Bird of the Year ! -- Dickcissel ©2005 Bill Walker

Bird Study Group - Nature Calgary 2005 Bird Competition to Celebrate the Centennial of the Province of Alberta
Overview -- Rules -- Support docs -- Prizes -- FAQs -- Other Regions

The concept of the contest was a simple one - how many bird species can an individual see within the Calgary region during the calendar year 2005, and how many species can be seen by the group as a whole.

The competition was fun for local birders and provided the lasting benefit of updating knowledge of the status of resident and migrating species in the Calgary region. It also raised awareness in the birding community of the natural areas in the region, and also the threats that exist to the habitat as our population grows and development proceeds. As well, less experienced birders developed skills and confidence levels in identifying species.

Final Results (ending Dec. 31):

Results from the Nature Calgary 2005 Birding Competition are in and the winner, with 265 species observed during the year, is ….. Mike Mulligan! Sightings of Sharp-tailed Grouse on December 10 and Brown Creeper on December 14 allowed Mike to pass long-time leaders Bernard and Therese Goulet, who finished the year with 263 species. Brown Creeper, which was seen during the year by all but four competitors, had definitely been Mike's nemesis bird.

Altogether 294 species were seen or heard by 33 reporting competitors during the year, with just four species being added in the final quarter. Cumulative species seen at the end of each quarter of the year were 122, 272, 290 and 294. Bird of the fourth quarter was a female Anna's Hummingbird, which regularly visited the feeder of Shannon Slade in High River for over three weeks in November. Surprisingly the bird, which was well-publicised in the local birding community, was seen by only seven competitors. Another exceptional bird for our region was an immature Golden-crowned Sparrow, which turned up in Aileen Pelzer and Gus Yaki's yard in the Elboya district of Calgary. Word got around quickly, and 13 competitors saw the bird during the first few days of October.

For the year, 20 of the competitors surpassed the 200 species threshold. Twenty-four birders averaged at least one outing per week and seven were out twice a week or more. Excellent sharing of information on sightings of unusual species, and the spirit of friendly competition, acted as a spur to Calgary birders to enjoy the great birding our region has to offer.

See also results from other provincial clubs on the Other Regions page.

Link to spreadsheet of birds seen

Competitors going out 89 or more times during the year qualified as "Eagles". This group was led by Mike Mulligan (265 species), followed by Bernard and Therese Goulet (263 species). The "Robins", those making 53-88 outings, were led by Hank Vanderpol (254 species), followed by Dick and Lenora Flynn (238 species). Hank was actually in third-place overall, making the most of his 81 outings during the year. Linda Bailey (213 species) led the "Sparrows" (15-52 outings), followed by Judy Swan (204 species).

Results from the competition are of great value in evaluating the status of the bird species of the Calgary region. Thirty-five of the 46 species considered "Rare" on our checklist were seen in 2005, as well as twelve "Accidentals". Only three species whose status in the region's checklist is not considered "Rare" were not recorded by any competitor during the year. The following table summarizes the situation:

The 13 Accidentals recorded were: Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Lesser Black-backed Gull (*), Glaucous-winged Gull, Arctic Tern, Vaux's Swift (*), Anna's Hummingbird, Gray Flycatcher (*), Eastern Bluebird (*), Western Bluebird (*), Northern Mockingbird, Blackburnian Warbler, Golden-crowned Sparrow and Dickcissel, this last species being a new addition to the region's checklist. The Dickcissel, considered by many to be "Bird of the Year", was seen at a feeder in Exshaw in early June by many local birders. Five of the Accidentals - annotated by (*) -- were recorded by only one competitor. Another Accidental, Indigo Bunting, was recorded by a competitor who did not submit his full-year results.

The 35 Rare species observed were: Cackling Goose, Long-tailed Duck, Red-throated Loon, Turkey Vulture (*), Gyrfalcon, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone, Red Knot, Western Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper (*), Red Phalarope (*), Mew Gull, Iceland Gull (*), Glaucous Gull, Sabine's Gull, Eurasian Collared-Dove (*), Northern Hawk Owl, Short-eared Owl, Black-backed Woodpecker, Loggerhead Shrike, Philadelphia Vireo, Steller's Jay, Gray-cheeked Thrush (*), Nashville Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler (*), Canada Warbler, Brewer's Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow (*), Black-headed Grosbeak, Bobolink, Purple Finch and Hoary Redpoll. As indicated by the (*), eight of the Rare species were observed by only one competitor.

The list of three "missing" species - not considered Rare but not seen by a competitor during the year - is as follows: Virginia Rail, Black Swift and Chestnut-collared Longspur.

The competition is over but the spirit lives on! We hope that everyone who took part will continue to enjoy birding regularly in the Calgary region. Stay in touch by becoming a regular attendee of the Bird Study Group of Nature Calgary. Meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of each month, Room 211, BioSciences Building, University of Calgary, except June through August when field trips replace the meetings.

Prizes for the competition winners will be awarded at the next meeting of the Bird Study Group, Wednesday February 1, 2006. Congratulations to the winners, and a big vote of thanks to competition organiser and compiler Bernard Goulet and to Brooke Clibbon who maintained and updated this website, for all their hard work to make the competition a big success!

Final results:
Note: In the case of a tie in the number of species seen, contestants are arranged in alphabetical order.

First quarter results -- Second quarter results -- Third quarter results

Links for the 2005 Competition:

Overview -- Rules -- Support docs -- Prizes -- FAQs -- Other Regions