Sora (Porzana carolina)

Soras are a small chicken-like bird that spends most of its time hiding amongst the reeds in marshes and wetlands. They are the most common and widespread species of rail in North America.

Why they Matter to Us

Sora have been listed as a Sensitive Species in Alberta since 2005 due to habitat loss. A Sensitive Species is one that is not currently at risk of being extinct or extirpated, but may require special protection to prevent it from becoming more at risk.

How You Can Help

Habitat loss is currently the biggest threat to sora. Use your voice to advocate for the protection of wetlands which are at-risk habitats where sora are found.
Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT!) You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.

How to Identify

Fairly small stubby bird with a bright yellow bill
Grey neck and sides
Black mask
Brown back with dark mottling
Yellowish-green legs.

Where to Find

Wetlands and marshes across North America, widespread
They are migratory, spending their breeding season in northern USA and Canada before migrating back to winter in southern USA, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Life Cycle

Soras make a nest out of marshy vegetation in cattails or sedges, and then lay 8-12 eggs on average.

Food Chain

They commonly eat small insects and invertebrates, and the seeds from aquatic plants.
They are preyed upon by predators like peregrine falcons, coyotes, great horned owls, and northern harriers. Herons, crows, coyotes, and skunks are known to eat sora eggs.

Donate

Fun Facts

More often heard than seen, their call is a maniacal descending scream, something of a mix between a whinny and a laugh. It can be quite a baffling sound to hear at a wetland if you don’t know what it is! Listen to their calls here.

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Pasture sagewort (Artemisia frigida)

Pasture sagewort is a perennial herb with medicinal importance found in overgrazed pastures and dry prairie grasslands.

Why it matters to us

Pasture sage is important medicinally for many Indigenous peoples, including the Cree, Métis, and Dene.
Important food source and shelter for greater sage-grouse, as well as many animals.
It is a good ground stabilizer in areas of disturbed soil.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT!). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Use your voice to advocate for the protection of grasslands, which are at-risk habitats where pasture sagewort is often found.

How to Identify

Basal leaves, very deeply divided into linear silvery-grey segments covered in fine hair.
Small yellow flowers in branching clusters.
Stems usually grow 10-50cm tall.
The leaves emit a sage-like scent when crushed.

Where to Find

Prairie sagewort is usually found in dry prairie grasslands, south-facing slopes, grazed pastures.
It is widespread throughout southern and central Alberta.

Food Chain

Eaten by elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn, as well as small mammals like ground squirrels and rabbits. It is also eaten by the larvae of many butterfly/moth species.

Donate

Sources

Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Parkland (Johnson, Kershaw, MacKinnon, Pojar)
Aboriginal Plant Use in Canada’s Northwest Boreal Forest (Marles, Clavelle, Monteleone, Tays, Burns)
USDA Plant Facts Sheet
Minnesota Wildflowers

↞ Back To All Species

Tamarack (Larix laricina)

Tamarack, also known as Larch, is a distinctive and beloved species of conifer, noteworthy for its beautiful golden needles in the autumn.

Why they Matter to Us

Tamarack is a unique species of tree because it is a deciduous conifer - that means that it is a conifer (like a spruce or a pine,) but it is deciduous (like poplar or elm) and its needles change colour in the autumn and fall off.
The inner bark is used by Cree and Dene people as a poultice for different wounds such as burns, cuts, and boils, and decoctions made from the roots are used to treat arthritis, aches, and colds. The wood is often used to make tobaggans and snowshoes.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Use your voice to advocate for the protection of wetlands, bogs, and fens, which are at-risk habitats where tamarack are often found.

How to Identify

Conical, coniferous tree growing up to 20m tall, with small reddish-brown flaky scales.
Flat green needles in tufts of 10-20, quite soft when young. In the autumn, the needles turn a bright golden yellow and drop off.

Where to Find

Tamarack prefers moist soils, and is commonly found in fens, bogs, and muskegs.
It is very cold-tolerant and widespread across the boreal forest.

Food Chain

The inner bark is eaten by porcupines, young saplings are eaten by snowshoe hares, the seeds are eaten by red squirrels and crossbills, and the buds are eaten by spruce grouse.
Birds often nest in tamarack.

Donate

Learn more

Read more about tamarack at our Fun Facts blog here!

Sources

Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Parkland (Johnson, Kershaw, MacKinnon, Pojar)
Aboriginal Plant Use in Canada’s Northwest Boreal Forest (Marles, Clavelle, Monteleone, Tays, Burns)

↞ Back To All Species

**Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas)**

Stout and warty, the boreal toad is exactly what most people think of when they picture a toad. The trilling calls of male boreal toads during the spring and summer is a sound unique to Alberta – male toads outside of the province lack the vocal sacs needed to produce these advertisement calls.

Why they Matter to Us

The thin, vascular skin of boreal toads makes them sensitive to environmental changes, so the presence of boreal toads can be used as an indicator of healthy habitat.
Boreal toads help transfer energy and nutrients between aquatic and terrestrial environments.
The boreal toad is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Help protect wetlands by preventing run-off of household products.
- Wash your car at the carwash or use biodegradable soap.
- If using pesticides or herbicides, follow the directions carefully and avoid use during unfavourable weather conditions.
- Minimize the use of road salts when possible.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify the boreal toad, look for these distinguishing features:

Raised oval shaped parotid glands behind eyes.
Large reddish brown warts often set in dark blotches.
Background colour ranging from olive-green to brown and almost black.
White belly with dark mottling. May have a light stripe down the middle of the back.
Short limbs.

Identify by Sound

Not all boreal toads call. Those that do produce a series of soft whistles or chirps.
In Alberta, male toads produce a long high-pitched trilling advertisement call.

Where to Find

Boreal toads inhabit a variety of habitats in southwest, central, and northern Alberta including wetlands, lake and river shores, meadows, and forests. Boreal toads breed in shallow aquatic habitats, often in beaver ponds. Adult toads overwinter below the frost line in peat hummocks, natural crevices, or mammal burrows.

Life Cycle

In Alberta, male boreal toads call to attract females during the breeding season. Males will grasp receptive females in a posture called amplexus and fertilize the eggs externally as they are laid. Females may lay 3000 – 12,000 eggs in long strings. The eggs hatch in 3 – 12 days, and the tadpoles metamorphose after 4 – 12 weeks. The newly metamorphosed toadlets then emerge from the aquatic breeding habitat in large masses.

Food Chain

Boreal toads are nocturnal feeders that eat worms, slugs, and insects.
Tadpoles are eaten by birds including ravens and crows, herons, and sandpipers.
Adult toads are eaten by birds, gartersnakes, coyotes, skunks, and foxes.

Fun Facts

Boreal toads produce toxins from glands in their skin to discourage predators.
You can’t get warts from touching a toad.
Albertan boreal toads are often referred to as the calling population.
Boreal toads return to the same wetlands for breeding year after year.

Donate

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

**Western Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium)**

The western tiger salamander is one of the largest salamander species in North America. These nocturnal amphibians are often elusive and seldom seen by Albertans. Like their feline namesake, the western tiger salamander is a fierce predator that consumes a wide variety of prey.

Why they Matter to Us

Tiger salamanders often fill the role of top predator in fishless habitats, controlling invertebrate abundance and influencing nutrient cycles.
Tiger salamanders are often used as model organisms in evolutionary, ecological, and physiological studies.
Like many other amphibians, tiger salamanders are sensitive to environmental changes and can act as an indicator of environmental health.
The prairie population of western tiger salamanders, including those found in Alberta, is listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Help protect wetlands by preventing run-off of household products.
- Wash your car at the carwash or use biodegradable soap.
- If using pesticides or herbicides, follow the directions carefully and avoid use during unfavourable weather conditions.
Make your yard and property wildlife friendly. Tiger salamanders may become trapped in window wells, sump pumps, or buckets during fall migration.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Barred Tiger Salamander (*Ambystoma mavortium*) by Chris Friesen is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

To identify the western tiger salamander, look for these distinguishing features:

Large salamander around 20 cm long, though they may reach 30 cm.
Broad head with small eyes.
Laterally compressed tail.
Dark spots and stripes that create a net-like pattern on an olive-green to black background.
Larvae are dull yellow to dark brown with a paler belly and three feathery external gills on either side of the head.

Identify by Sign

Eggs are laid singly or in small clusters attached to twigs, stones, or aquatic vegetation.

Where to Find

Tiger salamanders can be found in a wide range of habitats, including grassland, parkland, meadows, forests, and even semi-deserts in arid regions. They breed in permanent or semi-permanent fishless waterbodies like lakes, ponds, wetlands, and slow-moving streams. Adults generally live close to their breeding sites and may seek cover in loose or sandy soils, under rocks or woody debris, or in small mammal burrows.

Life Cycle

Barred Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma mavortium) by Colin Croft is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Tiger salamanders breed in early spring once their breeding sites are free of ice. Females lay eggs after breeding, attaching the eggs to submerged twigs, aquatic vegetation, or other debris. Clutch size varies depending on geographic location and female body size, but ranges from 100-5000 eggs. Aquatic larvae hatch in two to three weeks and metamorphose into terrestrial juveniles after three to four months depending on water temperature and food availability, among other factors. Males reach maturity at two years old, while females take three to five years to mature.

Food Chain

Tiger salamanders are opportunistic predators and feed on a variety of invertebrates, including worms and insects. They may also feed on other amphibians.
Tiger salamander larvae feed on aquatic invertebrates and other larval amphibians. Some larvae are cannibalistic and feed on other tiger salamander larvae.
Tiger salamander larvae may be eaten by giant water bugs, dragonfly nymphs, pelicans, and herons.
Introduced species of fish, including sportfish like rainbow trout, are significant predators of tiger salamander larvae. The larvae’s anti-predator defenses are not effective against fish, so the introduction of fish into tiger salamander breeding habitat can cause large population declines.

Barred Tiger Salamander (*Ambystoma mavortium*) by Isaac Krone is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Fun Facts

Some tiger salamanders do not morph into terrestrial forms and instead retain their gills and remain fully aquatic for their entire lives. This is called neoteny and is more common when the terrestrial habitat is unsuitable or the breeding water body is permanent.
Unlike frogs, salamanders do not produce vocalizations. They may communicate with each other using touch.
Tiger salamanders produce milky secretions from glands on their back and tail. The secretion is poisonous if it is eaten.

Donate

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

The shy and curious red fox often fills the role of the cunning trickster in human imagination. Once persecuted as poultry thieves, we now have a greater appreciation for the role these nocturnal hunters have in maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

Why they Matter to Us

Red foxes regulate small mammal populations. Despite their one-time reputation as pests, red foxes can actually benefit farms by consuming crop-destroying rodents and insects.
Foxes feature prominently in folklore and popular culture.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Red foxes have a pointed face and ears, long fur, and a large bushy tail. While red is the most common fur colour, red foxes may also be black or brown. They are usually lighter coloured on their undersides, and often have black socks and a black or white tail tip.

Identify by Sound

Red foxes are highly vocal and have 28 different kinds of vocalizations, including barks, yips, howls, and even screams. You can listen to some vocalizations in these videos.

Where to Find

Red foxes are widespread across Canada, occurring in all provinces and territories. They are very adaptable and live in a variety of habitats, including forests, prairies, farmlands, and urban environments. Red foxes are most active at night.

Social Life

Foxes communicate with each other using visual cues, scents, and a variety of vocalizations. They do not form packs and usually only have one mate; however, there have been instances of three adult foxes inhabiting the same den and caring for one litter of pups.

Mating occurs between late December and mid-March, after which mating pairs will establish a den. Foxes often den in the abandoned burrows of other mammals, though caves, hollow logs, and dense brush may also be used. If left undisturbed, the same den may be used for many years. Dens may have more than one entrance, and a pair of foxes may have more than one den. This helps foxes and their young avoid danger.

Red fox pups seen on an EALT wildlife camera

Pups are born between March and May. Litters may have up to 10 pups, but 5 is more typical. They are blind at birth and cared for by their mother during the first few weeks of life. The male usually does not enter the den during this time, but will bring food back for his mate. Once the pups’ eyes open, the male with relieve the female so she can hunt. Fox pups wean at about one month and begin to play at the den entrance. Both parents will teach the young to hunt by bringing small prey for the pups to play with. At three months old, the young are usually able to hunt for themselves and leave the den site.

Food Chain

Most of the red fox’s diet is made up of small mammals like voles, mice, lemmings, squirrels, and rabbits. They may also feed on birds and bird eggs, insects, and fruit.
Red foxes are most vulnerable to predators, such as coyotes and eagles, when they are young pups. Pups are kept in a den and guarded by their parents to prevent predation. As adults, red foxes may be attacked by coyotes or wolves but are usually not taken as prey.

Fun Facts

Silver foxes are red foxes that have black fur with white-tipped guard hairs. Such foxes were highly prized for their furs, and were selectively bred in captivity when fox fur clothing was popular.
Individual red foxes have unique voices that can be distinguished from each other.
Red foxes have highly acute hearing and can hear even the slightest movement of their prey.
When hunting mice, red foxes will stand motionless then leap straight up and pin the mouse with their forelimbs. Watch a video of this behaviour!

Donate

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus)

The snowshoe hare is a ubiquitous sight in Canadian forests. These abundant herbivores are important prey for a wide variety of animals and are critical to maintaining the diversity of boreal forest ecosystems.

Why they Matter to Us

Snowshoe hares are critical to the food web in boreal forests and are often considered a keystone species. They have a strong impact on plant communities and are prey for many other animals.
Hares are an important small game animal and source of food for many First Nations.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
If you see a baby hare, leave it be! Young hares do not stay in a nest and instead hide in separate locations during the day, so a seemingly abandoned baby is actually where it is supposed to be. If a hare appears to be injured, contact a wildlife rehabilitation centre like WildNorth.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Snowshoe hares are named for their long, broad, furry feet. In the summer, their fur is rusty to grayish brown with a black dorsal line, white belly, and black ear tips. Their winter coats are completely white, except for black eyelids and black eartips.

Identify by Sign

Snowshoe hares create a network of trampled down trails across their territory and maintain these trails diligently by clipping away fallen leaves and twigs. Snowshoe hare trails may be difficult to see in the summer, but are usually more visible in the winter.
The hind feet of snowshoe hares leave distinctive tracks: look for the impressions of their four long and widely spread toes. Like their trails, snowshoe hare tracks are usually easier to see in the winter.

Where to Find

Snowshoe hares inhabit forests across most of Canada. They can be found in both deciduous and coniferous forests and prefer dense understories with plenty of young trees and shrubs for cover. They are most commonly seen at night, dawn, or dusk.

Social Life

Snowshoe hares are usually solitary, but individual hares may share overlapping home ranges. They have acute hearing, but are not very vocal. Most communication between hares involves thumping the ground with their hind feet.

Breeding season begins in March with courtship parades. Males and females will travel together while foraging, taking breaks to chase and leap over each other. Both males and females take multiple mates during breeding season.

The snowshoe hare’s gestation period is 36 days. Their litter size is typically 2-4 young, though may be up to 8. Females may have up to three litters a year. The young are born fully furred and hide in separate locations during daytime, usually coming together to nurse only once a day. Young hares are independent at 3 to 4 weeks old.

Food Chain

Snowshoe hares are largely herbivorous. During the summer, they consume grasses, flowers, leaves, and other plants. In the winter, they eat twigs, buds, and bark from trees. They may occasionally scavenge meat.
Snowshoe hares have many predators including foxes, coyotes, mink, owls, and goshawks. Canada lynx are especially reliant on snowshoe hares.

Fun Facts

Snowshoe hares can run up to 45 kilometers per hour and travel 3 meters in a single bound. They are also good swimmers.
Hares are generally silent, but can produce some vocalizations including snorts, squeals, and clicks.
Snowshoe hares may take dust baths to remove external parasites.
Snowshoe hares have a ten year population cycle. At its peak, their population density may reach 500 to 600 hares per square kilometer.

Donate

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Red-Sided Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis)

Of the six species of snake to call Alberta home, the red-sided gartersnake has the largest range and is the species most likely to be found in the Edmonton region. These harmless snakes usually make a hasty retreat when approached by humans. Often, only the tip of their tail will be seen disappearing into the brush.

Why they Matter to Us

Red-sided gartersnakes are part of a healthy ecosystem. They act as natural pest control by consuming agricultural pests such as insects and slugs.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Road mortality is the largest threat to this species, especially when they emerge from hibernation in large masses in the spring. Stay alert while driving and, if safe to do so, slow down or stop to allow dispersing snakes to cross the road safely.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify the red-sided gartersnake, look for these distinguishing features:

Slender snake reaching 100 cm in length.
Usually dark green or black, but colouration can vary.
Three yellow stripes: one on the back (dorsal stripe) and one on each side of the body (lateral stripes).
Red or orange markings are often present between the stripes.

Where to Find

These snakes are found in the boreal forest, foothills, and parkland regions of Alberta and inhabit a variety of habitats, including forests, fields, wetlands, and rocky areas. They are often seen in urban areas, usually close to natural areas like parks and ravines. Red-sided gartersnakes hibernate below the frost line during the winter in dens called hibernacula (singular = hibernaculum). Mammal burrows, crevices in rocks, or man-made structures may be used as hibernaculum sites.

Life Cycle

Red-sided gartersnakes overwinter in large groups. Mating typically takes place in the spring shortly after they emerge from hibernation, but they may also mate in the fall. Many males may compete for few females in mating frenzies close to hibernacula. Females give birth to live young in the summer, and the young will reach maturity after 2-3 years.

Following mating, gartersnakes disperse to feeding grounds, which may be many kilometers away. They will return to the same hibernaculum in the fall year after year. Since suitable hibernaculum sites are relatively rare, preservation of existing hibernacula is vital to the survival of red-sided gartersnakes.

Food Chain

Red-sided gartersnakes feed on a variety of prey, including amphibians, leeches, earthworms, slugs, insects, small fish, small mammals, and sometimes small birds and bird eggs.
Gartersnakes are prey for a variety of birds and mammals, including coyotes, shrews, hawks, and crows.

Fun Facts

It is illegal to keep a gartersnake as a pet in Alberta without a permit.

Females may give birth to up to 100 live young, though clutch sizes of 10-30 are more typical.
A single hibernaculum may house hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of snakes during the winter.
Red-sided gartersnakes are harmless to humans but may excrete a very smelly musk if handled or disturbed.

Donate

Other Sites

Alberta’s Snakes Info Sheet - EALT

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata)

The boreal chorus frog is a member of the family Hylidae (“HYE-lih-day”), also known as the tree frog family. The boreal chorus frog is the only tree frog native to Alberta. It is a tiny frog, growing no larger than 4 cm long, with tiny toe pads. Despite the fact that this species is a member of the tree frogs, it happily prefers to spend its time near bodies of water. Such bodies of water can even include tiny puddles, flooded fields or roadside ditches, as long as the water is more than 10 cm deep!

Why they Matter to Us

Like most other frogs and toads, the boreal chorus frog is an important member of any ecosystem. They help control insect populations such as mosquitoes, flies, grasshoppers, and many other small insects. These frogs are also an important source of food for predatory birds, snakes, and small mammals. The tadpoles are eaten by fish and other invertebrates.

They are also an important indicator species, and a sudden decline in their population likely suggests negative change in the habitat suitability for all animals within the area.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Avoid using pesticides or other chemicals that may contaminate local water sources. All amphibians are extremely sensitive to environmental changes!
Avoid disturbing the frogs or their habitat. Do not pick up or move tadpole eggs. Picking up frogs may transfer chemicals or diseases onto their delicate skin, which may harm them.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify the boreal chorus frog, look for these distinguishing features:

These are small frogs no bigger than 4 cm so keep a keen eye open!
The colours of the chorus frog vary from grey to green, but all will have black stripes running horizontally down the body. Look for a distinct horizontal black eye band that covers the eye.
Their limbs are long in comparison to the body.
Their skin is rather smooth with no bumps, unlike toads.
Look for round toe pads on the tips of their toes and fingers.

Identify by Sound

The call of boreal chorus frog sounds much like that of someone running a finger along the edge of a comb. Listen here! They call most commonly during the early evening, but can also be heard during the day. The male frogs call most actively during the mid-April to early June breeding season.

Where to Find

Generally, boreal chorus frogs can be found in open clearings of forested areas with a nearby source of water, such as a lake with trees growing along the banks. They can also be found in flooded fields, wetlands, marshes, and anywhere where there is a source of standing water deeper than 10 cm with no large fish predators.

Fun Facts

The various different colour patterns on frogs and toads are called “morphs.”
So-called “satellite males” allow other males to call in females for breeding and then rush in to breed with the females before the original male can.
The word amphibious means “living a double life” referring to the aquatic life of the tadpole and more land based life of the adult frog.

Donate

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

The wood frog is a member of the Ranidae family. These frogs tend to be the ones that people think of when they picture a ‘frog’. They have webbed hind feet and are excellent jumpers. Unlike most other frogs, they are unique in that they prefer to be on land more than in water.

Why they Matter to Us

The wood frog is an important predator and regulator of insect populations. They feed on flies, mosquitoes, grasshoppers, leeches and other pests. Without them insect populations would grow unchecked. They are also an important food source for other animals such as larger fish, birds, and small mammals. Tadpoles are an abundant food source in the early spring for many other invertebrates.

They are also an important biological indicator species. A sudden decline in amphibian population may suggest a change in the habitability of the ecosystem at large.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT!). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.
Advocate for the protection of wetlands and forests.
Avoid disturbing the frogs or their habitat. Do not pick up or move tadpole eggs. Picking up frogs may transfer chemicals or diseases onto their delicate skin, which may harm them.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify the wood frog, look for these distinguishing features:

They are medium-sized frogs, about 8 cm in length.
Wood frogs exhibit many different colours (morphs) which can vary from tan, grey, to rusty reddish brown.
The wood frog has a distinct ridge called the dorsolateral fold, which runs along both sides of the frog’s back.
They have a white band on the upper lip and distinct pronounced bands on the thighs and rear legs. The bellies of the frogs are white.

Identify by Sound

The call of the wood frog sounds like a rubbery rapid quacking noise. Like many other frogs, the best time to hear these calls is in the evening between the breeding months of April and May. Listen here!

Where to Find

This species is commonly found near forests of deciduous or boreal trees, often near a source of water such a shallow lake or wetlands.

Life Cycle

The wood frog is an amphibian, meaning they have a two stage life cycle. During the initial aquatic tadpole stage, they may feed only on plant matter. Once they reach maturity they typically transition into becoming predators.

During mating, males call out for the attention of females. Male frogs will fight each other by grappling and wrestling for the best mating spots.

Fun Facts

Wood frogs are extremely cold tolerant, and can even freeze during winter and still survive.
They are an indicator species: they help warn biologists of sudden changes to an ecosystem.

Donate

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Long-Tailed Weasel (Mustela frenata)

Also known as big stoat or masked ermine, long-tailed weasels are small, cute, and fuzzy. However, don’t let their small size fool you as they can be very aggressive. Although they are most active during the night, you can also see them during the day.

Why they Matter to Us

Long-tailed weasels help regulate rabbit and rodent populations.

How You Can Help

Support protected areas in the Edmonton region (such as EALT!). You can donate or volunteer your time to help with conservation efforts.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Long-tailed weasels have a long body and neck with short legs. In summer, their fur is typically brown with a white or slightly yellow belly fur and black tail tip. In winter, their fur turns white. Adults are typically between 28 and 42 cm long, and weigh between 80 and 450 grams.

Identify by Sound

Long-tailed weasels communicate using sounds such as squeals, squeaks, trills, and purrs. They may be especially vocal in response to a disturbance.

Where to Find

Long-tailed weasels are found throughout southwestern Canada, the United States and Mexico, and extend to Central America and Northern South America. They are found in tropical, arid, temperate, and cold climates and inhabit small wooded areas, thickets, open areas, and farmland. They usually live near a water source.

Long-tailed weasels nest in rock piles, hollow logs, and under barns. They may take over the burrows of their prey, rather than create a new burrow themselves.

Social Life

Long-tailed weasels are generally solitary outside of mating season and use sight, sound, and scent to communicate with each other. They are highly territorial and are very aggressive towards intruders.

Mating typically occurs mid-summer, and the young are born from late April to early May. The young, called pups or kits, nurse until they are 36 days old at which point they wean and begin to eat food hunted by their mother. They learn to hunt from their mother and can kill their own prey at 56 days old. Most young will disperse from their mothers when they are 7-8 weeks old.

Food Chain

Long-tailed weasels are carnivores and primarily feed on small mammals, but they can also eat birds, reptiles, and insects. They may also consume fruits and berries.
Predators of long-tailed weasels include owls and coyotes. The young are especially vulnerable to predators, while the more aggressive adults can intimidate much larger animals.

Fun Facts

Long-tailed weasels have the largest distribution of any weasel in the Western Hemisphere.
Long-tailed weasels have a top speed of 25 km/h, and are good swimmers and climbers.
A group of long-tailed weasels is called a gang, colony, pack, or sneak.
They may eat up to 40% of their body weight every day to support their high metabolic rate.

Donate

Other Sites

Fun Facts: Weasels and Fishers - EALT

Sources

↞ Back To All Species

Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)

The Yellow Warbler is one of the easiest birds to identify within Alberta. The remarkable yellow of their feathers makes them easy to spot when they’re perched at the top of a tree. The distinct whistling sound of a male Yellow Warbler can typically be heard throughout forests and wetlands in Alberta.

Why they Matter to Us

Currently, the species is not endangered, but the population is slowly decreasing due to forest habitat loss.
They help keep insect populations in control by eating caterpillars and beetles, as well as a variety of other organisms.
Their bright color makes them a unique bird in Alberta, and they are a popular sight for bird lovers.

How You Can Help

Donate to EALT so we can continue to protect the Yellow Warbler’s habitat!
Avoid using pesticides that could harm insect populations.
Keep your watershed healthy! Follow all directions when using dangerous chemicals and make sure to dispose of them properly afterwards. This will help keep our wetlands (and the Yellow Warbler) safe.
Small migrants like warblers can get caught and stuck in burdock, an invasive plant that produces spiky hooked burrs. Make your yard a safe habitat for warblers by managing invasive weeds like burdock.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify the Yellow Warbler, look for these distinguishing features:

Small size. The Yellow Warbler is usually 12-13 cm in length with a wingspan of 16-20cm
While both sexes are bright yellow, male birds tend to have red streaks on their chest, something not commonly seen on the female birds.
The birds have a yellow-green back with solid black eyes.

To identify the Yellow Warbler as it flies by, look for these clues:

Male birds sometimes defend their nest by fluttering their wings while in the air
Hop along branches or hover briefly while foraging for insects
Yellow Warbler migrations takes place at night
The Yellow Warbler can take off flying instantly, with their wings going straight back until perpendicular with the body

Identify by Sound

The males have unique whistling sounds for a variety of purposes. Some people say their territorial song sounds like they are saying “sweet sweet sweet, I’m so sweet“. Click here to listen to their songs and calls!

Where to Find

In Alberta, the Yellow Warbler can be seen throughout the province, typically found among the branches of low lying Aspen trees. In winter months the Yellow Warbler can be found in forests as well as marshes. Breeding season is spent in wetlands, as they prefer to breed in habitats with plenty of regrowth.

For the winter (around October to April), these birds migrate south as far as South America!

Social Life

They are a migratory species and regularly spend winters in Central America to South America
Every year, Yellow Warbler’s form pairs that last through till the end of the breeding season. These pairs are monogamous and can meet again for multiple seasons.
Both parents help with the feeding of baby Yellow Warblers, and the male assists the female with the construction of the nest
Males attract a female to a potential territory by singing

Food Chain

Yellow Warblers eat mainly insects
Common predators of the Yellow Warbler nests include small animals such as the red squirrel, weasel, crows and ravens, and others
Cup shaped nests are built in small trees or shrubs in order to avoid predation

Fun Facts

Yellow Warblers make a hissing sound when defending their habitat.
These birds are so tiny, they can be caught in a spider’s web!

Donate