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Click on photos to enlarge.
Trip to Calgary/Banff/Yoho area, September 10-16, 2001
Bob and I flew to Calgary, Alberta, on Sunday, September 9 in order to have a few days for birding prior to his business meetings, scheduled for the fourteenth and fifteenth. Although September was not the best time for finding the mountain birds we were seeking, we enjoyed exploring new places and were able to pick up a few new birds and see a few familiar birds in unfamiliar plumages. We had a very enjoyable day on Monday, September 10, birding the city parks and trails along the Bow River in Calgary. We thoroughly enjoyed the cool climate and fall colors and found quite a few birds, both locals and migrants, and even a new life bird for both of us (Hammond’s Flycatcher). On Tuesday morning, September 11, when we arrived downstairs for breakfast at the Hampton Inn (shortly before 8:00 AM Mountain Time), the World Trade Center had been hit by the first plane. Many in the room were watching the news coverage with interest, while others were not. But after the second plane hit, everyone’s attention was riveted by the scene on TV. We were scheduled to check out of the hotel that morning, but continued to watch as long as we could, trying to comprehend what was happening. After we left Calgary, we headed west on the Trans-Canada Highway 1 to Canmore, and birded part of the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail south of Canmore, then drove on to Banff. Our thoughts seldom strayed far from events on the east coast. We checked the radio news coverage frequently and settled into our room early enough that evening to catch the news on TV, anxious to know more about the day’s developments. The news about all U.S. and Canadian flights being shut down came as a jolt, of course. Throughout the week, we stayed in touch with American Airlines to learn what we could about how and when we might be able to return home. When we called back home, we learned that the business meetings (for which we’d traveled to Canada) had been cancelled. There we were in Canada with no meetings to attend and no way to get home (for a while at least). So we went birding. Of the birds we were looking for, we found Hammond’s Flycatcher along the Bow River in northwest Calgary; Three-toed Woodpecker at Moraine Lake south of Lake Louise (in Banff National Park, Alberta); Boreal Chickadee at Emerald Lake (in Yoho National Park, British Columbia); and White-winged Crossbill along the Smith-Dorrien/Spray Lakes Trail south of Canmore, Alberta (and elsewhere). All four of these were life birds for me, but only the flycatcher and the crossbill were lifers for Bob. The Canadian Rocky Mountains are spectacularly rugged and beautiful and attract tourists from all over the world. We were told that many had cancelled their trips to the area because of the terrorist attacks, but just as many others were stranded by the airline shutdown, unable to return home. So there seemed to be plenty of people nearly everywhere we went, especially in and around Banff and Lake Louise. The reaction of the Canadian people was heart-warming. Canadian flags flew at half-mast, and floral memorials accumulated in front of the Banff National Park headquarters, along with American and Canadian flags. We were able to fly back home as scheduled (more or less) on Sunday, September 16. Security measures had become a much bigger hassle. We were told to arrive at least a couple of hours before our scheduled flight departure. No sharp objects of any kind in carry-on luggage. And when we arrived back in Texas, at the Gregg County airport, our car had been moved, along with all vehicles in the parking lot, to a lot some distance away from the terminal. We didn’t see all there is to see in the Calgary/Banff area by any means and certainly didn’t find all the birds we wanted. So that gives us lots of reasons to go back. We’re looking forward to it.
Helpful References: Fisher, Chris C. Birds of the Rocky Mountains. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Lone Pine Publishing, 1997. McDonald, Joan F., ed. A Birdfinding Guide to the Calgary Region. Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Calgary Field Naturalists’ Society, 1993. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Third Edition. Washington, DC, National Geographic Society, 1999. Peterson, Roger T. A Field Guide to Western Birds. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990. Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Wauer, Roland H. The Visitor’s Guide to the Birds of the Rocky Mountain National Parks: United States and Canada. Santa Fe, NM, John Muir Publications, 1993. Maps and bird checklists, available at the National Park Information Centers, were also quite helpful.
Canada Birds 2001: Bird photos from September 2001 trip to Canada
New Mexico 2001: August 2001 trip to New Mexico
Michigan & Minnesota: Birding the Northwoods, June 2002
East Coast Trip: South Carolina to New Hampshire, 2002
Photos Page 1: Photos of friends and family
Photos Page 2: December 2000 ice & snow storm; March 2001 flood
Photos Page 3: Family photos -- 2001
Photos Page 4: Another flood in December 2001
All
photos on this page by Bob and Dorothy Metzler.
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