Bow Valley Winter Bird List

Last updated 2025-12-11
Alberta  Edmonton  Calgary  
For the purposes of this list, the Bow Valley area is defined as almost all of the area that drains into the Bow River in the Canadian Rockies. This means:
Anything west of Hwy 1X/Seebe Dam and Hwy 40, to the BC border
Anything seen east of Highway 40, so long as the observer is on Hwy 40 or west of it
Highway 93 north to Bow Summit and south to the BC border
Examples of areas included: Bow Lake, Lake Louise, Lake Minnewanka, Spray Lake Reservoir, Kananaskis Lakes
Sightings of species not listed below, during the December through February time period, should be reported to the Facebook group Bow Valley Birding or the email list albertabird@groups.io

Area Map


 Species
 25-26
24-25
23-24
22-23
21-22
20-21
19-20
18-19
Ducks, Geese, and Swans    Canada Goose XXXXXXX
 Trumpeter SwanXXX XXXX
 Tundra Swan  X  X  
 GadwallX       
 American WigeonXXXX    
 MallardXXXXXXXX
 Northern Pintail X      
 Green-winged TealXXXX X  
 Redhead X      
 Ring-necked Duck     X  
 White-winged Scoter    X   
 Long-tailed Duck    X   
 Bufflehead XX XXXX
 Common GoldeneyeXXXXXXXX
 Barrow's Goldeneye   XXXX 
 Hooded MerganserXX X X  
 Common MerganserXXXXXXXX
 Red-breasted Merganser    XX  
Grouse and Pheasants    Ruffed Grouse XXXXXXX
 Dusky Grouse X X XXX
 White-tailed Ptarmigan XXXXXXX
 Spruce GrouseXXXXXXXX
Pigeons and Doves    Rock Pigeon XXXXXXX
 Eurasian Collared-Dove X      
Rails and Coots    Virginia Rail     XX 
 American Coot   X    
Plovers    KilldeerXXX   XX
Sandpipers    Wilson's Snipe XXX XXX
Grebes    Horned Grebe     X  
 Red-necked Grebe     X  
 Western Grebe XXXXX  
Loons    Pacific Loon    X   
 Common LoonX   X   
Bitterns, Egrets, Herons    Great Blue Heron   X    
Hawks and Eagles    Golden Eagle     X  
 Sharp-shinned Hawk   X   X
 American Goshawk XXXXXXX
 Bald EagleXXXXXXXX
 Rough-legged Hawk  X XX  
Owls    Great Horned Owl XXXXXXX
 Northern Hawk Owl XX  XX 
 Northern Pygmy-Owl XXXXXXX
 Barred Owl    X   
 Great Grey Owl X X  X 
 Boreal Owl XX  X X
 Northern Saw-whet Owl    XX X
Kingfishers    Belted KingfisherXXXXXXXX
Woodpeckers    American Three-toed Woodpecker XXXXXXX
 Black-backed Woodpecker  XXXXXX
 Downy WoodpeckerXXXXXXXX
 Hairy WoodpeckerXXXXXXXX
 Pileated WoodpeckerXXXXXXXX
 Northern FlickerXXXXXXXX
Falcons    MerlinXXXXXXXX
 Gyrfalcon  X     
Shrikes    Northern Shrike XXXXXXX
Corvids    Canada JayXXXXXXXX
 Steller's JayXXXXXXXX
 Blue JayXXXXXXXX
 Black-billed MagpieXXXXXXXX
 Clark's NutcrackerXXXXXXXX
 American Crow XXXXXXX
 Common RavenXXXXXXXX
Chickadees    Black-capped ChickadeeXXXXXXXX
 Mountain ChickadeeXXXXXXXX
 Boreal ChickadeeXXXXXXXX
Kinglets    Golden-crowned KingletXXXXXXXX
Nuthatches    White-breasted NuthatchXXXXXXXX
 Red-breasted NuthatchXXXXXXXX
Creepers and Wrens    Brown CreeperXXXXXXXX
 Pacific Wren       X
 Marsh Wren       X
Dippers    American DipperXXXXXXXX
Starlings    European Starling XXX XXX
Mockingbirds, Thrashers    Grey Catbird    X   
Thrushes    Townsend's SolitaireXXXXXXXX
 Varied Thrush   XX   
 Hermit Thrush    X   
 American RobinXXXXXXXX
Waxwings    Bohemian WaxwingXXXXXXXX
Old World Sparrows    House SparrowXXXXXXXX
Finches    Evening Grosbeak X X X  
 Pine GrosbeakXXXXXXXX
 Grey-crowned Rosy-Finch XXXXX X
 House Finch  XX    
 RedpollXX      
 Redpoll (Common) XXXXXXX
 Redpoll (Hoary)    X  X
 Red CrossbillXXXXXXXX
 White-winged CrossbillXXXXXXXX
 Pine SiskinXXXXXXXX
 American Goldfinch   X    
Longspurs, Snow Buntings    Snow BuntingXXXXXXXX
New World Sparrows    Clay-coloured SparrowX       
 American Tree Sparrow  XX X X
 Dark-eyed JuncoXXXXXXXX
 Harris's SparrowX      X
 White-throated Sparrow X XXXXX
 Song SparrowXXXXXXXX
 Lincoln's Sparrow       X
 Spotted Towhee    X   
Icterids    Red-winged Blackbird    X   
 Rusty Blackbird XX XXXX
 Brewer's Blackbird  X     
 Common Grackle X   X  
New World Warblers    Yellow-rumped Warbler  X     
   
 Total4668676768746065
   
 Cumulative total106       
 Previous years average67.0       
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