Alberta birdwatching, birding
Canada travel, tourism

Birdwatching in Alberta, Canada

Alberta, Canada Birdwatching provides many different environments for birding in Alberta. There are birdwatching opportunities exploring Alberta parks, trails, forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, wetlands, coulees and hoodoos.

Alberta bird watching, Canada Alberta, Canada is home to songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl and predator birds. There are year round residents, winter and summer visitors and migrating birds just passing through. There have been over 400+ bird species identified in Alberta, Canada.

The province of Alberta falls under a network of migratory flyways for many bird species. The system of Alberta lakes, wetlands, rivers and reservoirs often provide a staging area for migrating birds to rest, feed and possibly nest.

Birdwatching varies in Alberta depending on the season and on what you want to see. Spring and autumn are often considered the best season for birding. There are parks created just for birdwatching. Some include hiking trails, sightseeing benches, information signs, identification boards and birding blinds.

Some of the more popular bird sightings in Alberta, Canada include the white pelican, trumpeter swan, bald eagle, burrowing owl, whooping crane, peregrine falcon, ferruginous hawk, piping clover, prairie falcon, ruby-crowned kinglet, Canada goose, sandhill crane, killdeer, common loon, cooper's hawk, gyrfalcon, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture and snowy owl.

The Rocky Mountain region provides birdwatching destinations located mostly in parks. Birding destinations are accessed via hiking trails, paved streets and gravel access roads. Parks in the Rocky Mountain region include the Banff National Park, Jasper National Park and the parks of Kananaskis Country.

In the north of Alberta there is the Wood Buffalo Park. It is a park protecting the last whooping crane nesting area in the world. It is a well guarded park with limited access. Most explore the park from the air like a bird.

For birdwatching adventures in the Central Alberta region visit the the Gaetz Lake Sanctuary in the community of Red Deer, the Twin Lakes Park near Rocky Mountain House, the Blackfoot-Crawfoot Recreational Area and the Elk Island National Park near the City if Edmonton.

South Alberta includes some good birdwatching destinations as well. Make an effort to visit the Waterton Lakes National Park located in the southwest corner of the province, Cypress Hills and Police Point Parks in Medicine Hat, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and the Fish Creek Park in Calgary, Horsethief Canyon near Drumheller, Frank Lake Conservation Area near High River and the Elizabeth Hall Wetlands and Nature Reserve in Lethbridge.