Black-Necked Stilt a rare sight on Alberta prairie

Murray Hampshire likes to set up a trail cam to watch wildlife, and sometimes gets very lucky and captures amazing scenes like that above, as he recorded the mating dances of the Sharp Tail Grouse, with the male, above, not preening for the camera, as it appears, but for the hen behind it. It should be noted that due to email attachment size constraints, the resolution of the above photo is about one-tenth of that of the original recording.

To many, Murray Hampshire is a familiar name because of his work at Flagstaff Waste Management, but we recently discovered that Hampshire is also an avid naturalist.

Hampshire was excited recently to cross a bird off his life bird list, when he spotted a Black-Necked Stilt on his way to work.

“I started my first official birders list when I was 17 years old and I received a new hard copy of the Birds of Alberta (Salt & Salt, 1976) from an aunt and uncle,” Hampshire says.

“My interest in all things wild started before junior high, where I missed many a home-cooked meal because of bird and animal distractions on many of my treks into the bush or the marshes around our home.”

Hampshire grew up on a farm south of Killam, attending Killam Public School and Sedgewick Central High before going to University.

“My mother and father gave me the freedom to follow my interests and by the time I finished high school, I knew that my future had to be in the wildlife ecology field.”

Hampshire earned his BSC Honors Zoology Degree at University. He says, “Before starting my Msc, I took a summer job with Ducks Unlimited, and didn’t leave for 30 years.”

His work with Ducks Unlimited included work as a field biologist, prairie waterfowl ecologist, range management specialist, land negotiator, project construction manager, to name a few.

“I was fortunate to work in nearly every biome in Alberta, from the short-grass prairies of the far south, to the muskegs of Zama Lake, and everything in-between.

“I was so lucky to find a job that paid me to visit all the wild places in Alberta and pursue my hobby.”

He says back when he first started his bird list, the official list for Alberta species was numbered at 384.

“There is an official keeper of records at the Alberta Bird Record Committee of the Royal Alberta Museum, and they have been adding about two new species a year; the official Alberta count is now 421 species.”

Hampshire says the Black-Necked Stilt was added to the official list in 1972, although you still won’t find it in many books of Alberta birds.

“I have ticked 281 species off in my book,” he says, adding that some of the birds on the official list are extinct, extirpated, or are declining, and are extremely rare.

“And then some of them are the dreaded ‘LBBs’, little brown birds, which are nearly impossible to ID.”

Hampshire owns a few trail cameras that he likes to set up near local wildlife spots, he leaves them for a few days, then returns to watch high-definition video.

He recently shared one of his movies, featuring mating dances of male Sharp Tail Grouse, with The Community Press. Even at 1/10 of its original resolution, it’s a spectacular sight.

He says, “I have been thinking of starting a naturalist club in the area to see who is interested.”

Leslie Cholowsky
Editor