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The Canadian province of Alberta may not be the obvious choice as a winter birding destination. Located above the 49th parallel, at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains, Alberta may instead seem like a place that birds, and thus birders, would likely want to avoid until spring. In reality, though, the province actually boasts some excellent winter birding thanks to its geographical location and climate. The combination of boreal forest, aspen parkland, mountains, and prairies provides a wonderful winter home for a rich assortment of northern birds, and owls, diurnal raptors, woodpeckers, and winter finches are all well-represented here, though numbers vary from year to year.

Our tour begins in the provincial capital of Edmonton, on the edge of the vast boreal forest regions to the north. While basing ourselves in a modern, comfortable hotel in the city, we'll have easy access to one of the province's premier areas for Great Gray and Northern Hawk owls, both of which are resident in the area. Though numbers can vary considerably from winter to winter, there are generally at least one or two of each species present each winter, with some winters seeing good numbers of either or both. While finding these species will be our main goal in the region, we're sure to come across a number of other northern specialties that could include Northern Shrike. Bohemian Waxwing, Pine and Evening grosbeaks, Black-backed Woodpecker, and others.

From Edmonton we'll move southward to Calgary, situated along the Bow River, at the eastern foot of the Rockies, and the western edge of the prairies. Calgary's location between these two major ecozones makes it an ideal base from which to explore both regions. To the east, the broad, open prairies host Snowy and Short-eared owls, Golden Eagles, Rough-legged Hawks, Gray Partridge, Horned Larks, and Snow Buntings, while the foothill forests to the west hold American Three-toed Woodpecker, Mountain and Boreal chickadees, Canada Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, and a variety of winter finches including Pine Grosbeak, Redpoll, Pine Siskin, Red and White-winged crossbills, and, in exceptional years, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. Open water along the Bow River can attract good numbers of wintering waterfowl (with the possibility of Barrow's Goldeneye and Harlequin Duck among the more common species), Bald Eagles, and the occasional American Dipper. And, if the Edmonton region has failed to produce Great Gray and Northern Hawk owls, we'll have an excellent backup location in another nearby area. Plus there's always the possibility of something like Gyrfalcon, American Goshawk, Northern Saw-whet Owl, or Northern Pygmy-Owl, to liven up most winters in the area.

Every winter is different, but there's always something exciting to go after. This year, don't just tolerate winter, embrace it, and enjoy some of the wonderful birds the season has to offer!

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Client comment
"I chose this tour because I love the north country and wanted to see the owls and other species not seen regularly in Northern California where I live. Field Guides has good reputation. Guides Jay VanderGaast and Dan Arndt promoted an openness and conviviality amongst us all that oftentimes is lacking with other tour companies.The overall tour experience was great." J.W., OWLBERTA: OWLS & MORE tour participant

"Our tour experience was excellent due to the knowledge and planning by our two guides, Jay Vandergaast and Dan Arndt. We were awed by their expertise and the work they put into making the tour a big success. We saw 43 owls of 7 species, and an additional 58 species." J.L., OWLBERTA: OWLS & MORE tour participant