Canada Ramsar wetland
Columbia Wetlands
123 bird species recorded; the most from June to August.
Hollylewi · CC BY-SA 3.0
This month here
16 species in January.10 species in February.9 species in March.22 species in April.79 species in May.86 species in June.85 species in July.80 species in August.55 species in September.41 species in October.32 species in November.9 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
123 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 123Speciesrecorded more than once
- 75Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 2,429Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 2,546 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 9Raptors
- 1Owls
- 5Waders
- 5Gulls & seabirds
- 18Ducks & geese
- 5Herons, ibises & grebes
- 65Songbirds
- 15Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 123 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors9 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Falco atricapillusFalco atricapillus
- Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Accipiter striatusAccipiter striatus
- Prairie FalconFalco mexicanus
- Falco sparveriusFalco sparverius
Owls1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Barred OwlStrix varia
Waders5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Solitary SandpiperTringa solitaria
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferusNT
- Wilson's SnipeGallinago delicata
- Baird's SandpiperCalidris bairdii
Gulls & seabirds5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Pacific LoonGavia pacifica
- California GullLarus californicus
- American Herring GullLarus smithsonianus
Ducks & geese18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- GoosanderMergus merganser
- BuffleheadBucephala albeola
- Barrow's GoldeneyeBucephala islandica
- Harlequin DuckHistrionicus histrionicus
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Blue-winged TealSpatula discors
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- American WigeonMareca americana
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Surf ScoterMelanitta perspicillata
- Lesser ScaupAythya affinis
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- RedheadAythya americana
- Cinnamon TealSpatula cyanoptera
Herons, ibises & grebes5 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-necked GrebePodiceps grisegena
- Western GrebeAechmophorus occidentalis
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritusVU
- Eared GrebePodiceps nigricollis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
Songbirds65 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Pine SiskinSpinus pinus
- Canada JayPerisoreus canadensis
- Junco hyemalisJunco hyemalis
- Myrtle WarblerSetophaga coronata
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Boreal ChickadeePoecile hudsonicus
- Mountain ChickadeePoecile gambeli
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Swainson's ThrushCatharus ustulatus
- American DipperCinclus mexicanus
- White-crowned sparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- Varied ThrushIxoreus naevius
- Pine GrosbeakPinicola enucleator
- Townsend's WarblerSetophaga townsendi
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Clark's NutcrackerNucifraga columbiana
- Wilson's WarblerCardellina pusilla
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Warbling VireoVireo gilvus
- American Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Agelaius phoeniceusAgelaius phoeniceus
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Tennessee WarblerLeiothlypis peregrina
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Troglodytes pacificusTroglodytes pacificus
- Northern WaterthrushParkesia noveboracensis
- Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Buff-bellied PipitAnthus rubescens
- Townsend's SolitaireMyadestes townsendi
- Gray-crowned Rosy-FinchLeucosticte tephrocotis
- Steller's JayCyanocitta stelleri
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Red Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Orange-crowned WarblerLeiothlypis celata
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- MacGillivray's WarblerGeothlypis tolmiei
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Black-billed MagpiePica hudsonia
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- Vireo cassiniiVireo cassinii
- Brewer's SparrowSpizella breweri
- Hammond's FlycatcherEmpidonax hammondii
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
- Violet-green SwallowTachycineta thalassina
- Mangrove WarblerSetophaga petechia
- Western TanagerPiranga ludoviciana
- Olive-Sided FlycatcherContopus cooperi
- Empidonax difficilisEmpidonax difficilis
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
- Mountain BluebirdSialia currucoides
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Northern ShrikeLanius borealis
Other birds15 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Spruce GrouseCanachites canadensis
- Yellow-shafted FlickerColaptes auratus
- Dendragapus obscurusDendragapus obscurus
- Picoides dorsalisPicoides dorsalis
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- SoraPorzana carolina
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- American CootFulica americana
- Black-backed WoodpeckerPicoides arcticus
- Hairy WoodpeckerLeuconotopicus villosus
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Rufous HummingbirdSelasphorus rufusNT
- White-tailed PtarmiganLagopus leucura
- Calliope HummingbirdSelasphorus calliope
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species from June to August.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan-7°/-15°32 mm
- Feb-7°/-16°32 mm
- Mar-2°/-12°42 mm
- Apr3°/-7°53 mm
- May10°/-1°82 mm
- Jun14°/3°113 mm
- Jul19°/6°56 mm
- Aug18°/5°55 mm
- Sep13°/1°58 mm
- Oct4°/-5°45 mm
- Nov-3°/-11°39 mm
- Dec-8°/-16°36 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Columbia Wetlands.
Wetlands and Ramsar site of Canada
Columbia Wetlands is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in Canada, 2,546 m above the sea.
123 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 2,429 open records.
The most recorded are the Northern Raven, the American Robin and the Pine Siskin.
56 species come for the summer, 16 for the winter and 3 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Horned Grebe.
The most species are recorded from June to August.
Get there and watch
- Turbine Canyon Campgroundcampsite · 4.1 km · 16 within 10 km
- Pocaterra Hutplace to stay · 7.4 km · 1 within 10 km
- Calgary International Airport (YYC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 97 km in a straight lineCar hire at YYC airport (Calgary)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1marked trails within 4 kmGDT enw
- 2car parks within 3 km
- 16campsites within 10 kmTurbine Canyon Campground, William Watson Campground, Canyon Campground and 13 more
- 1places to stay within 10 kmPocaterra Hut
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Columbia Wetlands.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas110 mountains within 25 kmMount French3,244 m · 8.1 kmMount Sir Douglas3,406 m · 9.6 kmMount Foch3,194 m · 13 kmMount Pétain3,196 m · 16 kmMount Joffre3,450 m · 17 kmMount Galatea3,185 m · 18 kmMount Rae3,218 m · 18 kmMount Nivelle3,256 m · 19 km
Lakeyas6 lakes within 15 kmLower Kananaskis Lake5.9 km² · 7.3 kmThree Isle Lake0.4 km² · 7.4 kmUpper Kananaskis Lake8.5 km² · 8.3 kmHidden Lake0.4 km² · 8.9 kmTipperary Lake0.3 km² · 11 kmAster Lake0.2 km² · 12 km
Cascadyas5 waterfalls within 15 kmWarspite Cascade · 2.1 kmUpper Kananaskis Falls · 6.7 kmOpal Falls · 9.9 kmElpoca Falls · 10 kmFossil Falls · 10 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Photographs
The place, as people saw it.
Other places nearby.
Columbia Wetlands
Canada
- 59Birdyas Score
- 123Species
- 75Migrants
- 1Threatened
Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area
Canada · 195 km
- 81Birdyas Score
- 250Species
- 172Migrants
- 7Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q3575970) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 2,429 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Lakeyas, Cascadyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit