Nocturnal Birding

With the the shift to daylight saving time, giving me more time to bird after work, it seemed like a perfect evening to get my BIGBY Northern Saw-whet Owl. Keeping on my commuter clothes, I grabbed a quick dinner at home before cycling over to the Weaselhead Flats. This park regularly has calling Northern Saw-whet Owls in the late winter and early spring. Ten calling last week likely included migrants, but this species is known to nest in the park. A quick stop at North Glenmore added Tundra Swan and Lesser Scaup to my BIGBY. Other waterfowl occurring in the leads starting to form on the reservoir included numerous Common Goldeneye and Common Merganser. The pathways were busy with walkers and bicyclists enjoying a mild evening, but their numbers slowly thinned as the sun began to near the horizon.

With Venus becoming visible in the western sky and Mercury above me, I pulled out my birding gear and secured my bike to the wooden bike rack located next to the pathway. Turning on my headlamp, I followed the trail west along the Elbow River. I could hear Canada Geese in the distance and the occasional loud splash alerted me to the presence of beavers in the river. The first Saw-whet started whistling approximately a half hour after sunset but soon stopped. With only the occasional coyote howl now breaking the silence, I decided to take a different trail back to the bike. Soon after starting down this trail another Northern Saw-whet Owl started calling, this one was closer to me. I tried whistling and the owl responded. After whistling back and forth for a couple of minutes I caught a glimpse of the owl flying across the trail and landing in a poplar. Not wanting to further harass the bird, I stopped whistling and made my way back to the bike. With the temperature continuing to fall and fog starting to form, it was time to head home.