Birding News - The Wild Bird Store
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Birding News
ALBERTA AUGUST 2020
PLEASE NOTE:
As The City of Calgary has mandated that face masks must be worn in all
indoor spaces starting August 1, 2020, The Wild Bird Store has decided to
close the showroom and to offer the options of curb side pick up and
delivery service only.
Phone lines are open Monday through Saturday for Delivery and Curb
side Pick up orders.
CURB SIDE PICK UP: call, place and pay for your or der at least 30
minutes prior to your arrival and you will be given a customer number. When
you arrive at the store pull into the curb side pick up lane; a staff member will
come out to your vehicle to get your number, Pop your truck and the staff
member will put your order in your trunk with your receipt.
DELIVERY: Deliver ies will still be made on Thur sdays ONLY. Please
phone the store at (403) 640-2632 by 3:30pm on the Wednesday before your
delivery; place and pay for your delivery. If you have any special instructions
please do not forget to inform us when you place your order.
The c-card readers will continue to be sanitized throughout the day and you are welcome to use
Mastercard, Visa or e-transfer at this time. Thank you for your continued support.
August is a great time to attract hummingbirds to Weaselhead—If you are patient and quiet you can see
your backyard. The nestlings have fledged and are four varieties of hummingbirds at Weaselhead. The
driven out of the adults territory, so must find their Rufous, Ruby-throated, Calliope and Black-chinned.
own food source. So leave those hummingbird Highwood House—Take route 541 west of Longview to
feeders up until mid-September. Once Highwood Junction. There are numerous hummingbird
hummingbirds have chosen your backyard as their feeders which see lots of action from the Rufous
territory, they will return year after year as long as hummingbird.
you provide the necessities.
Ellis Bird Farm—Usually you can see Rufous and Ruby-
Planting flowers that attract hummingbirds— throated at the café at Ellis Bird Farm. This year due to
such as Fireweed, Bracted Honeysuckle and Covid19, the café has been closed. According to Myrna
Wood Lily
Pearman, the biologist at EBF, the hummingbirds were
Hummingbird feeders that are kept clean to there in April but the weather has been so wet and cold
prevent fungus and that are replenished on a they have not been seen all summer.
regular basis
A running water source (the sound attracts
hummingbirds and they do not bathe in a bird
bath, but rather fly through the water and then
sit on a branch and preen)
5 stars for cleanliness
If your yard has limited options for shade, your feeder might end up in
the sun. It can’t always be helped, but as long as it’s kept clean, a
feeder in direct sunlight is just as effective as one in the shade. It’s
recommended that you clean your feeder regularly, but when the
temperature soars above 25 degrees Celsius, please clean your feeders
Rufous every day to protect these tiny gems.. Discard old nectar and wash the
feeder with soap and warm water. Rinse, dry, refill and re-hang.
Native plants
Thought they’re partial to red, hummingbirds aren’t dismissive of other
colours. They’ll feed at any plant that offers nectar. Tubular, colourful
plants tend to get the job done. And it’s a good idea to check out what
fitting plants are native to your area. Plants also serve as a reliable
protein source. Hummingbirds eat pollen and snatch insects from plant
Ruby-throated leaves and spiderwebs to get the protein they need for growing
feathers. Native plants support a greater concentration of insects and
spiders available as prey for hummingbirds, so avoid the use of
pesticides.
Black chinned
Here is a wonderful list from the Canadian Wildlife Federation on
native plants that will attract hummingbirds in Canada. include
Fireweed, Bracted Honeysuckle, Red Osier
Dogwood, Jewelweed, Snowberry, Meadow Blazingstar, Red
Paintbrush, Slender Blue Beardtongue, Wild Bergamot, and Wood
Lily.
Calliope
About the Artist Cory Carlin
Being an artist is what I was meant to do. Nothing makes me happier or more fulfilled than the
creative process with the exception of family, of course. I am a husband and father of three little
artists. My wife is an amazing artist as well and we have turned our garage into a studio/workshop
for me where I do the burning and make frames etc... We turned our bonus room into a studio
where we paint, draw and create.
I have created art in many mediums but I primarily paint in acrylics on prepped birch panels. I
typically start with eyes as this is what can make your painting come to life. I love to capture the
emotion or personality of my subjects and mostly paint portraits for this reason.
Please visit Cory’s artwork in the Galler-oom
at The Wild Bird Store
Seminars, workshops, guest speakers and bird walks will be commencing again in September 2020
Tickets are mandatory for all
ID classes, bird walks and
seminars
The article on hummingbirds in this
newsletter offers a clue as to what this is in
the photo.
Answer will be in the September 2020
newsletter
To purchase tickets to any of The Wild Bird Store ID Classes, Saturday Bird Walks, Seminars or Workshops you will need to
go to eventbrite.ca and search for the event by name or click the link attached to the event.
Alberta has announced there will be a Sandhill crane hunting season launching on September 1, 2020 in
more than 50 wildlife management units in southern and east-central Alberta.
Apparently they make excellent table fare and have been hunted in Saskatchewan and Manitoba for
over 50 years with the Sandhill population remaining healthy.
It is said the Sandhill crane populations in Alberta has increased steadily in recent years, adding that
the hunt is supported by Alberta hunting stakeholders, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the
Central Flyway Canada.
There are more than 600,000 Sandhill cranes across North America.
Because the cranes depend on wetlands that are disappearing, and also have a low birth rate, they
might not bounce back from a year of hunting and that a hunt would threaten the endangered Whooping
crane, which also uses some of the same migration routes and could be mistaken for either bird.
The Canadian Wildlife Service proposed in December that the province open a fall Sandhill season, say-
ing it would provide a new hunting opportunity in Alberta and a mechanism to deal with crop depredation
issues caused by Cranes.
The Canadian Press The Calgary Sun July 5, 2020
Recently, Andrew Barnes, a customer of The Wild Bird Store, was
certified by the Canadian Wildlife Federation for his yard, nest boxes,
wildflower gardens and Purple martins.
The photo to the left was taken on Sunday, July 18, 2020. The 5 eggs
that were laid all hatched and are thriving. It is our understanding that
this is the first successful nest in Calgary.
Andrew lives in the southeast community of New Brighton and is
registered on the CWF website.
The Beaverhill Natural Area and trails remain open to
the public 24/7. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic
however, the BBO is not accepting volunteers at this
time and we will not be banding birds until further
notice. We ask that visitors respectfully stay outside of
our buildings, as we are happy to talk to visitors in our
clearing and anywhere in the great outdoors!
COVID19
***
Maintain physical distance and commune with nature all at once
Come to the Weaselhead and walk alone but together, with trees and birds!
Registration Packages
Each WOW! participant will receive:
1. Drawstring Sportspack
2. Reflective slap bracelet
3. Holographic AIWC sticker
August 1, 2020 12:01am to
To register: www.aiwc.ca
August 21, 2020 11:59pm
We are Open!
Now Open daily 9:30 to 5:00 p.m.
Last day for 2020 is September 7th.
Lois Hole, the former lieutenant governor of Alberta, was so beloved that a provincial park was established in her honor. An avid gardener
and nature lover, she would have been pleased to know that Lois Hole Centennial Provincial Park is one of the best places to see birds in
Alberta. This beautiful 1800-hectare provincial park is located at Big Lake Natural Area in St. Albert, just eleven kilometres southwest of Holes
Greenhouses, the business that Hole established and spent her life building.
Bird Seed Truck
Be sure your order is on the truck when we come to either of our
locations by
Crowfoot YMCA/Arena Texting us @ (403) 701-4571 or emailing
(corner of John Laurie Blvd. and Nose Hill Drive) orders@wildbirdstore.ca
With desired location pick-up
Crowfoot YMCA/Arena Wednesdays PLEASE NOTE: earn and redeem customer loyalty points on
the Bird Seed Truck.
2:00pm to 5:30pm
Tentatively returning August 19th Can’t make it to one of our locations, we
also deliver. Send us your order by email
Due to a family emergency, this date is tentative so we
to orders@wildbirdstore.ca. We deliver
encourage you to phone the Wild Bird Store at (403)
on Thursdays and require your order no
640-2632 to make sure the Bird Seed Truck will be later than 3:30pm on the previous day..
back at Crowfoot YMCA/Arena on this date. Delivery charge is applicable unless
brought to Crowfoot location on
Wednesdays on The Bird Seed Truck.
PLEASE NOTE: If The Wild Bird Store is CLOSED then the Mobile Seed Truck will not
be on location. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Located at The Wild Bird Store (near the seed bins). We collect your cash as well as “wishlist” donations and arrange
to deliver them to local wildlife organizations including Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation, Alberta Institute of
Conservation and Ellis Bird Farm.
We ask for your support quarterly for each of this organizations. For July, August and September your donations will
go to:
Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation—for their wish list please visit CalgaryWildlifeRehabilitation.org.
We offer a discount if you r etur n your seed
bags (sorry—not the Mother Nature bags which
we cannot re-use), suet ball containers, if you
bring your own container to fill or use a bag from
our re-cycle bin. This discount is in addition to
any other discount offered.
Write a Google review on your exper ience
at The Wild Bird Store, and as a thank you, we
will give you 100 customer loyalty points
($5.00 value). To get a promo code, kindly
email info@wildbirdstore.ca
(one Google review per customer)
Coffee and cookies are once again being served
on Saturdays in the Galler-oom. We have also
set up one of many jigsaw puzzles—please feel Earn 200 customer loyalty points ($10.00
value) by referring a friend, acquaintance or
free to place puzzle pieces while enjoying your fellow birder.
visit. Be sure to check out our many jigsaw
puzzles for sale all with a wild bird theme and in Please visit the store to get a promo code.
sizes of 500 or 1000 pieces.
Have you been into The Galler-oom? Come see No need for a card, just give your phone
the display of art and home décor for sale, from number. You earn $1.00 for every $20.00 spent
(excludes “sales” items, books & optics) and can
local artists and photographers. Please see our be used in-store and on Mobile Seed Truck. As
featured artist profile and sample of his art work a loyalty member our monthly promotions and
on page 3 of this newsletter. in-store “specials” are automatically given at the
cash register.
The Galler-oom is also for rent for small groups
of 35 people of less that need a meeting or event
space. Table and chairs are available as well as
refreshments for $50/hour. For more information Combining our Seniors 10% discount with
or to book the room, please email the Loyalty Program. (Excludes “sales” items,
info@wildbirdstore.ca. books & optics).
Art work by artist Discount for membership 10% discount for
members of Fish Creek Park, AIWC, Priddis
Cory Carlin on Golf Club, Nature Calgary, Sandy Cross
display in the Conservation and Springbank Garden Club.
Galler-oom. See Must present valid membership card at time
of purchase.
page 3 of this
newsletter for
more of his Bird Walk BONUS Card Sign up and
artwork. participate in 9 Bird Walks with either Jim St.
Laurent or Gavin McKinnon and receive the 10th
bird walk FREE . Cards are available from either
Jim or Gavin.
-------
5901 3rd Street S.E. Showroom Hours: Monday through Saturday 10:00am to 5:00pm
Calgary, Alberta T2H 1K3 Phone lines are open Monday through Saturday
Phone: (403) 640-2632 CLOSED Sundays and ALL Statutory holidays for Faith, Family & Friends
Web: wildbirdstore.ca
Email: info@wildbirdstore.ca
We have added some new videos so check it out by going to YouTube, type in the search bar
“The Wild Bird Store” to watch our videos and to help us become more visible . We are
continually adding more content, so check us out often. Be sure to click on “Subscribe”
before you leave the page.
The Wild Bird Store
Is the warranty & repair depot for:
Squirrel Buster® Bird Feeders
Aspects® Feeders
Droll Yankee® Bird Feeders
And the warranty depot for:
Leupold Binoculars & Spotting
Scopes
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