The weather forecast had called for clouds with periods of sunshine later. I was to meet up with and old friend John Cambell to go banding raptors for the day and it was my intention to try get some neat shots of the various species we were attempting to band.
Previous trips have always proved both very eventful and successful and today was to be no different.

John has been banding for over 30 years and over that time has banded several thousand birds ranging from Golden eagles, peregrines, prairies, merlins, various owl species. As a result John has accumulated and incredible data base of information over that time. I have never met a more experienced climber or rappel artist like him and he puts me to shame the way he can haul himself around nest ledges n cliffs or in tall trees. He reminds me of Spiderman minus the flashy red suit.

Our mission was to try band some prairie falcons, Ferruginous hawks and a pair of Golden Eagles. I was preying for the sunshine to come through for better photography conditions as we headed south of Calgary to some of Johns historic nest sites. First was the Cayley site and one that John would call is a walk in site, that is to say does not need ropes to get into. As you can imagine the raptors pick these sites as they provide shelter from the elements and safety from the predators. This means they are no cakewalk to get into. John however scrambles up and into the nest ledge and pulls each of the 4 chicks one at a time to band them. This site contains 4 healthy prairie chicks at around 2 weeks of age. The parents meanwhile circle overhead passing somewhat aloofly and cacking aggressively. The light is still crappy as the overcast sky casts a grey flat shadow across the landscape.

Next was the Nanton site which has held up to three pairs over the years not too mention an eagle eyrie high up in an old dead tree. The eagles were not nesting this year but a pair of redtails had taken over one site. Meanwhile the opposite south facing side of the valley had always produced prairies and this year was no different. I dropped John off at the west end and he walked along the top of the cliff face looking for prairies to take off the cliff face thereby giving away the presence of an active nest site. Meanwhile I drove parallel along the road watching for signs and we communicated via two way radio as he approached old nest ledges. Sometimes the parents will sit tight if the eyases are young and they need some encouragement to take off. Eventually the third location proved successful and John was joined by an escort of adult prairies cacking above him. I walk up the steep incline only to almost reach the base of the nest to hear John say he had lost the carabineers and could I go back to the truck n the valley below to get a spare set. Having just hiked my heavy camera equipment up there I decided to leave it on the hill and head down. 20 minutes later I make it back up feeling a little worse for wear.

This male was very protective and his stoops would almost hit you. If you were not watching closely, the sound of his wings ripping through the air just a few feet above your head was enough to make you jump.  Perfect for some high-speed photography except the light was still crappy. John finds 3 chicks and bands them with relative ease as he dangles off the side of the cliff.

Next was a short drive further south to Spruce Coulee where in years past there have been eagles, prairies, merlin and ferruginous hawks all within walking distance of each other.
The sun was now out in full force and the temperature was rising into the mid twenties. We went to band the prairies first and then had plans to go check out the eagle’s nest further down the valley on the opposite side. John goes over the 50ft cliff and finds 3 chicks presumed all males. No adults were to be seen anywhere. It took us about 30 minutes to complete the exercise and through this entire time the sun was shining against a clearing blue sky but we never saw an adult in our airspace.

A short cross country drive to the south east and we come to the Indian Painting Caves and the closest point to walk across Pine Coulee towards the eagles eyrie nestled in a tall spruce tree. Unfortunately I had not brought good boots as I thought we were shimmering cliff faces so our walk through the valley bottom proved very wet on the feet. Somehow the cool water proved to be a welcome change and a means of heat dissipation from my hot tired feet.

When we reached the eagle eyrie one of the adults was sitting feeding the young. In spite of our noisy climb through the thick jungle like foiliage she did not detect us until we were at the base of the tree. I managed to take a few shots before my attempt to climb the hillside further to get a level view shot, disturbed her.  I went on to capture the moments of John reaching in on these bird chicks and banding them both with relative ease while hanging on to the tree. He finds the remains of a sharptail grouse and jackrabbit in the eyrie.

The descent from the hill and return trip to the truck proved less cumbersome although by now the heat was making things uncomfortable. Carrying a 9lb camera did not help things. We finally made it up to the caves where the old Indian paintings were and I managed to take a few shots of these old simple paintings that looked more reminiscent of some kindergarten graffiti artist.

Time was running out and the late afternoon saw us arriving near Clareholm airport to band some Ferruginous hawks. I spotted the nest high up in a mature poplar near the road side.  John did his spiderman stunt and shimmied up the tree like a teenager. The adults finally came in from the soar on the warm rising air. I got quite a few shots as they swooped in on John banding the chicks. Three males and one female according to John.  

All in all a very eventful and enjoyable trip which went to illustrate how abundant the various species of raptors are around us and how fortunate we are to have access to them.