Species at Risk in Alberta

       On Nov. 25 Dr Dave Prescott will be speaking on Species at Risk in Alberta: identification, management and outlook. This presentation is open to the public and will be at the Kerry Wood Nature Center in Red Deer.

     Dr. Prescott will present a general overview of how species at risk are assessed and how recovery plans are set up. He will then give a description of the species at risk in Alberta: what they are , why they are "at risk" , what is being done to manage them , and their future outlook. His presentation will focus on the management of endangered and threatened species in the prairie and parkland regions of Alberta.

     Dr. Dave Prescott has a PhD. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Calgary. He has been involved in management of species at risk and other wildlife in Alberta with Alberta Fish and Wildlife and other agencies since 1994. He has been the Senior Species at Risk Biologist for the Prairies Area of Alberta Fish and Wildlife and Wildlife Division in Red Deer since 2000.

      So join the Red Deer River Naturalists for this presentation.

Joyce Gould on Willmore Wilderness.

      On Nov. 25th Red Deer River Naturalists(RDRN) had Joyce Gould as their speaker. Joyce is with Alberta parks and has spent much time studying the plants found in Willmore Wilderness Park which is a remote mountainous area north of Jasper National Park. Joyce's main background is botany but she took us through most aspects of the park.

      Many people would like to visit this park. There is no road access to this vast area. You must either backpack into the area or take a horse tour.

      Joyce first started with a detailed description of the park location. Then she covered the main  physical features by dividing the park into four main areas. In doing so she showed us the incredible beauty of the park.  This helped to explain why certain plants grow where they are found. She then took us through the main mammals and birds found in the park. Last she came to her area of expertise, the plants.

    Joyce Gould went into detail about the special adaptations plants have so they can survive and thrive at various altitudes and in different soil types. All the time she introduced and described species of plants common to the area.

    Joyce Gould showed a passion for the Willmore Wilderness Park  and shared her great knowledge of plants native to a very beautiful , remote area.

Red Deer River Naturalist's Banquet

        Every September the Red Deer River Naturalists(RDRN) have a banquet with a guest speaker. This gets the naturalist group off to a start for the year and members have a chance to socialize.

       This year our speaker was Ed Struzik who wears many hats but mostly he is a writer and news paper reporter. Ed has specialized on northern issues and he has the experience to back it up. He is an avid canoeist and has canoed most northern rivers. He has managed to get himself on various research projects so he gains a hands on experience.

     Ed began his well illustrated talk with pictures of northern animals, rivers, lakes and topography. He then went on to give a brief history of the arctic and the people. He went to great detail on climate change in the arctic and what might or might not happen to the animals and rivers he showed us in the introduction. He also informed us that the Harper government has been cutting funds to scientific research so that tabs cannot be kept on climate change and studies are not being done so that we can meet the challenges of coping with climate change.

     As a result of his many trips he has some fascinating stories. One that brought the house down was when they put a tag on a beluga whale so that it could be followed. Another story was when he was in a steel cage and had a polar bear try to get into the cage.

    Ed closed with a hope that most things would survive in some fashion. They will adapt. He was also adamant that the aboriginal populations had to be in control for success to occur. The aboriginals have the knowledge and ownership so that it is important for them to succeed.

    Ed certainly informed the RDRN members on a topic which they are keenly concerned about.

Fall Migration Time

       It's still August but the fall migration of many birds is already underway. I find this time of year to be very active for birding as many of the birds we don't see in the summer are now slowly passing through this area.

      This week I have had yellow warblers in my urban yard. I grow a vegetable garden which at this time of year has become a jungle. The yellow warblers have a field day foraging through potatoes, turnips, beats etc. for insects. Later on other warblers will appear. Yellow rumped warblers seem to spend the longest time around my yard. Along with warblers there are many sparrows the go through . I've already had a white throated sparrow. The sparrows also like my out of control vegetable garden. They run around under the heavy foliage. It's tough to bird watch as they are hidden most of the time. That's why they're in my garden as it's rather safe. The bird watching can be done from my bedroom window. Pretty soft eh!

     If you are out in natural areas you will see many more birds slowly passing through. They feed heavily on the many insects which are available.

    Later on we will see the large flocks of ducks and geese as they move south later. It seems like the crows had a productive year as they are now flying in vast groups.

    So take a look around you. You'll probably see something interesting.

Chukars Sighted in Red Deer

       In July of 2010 my friend Mike reported that he saw a chukar near the creek along the Bower Woods subdivision. Three weeks later I saw 2 birds in the same area.

      Chukars are not native to North America but they have been released in the Southern U.S. and have thrived. They are a species native to central Asia. They are the national bird of Pakistan.

     You can check wikipedia for a description of chukars or you can check the Cornell Laboratory site where they also have videos and audio of the bird calls.

      Chukars are a member of the pheasant family and live in arid areas. They are spruce grouse size. They have very vivid markings The head has a noticeable stripe and the wings are heavily barred.

      Now investigating a little further,Judy Boyd  tells me that people from the Bower subdivision started reporting chukar sightings in 2009. The summer of 2010 these birds nested and produced young. It is thought that there was more than one pair. It is also thought that the young did not survive as we had a very rainy June and July.

      Releases of chukars was made in several areas of Alberta in the 1930's but these birds did not succeed. They were seen for several years and then disappeared. Since there were no releases recently, it is thought these birds escaped form a sale of exotic birds which was held near the Bower subdivision in 2009.

    I found these birds to be a rather interesting sighting and always watch when I am in the area to see if they are still there.

    If anyone else has sighted chukars let us know.

Central Alberta Birding Trail

The Red Deer River Naturalists have published the Birding Trail for the City of Red Deer. We are showing you the main page here to whet your appetite. For a free copy and individual district maps, please go to our website, http://www.rdrn.fanweb.ca/.
Central Alberta has good birding locations within and outside the City of Red Deer. We are on the Western side of the Central flyway, so can count of many interesting migrants in both spring and fall. We get a good variety of shorebirds, water fowl, and perchers.
During winter months we usually have Bohemian waxwing, two or three species of chickadees and several species of owls.
Common residents include the black-billed magpie, pileated woodpecker, black-capped chickadee, house finch and others.
Red Deer is the nesting location for at least two pairs of peregrine falcons. You can see one pair live on our website during their nesting season. We usually have several osprey, common loons, and many duck species nesting within the City Parks.
Birders will find Red Deer to be a good location for birding. To get a free copy of our Checklist of Central Alberta Birds, please go to our website.

Red Deer Peregrine Falcons Fledge

         Around the end of April a link was put on this blog to a web cam the Red Deer River Naturalists(RDRN) had put up on the Telus tower in conjunction with Telus and Canadian Wildlife. Many people from around the world have checked in to watch the activities of the peregrine falcons.

         First, they took possession of the nest. They laid five eggs over more than five days. They began incubating. There wasn't much to watch during this phase. Two eggs mysteriously disappeared about mid incubation. Finally, the three eggs hatched over about five days. This left one bird very small. Viewers were constantly worried about the smallest bird.

         Two days ago, July 13, the birds left the nest. What excitement! They are still coming back at night to the nest.

       Now in a few days the web cam will be turned off. We have to think it was a tremendous success. Many people learned about peregrines as well as other topics on the chat line with the web cam. We(RDRN) enjoyed the experience.

      We (RDRN) are left with planning for next year. We hope to be able to put the web cam up again next year with the partnership of Telus. We also want to have a web cam placed outside the box so that we can observe what goes on out side the box. If you have suggestions or comments please make them so that next year can be even more successful.