuit. The hawk make numerous sharp deft turns without brushing a branch, and came to rest on the ground behind the Mountain Ash. The Redpoll escaped.

The above photo is the best of a sequence I shot on March 3, 2009. I watched as the Merlin captured a Common Redpoll at one of the feeders and then relocated to the edge of the snow-covered rock garden to patiently pluck and devour the little bird. The Merlin used one foot to hold the redpoll down while plucking upwards with his beak. The feeding lasted about 15 minutes.

The Merlin above was perched in an Aspen beside the Elbow River on April 22, 2013.  

References

The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Federation of Alberta Naturalists. 2007.

Baicich PJ, Harrison CJO. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Princeton UP. 2005.

Dunne P, Sibley D, Sutton C. Hawks in Flight. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston. 1988.

Fisher C, Acorn J. Birds of Alberta. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton. 1998.

Sibley David A. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. Alfred A Knopf, Inc. New York. 2001.

Scotter GW, Ulrich TJ, Jones EJ. Birds in the Canadian Rockies. Prairie Books. Saskatoon. 1990.

Tudge Colin. The Bird. Crown Publishers. New York. 2008.

Robin

Robin -Turdus migratorius


Turdus, the genus name, means thrush, the family to which the robin belongs.  

The slender pointed bill is adapted to eat soft foods such as insects, worms, and berries, but not seeds. When robins turn their head towards the ground they are looking, not listening for worms. 

The female makes a cup-shaped nest of grass and twigs cemented together with mud, which the bird shapes with her body. There are usually four eggs and two broods a year.  

May 6, 2013 Elbow Valley Constructed Wetland 

References

The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Federation of Alberta Naturalists. 2007.

Baicich PJ, Harrison CJO. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Princeton UP. 2005

Fisher C, Acorn J. Birds of Alberta. Lone Pine Publishing. Edmonton. 1998

Sibley David A. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior. Alfred A Knopf, Inc. New York. 2001.

Tudge Colin. The Bird. Crown Publishers. New York. 2008