Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Spizella pallida

On 14 May 2016, I went on a morning walk with birding friends. We met at the Boat Launch in Fish Creek Park and walked in the Sikome and Lafarge Meadows areas. This included checking on the usual Great Horned Owl family - all four members were way up high in the trees, more or less hidden from view. This Clay-colored Sparrow stayed long enough to get a quick shot. On the return walk, I happened to be walking at the back of the group. I heard a bird that caught my attention and when I stopped to look, I found a beautiful little White-crowned Sparrow sitting deep within the low branches of a coniferous tree. "The Clay-colored Sparrow’s buzzy song is a signature sound of the vast shrublands of the northern prairie and Great Plains. Though they’re not brightly colored, their pale tones and overall clean, crisp markings help set them apart from other sparrows—especially useful on their wintering grounds, where they often flock with other species. These active birds tend to forage within the branches of shrubs or on the ground beneath cover. Though still very numerous, their numbers have slowly declined over the past 40 years." From AllAboutBirds. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Clay-colored_Sparrow/id After this walk, I drove a short distance to see a different family of Great Horned Owls, presumably the same pair of adults that we had seen last year, nesting near the Bow Valley Ranch. Amazingly, this pair had four - yes, four! - owlets this time. Somewhat better views than of the first family, at least for the short time I was there. Bird list from the leader of our morning walk, Melanie S.: Fish Creek PP--Boat Launch, Calgary, Alberta, CA 14-May-2016 9:00 AM - 12:10 PM Protocol: Traveling 3.5 kilometer(s) Comments: 10 to 15 deg C. Sunny. Nature Calgary field trip, leader Melanie Seneviratne. 46 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose 24 Gadwall 8 American Wigeon 10 Mallard 22 Blue-winged Teal 4 Northern Shoveler 1 Canvasback 1 Redhead 7 Lesser Scaup 6 Common Goldeneye 2 Common Merganser 2 Pied-billed Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant 4 American White Pelican 5 Great Blue Heron 1 Osprey 4 Northern Goshawk 1 Flew over car park as we were leaving. Swainson's Hawk 4 American Coot 4 Spotted Sandpiper 4 Wilson's Snipe 1 Franklin's Gull 3 California Gull 1 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2 Great Horned Owl 4 2 adult 2 juveniles Downy Woodpecker 1 Northern Flicker 2 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Black-billed Magpie 2 American Crow 2 Common Raven 5 Tree Swallow 250 Barn Swallow 1 Cliff Swallow 20 Black-capped Chickadee 1 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 American Robin 12 European Starling 10 Clay-colored Sparrow 2 White-crowned Sparrow 1 Savannah Sparrow 3 Song Sparrow 1 Red-winged Blackbird 30 Yellow-headed Blackbird 6 Brewer's Blackbird 1 Brown-headed Cowbird 5

This photo was taken on June 7th, in South Glenmore Park. I rarely see one of these common little Clay-coloured Sparrows up close, so we were very lucky that morning. They really are quite a pretty little bird. I have taken so many photos recently, but somehow don't seem to be getting the chance to go through them and pick out more than one or two to post, if that. Today, it's supposed to go up to 32C, and I will be staying home as I need to recover from yesterday's great hike at Plateau Mountain : ) This morning, it's already 30C in my computer room, so I know it will become unbearable later on. Air conditioning would be so nice!!! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay-colored_Sparrow

A rather similar photo to one I posted awhile ago, but wanted it for my Birds of Alberta 6 set. It is unusual to see a Clay-coloured Sparrow so close, so I was happy for the opportunity. Photographed in South Glenmore Park/Weaselhead on June 7th.

Somehow, I just don't seem to be able to get a proper photo of a Clay-coloured Sparrow, so this one will have to do until I can take a better one. This Sparrow, quite common throughout Alberta, makes a buzzing sound that sounds rather like an insect.