Bird watchers are known to travel far and wide in search of a lifer or be in habitats that provide opportunities to see species not common in their regular birding hotspots. Elaine and I enjoy the grasslands and treed parks along the Bow River, the latter most especially in the summer heat. This year we decided to head west, after nearly eight years of grassland and river valley birding.
Recently we packed a lunch, water and a stove to make fresh coffee and headed to Bragg Creek Provincial Park, a 72 kilometre drive from Chestermere using the Stoney Trail and Highway 22. Officially established on January 19th, 1960, this day-use area is nestled on the eastern edge of Kananaskis Country and provides access to the beautiful Elbow River, flowing freely on its way to Calgary to join the Bow River. Named after Nova Scotians, Albert Warren Bragg and his brother, John Thomas, who settled in the area, the park was a part of a forest preserve, and then became fully protected to preserve the watershed and provide recreational opportunities for Albertans.
The heights of conifer trees are impressive, the sloped, shaded areas inviting and of course, the trails along the river's edge welcome the casual hiker into the cool, humid forested banks. With ample parking space, a number of well located picnic tables and washrooms, human needs are comfortably met. The picnic tables are located both at the west end of the park and down into the older river bank areas, long grown in with spruce trees and shrubs. The west end, where picnic tables are located, was once the location of an oil derrick, with drilling on the flats in 1913.
With the heights of the trees, home to most species in the park, it is a challenge to locate and then identify birds. In this most recent visit, we changed tactics from walking most of the time, to sitting, waiting, listening and watching for movement and bird “music” in the tree tops. To our delight, many of the species made their way across our line of sight. With the deciduous trees fully leafed, it is not unusual to get just a brief glimpse of a portion of the bird, usually its rear end. In such conditions it is an advantage using Merlin, an audio identifier app which provides feedback as to which species is making the bird call or bird song. With this knowledge, the bird watcher has a better idea of what to look for in those treetops. Not using this app, Elaine and I rely on listening pre-trip to songs and calls from popular birding websites and snap photos of the birds or bird parts we see. It's a bit of game to catch the bird with the lens in a few seconds at best.
You may wonder what birds enjoy the natural surroundings. Since ebird.org was used, 134 species have been identified in this small park with the first being a Mourning Warbler, seen in August of 1985.
After 4 hours of quiet enjoyment, we'd identified 23 bird species, all perching birds, except for the Spotted Sandpiper foraging on the river banks. While 23 bird species may not be something to brag about, we will certainly be enjoying Bragg Creek Provincial Park in the future.