Birds
This page features articles and video presentations about Alberta's birds. See our Featured Species page for information on other species.
The Aquatic Songbird: American Dippers
BY MARK BRADLEY
American dippers are plump little birds, 18–21 cm, that weigh about 50 grams (roughly the weight of a golf ball). Both sexes have a slate-grey body with a brownish-grey head, an upturned tail, and flashing white eyelids.
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The 20,000-Year-Old Story of the Golden-Crowned Kinglet
BY DANIKA SCHRAMM
The last Ice Age had an enormous impact on Canadian species, in some cases creating genetically distinct populations. To illustrate how geneticists have arrived at these conclusions, I’m going to walk through a real-world example from my own research on golden-crowned kinglets, one of North America’s smallest passerines.
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Annual Sharp-Tailed Grouse Watch ’23
Wainwright Wildlife Society
Wainwright, AB
mid-April – mid-May
The Recovery of Trumpeter Swans in Alberta
BY NICK CARTER
Historically, trumpeter swans were found throughout Alberta. But by the early 1900s, the species was near extinction, mainly because of overhunting. Through concerted conservation efforts, the population is now well on its way to recovery – an amazing conservation success story.
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Beginner’s Guide to Winter Bird Identification
Recorded Presentation
Speaker: JANICE HURLBURT
Host: Edmonton Nature Club
Nesting and Home Range of Barred Owls in Managed Forests of Alberta
Recorded Presentation
Speaker: LISA TAKETS PRIESTLEY
Host: Edmonton Nature Club
Diminished Chorus: The Decline of Grassland Birds
BY NANCY MAHONY
Few people are lucky enough to experience the dawn chorus on Alberta’s native grasslands — a bewildering concert of ringing trills, melodious gurgles, and jumbled songs. I’ve had the good fortune to do so on many May and June mornings, as a biologist researching grassland songbirds at one of Canada’s largest remaining native prairies, the Suffield National Wildlife Area near Medicine Hat.
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Alberta Red-necks — Grebes, That Is
BY NICK CARTER
Although the courtship of red-necked grebes is one of nature’s great shows, it often goes unappreciated. The same goes for other grebe species. These birds generally do not inspire the same sense of northern majesty that loons do. Nor are they synonymous with Alberta wetlands the way ducks and geese are. But grebes are just as much a part of our lakes and ponds as all those other birds.
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Saw-whet Owls: residents, migrants or vagrants; an avian enigma
Recorded Presentation
Speaker: THE BEAVERHILL BIRD OBSERVATORY
Host: Edmonton Nature Club
Kingfishers: Keeping a Watchful Eye on the Water
BY MARGOT HERVIEUX
If you spend time along rivers or small lakes this summer, you may be lucky enough to spot a kingfisher. There are many kinds of kingfishers in other parts of the world but in Canada we only have one species: the belted kingfisher.
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