A very windy morning was spent down at Inglewood Bird Sanctuary by us three bloggers; several people came by to join us. The large gusts of wind kept the birds down and hard to hear but we still had some great birds. From 8 -10 a.m., we counted birds down at the river recording 24 species of birds.
- Canada Goose
- American Wigeon
- Mallard
- Common Goldeneye
- Common Merganser
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Osprey
- Swainson’s Hawk
- Merlin
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Franklin’s Gull
- Rock Pigeon
- Belted Kingfisher
- Northern Flicker
- American Crow
- Common Raven
- Tree Swallow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- European Starling
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Song Sparrow (heard 5 minutes before 8a.m.)
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Brown-headed Cowbird
At 10a.m., due to the frigid wind, we moved base to the Walker house ( we were there 10:30-12:15) where we added:
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Chipping Sparrow
- House Finch
All and all, not a bad morning to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day; a grand total of 29 species of birds from within the count circles. There were also some good birds from outside the circles; right after we called it a morning and took down the circle, an American Kestrel showed up. We also saw White-crowned Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, House Wren, Warbling Vireo, Northern Pintail and a Barn Swallow. One of the highlights was a Swainson’s Hawk less than twenty feet off the path, with a kill. A story will follow shortly!
Posted by Matthew Sim
Birds Calgary 
Looks like not a bad count, considering the wind. Thanks for letting me join in for the first little while – I’m disappointed I wasn’t able to stay longer.