Two Alberta national parks named the best to bird-watch in Canada

Alberta is so lucky to be chock-full of stunning national parks, and according to Parks Canada, two spots in the province are some of the best to bird-watch in.

That’s right, a couple of national parks in total opposites of each other are the places to be if you want to take flight and enjoy some bird-watching.

Parks Canada rounded up 10 national parks, with Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta and Waterton Lakes National Park making the cut.

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Wood Buffalo National Park

 

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Parks Canada points to Wood Buffalo National Park making the list due to it being the nesting area of the last migratory flock of whooping cranes in the world and the home to the Peace-Athabasca delta, one of the largest freshwater inland deltas in the world.

It adds that in spring and autumn, migratory water birds who use the four migration flyways of North America pass by this delta, so there is no shortage of birds to see.

“You’ll be able to spot the whooping crane, Tundra swan, snow goose, snow bunting, grebes (eared, horned, pied-billed and red-necked), many duck species, horned lark, American coot, Lapland longspur, Harris’s sparrow, phalarope, plover, American avocet,” and many more species.

Waterton Lakes National Park

 

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Waterton was placed on the list due to it holding a variety of habitats and hosts over 255 bird species, and in May and June, you can watch warblers, hummingbirds, grouse and jays, as well as sandhill cranes, Clark’s nutcrackers, and pileated woodpeckers.

When late fall rolls around, Parks Canada says the Maskinonge and Waterton Lakes are key stopover points for migrating ducks, geese, swans, and mergansers.

You can check out the full list of great bird-watching national parks here.