Evening Grosbeak

Yesterday's (25 May 2014) annual May Species Count went really well. There were seven people in my group and we travelled in two vehicles, covering a large area SW of Calgary and W of Priddis. The Count lasted from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the weather was mostly clear but clouded up by noon, with a short shower while we were having lunch at Brown-Lowery Provincial Park. Heavy clouds for the rest of the day, calm, 9-18°C, with 88km travelled by car. 69 bird species were found, plus 15 White-tailed Deer and two Moose. A good day : ) Thanks for the ride, Phil! Much appreciated!

Each year on this Count, a highlight is calling in to see the much sought-after Evening Grosbeaks at Barb Castell's acreage. They didn't let us down, and even gave us some chances to get a few photos. Feeder photos are not my favourite, which is why I didn't post this shot as my main photo this morning. Was just too tired last night to go through my photos properly to find a shot taken in a Spruce (?) tree. After the Count ended, it was pointed out that we could return to the city by one of two different routes. If we had chosen the other route, we would have missed the other highlight of the day - a Great Gray Owl! It didn't stay around for long, as it was busy hunting, but we did manage to get a handful of shots. We also saw a Ring-necked Pheasant in a field, just within camera range.

I will add the list (compiled by the Count leader, Gus Yaki), of the 69 bird species seen, for my own memory. It probably won't be of much interest to most of you : ) I should add that I didn't see every single one of these species.

Canada Goose-60 ad/30 juv.
Gadwall-3
Mallard-19
Blue-winged Teal-16
Cinnamon Teal-2
Northern Shoveler-10
Green-winged Teal-6
Redhead-2
Ring-necked Duck-9
Lesser Scaup-19
Bufflehead-10
Barrow's Goldeneye-2
Ruddy Duck-10
Ring-necked Pheasant-1 heard.
Common Loon-1
Pied-billed Grebe-1
Great Blue Heron-1
Swainson's Hawk-1
Red-tailed Hawk-7
Sora-5
American Coot-6
Killdeer-3
Spotted Sandpiper-3
Wilson's Snipe-10
Wilson's Phalarope-5
Black Tern-22
Mourning Dove-1
Great Gray Owl-2
Red-naped Sapsucker-1
Downy Woodpecker-1
Northern Flicker-1
Western Wood-Pewee-2
Least Flycatcher-7
Eastern Phoebe-1
Eastern Kingbird-4
Warbling Vireo-1
Blue Jay-7
Black-billed Magpie-8
American Crow-7
Common Raven-6
Tree Swallow-213
Barn Swallow-4
Black-capped Chickadee-12
Mountain Chickadee-5
Boreal Chickadee-2
White-breasted Nuthatch-1
House Wren-7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet-5
Mountain Bluebird-24
American Robin-12
Gray Catbird-2
European Starling-7
Tennessee Warbler-6
Yellow Warbler-3
Northern Waterthrush-1
Chipping Sparrow-9
Clay-colored Sparrow-26
Savannah Sparrow-3
Song Sparrow-2
Dark-eyed Junco-3
Red-winged Blackbird-164
Brewer's Blackbird-11
Common Grackle-8
Brown-headed Cowbird-9
Baltimore Oriole-1
Purple Finch-2
American Goldfinch-1
Evening Grosbeak-15
House Sparrow-4

Red Squirrel-4
Richardson's Ground Squirrel-1
Columbian Ground Squirrel-1
Meadow Vole-1
White-tailed Deer-15
Moose-2

"In summer, Evening Grosbeaks eat mostly invertebrates such as spruce budworm larvae, caterpillars, and aphids. They also eat a wide variety of seeds—including those of maple, box elder, ash, cherry, apple, tulip poplar, elm, pine, dock, bindweed, and goosefoot—and small fruits, such as ash fruits, cherries, crabapples, snowberries, hawthorn fruits, Russian olive fruits, and juniper berries. They may manipulate fleshy fruits such as cherries in their bills to remove the skin and flesh before cracking and swallowing the seed. Evening Grosbeaks typically feed at the tops of trees and shrubs, but you may see them come to the ground for fallen fruits and seeds or capture aerial insects in flight. They also eat the buds of maple, elm, willow, oak, aspen, and cherry, and drink maple sap by breaking off small maple twigs." From AllAboutBirds.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/evening_grosbeak/lifehistory