Bird Anomalies
Well, it supposed to be spring here in Alberta. So far, it's been ok, if only in that we haven't had a major dump of snow. But as I was coming home tonight from my tap-dancing class (will be another blog, promise) I heard an interesting bird call.
Gulls. I was sure it was seagulls. Now for those of you "from away" Calgary is smack dab in the middle of the prairies, near the foothills. Not an abundance of water nearby. To be fair, I had seen these birds before, but when I first moved to Calgary in 1994, I swear we were gull-free. So why were they here, now? Well, we do have a very nice bird sanctuary in Inglewood. Perhaps they decided to check it out, and as so many people who visit Calgary do, decided to stay.
But they're not the only bird-newcomers. Again, when I first moved here, there were no pigeons. But pigeons abound in my back alley now. Although a nice diversion for the cat, they can be bothersome birds in great quantities, as I discovered in my years in Europe.
So what's going on here? Some kind of avian re-population effort? Both of these birds are scavengers, to be sure. Perhaps Calgary has finally hit the map in bird destination travel? A better class of restaurant fare on which to scavenge? Maybe it's simply that the lure of the big city has got to them too.
It's disconcerting for me though, because I always equate seagulls, well, with the sea. And I always felt a bit special (like being near the sea) when I heard them. Now they're just confusing the hell out of me. Which is not hard lately. More anon.
Well, it supposed to be spring here in Alberta. So far, it's been ok, if only in that we haven't had a major dump of snow. But as I was coming home tonight from my tap-dancing class (will be another blog, promise) I heard an interesting bird call.
Gulls. I was sure it was seagulls. Now for those of you "from away" Calgary is smack dab in the middle of the prairies, near the foothills. Not an abundance of water nearby. To be fair, I had seen these birds before, but when I first moved to Calgary in 1994, I swear we were gull-free. So why were they here, now? Well, we do have a very nice bird sanctuary in Inglewood. Perhaps they decided to check it out, and as so many people who visit Calgary do, decided to stay.
But they're not the only bird-newcomers. Again, when I first moved here, there were no pigeons. But pigeons abound in my back alley now. Although a nice diversion for the cat, they can be bothersome birds in great quantities, as I discovered in my years in Europe.
So what's going on here? Some kind of avian re-population effort? Both of these birds are scavengers, to be sure. Perhaps Calgary has finally hit the map in bird destination travel? A better class of restaurant fare on which to scavenge? Maybe it's simply that the lure of the big city has got to them too.
It's disconcerting for me though, because I always equate seagulls, well, with the sea. And I always felt a bit special (like being near the sea) when I heard them. Now they're just confusing the hell out of me. Which is not hard lately. More anon.
Comments
Just like me.
And wouldn't you know it, Calgary offers all of these things.
Is it confusing or is it just a part of God's painful, painful plan?
I remember asking my dad the same sort of question though As a family we used to vacation on Vancouver Island. We saw lots of gulls there. The one place I used to see lots of gulls here was the landfill. Dad explained that gulls are scroungers and scavengers. Anywhere there's edible refuse to be had in abundance, you will find gulls.
When we visited Europe in '82 I discovered a place where pigeons reigned supreme.
And to just quickly share a funny gull story: when I visited Seattle in 00, I discovered a little fish and chips place along the piers called Ivers. They're right on the end of the long line of piers and have a sitting patio where people will take part in feeding the gulls. There's even a sign posted "Don't be afraid to feed the gulls - they're not fussy eaters". So, wee sat and fed the gulls. One in particular knew the drill. It would circle round, then hover in front of us with this look like "C'mon... I can't stay here forever, THROW the damn thing!!" It was also funny to watch them swoop to catch the fry in mid-air... sometimes out from under the nose of ANOTHER gull!
I swear Ivars makes a mint on chips - if only from the "feed the gulls" sales!