After Calgary, we headed south to Waterton National Park where I managed a few photos. We then travelled through Glacier National Park in Montana and west to Couer d'Alene Idaho. I saw very few birds on this stretch and took no bird photos.
We arrived in Grand Forks BC for my niece's wedding, and I did get in a couple of short bird-watching outings there.
The posts are arranged in ascending date sequence starting with our arrival in Calgary on July 22.
We left home around 5:30 AM and made very good time for most of the trip.
We always stop at the Travel Alberta Centre in Field BC as Edith likes to shop for souvenirs and I always check out their nature books. I hit the jackpot this time with the brand new Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. And it had a Lazuli Bunting on the cover as a bonus!
This was the only place where I had time to find a bird, a Black-billed Magpie. There'd be more of these in Calgary.
We always stop at the Travel Alberta Centre in Field BC as Edith likes to shop for souvenirs and I always check out their nature books. I hit the jackpot this time with the brand new Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. And it had a Lazuli Bunting on the cover as a bonus!
This was the only place where I had time to find a bird, a Black-billed Magpie. There'd be more of these in Calgary.
Black-billed Magpie - Travel Alberta Centre, Field BC
We were about 50 KM out of Calgary when traffic on the Highway 1 came to a stop. It was caused by an overturned truck carrying a load of watermelons (you can't make this up). We diverted to Highway 1a and came through Cochrane. This diversion allowed me to take the Springbank Airport road parallel to Highway 1. I always look for Swainson's Hawks here and was not disappointed.
The first bird we saw was this adult light morph. Although it looks quite dark, it is lighter than the dark adult.
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| Swainson's Hawk - Springbank Rd, Calgary AB |
We saw an even lighter coloured hawk go past us and turned around to try for a photo. Fortunately, the road was not busy. We located this Juvenile Swainson's light morph.
Swainson's Hawk - Springbank Rd, Calgary AB
Swainson's Hawk (Imm) - Springbank Rd - Calgary AB
After this we made our way to my cousin John's house in West Calgary, where we'd stay for the next three days.
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