Birds of Alberta with Chris Fisher

Our wetlands host mesmerizing crowds of life that mingle and mix and that fight and flux. But among those bobbing birds, there is a standout without equal – an Emperor that rises high above the rest of its waterfowl court. It rules these waters crowned in ruby splendour and is even elegantly draped in a pristine white toga. The Canvasback is a Cesar and the rest of the birds are simple waterf...

There’s no better time to get the feels for our Wood Frog than in April - appropriately known by the Cree as ayîkipisime the month of the Frog Moon. Find a clear frog pond know that somewhere in the lands surrounding that pond that there will be the beating heart of a Wood Frog going about their simple business – even if that heart beat is nearby frozen down for more than half the year. Hoste...

Red-tailed Hawks are our everywhere, every day raptor in our province and in our lives . They express the soul of Alberta while soaring, screaming and showing off their preference for a life lived on edge. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The white-throated sparrow has a singing voice as iconic to Canada as Gordon Lightfoot. But in spite of its acoustic imprint onto our lives, there remains quite a few mysteries involving the "Canada-Canada-Canada" bird including whether it might be now singing a new tune altogether. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No matter how many times you seen it before, that first flash of blue in the spring always catches the eye and triggers a jolt of adrenaline. Mountain Bluebirds are the first of our guests to arrive at our springtime party and they simply thrill us with the colour-infused juxtaposition of incandescence and quiescence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we have ducks and geese that are well-known, loved (and hated) elsewhere, there is one duck that Albertans may know better than anyone else. The Common Goldeneye does not really fit the duck prototype, but the way it moves and makes its living here in the province makes it a quirky stand-out among the quacking classes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Alberta, the first true colours of spring are purple and yellow. These are the colours that flowering prairie crocus display when they emerge from still-frozen soils but they are also worn by Sharp-tailed Grouse showing swollen purple neck sacs and Ru Paul-level yellow eyebrows as they dance among our first spring flowers.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The legendary story of our Whooping Crane, involves Alberta parks, Alberta scientists, and Alberta birds. And while few of us have ever seen one in the province –  it may very well be the most iconic of the Birds of Alberta. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alberta's relationship with the Northern Flicker is complex. As one of our most visible woodpeckers, it is a welcome daily sight and sound in our southern river valleys. But that same sound can torment home owners, when the males scream and pound from their chimney caps. And while they look like no other provincial bird, they can also be the most confusing to identify among our birds of Alberta. H...

Horned Larks are Alberta's ultimate minimalists, content to make their livings in our most barren landscapes. But in return, they provide plenty of thrilling encounters and stick it out when most other birds are living the tropical dream. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode we will be discussing one of the most ubiquitous, beautiful and well-loved (but also well-hated) Birds of Alberta, the Black billed Magpie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For our first episode of the BoA podcast, we explore Alberta's special relationship with our provincial bird, the Great-horned Owl. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.