Lift Interactive

Lift Interactive

White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

White-tailed deer are an iconic species in the Alberta countryside. They are shy and usually bolt when spotted, waving their characteristic white flag as they retreat and disappear into the trees.

Photo by Stephanie Weizenbach

Photo by Stephanie Weizenbach

Why they Matter to Us

  • Deer are an integral part of a healthy Albertan ecosystem, feeding on plants and serving as prey for many species.

  • White-tails are generally non-confrontational and a delight to glimpse in their natural habitat.

  • Early settlers and Native Americans used White-tailed deer hides to make buckskin leather.

    • They are still hunted today within regulations and used as meat and leather.

  • Shed antlers are commonly used as decorative pieces or as dog chews.

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. All of EALT's conserved lands are home to White-tailed deer.

  • Modify your barbed wire fence to meet wildlife friendly standards. This will ensure deer 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 deer using the following tips:

    • Use your high beams at night, when possible, to make the deer's eyes glow so you can see the deer 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.

    • If you see a deer crossing the road ahead of you, look for more deer following behind it - they often travel in groups.

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

  • Help keep fawns safe when they are first born, in early June:

    • Does hide their fawn in tall grass or shrubs when they are first born, to keep them safe from predators. The doe returns every few hours to feed and move the fawn. If you see a fawn laying in the grass, leave it alone, and keep your pets away from it - mom will be by shortly.

How to identify

Photo by Dawn Huczek

Photo by Dawn Huczek

Identify by Sight

  • White-tailed deer get their name from their tail which has a white underside. When alarmed, they hold their tail upright - exposing the white - as they bound away.

  • Their body is reddish-brown in the summer, changing to greyish-brown in the winter.

  • Bucks have unbranched antlers with tines extending from single beams.

  • Unlike mule deer, white-tails have no rump patch

Identify by Sign

  • Bucks rub their antlers on trees for a number of reasons: rubbing off velvet, marking territory during rut, and shedding their antlers. Look for stripped bark still hanging off the tree.

  • Deer droppings are larger than rabbit feces and smaller than moose droppings.

  • Hoof prints are 7 - 9 cm long by 4.5 - 6.5 cm wide and look like two elongated tear drop shapes. 

  • Deer are notorious for foraging continuously along the same pathway, so deer trails are well worn and easy to spot.

  • Deer beds can be found by noting flattened ovals in the snow or tall grasses.

Where to Find

White-tailed deer are one of the most widely distributed and numerous of all North America’s large animals. They are found in the prairie, parkland and southern boreal zones in Alberta and their range is expanding westward into the foothills, mountains and northward further into the boreal zone. Typical habitat includes aspen groves, and grasslands and fields near scattered patches of trees. 

White-tailed fawn by Gerald Romanchuk

White-tailed fawn by Gerald Romanchuk

Fawn safely hiding at Golden Ranches

Fawn safely hiding at Golden Ranches

Social Life

White-tailed Buck by Gerald Romanchuk

White-tailed Buck by Gerald Romanchuk

  • In Alberta, the rut, or mating season, occurs in November. Males spar with rivals, battling each other with their antlers.

  • White-tailed deer are generally solitary in the summer and live in varying sizes of herds in the winter.

Food Chain

  • Abundant food makes almost any forested or bushy area suitable during the summer, while deer feed on leaves, branches, forbs, berries, and even lichens and fungi.

  • Surviving in the winter may be particularly difficult if there are too many deer competing for food or if the snow is too deep.

  • Deer (particularly fawns) are prey to many predators including: coyotes, wolves, cougars, etc.

Fun Facts

  • Bucks shed their antlers after the rut (approximately late February to March) and begin to regrow their antlers in the spring.

  • Fawns are born with white spots to help them camouflage. The spots emulate scattered light through a treed forest (sun/shade patterns created by leaf cover). 

  • Deer have scent glands between the two parts of their hooves, and on their legs. These scent glands are used to communicate with other deer.

Coyote (Canis latrans)

The coyote is a medium-sized wild canine, a relative of both the wolf and your family dog, though a coyote has several distinct features and traits. Coyotes are also extremely resourceful animals that have learned to survive and thrive in large cities, while other animals struggle with shrinking habitats. It is not uncommon to spot an urban coyote in the city or by the highway, looking for food.

Photo by Gerald Romanchuk

Photo by Gerald Romanchuk

Why They Matter to Us

  • Coyotes are clever, resourceful animals who spark curiosity and awe in many people. However, their clever, resourceful manner can also lead to human-coyote conflict.

  • A key link in the chain

    • Since the decline of the gray wolf, coyotes have played an important role as a top predator in Alberta.

    • Top predators such as the coyote keep the population of small mammals, such as jackrabbits, in check.

    • Without a top predator, a chain reaction occurs where herbivores exhaust their food supply, which leads to less seed production, a loss of biodiversity, reduced habitat for other birds and mammals, and increased soil erosion.

  • As scavengers, they help clear away hazardous animal waste.

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 natural areas contain excellent habitat for coyotes and their prey. Coyotes, or signs of coyotes, have been observed at all of our natural areas. A female coyote has made her den and raised young at our Glory Hills property.

  • Help prevent coyote habituation. In order to co-exist with coyotes, there are various ways you can avoid human-coyote conflict:

    • When you encounter a coyote act aggressively – shout in a deep voice, wave your arms, throw non-edible objects towards the coyote, and make yourself look big.

    • Never run away from a coyote: like with most dogs, this behaviour makes them want to chase after you.

    • Secure anything that attracts coyotes to your property (garbage, compost, birdseed, pet food, fallen fruit).

    • Keep cats and small dogs indoors or supervised, and keep them on-leash in park areas.

    • Never feed a coyote either in person or by leaving food for it.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

It is easy to mistake a coyote for a wolf, and vice versa. However, there are several notable differences: coyotes are generally smaller and lighter in build than wolves, with larger ears and smaller feet in comparison to their body size. The red markings on their snouts and ears also make coyotes stand out, and coyote noses tend to be long and pointed.

Fox: Gerald Romanchuk, Coyote: Public Domain, Wolf: Stephanie Weizenbach, Source for Measurements: Animal Tracks of Alberta 

Identify by Sound

Coyotes communicate with each other through a variety of calls, including howls, yips, yelps, and barks. They call most often at dusk or at night, but may call during the day. Coyotes will call most often in the spring and the fall, especially during mating season.

  • Listen to coyote calls here.

Where to Find

In general, coyotes live throughout Canada and the US, ending up as far north as Yukon, but also able to live as far south as the deserts of Arizona. In Canada, they mostly live in south, central, and western Canada. Residents of Edmonton commonly spot coyotes near the river valley and outer edges of the City.

Possible coyote habitat includes forests, grasslands, deserts, swamps, mountains, and also agriculture, suburban, and urban areas.

Coyote passing by our wildlife camera at Glory Hills

Coyote passing by our wildlife camera at Glory Hills

Coyote blending in at Golden Ranches

Coyote blending in at Golden Ranches

Social Life

  • Coyotes live in packs, mated pairs, or alone. Unlike a wolf pack, a coyote pack usually has up to six members, all of the same gender, and they may not stay together very long. A mated pair can stay together over several years, but not necessarily for life.

  • Mated pairs raise litters in a den.

Food Chain

  • Coyotes are omnivores and will eat anything they can find. They eat hares, mice, squirrels, frogs, and carrion (dead meat). They also eat vegetation and wild berries when they are plentiful.

  • Humans are the primary danger to coyotes, though coyotes are also preyed upon by wolves, cougars and bears.

Fun Facts

  • The name “coyote” comes from Mexican Spanish, ultimately derived from the Aztec word cóyotl, meaning “trickster.”

  • In the mythology of several indigenous North and Central American cultures, the coyote is indeed regarded as a trickster figure.

  • Its scientific name, Canis latrans, is Latin for “barking dog.”

  • A coyote can locate a prey hiding under the snow using its ears.

Beaver (Castor canadensis)

Beavers are keystone species literally and symbolically in Canada - these engineers have a larger-than-life impact on their surroundings and have even claimed their fame as our national emblem. Beavers are an integral part of Canada's history and future.

Why they Matter to Us

  • Beavers are a keystone species, meaning they have a strong impact on their surroundings which is disproportionate to their abundance. 

    • Beaver dams slow water, reduce erosion, and create wetland habitat beneficial for many species at all levels of the food chain.

    • Ponds built by beavers store water, helping to prevent flooding downstream. These ponds also filter water in the pond, releasing cleaner water downstream.

    • Beavers cut down aspen trees, promoting suckering - sucker shoots off of the roots of the 'mother' tree grow multiple new trees - rejuvenating the forest.

  • Beavers are historically important and are Canada's national emblem; they are pictured on the 5 cent coin.

    • Beaver pelts were very important in fur trading in the 19th century to make felt top hats. Thousands of pelts were shipped to Europe per year, endangering beaver populations across  Canada.

    • The Hudson’s Bay Company pictured a beaver on the shield of its coat of arms. A coin was made to equal the value of one male beaver pelt, and was known as a ‘buck’.

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. Beavers can be found on several of EALT‘s natural areas, including Pipestone Creek and Glory Hills.

  • Live in harmony with beavers. If a beaver family lives in your area, you can take steps to protect your favourite trees, without doing harm to the beavers. Simply wrap the trees with  hardware cloth or galvanized metal fencing, to a height of at least one meter.

How to Identify

Identify by Sight

Beavers are North America's largest rodent. Their waterproof fur is reddish brown or blackish brown and consists of two layers: finer underhairs and protective guard hairs. They have round ears and long orange front teeth which grow throughout their lifetime. Their flat scaly tail is used for swimming, standing, balancing and warning. They have long front toes for building structures and webbed hind feet for swimming. 

Identify by Sign

  • Major structures include beaver dams and lodges.

  • Other key signs include cut trees, slides from woodland slopes into a water body, drag paths leading into the water, and beaver trenches.

Where to find

Beavers live in all natural regions of Alberta except the alpine subregion. You can find beavers anywhere there are two key ingredients: trees and water. Beavers damn small streams to create a pond to sustain the family and build lodges out of sticks and mud to live in. Some beavers also burrow in river banks. 

by Dorothy Monteith

by Dorothy Monteith

by Doris May

by Doris May

Social Life

  • Beavers live in family groups which consist of two adults, the young (kits) from the previous year plus any new kits that are born.

  • Families live in a dome shaped lodge with underwater entrances, and an inside chamber which can measure 2.4 m wide and 1 m high. 

  • Kits help with construction in their second summer and before that winter, usually leave the colony to start a colony of their own.

  • A family moves dams once their food source has been exhausted.

Food Chain

  • Beavers eat the bark from trees, willows, and shrubs, and in the summer also feed on aquatic plants such as cattails and water-lilies.

  • Beavers create a cache of food close to their lodge, which is accessible all winter. 

  • Beavers generally have a long life span but can be prey to humans, wolves, and coyotes.

Fun Facts

  • Beavers normally live up to 10 years.

  • Among other aquatic adaptations, beavers have a set of transparent eyelids that work like underwater goggles!

  • Beavers have large, bright orange front teeth which grow throughout their lifetime - an adaptation to help them cut and chew hardwoods such as aspen and poplar.

  • Beaver lodge vents sometimes attract waterfowl such as geese or ducks as a warm place to nest and incubate their eggs.

  • Many beaver lodges have a 'mother-in-law suite' where a muskrat lives and helps patch up that area of the lodge.

  • Beavers are not actually responsible for the stomach ailment, "beaver fever." Beaver fever is giardiasis (caused by the parasite Giardia lamblia). Giardiasis is transmitted by drinking contaminated water. The most common carriers of the parasite are livestock, pets, and even people.

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!

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.

 

Volunteers are at the heart of all of our accomplishments and make our conservation work possible. Find out about volunteer opportunities!