Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Walk April 12, 2025

Chris Olsen Report

Bird Focus People:

Thirteen birders joined us April 12, 2025, to walk from McKenzie Trails to Riverbend on the Red Deer River right bank trails. Welcome to Wei, Jason and Sally joining us for the first time today

Birding was quiet through a cool, grey morning. Since few had brought their ice cleats, we were fortunate that this year the trail was mostly dry and largely ice free - unlike last spring! Everyone is reminded that bear and tick season is here, and it is always cougar season - bring your bear spray, insect repellant, and foul weather gear.

There has obviously been a lot of mountain bike traffic over the last year, and we saw a much wider cleared trail, a proliferation of new loop trails, and growing erosion. Sustainability has quickly become a real issue here.

Birds of note included our first Red-tailed Hawks of the year, a lone American Coot that Gary spotted lurking by the river’s edge, and a noisy Killdeer that flew overhead. I had a report that Ruffed Grouse are drumming at JJ Collette, but we didn’t manage any along the trails today. Maybe next weekend in Maskepetoon - join us there if you can.

We had some discussion of woodpecker drum calls again today, and that brought to mind that the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (eNews) recently did comparisons between Downy and Hairy woodpecker drum calls - they differ in speed (beats per second) and duration. Merlin can distinguish them and you can too - have a look/listen to their email article: https://dl.allaboutbirds.org/enews-whos-drumming-iding-woodpeckers-by-sound?ecid=ACsprvsSlh-KmETNokQPoFp2ZNuoqBEMziRRiOEwXeUKbRRSh1BoMGOGuYXh22Ytl9kaeJdYSXKW&utm_campaign=Lab%20eNews%202024&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=355340328&utm_content=355343230&utm_source=hs_email

 Enjoy!

 Chris

Here is the eBird report:

McKenzie Trails Park to Riverbend on the Red Deer River right bank CA-AB (52.3029,-113.7736), Red Deer, Alberta, CA
Apr 12, 2025 10:11 AM - 1:38 PM
Protocol: Traveling, walking
6.297 kilometres
Checklist Comments: Red Deer River Naturalists, Bird Focus Group Outing.
18 species
13 Participants
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  35
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  15
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)  10
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  4
American Coot (Fulica americana)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1 In flight and continuously vocalizing near the Red Deer River.
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  8
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  2
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  2
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  5
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  7
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  7
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  16
Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus)  1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  4
Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus)  35
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S225051746