Alberta: Calgary – Edmonton – Banff
- Nicholas Turner
- Jun 7
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 14
22nd May - 3rd June 2025
An opportunity to spend 12 days in the province of Alberta in Canada during the middle of summer. Our trip would start with a couple of days in Calgary before driving north to Edmonton and then finishing with a few days in the mountains in Banff.
Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd May: The first couple of days were mostly spent on aeroplanes involving flights from Manchester to Heathrow and then on to Washington DC for an overnight stop. The following day then took us on to Denver and finally Calgary where we picked up a rental car to drive to the AirBnb.
Saturday 24th May: An early morning start with a short drive to Elliston Park in Calgary where the highlight was several Red-necked Grebes in full breeding plumage including a pair putting on a ritual mating display. There were also several Horned Grebes and summer plumage Black Terns together with Lesser Scaup, Redhead and Goldeneye. In addition to the large lake the Park also has extensive scrubland and here we found Clay-colored Sparrow and Yellow-headed Blackbird, both lifers. Other birds included Baltimore Oriole, Northern Flicker, Canada Goose, Common Grackle, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Common Merganser, Mourning Dove, American Crow, Red-winged Blackbird, Black-necked Stilt, Double-crested Cormorant and Savannah Sparrow.
We spent the afternoon at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, a small but very well maintained nature reserve close to the centre of Calgary. New birds here included a Northern House Wren, Black-billed Magpie and a Warbling Vireo, heard but not very clearly seen. Other highlights were Blue-winged Teal, Tree Swallow, Spotted Sandpiper, American Coot, Wood Duck and Yellow Warbler. A single butterfly turned out to be a Silvery Blue.
Sunday 25th May: With our brief stay in Calgary over we drove north to Edmonton stopping off on the way at Hasting’s Lake. The highlight here were some Franklin’s Gulls, a long sought after first, flying in amongst Common Tern, a single Bonaparte’s Gull and plenty of California Gulls. On the lake were Killdeer, Red-necked Grebe, Horned Grebe and American Avocet with a very impressive Canadian Tiger Swallowtail on the water’s edge.
Monday 26th May: Not wanting to drive anywhere on the first morning in Edmonton the best option for birding near to the hotel appeared to be Mill Creek Ravine which was about a 30 minute walk away. Upon arrival a Pine Siskin was found feeding on the path by the creek and proved to be very approachable, as did an Eastern Phoebe. Also seen were Black-billed Magpie, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Crow, Dark-eyed Junco, a pair of nesting Downy Woodpeckers and an American Robin.
Tuesday 27th May: The next day we ventured out to Fort Saskatchewan gravel pits, a large area of wetland. Although shorebirds were somewhat scarce, ducks were represented by Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon, Bufflehead and American White Pelican. Around the water were Gray Catbird, some impressive Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Red-winged Blackbird, Tree Swallows, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Clay-coloured Sparrow, breeding Black Terns, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Bald Eagle.
A walk along the North Saskatchewan River produced several new butterflies including Silver Blue, Northern Azure, Common Ringlet, Arctic Skipper (identical to the Chequered Skipper in Europe) and Common Alpine.
Wednesday 28th May: Another search around Mill Creek Ravine in Edmonton produce some Red-eyed Vireos as well as Cedar Waxwing, Gray Catbird and a new butterfly in the form of a Hobomok Skipper.
Thursday 29th May: It was time to leave Edmonton for the drive south-west to Banff and we decided to stop off at Slack Slough, Red Deer with the hope of seeing Wilson’s Phalarope which had been reported being seen there. True to form there were some feeding by the water’s edge amongst other waders including Long-billed Dowitcher, American Avocet, Willett and Kildeer. Also seen were Black Tern, Tree Swallow and Wilson’s Snipe.
We arrived in Banff late afternoon in time for a walk around the town where we found White-crowned Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, several Wilson’s Snipe, Common Raven and Brown-headed Cowbird.
Friday 30th May: Our first trip to Cave & Basin in Banff where the highlight was a singing Northern Waterthrush. Also seen were Willow Flycatcher, Raven, Ruby-crowned Kinglet a pair of elusive American Redstarts, Common Yellowthroat, Bufflehead, American Goldfinch, Pine Siskin and Yellow-rumped Warbler as well as a Western Tailed-Blue butterfly.
Saturday 31st May: Another early morning visit to Cave & Basin in Banff where a Brown Bear had been sighted. The highlight was a calling Least Flycatcher allowing identification as well as a Willow Flycatcher. Also seen were Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroat, Warbling Vireo, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, 2 calling Common Loons and an Osprey. In the wooded area surrounding the lake we found some butterflies including Green Comma, Persius Duskywing and Mourning Cloak.
Sunday 1st June: A last chance to look around Cave & Basin in Banff. We went on a long circular walk starting early in the morning and found a new bird in the form of a Mountain Chickadee. We also heard Warbling Vireo and Ruby-crowned Kinglet and saw the usual Least Flycatcher and Northern Waterthrush and a Western Kingbird for the first time on the trip.
Monday 2nd June: On the way from Banff to Calgary we stopped off at Hermitage Park, a large recreational and wildlife lake in the city. Sparrows were very well represented with Clay-coloured Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow and Chipping Sparrow as well as a distant Common Loon, Cedar Waxwings, Black-capped Chickadee and a Red-necked Grebe. A new butterfly in the form of a female Melissa Blue and some Western-tailed Blues.
Tuesday 3rd June: It was finally time to fly back to Manchester from Calgary via Toronto and Washington. An excellent trip and an opportunity to see some birds and butterflies that were less familiar. The final count for the record was 9 new butterflies and 18 new birds amongst everything that we saw.
Comments