Lifelist Elk Island

Seen in Elk Island, 17/05 - 18/05
(unfortunately current optical power is insufficient for birdwatching, sorry!)

• Moose (Alces alces), park entry, one year old
  
• Red winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), all over the place
• Swimming bison (Bison bison)



• Barron's Goldeneye (Bucephala islandica), ♂ and ♀Astotin lake
  



• Adolescents, ♂, charging bison (Bison bison) bull, campground
• Common tern (Sterna hirundo), breeding, Astotin lake
• Little stint (Calidris minta), breeding, migrating, Astotin lake



• Ring billed gull (Larus delawarensis), breeding (completely white, but still brownish dots under tail), Astotin lake



• Red winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), ♂, brown, no red on wing!, campground swamp
• Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris), but crest on head missing, ♀and ♂
• Canvasback (Aythya valisineria), a duck, ♂chasing ♀
• Canada goose (Branta canadiensis), multiple, often in trios, barking and honking through the air
• American Robin (Turdus migratorius), everywhere, even on every corner in Edmonton
• Warbler, probably Myrtle warbler (Dendroica coronata), a subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler (with thanks to gans for research and encouragement)
  



• Leech (Hirudinea)
• Sideswimmers (Amphipoda, Elma thinks Hyalella Azteca)
  



• Northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), only ♂
• Blue-winged teal (Anas discors), with a slight doubt
• Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), once extinct but reintroduced, specimen on foto immature
  



• Greater scaup (Aythya marila)
• Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), known as eend
• bever lodges
• Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalos), soaring
• Bank swallow (Riparia riparia) flying over our heads, maybe mixed up with Stelgidopteryx serripennis
  
• Group of 5 american white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos), catching fish together,with 'centerboards', hence breeding, west Astotin lake
  



• 25 american white pelicans, soaring high on thermals above west Astotin lake
  
• Bever (Castor canadensis), swimming, west Astotin lake
  
• Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), juvenile



• Red-necked grebes (Podiceps grisegena), numerous, breeding, and crooning hard, Astotin Lake
  
• 2 bison calfs



• Brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), numerous, ♀ and ♂, close to bison rolling away scratchy winter fur, probably feeding on bison- fleas (courtesy to HGW Blom, Zutphen Academy, Zutphen)



• not to mention a huge number of beetles, flies + black ants