Moose (Alces alces)

Moose are majestic giants who move quietly through the forest, rarely giving themselves away with a sound, but rather drawing your eye to their large shadowy figure. 

Photo by Ryan Hagerty, USFWS

Photo by Ryan Hagerty, USFWS

Why they Matter to Us

Moose

  • Are an important part of their ecosystem and influence the developing forest around them.

  • Are majestic attractions that draw visitors to Canada's parks and wildlands to view and study nature.

  • Have played a key role in the lives of First Nations People and provide large amounts of food for aboriginals and other hunters.

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. EALT's natural areas contain excellent moose habitat. Moose have been spotted on our remote wildlife cameras at Glory Hills, Boisvert's GreenWoods, and Ministik. We have also observed moose living at Golden Ranches, Smith Blackburn Homestead, and Hicks.

  • Keep your distance when you spot a moose. Moose are most likely to trot away when alarmed, but have been known to charge humans, especially during mating season (September to October) or when they are with their young in the Spring.

  • Modify your barbed wire fence to meet wildlife friendly standards. This will ensure moose of all ages and condition can easily cross your fence. You can also volunteer to help EALT remove hazardous barbed wire from our natural areas to improve wildlife habitat.

  • Reduce the chance of a vehicle collision with moose using the following tips:

    • Use your high beams at night, when possible, to make the moose's eyes glow so you can see it well in advance.

    • Scan the road and ditches ahead for animals, especially when travelling at dawn or dusk.

    • Slow down around curves, and at the crest of a hill. Reduce your speed at night when driving on unfamiliar roads, or roads lined with trees.

    • Brake firmly if a moose runs out in front of the vehicle - avoid swerving.


How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Curious moose checking out our Glory Hills Wildlife Camera

Curious moose checking out our Glory Hills Wildlife Camera

  • Moose stand 6–7 feet at the shoulder and weigh up to 600 Kg.

  • They're the largest member of the deer family.

  • Both males and females have a shoulder hump and a loose fold of skin hanging from their throats, called a dewlap or bell.

  • Only males have large palm shaped antlers, which are shed every year in November or December. Keep an eye out and you may come across some one day!

Identify by Sign

 Moose leave several conspicuous signs that they were in the area

  • Large, elongated teardrop-shaped footprints (larger than a deer's print)

  • Large oval-shaped droppings (much larger than deer droppings)

  • A “browse line” about 4 – 8 feet from the ground where they have nibbled on shrubs and trees

  • “Beds” – flattened vegetation or depressions in the snow where they’ve stopped for a rest.

Identify by Sound

  • There are many different kinds of moose vocalizations. Some sound like horns or trumpets, while others sound like loud squealing. Usually they differ according to gender and purpose, like a female mating call vs. bugling, for example. 

    • Click here to listen to a wide variety of moose sounds.


Where to Find

In Alberta, moose are common in most eco-regions except prairie. They prefer muskeg, and shrubby meadows as well as treed habitat close to lakes, ponds, or streams where they can feed on aquatic plants, willows, and shrubs.

Photo by Dan Spangenburg

Photo by Dan Spangenburg

EALT Wildlife Camera - Glory Hills

EALT Wildlife Camera - Glory Hills

Social Life

  • Moose usually give birth to one calf, but twins are born up to 30% of the time.

  • Calves are able to swim soon after birth, so mom will sometimes swim to an island to give birth, where they are safe from predators.

  • Moose calves stay with their mom until she calves again the following spring. 

Food Chain

  • In the summer, a large moose eats 25 - 30 kg (55 - 66 lbs) each day, feeding on aquatic plants, willows, shrubs, twigs and leaves. 

  • In the winter, a large moose eats 15 - 20 kg (33 - 44 lbs) of twigs and shrubs each day. Moose restrict their food intake during the winter and limit their activity to save energy. As food becomes scarce closer to spring, they will eat bark from trees.

  • Moose are prey to bears, wolves, cougars, and calves are also prey for wolverines.

Fun Facts

  • Moose have terrible eye sight but make up for it with their heightened sense of hearing and smell.

  • Moose calves gain weight faster than any other large North American animal. In their first month, they gain half a kg a day, and later in the summer, gain 2 kg/day! 

  • A moose calf can outrun a human and can swim when its just a few days old! 

  • A bull's antlers can stretch as much as 1.8 m (6') from tip to tip, and together both may weigh up to 40 kg (88 lbs).



Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum)

Porcupines are gentle, misunderstood creatures who slowly, quietly wander our forests. When the lighting is right, a porcupine's yellow guard hairs give the illusion of a glow all around them. This slow moving animal's quills are their only defense. 

Photo by Stephanie Weizenbach

Photo by Stephanie Weizenbach

Why They Matter to Us

Porcupines

  • Keep forests healthy by eating mistletoe (a parasite of trees) and thinning out dense stands of saplings.

  • Historically, First Nations people used porcupine quills to decorate clothing and other objects. Porcupines were also an important source of food.

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. EALT‘s natural areas contain excellent porcupine habitat. Porcupines have been observed at Ministik and Boisvert's GreenWoods.

  • Watch for porcupines on the road - they are slow moving and commonly get hit while crossing the road.

  • Leave porcupettes alone - baby porcupines are left on the ground in a hiding spot during the day, while mom naps in the trees. She comes by at night to feed her young. 

Myth Busters!

Porcupines cannot throw their quills. When danger threatens, the porcupine will hunch its back with all the quills standing up, and lash its tail threateningly when the predator or threat approaches. When the predator gets hit by the porcupine’s tail, the barbed quills stick in the predator’s skin and come out of the porcupine.


How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Porcupines have a dark brown face and undercoat with yellow-tipped guard hairs. These long guard hairs conceal the ~30,000 quills on their back and tail. The quills are approximately 1" to 2.5" long. They have short powerful legs, a thick tail, and long curved claws. Adult porcupines weigh around 22 lbs.

Identify by Sign

Look for bark stripped off of trees and willows, high off the ground. You can differentiate it from hare feeding by the height of the chew marks - if a hare couldn't reach that high, it was likely a porcupine. Also note, deer rubs leave behind stripped pieces still hanging on the tree, where as a porcupine eats the bark.


Where to Find

They are widespread in much of Canada, the United States and some parts of northern Mexico.
Their range includes habitats from northern forests to open tundra, rangelands, and deserts.
Because of their herbivorous habits, they're usually found in vegetated riparian habitats like mature forests along rivers.

Social Life

  • Porcupines are not very social and spend most of their time alone. However, they may share a den in the winter and sometimes forage for food in groups.

  • Porcupines of both sexes defend their territories. They rarely venture out of their territory, although have been known to do so for salt or apple excursions.

by Hardy Pletz

by Hardy Pletz

by Hardy Pletz

by Hardy Pletz

Food Chain

  • Porcupines climb trees to forage for food. In the summer they eat leaves of trees, shrubs, and forbs.

  • In the winter they eat inner tree bark (cambium), buds, twigs, and evergreen needles.

  • Sometimes they chew on leather, bones and shed antlers for salt, and to hone their incisors teeth, which can grow approximately 1.5 mm weekly.

  • Porcupine's main predators are fishers and cougars, and are also sometimes preyed upon by wolves, coyotes, lynx, bobcats, wolverines, and great horned owls.

Fun Facts

  • Porcupine quills are hollow, reducing their weight, and also making them buoyant swimmers!

  • Porcupine body temperature can drop 5 degrees C, when the ambient temperature falls near -18 degrees C, which is an adaptation to cold, and keeps them in the same position in trees for several days.

  • Porcupines can live for up to 18 years in the wild!



Fisher (Martes pennanti)

The fisher is possibly the swiftest and most agile member of the weasel family. These elusive creatures are primarily nocturnal but may be spotted during the day. Fishers are agile tree climbing carnivores but spend most of their time on the ground, and are one of the main predators to porcupines. 

Photo by Josh More

Photo by Josh More

Why they Matter to Us

Fishers

  • Are elusive creatures who peak our curiosity and are an extra special treat to spot in the wild.

  • Are a vital part of Alberta ecosystems – they help maintain biodiversity which helps stabilize the ecosystem.

  • Are one of the few species that prey on porcupines.

  • Their population was in serious decline due to pelt hunting until the 1940's. Their status is unknown today as they are rare in occurrence.

How You Can Help

Photo by Julie Dewilde

Photo by Julie Dewilde


How to Identify

The fisher has a medium to dark brown coat, sometimes with a cream chest patch of variable size and shape. They have a long body with short legs, a long, bushy tail and large ears. Fishers are 90 - 125 cm in length and the male is larger than the female. 


Where to Find

Fisher on our Wildlife Camera at Glory Hills

Fisher on our Wildlife Camera at Glory Hills

Fishers live in the forests of the Boreal and Rocky Mountain natural regions, and can sometimes be found in forested areas in the Parkland region as well. They are quite secretive and difficult to spot in their natural habitat. They rest in hollow logs, stumps, holes in the ground, and branch nests. In the winter, they use snow dens which have narrow tunnels leading to their burrow under the snow.

Although they are agile climbers, they generally travel on the forest floor. 

Our wildlife camera caught a glimpse of a fisher at Glory Hills.

Social Life

  • The fisher is a solitary animal that has an average home range of 25 square km.

  • Males generally have larger home ranges which overlap with female ranges but not usually overlapping with other males.

  • Fishers can hunt for themselves at just 4 months old, and generally disperse from their home a month thereafter.

Food Chain

  • This carnivore is a predator to many: porcupines, lynx, fox, fawns, squirrels, snowshoe hares, rodents, small birds, and many more. They also feed on carrion.

  • Young fishers are prey to hawks, foxes, lynx, and bobcats. Adults have almost no natural predators, but they compete for resources against other carnivores.

Fun Facts

Photo by Julie Dewilde

Photo by Julie Dewilde

  • Fishers are also known as Fisher cat, or Pennant’s cat, but it is not a cat, nor does it fish! Chipewyan First Nations have a much more accurate name for it Tha-cho, or big marten.

  • Fishers can live up to 10 years in the wild.

  • Alberta is home to the smallest and largest members of the weasel family. The least weasel is the smallest at 2.5 ounces and the wolverine is the largest weighing 35 pounds.

  • Fishers have delayed implantation, meaning the embryo begins to develop but then stops growing and stays suspended until late winter, when it implants and development continues. This also occurs in Alberta bears.



Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

The Horned Grebe is one of several species of grebes that live in Alberta. It is a small duck-like water bird that inhabits small freshwater ponds and marshes. In breeding plumage, it has a golden yellow patch of feathers behind its eyes - that can be raised or lowered at will - giving it the appearance of “horns.” 

Horned Grebe by Gerald Romanchuk

Horned Grebe by Gerald Romanchuk

Why they Matter to Us

Horned Grebes

  • are a Species at Risk. It is imperative we protect their habitat, to prevent them from disappearing entirely.

  • are an important part of their ecosystem, eating insects and larvae.

  • are awe inspiring to see in their natural habitat and exciting to watch - especially when they have babies riding around on their backs!

How You Can Help

  • Donate to help EALT protect crucial wetland habitat.

    • EALT protects wetland habitats important for horned grebes and other waterfowl. Horned grebes have been spotted at our Ministik and Glory Hills natural areas.

  •  Help keep your watershed healthy! We all live in a watershed and what we do in our very own yards has an impact on wetlands nearby.

    • Wash your car at the carwash or use biodegradable soap

    • Do not litter

    • If you are using fertilizers or pesticides on your lawn follow the directions carefully and pay attention to the weather


How to Identify

Identify by Sight

  • Horned grebes are 31–28 cm long with a short, pointed bill.

  • The front of its neck and upper breast are reddish during breeding season

  • The plumage of the male tends to be brighter. Its winter plumage is black and white and characterized by a black crown and white cheeks.

  • Chicks have dark stripes, which are particularly visible on the head and neck.

Identify in Flight

  • Like other grebes, P. auritus must run along the surface of the water in order to take-off.

  • Horned grebes fly quickly with rapid wing beats.

  • Their feet and neck are outstretched during flight and their head tilted downward.

Identify by Sound

This bird has different calls for greeting, mating, and warning. Click here to listen to the many sounds of the Horned Grebe!


Where to Find

Horned Grebes are found across North America, with most of its breeding range in Canada, extending from the Yukon, through the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. They live in small freshwater ponds and marshes containing a mixture of emergent vegetation and open water and have been observed in urban ponds in Edmonton and St Albert.

Photo by Denali National Park

Photo by Denali National Park

Horned Grebe family by Don Delaney

Horned Grebe family by Don Delaney

Social Life

  • Chicks are able to swim and dive immediately after hatching, but usually spend the majority of time on their parent’s backs during the first seven to 10 days. They nestle between their parent’s wings and ride along while the parents swim. They may even stay onboard during dives.

Food Chain

  • Horned Grebes eat aquatic insects, fish, crustaceans, and other small aquatic animals.

  • Young are fed adult’s feathers, a behaviour unique to grebes. This forms a plug of feathers in the stomach and may function as a filter or may hold fish bones in the stomach until they can be digested.

  • In order to be concealed from predators, they build cryptic, floating nests in mats of emergent vegetation. Grebes may be preyed upon by hawks, osprey, weasels, fishers and other predators.

Fun Facts

  • Horned grebes are excellent swimmers and divers. During dives they may stay underwater for up to three minutes and travel 150-200 meters. 

  • They sleep by resting their neck on their back and tucking one foot under a wing and then use the other foot to manoeuvre in the water.

  • Grebes are awkward on land and spend the majority of their time swimming or floating on the water. Their legs are set so far back on their bodies that they are hardly able to walk. 



Common Loon (Gavia immer)

Common Loons are hard to miss on Canadian lakes - if you don't spot these large tuxedo waterbirds in the middle of the lake, you are sure to hear its yodeling calls.

Photo by Stephanie Weizenbach

Photo by Stephanie Weizenbach

Why they Matter to Us


Loons

  • are an iconic Canadian species, pictures on the $1 coin giving it's affectionate term ‘loonie’

  • wail call is one of the most identifiable bird calls heard around lakes - this wail sounds like a wolf's howl

  • symbolize wilderness and solitude

  • are an important top predator in lake ecosystems

How You Can Help

  • Donate to help EALT protect wetland habitat important for loons. 

  • Use steel fishing products instead of lead weights and hooks. Lead weights are easily lost and then consumed by fish and waterfowl. High levels of absorbed lead causes damage to vital organs and tissue. Fish and birds with lead poisoning become sick and easy prey. Lead poisoning works its way up the food chain and can be fatal to everything from fish, to loons, to bald eagles.

    • Leave no trace. Abandoned or littered fishing line and hooks can also cause injury and death to loons when they become entangled in it.

  • Give loons space when boating. Loons dive under water when approached by a boat, but commonly have young ones riding along on their backs. Loons and their chicks can be injured by boats and propellers.


How to Identify


Identify by Sight

Both male and female have a black head and bill and a black white checkered back and white ‘necklace’ around the throat. Common Loons are relatively large and swim low in the water, which helps distinguish them from other waterfowl.

Identify by Sound

Loons have 4 distinguished calls: tremolo, yodel, wail, and hoot. Each call has a distinct message. The tremolo is used when the loon is alarmed, or to announce its presence; the yodel is used by a male loon to announce and defend his territory; the wail is the 'marco polo' of the loon world; and hoots are used to keep in contact, such as between parents and chicks, or between mates.


Where to Find

Common loons are found throughout Canada, breeding on quiet, freshwater lakes 5–50 hectares in size. They inhabit lakes with an abundant supply of small fish. Loons are sensitive to human disturbance. Common loons migrate to warmer areas along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and can be found on lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastlines.

Family life by Stephanie Weizenbach

Family life by Stephanie Weizenbach

Common Loon display by Gerald Romanchuk

Common Loon display by Gerald Romanchuk

Social Life

  • Loons are monogamous and typically stay together for about 5 years. Loon mates return to the same lake separately and if one doesn’t return, the other loon will find another mate. The male loon uses his yodel to define his territory and notify other loons to stay out. 

  • Loons leave their chicks at about 12 weeks of age. The parents migrate, leaving the young to flock together to migrate a few weeks later. Juveniles overwinter on the coast, and stay there for 2 years. In year 3, they return north, but do not breed until they are about 6 years old.

Food Chain

  • Loons eat fish, frogs, crayfish and other aquatic animals.

  • Loons pack away a lot of fish! A loon family with 2 chicks can eat about a half-ton of fish over a 15-week period.

  • Loons spend almost all of their time in the water so do not have very many predators. Loon chicks are prey to large carnivorous fish, gulls, crows, and eagles.

Fun Facts

  • Loons can live up to 15 - 30 years!

  • Loons have solid bones, unlike other birds, which make them less bouyant and better divers. When diving, they quickly blow air out of their lungs and flatten their feathers, making them super fast and efficient underwater. While diving, the loon's heart even slows down to conserve oxygen!

  • Loons need a long runway to build up enough speed for lift-off.

  • Loons are fast in the air too, flying at speeds near 112 km/hr!



Great Horned Owl (Bubo Virginianus)

Great Horned Owls are Alberta's Provincial Bird making them a highly iconic species. They are easily recognized from their “horns” or feather tufts on top of their head. We literally look up to this owl, roosted high in the trees.

Photo by Gerald Romanchuk

Photo by Gerald Romanchuk

Why they Matter to Us

  • Alberta’s Provincial Bird – in 1977, Albertan children voted to make the Great Horned Owl our provincial bird. The provincial bird symbolizes the magnificent wildlife in Alberta, and the importance of maintaining their habitat for the future.

  • Great Horned Owls are a top predator who feed on mice, rabbits, skunks and even the occasional porcupine.

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. EALT protects habitat important for Great Horned Owls. A fledgling Great Horned Owl has been spotted at our Ministik natural area and adults have been observed at Boisvert's GreenWoods and Bunchberry Meadows.

  • Use traps instead of poison when getting rid of mice in your house, garage, or other area. If a mouse eats poison in a building and makes its way outside before passing away, an owl or other predator could capture the mouse and ingest the fatal poison.

  • If you see a young Great Horned Owl on the ground, leave it be. Even though you might not see them, the parents are nearby and will feed the fledgling on the ground. Fledgling owls need to practice and build up muscles before they can fly. During this stage, it is quite normal to stumble across the owlet on the ground.

  • Great Horned Owls sometimes perch on power poles to hunt, rest, or feed. If the power pole is not built to bird-safe standards, the owl can become electrocuted when simultaneously contacting two energized components, or one energized and one grounded component. To help prevent owl electrocutions, call your power company to request that they build new poles, and modify older poles, to meet bird-safe standards. Learn more about bird electrocutions.


How to Identify

Great Horned Owls were named for the feather tufts on their head which give the appearance of “horns.” They are one of the larger owls in Alberta with an average wingspan of 101–145 cm (39.8–57.1 in). To identify the Great Horned Owl, look for the distinguishing features illustrated in the photo on the right.

As with all raptors, the female Great Horned Owls are larger than the males. Females also have a higher pitched hoot than the males. Great Horned Owls have an array of hoots, squawks, and calls but they’re most well known for their hoot that sounds like: “Who’s awake? Me too!”

  • Listen to their calls and hoots here.


Where to Find

Great Horned Owls are common all over Alberta and are widespread throughout North and South America. These owls do not migrate. They reside all year in forests, open woods, and river valleys of all natural regions.

Great Horned Owls are nocturnal so they can be found roosting during the day high in a tree, on sheltered cliff ledges, or in other secluded spots. At night, the Great Horned Owl forages for food in woods, fields, and forest edges.

When you are out for a walk in a natural area, it is difficult to keep an eye up high in the trees in search of an owl, because you can easily stumble on roots or other uneven terrain. Instead, look for a pile of the owl’s regurgitated pellets (small oval shaped pods of fur, feathers, and bones) at the base of a tree. If you find this sign, look up to see if you can find the owl. You can also locate an owl by listening to cues from other birds such as ravens or crows – they will noisily harass an owl for hours.

Spruce Bow by Doris May

Spruce Bow by Doris May

Great Horned Owlet by Marg Reine

Great Horned Owlet by Marg Reine

Social Life

  • A pair of Great Horned Owls may roost together near their future nest site for several months before laying eggs.

  • Pairs mate for life and share the duties of raising owlets.

  • With a plentiful food source in the area, the pair of owls will stay within their territory all year, but they roost separately outside of the breeding season.

Food Chain

  • They usually eat small and medium size mammals and birds, such as mice, rabbits and ducks, but will also attack other larger species, such as porcupine and skunk. In fact, they are the only animal that regularly eats skunk.

Fun Facts

  • When clenched, a Great Horned Owl’s strong talons require a force of 28 pounds to open. The owls use this grip when catching prey.

  • Great Horned Owls’ pupils open widely in the dark, allowing them to have excellent night vision. Their large eyes don’t move in their sockets like our eyes, but instead they swivel their head to look in any direction.

  • If an owl starts with their head looking behind them, they can turn their head all the way around to the other side!

  • Some indigenous tribes believe that some Great Horned Owls may be witches who have shape shifted. They believe this because of the powerful, large look of the owl as well as it being mostly nocturnal.

  • Like other owls, the edges of their wings are adapted to make them very quiet in flight, giving them an advantage over their prey.


Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

The majestic Pileated Woodpecker is North America’s largest woodpecker, due to the unfortunate, virtual extinction of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. If you listen closely in the forest, you will be sure to hear the pileated calling or drumming, and if you’re lucky enough, you may even catch a glimpse of it flying by or hammering on a snag.

Photo by George Mason

Photo by George Mason

Why they Matter to Us

Pileated Woodpeckers

  • are majestic birds that are fascinating to watch and a welcome visitor at any suet feeder

  • spark the interest of many birders and wildlife photographers

  • play a crucial role in forest ecosystems: their abandoned nest holes offer shelter and nesting habitat for many species of wildlife, including small owls, ducks, bats, and even pine martens

  • consume large numbers of wood-boring insects that damage trees

How You Can Help

Nest at Boisvert's GreenWoods

Nest at Boisvert's GreenWoods

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

    • Our Boisvert’s GreenWoods Conservation Lands is home to nesting Pileated Woodpeckers. This natural area conserves important old growth forest where numerous species of woodpeckers have plenty of snags – crawling with bugs – to feast on. 

  • If you live near a ravine, or any woodpecker habitat, you can hang a suet feeder on a tree to help provide food for Pileated Woodpeckers. 

  • Leave dead or dying trees standing (rather than knocking them down) in natural areas and green spaces. They provide lots of food for woodpeckers.


How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify the Pileated Woodpecker, look for these distinguishing features:

Male Pileated Woodpecker by Doris May

Male Pileated Woodpecker by Doris May

  • solid black back

  • white stripes on the face

  • flaming red crest

  • long chisel-like bill

  • males have a red mustache

Identify in Flight

To identify the Pileated Woodpecker as it flies by, look for these clues:

  • undulating flight pattern

  • extensive white underwings

  • small white crescents on upper side of wings

Identify by Sound

Characteristic rectangular feeding hole made by Pileated Woodpeckers

Characteristic rectangular feeding hole made by Pileated Woodpeckers

Pileated Woodpeckers have a loud, shrill piping call with notes that sound like ‘wuk’ or ‘cuk’. It is similar to the Northern Flicker’s call, but is less even tone, with changing emphasis throughout. They also make a deep drumming sound when feeding or when trying to attract a mate in the spring.

  • Click here to listen to the many sounds of a Pileated Woodpecker.

Identify by Sign

You can tell a Pileated Woodpecker lives in the area by their uniquely distinguishable rectangular holes left in snags where they feed. Other common woodpecker species in Alberta leave smaller, round holes when they excavate for bugs.


Where to Find

Pileated Woodpeckers are found throughout most of Alberta, in forested regions. They live in mature forest and young forests which are scattered with a supply of large dead trees. You can find these woodpeckers right in Edmonton’s river valley! 

Pileated Woodpeckers are residents and do not migrate in the winter. They have plenty of food sources to sustain them year round.

Social Life

by Doris May

by Doris May

  • Pileated Woodpecker pairs stay together in their territory all year.

  • They defend their territory, only tolerating new arrivals in the winter months.

Food Chain

  • Food: mainly ants and other wood-boring insects; also fruits, nuts, and berries.

  • Predators to the nest: martens, weasels, and squirrels, but the adults will guard their nest – which was observed by a photographer watching a nest and an intruding squirrel. Click here to see photos.

  • Predators to the adult birds: some hawk and owl species.

Fun Facts

  • The oldest known Pileated Woodpecker was 12 years, 11 months old.

  • You can pronounce ‘pileated’ two ways, with a short ‘I’ sound (pill-ee-ated) or a long ‘I’ sound (pile-ee-ated).

  • A group of Pileated Woodpeckers is called a “crown”.

  • A woodpecker’s head moves 6 m/s at each peck enduring a deceleration more than 1,000 times that of gravity. Scientists have been studying woodpeckers’ skulls to find out how the birds can peck with such force, without resulting in injury to their brain. This research may be helpful in designing more effective head protection for people.



Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

This uncommon, small diving duck catches our eye in Alberta lakes and wetlands. The male's disproportionately large head - like a buffalo’s (bison’s) head - was the inspiration for its name.

Why they Matter to Us

Buffleheads

  • are a vital part of their ecosystem, eating aquatic invertebrate pests, and dispersing seeds they eat, as well as being a food source for predators

  • inspire bird watchers and photographers with their stunning markings

  • are fun to watch and observe as they escort their ducklings and defend their territory

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.

    • EALT protects wetland habitats important for buffleheads and other waterfowl. Buffleheads have been spotted at our Hicks and Golden Ranches natural areas, including a female with ducklings.

  • Build them a home! Buffleheads nest in cavities, therefore installing nest boxes near wetlands can help them find a suitable place to nest.

  • Leave snags (dead trees) standing in green spaces near wetlands to maintain nesting structures

  • Help keep your watershed healthy! We all live in a watershed and what we do in our very own yards has an impact on wetlands nearby.

    • Wash your car at the carwash or use biodegradable soap

    • Do not litter

    • If you are using fertilizers or pesticides on your lawn follow the directions carefully and pay attention to the weather


How to Identify

Identify by Sight

  • Males are very striking with a large white patch that reaches from cheek to cheek over the back of their dark iridescent head.

  • Females are less boldly coloured and are dark grey-brown with oval white cheek patches.

  • Downy ducklings are black to dark grey with white patched cheeks, and a white throat, lower breast, and belly.

Identify in Flight

M & F in flight by Gerald Romanchuk

M & F in flight by Gerald Romanchuk

  • compact, big-headed black and white duck with a fast, direct flight that rocks side-to-side on fast wing beats

  • white band on upperwing on adult males and white patch on upperwing secondaries in females and first year males

  • takes flight directly from water into the air, unlike other diving ducks who run across the water before taking flight

Identify by Sound

  • Buffleheads don't sound like the usual "quack quack quack" like other ducks. Their vocabulary consists mostly of throaty "grrks", squeaky whisltes, chattering, and guttural "cuk cuk cuks".

    • Listen to a Bufflehead here.


Where to Find

 Buffleheads are found in lakes and wetlands in the boreal forest and aspen parkland regions of Alberta during migration and the breeding season. It nests in abandoned Northern Flicker cavities within poplar or aspen trees, or in a nest box. Breeding Buffleheads use permanent freshwater small lakes or ponds with abundant emergent and submergent plants. 

Buffleheads are one of the last ducks to leave Alberta before winter arrives. They overwinter on the Pacific and Gulf coasts, and the Southwest USA.

Duck nest box at Golden Ranches

Duck nest box at Golden Ranches

Growing Bufflehead ducklings at Golden Ranches

Growing Bufflehead ducklings at Golden Ranches

Social Life

  • Bufflehead breeding pairs claim a small lake where the female picks a cavity to nest in. Once she lays her eggs, the male departs to a molting ground where he will spend the rest of the summer with other unemployed males.

  • Buffleheads are territorial. Males will defend a female by diving under water and popping up underneath a rival male. Females will defend the water where she rears her young.

  • Male courtship displays involve head-bobbing, flying over and landing into a 'waterski' position showing off his pink legs and shimmery plumage.

Food Chain

  • Buffleheads eat aquatic insects, larvae, snails, small fish, and aquatic plants.

  • They are prey for raptors such as bald eagles, cooper's hawks, peregrine falcons, and great horned owls. Ducklings are sometimes prey to northern pike and gulls. The nest eggs are raided by bears, and members of the weasel family.

Fun Facts

  • The oldest known bufflehead fossils are from the late Pleistocene (approximately 500,000 years ago!)

  • The oldest known bufflehead was 18 years and 8 months old. A bird-bander in New York recorded this bird.

  • The monogamous pair use the same nest site for several consecutive years.

  • They can stay underwater for up to 24 seconds, only propelling themselves using their feet!


Sources


Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

The Great Blue Heron is a majestic bird that you may have noticed in shallow waters, standing as still as a statue, stealthily searching for food. The Great Blue Heron is the largest and most widely distributed heron in Canada. It holds the record for the largest wading bird in North America.

Photo by Doris May

Photo by Doris May

Why they Matter to Us

Great Blue Herons

  • majestic birds that are fascinating to watch

  • they spark the interest of many birders and wildlife photographers

  • important members of healthy, freshwater ecosystems 

  • help control fish and insect populations in many different habitats

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.

    • Our Pipestone Creek and Glory Hills properties are adjacent to Great Blue Heron colonies. Our lands conserve important heron feeding grounds such as a creek, ox bow lake, lake, and small wetland. 

  • Do not disturb a rookery. Great Blue Herons return to the same nest sites year after year, so it is very important that heron nests are not disturbed.

  • Help keep your watershed healthy! We all live in a watershed and what we do in our very own yards has an impact on wetlands and waterways nearby.

    • Wash your car at a carwash or use biodegradable soap. Many people do not realize that our storm water systems (catch basins and gutters along paved streets) redirect UNTREATED water to the river or a nearby wetland.

    • Follow directions precisely when applying fertilizers or pesticides to your lawn. Make sure the weather forecast is not calling for rain when you apply chemicals as they will just get washed away, wasting your money and polluting the Great Blue Heron’s feeding grounds.

  • If you have a backyard fish pond don’t be surprised if a Great Blue Heron shows up for breakfast. 

    • To deter Great Blue Herons from eating your expensive pond fish, install a decoy heron (which makes for a beautiful yard decoration) next to your pond. Although herons flock on large feeding grounds, they will not share a small pond. 

    • Providing hiding places for your fish or covering the pond with netting will also protect your fish from being eaten.


How to Identify

Identify by Sight

To identify a Great Blue Heron, look for these distinguishing features:

Photo by Doris May

Photo by Doris May

Photo by Betty Fisher

Photo by Betty Fisher

Identify in Flight

To identify a Great Blue Heron in flight watch for these key features:

In Flight by Mike May

In Flight by Mike May

  • long neck tucked tightly in an S-shape

  • rounded wings flap in slow, deep beats

  • legs trail behind, long past their tail

  • wing span is 182 cm (6 feet)

Identify by Sound

Great Blue Herons have a number of different calls to communicate with each other. Their calls range from honks, which are like a high-pitched funny sounding goose, to croaks, which sound like an unimaginable ferocious dinosaur. Young herons begging for food sound like a ticking clock that will persist until their hungry mouths are satisfied.

  • Click here to listen to the many sounds of a Great Blue Heron


Where to find

Great Blue Herons are found in every Natural Region in the province, but are less common in the northern parts of Alberta. Herons can be found in meadows or in open shallow water at the edges of lakes, streams, rivers, ponds, sloughs, ditches, marshes, and mudflats. Look in these areas for a tall slender figure - herons stay statue still for great lengths of time while searching for food, making them difficult to spot.

Great Blue Herons are migratory birds. Herons arrive in Alberta in late March to early April and fly south in October to early November. A few Great Blue Herons have been spotted overwintering in the Calgary area, near Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, although the majority overwinter in southern USA, Mexico, or even as far south as the Caribbean.

Social Life

  • Great Blue Herons are lone hunters but will flock on large feeding grounds.

  • Nest in colonies, also called rookeries or heronries.

Perched Heron by Doris May

Perched Heron by Doris May

Fishing by Doris May

Fishing by Doris May

Food Chain

  • Food: fish, frogs, salamanders, water snakes, large insects, mice, small birds or even plant seeds.

  • Predators: eagles, bears, raccoons, vultures, and hawks prey on the young birds and sometimes even the adults.

Fun Facts

  • The oldest known Great Blue Heron was 24 years old.

  • Great Blue Herons benefit from beaver engineering skills. Beavers stop the flow of water by building a dam which creates a pond. This can eventually lead to the creation of a meadow. These ponds and meadows are prime feeding grounds for Great Blue Herons.

  • There is a Great White Heron, an all-white subspecies of the Great Blue Heron. The Great White Heron is found only in coastal areas of southern Florida.