Upon arrival at Calgary International Airport (YYC), we will pick you up and transfer to a nearby hotel for the night. If time allows, we may visit some wetlands on the outskirts of Calgary, where we have an opportunity to see our first Cinnamon Teal, American Avocets and Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

American Avocet photo by Gavin McKinnon.

This morning we will travel north of Cochrane, to a region where the boreal forests intersect with the foothills and parkland regions. This area is a hotspot for hybridization, as most Northern Flickers and Yellow-rumped Warblers are intergrades between subspecies and Yellow-bellied and Red-naped sapsuckers hybridize freely. Our first stop this morning will be at a roadside marsh where we hope to find both Nelson’s and LeConte’s Sparrows and hear the soft tic-tic-tic of a Yellow Rail. Continuing farther up the road, we hope to encounter Sandhill Cranes, Blue-headed Vireos and healthy numbers of singing Tennessee Warblers. Our main target in the forested areas here is the Great Gray Owl and we’ll spend some time searching for them along forest edges and in clearings. We will also visit Bill Bagnall Wilderness Area, where we hope to find breeding Western Flycatchers, Cape May Warblers and Northern Waterthrushes. Before lunch, we will stop at a private feeding station, where we’ll have the chance to see Mountain, Boreal and Black-capped Chikadees side-by-side. Here, there will also be a good chance to see Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, Blue Jays and Clark’s Nutcrackers up close. After lunch in Cochrane, we will slowly begin to make our way to Canmore, our base for the next three nights. 

Great-gray Owl photo by George Armistead.

Our first morning in the Rocky Mountains will begin at Canmore’s Policeman’s Creek. Along this well maintained trail, we hope to see plenty of White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Lincoln’s Sparrows as well as Wilson’s Snipe and Sora. We will make our first stop in Banff at another short trail just outside of town. Along this trail, there is a good chance to see Blackpoll Warblers, American Redstarts, more Boreal Chickadees and American Three-toed Woodpeckers. Later in the morning, we’ll visit the famous Cave and Basin marsh area, where we hope to see Cinnamon Teal and Ring-necked Ducks. In the forested areas, we should see Townsend’s Warblers and Cassin’s Vireos. Lunch will be at a well known picnic area, where we are sure to be joined by inquisitive Canada Jays. This location is also a well-known site to find Hammond’s Flycatcher, likely the only location to find this species on the tour.

Boreal Chickadee photo by Gavin McKinnon.

Today, we will visit one of the most famous sites in Banff National Park, Lake Louise. Around this scenic lake, there is a good chance to see Pacific Wrens, Varied Thrushes and Steller’s Jays. After leaving Lake Louise, we’ll drive north up Highway 93, also known as the Icefields Parkway, keeping our eyes peeled for wildlife such as Elk, and both Black and Grizzly Bears. We will stop for lunch near the base of the Athabasca Glacier, where we hope to find Fox Sparrows singing in the low shrubbery. After a short break around the Columbia Icefields, we’ll take the Wilcox Pass trail. On this trail, we will reach the alpine quickly and it is here that we hope to find the ‘Timberline’ subspecies of Brewer’s Sparrow and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches. After our hike, we will begin the drive back to Canmore, while keeping an eye out for wildlife that may be seen along the road.

Grizzly Bear photo by Michelle Schreder.

Our last morning in the mountains will be spent hiking trails near Mount Shark off of the Spray Lakes Trail in search of the ‘Franklin’s’ subspecies of Spruce Grouse, which is restricted to the Rocky Mountains of western North America. After our morning in the mountains, we will stop in the foothills to scan rivers for American Dipper, visiting some locations where they are often very reliable. The afternoon will be spent driving through the prairies to Brooks, Alberta, where we will stay for the next two nights.

Spruce Grouse photo by Gavin McKinnon.

This morning we will visit the internationally recognized, UNESCO world heritage site, Dinosaur Provincial Park. Situated along the Red Deer River valley, it is known for having some of the richest dinosaur fossil locations in the world. In this new habitat, we will encounter many new species for the tour, such as Common Nighthawks, Rock Wrens, Brown Thrashers, Lark Sparrows, Spotted Towhees and Yellow-breasted Chats, all of which nest in the park. Later in the morning, we’ll visit some of the remaining native grassland in Alberta. Here, species such as Western Meadowlarks, Vesper Sparrows, and Chestnut-collared Longspurs are abundant. We will dedicate our time to finding some of the more difficult prairie specialties, including Thick-billed Longspur, Sprague’s Pipit and Burrowing Owl. Upland shorebirds, such as the Upland Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit and Long-billed Curlew, are common here. Later in the afternoon we will visit some wetlands near the town of Brooks, where we can see up to six species of grebe, including Western, Eared, and Clark’s. In addition, we may see Caspian Terns, Black-crowned Night-Herons, American Bitterns, and the rapidly expanding White-faced Ibis.

Thick-billed Longspur photo by George Armistead.

On our last full day in Alberta, we will visit Kinbrook Island Provincial Park, along the shores of the man-made reservoir, Lake Newell. The park's diverse habitats, including wetlands, grasslands, and woodlands, attract a variety of bird species. The marsh hosts species such as Black-necked Stilts, Black Terns and numerous dabbling duck species. In the woodlands, species such as Least Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, House Wren and Baltimore Oriole are common. In the afternoon, we will begin the drive back to Calgary, with a stop at Frank Lake, where we will be able to get a good look at many wetland species we may have only seen previously from a distance. If time allows, we will visit a nesting site for Prairie Falcons and Golden Eagles before returning to Calgary.

Horned Grebe photo by Gavin McKinnon.

Depart from Calgary International Airport (YYC).

Swainson’s Hawk photo by Gavin McKinnon.