Birds of Alberta with Chris Fisher

Alberta’s triumphant Trumpeter Swans have come to represent through the past century a story that blends conservation, admiration and beauty to all of us who find promise and purpose in the Birds of Alberta.

The American Dipper puts on an exhibit of unequal energy - among all our birds. Their robust personality, instagrammable habitat choice and accessibility make the American Dipper the greatest avian champion for the Birds and birders of Alberta.

Canada Jays are perfectly Canadian. Low key, soft spoken, resilient and enduring. They are a companion with whom we share a landscape and they serve as a symbol to ourselves.They are a much-talked about survivor that plays by the rules of the bush and they win by always being up to something – even if it means getting the best of us every now and then. All of this makes the Canada Jay one of the most perfect - Birds of Alberta.

Snow Geese are exceptional birds in Alberta and those of us lucky enough to experience their erratic cacophony will long remember their snowy, showy spectacle that is unmatched by any of our other Birds of Alberta.

Western Painted Turtles are our our ultimate summer souls and wild sun bathers – soaking up the rays only in our sunniest and southernmost areas. But the ways in which our turtles populated the various areas of this northern place, are insightful lessons of modernity and ancient movement corridors. For a species that may only number a couple of hundred individual, their presence and story outstrips their mere numbers and makes Painted Turtles a surprisingly iconic member of our Alberta wildlife community.

The Calliope Hummingbird is a legendary species our Alberta list - not for the frequency it is seen, but how its story mesmerizes our concept of birdom. No other Alberta bird combines fierce fragility with boldness & a beauty seemingly painted on by a psychedelic artist from the '60s. The Calliope Hummingbird brings a ton to our home identity - even though it weighs only a few ounces.

How lucky are we that that our most common warbler is also one of our most incandescent? Yellow Warblers are special. They are our most visible wood warbler, catching the eye and ear of anyone who hangs out in Alberta's river bottoms, urban parks or upland aspen stands. Yellow warblers offer a song that is the most reliable and reassuring voice of any of the Birds of Alberta.

Great Blue Herons are well known birds that defy convention. Sometimes solitary, sometimes social; piscivores with a taste of mice, muskrats and salamanders; a bird of summer that arrives and leaves with the snow, and a modern elegant bird with hints of the dinosaurian! They are never so common here that they escape our attention or admiration and as a result we feel quite a bit of pride in knowing that the Great Blue Heron is one of our very own Birds of Alberta.