Help Identifying Bird in Calgary

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Any bird experts on CP?

I have no picture unfortunately, it was too dark.

I wouldn't normally ask about wildlife in the city, other than wolves in my backyard, but I've never seen a bird this large in the city. It definitely was not a crow, pidgeon, seagull, magpie. Much taller with an upright stance.

It looked about 18-24 inches tall standing up. Light colour, possibly white, with some darker spots?, chirping repetitively, high pitched sound not a squawk. Stood on the point of a nearby rooftop for about 10 minutes chirping before it did a dive into someone's yard.

Anyone know what kind of large birds/owls might be in the city? Was it an Osprey? Owl? Falcon of some kind?

NW edge of the city, near Stoney trail.

I checked Alberta Wildlife site, here, to no avail.

[Fuzz]

Most likely a coyote, but possibly a wolf. Will need potato cam photo for confirmation.

[missdpuck]

Have you checked gyrfalcon sounds on the Cornell site?

Anything is possible. Hell, we had Razorbills s in South Florida where that is absolutely never supposed to happen.

One of my most lovely falcon acquaintances is a gyr-peregrine hybrid. She's quite vocal.

Ospreys can be extremely vocal and while they prefer fish , they are opportunistic. Their sound is kind of a piercing whistle .

The Cornell site is whatbird.com

There is also the Merlin bird ID app for your phone. Kind of annoyingly I
imperfect at times .


Also peregrines can be downright annoying , gorgeous as they are,

An owl is unlikely to announce itself . A white or spotted one as you describe would likely be a snowy owl.

My signature link - I am fascinated with raptors/ falconry

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Any bird experts on CP?

I have no picture unfortunately, it was too dark.

I wouldn't normally ask about wildlife in the city, other than wolves in my backyard, but I've never seen a bird this large in the city. It definitely was not a crow, pidgeon, seagull, magpie. Much taller with an upright stance.

It looked about 18-24 inches tall standing up. Light colour, possibly white, with some darker spots?, chirping repetitively, high pitched sound not a squawk. Stood on the point of a nearby rooftop for about 10 minutes chirping before it did a dive into someone's yard.

Anyone know what kind of large birds/owls might be in the city? Was it an Osprey? Owl? Falcon of some kind?

NW edge of the city, near Stoney trail.

I checked Alberta Wildlife site, here, to no avail.

Osprey is definitely possible, was it near the river? Maybe a type of hawk? There's a variety that come through Alberta. From your description I wonder if maybe a harrier or rough-legged hawk? Northern Harriers are sometimes brown, sometimes pale grey. The harrier sound is kinda like what you describe.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/...Harrier/sounds

I think you'd know if it was an owl... the large owls we get around here are very distinctive, with unmistakable 'hooting' sounds. Best way to tell owl from hawk is by the shape of the face. Owls are flat, hawks have clear raptor-like profiles.

[Snuffleupagus]

Merlin? usually not that big though


My guess would be Ferruginous or Red Tail Hawk, right size, stand very upright and are high pitched chirpers.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Merlin? usually not that big though


My guess would be Ferruginous or Red Tail Hawk, right size, stand very upright and are high pitched chirpers.

You would not see a Ferruginous Hawk in the city. There are very few breeding pairs in Alberta and virtually all are concentrated in S/SE Alberta on platforms adjacent to open prairie. They are very sensitive to human activity.

[FLAME ENVY]

I would put my bets on it being a Great Horned Owl. All raptor's in the Calgary area are diurnal other than the Owl species which makes it less likely it was anything else based on the size you describe. GHO's are quite common in Calgary and regularly frequent suburban streets and back yards while on the hunt during nightfall. The only other raptor's that frequent backyards like this are the smaller accipiters like the Cooper's, Sharp Shinned Hawk or the Merlin, American Kestrel as they primarily feed on songbirds. Owl vocalizations also encompass way more than just 'hoots'.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Thanks for the responses.

I am nowhere near water, NW but just closer to Deerfoot than Hwy 1.

I could only make out the silhouette and some vague details, but an owl seems plausible. It had a very upright stance. It wasn't leaning forward at all. I could be a bit off on the size but it was quite large and I was on a level angle due to the height of my building so I was looking straight at it. I wasn't real close so I wouldn't totally rule out a Merlin or something similar.

I also watched the very terrible Legend of the Guardians owl movie by Zack Snyder yesterday. Therefore an owl just seems appropriate. You'd think an animated movie would be perfect for Snyder's cartoonish and overstyled looking movies. Alas, like most of his films, it was heavy on style, light on substance.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

I would put my bets on it being a Great Horned Owl. All raptor's in the Calgary area are diurnal other than the Owl species which makes it less likely it was anything else based on the size you describe. GHO's are quite common in Calgary and regularly frequent suburban streets and back yards while on the hunt during nightfall. The only other raptor's that frequent backyards like this are the smaller accipiters like the Cooper's, Sharp Shinned Hawk or the Merlin, American Kestrel as they primarily feed on songbirds. Owl vocalizations also encompass way more than just 'hoots'.

Doubt it. Average Great Horned Owl is a little bigger and they have ears...poster never mentioned ears.

I wouldn't describe a Great Horned Owl as being fairly white either...poster did.

I would go more with a Peregrin falcon.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by redforever

Doubt it. Average Great Horned Owl is a little bigger and they have ears...poster never mentioned ears.

I wouldn't describe a Great Horned Owl as being fairly white either...poster did.

I would go more with a Peregrin falcon.

Maybe you should do some research on Raptor's... Female Peregrine's are typically the same size as a common Raven while the Tiercel is slightly larger than a 'large' Crow. A PF would also not be perched on a residential house, when dark diving into a yard. PF's almost strictly eat avian prey which they procure most often from a stoop. Canadian GHO's are typically darker but there are lighter morphs that have been documented in the Calgary area. Younger GHO's are also considerably lighter than adults. GHO adults are also 16"-24" in height, PF's not. The behaviour (sitting on roof and diving into yard in the dark) and description that Cecil provided sure allude to an Owl. Snowy's would have long moved north to breed and it's also possible that it was a Northern Hawk or Long Eared Owl as well.

Without having a photo, no definitive conclusion can be made but I can assure you it was not a Peregrine Falcon.

[OutOfTheCube]

I think I know what it is:

Spoiler!

[troutman]

Sure it was a raptor (owl, falcon, hawk)? That would be unusual in residential yard, but I do see Merlins sometimes.

A common bigger bird with spots is a flicker - like a woodpecker.

[KevanGuy]

A flicker would be my guess too, if it's not an accipiter. Which is less likely than a flicker.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

You would not see a Ferruginous Hawk in the city. There are very few breeding pairs in Alberta and virtually all are concentrated in S/SE Alberta on platforms adjacent to open prairie. They are very sensitive to human activity.

The only reason I even mentioned it is I'm fairly sure one picked off a rodent on the #2 hole at Inglewood golf course last year, a fish and wildlife officer waiting on the tee behind us identified it as such anyway.

Plus Cecil said he lived on the edge of the city, near Stoney Tr.

I can't speak for Cecil but I'm fairly sure most people would recognize an Great Horned Owl even in low light, Owl's also don't make continuous high pitched sounds either.

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

I can assure you it was not a Peregrine Falcon.

What about a Gyrfalcon? not totally uncommon this far south, they are the right size, right color and right sound!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Merlin? usually not that big though


My guess would be Ferruginous or Red Tail Hawk, right size, stand very upright and are high pitched chirpers.

When it comes to "Big Birds", this guy knows. I would listen to him.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

The only reason I even mentioned it is I'm fairly sure one picked off a rodent on the #2 hole at Inglewood golf course last year, a fish and wildlife officer waiting on the tee behind us identified it as such anyway.

Plus Cecil said he lived on the edge of the city, near Stoney Tr.

I can't speak for Cecil but I'm fairly sure most people would recognize an Great Horned Owl even in low light, Owl's also don't make continuous high pitched sounds either.


What about a Gyrfalcon? not totally uncommon this far south, they are the right size, right color and right sound!

Gyr's are very uncommon in the Calgary area and most often seen well outside the city limits during January/February as migrants who leave the far north for winter make their way back to their breeding grounds in the arctic.

The Ferruginous Hawk in light/dark morph can look very similar to the same morphs of the Swainson's and Red Tail Hawk which are extremely common in the city. The Ferruginous Hawk is also bigger than either the Swainson's or Red Tail and certainly not city slickers, very shy and sensitive Raptor's. Farmers in rural Alberta love Ferruginous Hawks as a breeding pair will consume upwards of 400 ground squirrels in a season.

Cecil's mystery guest, shall remain a mystery

[redforever]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

Maybe you should do some research on Raptor's... Female Peregrine's are typically the same size as a common Raven while the Tiercel is slightly larger than a 'large' Crow. A PF would also not be perched on a residential house, when dark diving into a yard. PF's almost strictly eat avian prey which they procure most often from a stoop. Canadian GHO's are typically darker but there are lighter morphs that have been documented in the Calgary area. Younger GHO's are also considerably lighter than adults. GHO adults are also 16"-24" in height, PF's not. The behaviour (sitting on roof and diving into yard in the dark) and description that Cecil provided sure allude to an Owl. Snowy's would have long moved north to breed and it's also possible that it was a Northern Hawk or Long Eared Owl as well.

Without having a photo, no definitive conclusion can be made but I can assure you it was not a Peregrine Falcon.

I have breeding Great Horned Owls on my property, had them there for 27 years, very familiar with how they look. Without ears, it is not a GHO. The ears would be very easily detectable on a GHO and think the poster would have mentioned them.

Also have Merlins, Red Tailed hawks, and Sharp Shinned, no peregrins though.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

Gyr's are very uncommon in the Calgary area and most often seen well outside the city limits during January/February as migrants who leave the far north for winter make their way back to their breeding grounds in the arctic.

Did you look at the picture? The Gyr is just off 36st NE by the new airport runway, judging by some green grass underneath some light snow I would guess late spring.


Sometimes you just can't predict nature completely.

[missdpuck]

Hmm I forgot you guys have harriers this time of year.

We see them in winter if we are lucky.

Could it have been a barn owl- no ears and has white.

It's the sound that makes me doubt owls, but who knows.

We rarely see kestrels here in the summer- our native subspecies the Southeastern kestrel
is very rare.

I look forward to seeing them and merlins every winter.

One of the most gorgeous raptors is the swallow-tailed kite that comes up here for the summer. Incredible to watch them soar, pick lizards off of treetops and catch bugs in midair.

I read somewhere that gyrs are staying south longer .

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Hmm I forgot you guys have harriers this time of year.

We see them in winter if we are lucky.

Could it have been a barn owl- no ears and has white.

It's the sound that makes me doubt owls, but who knows.

We rarely see kestrels here in the summer- our native subspecies the Southeastern kestrel
is very rare.

I look forward to seeing them and merlins every winter.

One of the most gorgeous raptors is the swallow-tailed kite that comes up here for the summer. Incredible to watch them soar, pick lizards off of treetops and catch bugs in midair.

I read somewhere that gyrs are staying south longer .

Probably the most beautiful and graceful bird on the planet, I played the worst 3 holes of golf in my life a few years ago in Orlando watching one soar and then skim literally an inch across the top of a lake eating bugs or drinking water, couldn't take my eyes off the thing.