Another Chukar Sighting

        Tonight about 7:00 PM I saw another chukar across from the Bower subdivision in Red Deer. I have seen chukars in this area for three summers. Usually I make only one or two sightings a summer. This is the second sighting this summer.

        A few weeks ago I stopped on the Bower trail and got talking to some people. The lady told me how that she had a chukar nest in her yard in the summer of 2009. Ten eggs hatched. The little guys seemed to disappear quickly so she thought than none of them fledged. She sees a chukar in her yard regularly and it feeds from her ground feeders in the winter. Other people have had chukars feed at their feeders in the winter. I suspect that there is more than one bird.

        Since I've written about chukars before I am interested in feed back. Tell me if you have seen chukars in your area.

More Chukar Sightings in Red Deer

          Last year I posted on a chukar sighting I made in Red Deer and asked people to let me know if they saw any chukars. The chukars I saw were on the east side of the Bower subdivision along a strip of green and along Piper Creek. Later I had reports from 30th Ave north of Save On foods. Then I had a report from Oriole park which is in the north west section of Red Deer. Then I had a report of a sighting from the Pines which is north of the Parkland Mall.

      About this time I was riding my bike along the green strip west of the Bower subdivision and there in the wide open was a chukar. The bird just sat about 15 meters from me and did not move. This was about June 1.  I was surprised to find a chukar in the same spot as last year as I assumed that with reports of sightings in other areas that the birds had moved. Or have the birds come back? Whatever is going on it would appear that there are a number of chukars in Red Deer and that they have survived a couple of winters. Nests have been found and young have been observed but we don't know if the young have survived.

      So once again if you see chukars in Red Deer, let me know or phone the Kerry Wood Nature Center 403-347-2010. If people observe chukars in any area let me know. It would be interesting to see what these birds are doing.

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.