Chris Olsen Report
Bird Focus People:
Fifteen birders were out to the Gaetz Lake Sanctuary April 5, 2025 to share a glorious morning walk! Welcome to Jim H., Moira S., Terri R., Marg C. Faye N. and Aaron joining us and last week! Birding was only fair with 21 species, but as always there were surprises. Firstly, a shadow through the undergrowth of the oxbow turned out to be a low-flying Pileated Woodpecker. It was soon joined by two more and we were treated to calls as the three moved through the forest. The canopy on the top of the escarpment was busy with groups of ever-social Bohemian Waxwings, and we even had a couple of early gulls moving through. On the south side of the sanctuary, I spotted a distant Great Horned Owl - that was very exciting until Brian determined it was a stick. It was worth stopping there however, as Claudia spotted a lone male Redpoll foraging on the ground in the birch forest of the slope. He seemed healthy and active, but it was a late and solitary sighting for this northern species. Further upslope, we could see a Canada Goose on a nest. Not unusual at first glance, but this determined early nester has usurped an Osprey nest at the top of a broken snag - the tallest perch in the canopy! We finished the morning with a few Dark-eyed Juncos and Pine Siskins, and a lone American Tree Sparrow. A final touch was an early butterfly (Compton Tortoiseshell) our group watched just outside the Nature Centre. Perfect!
Our Sharp-tailed Grouse Watch is full now with a short waiting list. Thanks to everyone who inquired,and remember there are likely still lots of openings for Snow Goose Festival tours.
Enjoy!
Chris
Here is the eBird report:
Gaetz Lakes Sanctuary, Red Deer CA-AB 52.28494, -113.79417, Red Deer, Alberta, CA
Apr 5, 2025 10:11 AM - 1:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling, walking
4.941 kilometres
Checklist Comments: Red Deer River Naturalists, Bird Focus Group outing.
21 species
15 Participants
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 15
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 2
California Gull (Larus californicus) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 8
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) 1
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 3
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 3
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) 13
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 3
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 6
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 12
Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus) 2
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 4
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 11
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) 137
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 8
Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) 1 Lone bird, male, feeding on the ground in a paper birch stand.
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus) 5
American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea) 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 4
View this checklist online at [https://ebird.org/checklist/S223219521](https://ebird.org/checklist/S223219521)
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