Bow Valley Birding and Wildlife Tours

Bow Valley Birding and Wildlife Tours Birding, wildlife, photography, and sightseeing tours based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Led by a experienced and passionate field guide.

Another fun comparison is the variation in song between the Eastern and Western populations of Marsh Wren. This particul...
08/19/2026

Another fun comparison is the variation in song between the Eastern and Western populations of Marsh Wren. This particular variation may be the subject of an upcoming split, so it's good to note the differences there, since they are relatively indistinguishable in the field. This little beauty was chattering away at us at the Sedge Wren Marsh, which might also need a name change soon!

It was incredible to see and hear so many Eastern Meadowlarks on territory in the Carden Plain. I am still amazed each t...
08/19/2026

It was incredible to see and hear so many Eastern Meadowlarks on territory in the Carden Plain. I am still amazed each time at just how different their songs are when compared to their western cousins. Maybe it's because I'm from the west, but I am convinced the Western Meadowlark song is superior.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the totally unobtrusive Field Sparrow. Their song carries so well, but this littl...
08/19/2026

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the totally unobtrusive Field Sparrow. Their song carries so well, but this little brown job is the definition of drab. Thankfully, their voice more than makes up for it!

The Indigo Bunting flies a little under the radar next to its flashier cousins, the Lazuli, Painted, and Varied Buntings...
08/19/2026

The Indigo Bunting flies a little under the radar next to its flashier cousins, the Lazuli, Painted, and Varied Buntings, but it's the one I always look forward to seeing here in Eastern Canada. You'll hear him singing his heart out long before you spot him in the brushes, and once you finally do, ID is a breeze, since the males look like nothing else around. Keep doing your thing, you handsome devil!

After leaving the shores of Lake Erie and a few hours drive north to the Carden-Alvar region, we started our last day of...
08/19/2026

After leaving the shores of Lake Erie and a few hours drive north to the Carden-Alvar region, we started our last day of at a wetland just outside of Orillia. This encounter with a calling Virginia Rail is one for the books, and I don't ever expect to have looks like this again. Simply lovely.

One of our last birds we managed to track down near Backus Woods in the Long Point area was this Grasshopper Sparrow. Wi...
08/19/2026

One of our last birds we managed to track down near Backus Woods in the Long Point area was this Grasshopper Sparrow. With their almost imperceptible song and stealthy behaviour, they can be really tough to track down, but a brief encounter is sometimes all it takes to get a few good photos.

One of the warbler species that I'm sure I personally miss most often is the stunning Magnolia Warbler. Their songs are ...
08/19/2026

One of the warbler species that I'm sure I personally miss most often is the stunning Magnolia Warbler. Their songs are just one of the ones that my brain just filters out and ignores much of the time. Thankfully, this very accommodating male was happy to get right in our faces and make sure we got to see him.

One of the most unfair questions one can ask a birder is "What's your favourite bird?" It's an impossible choice for me,...
08/19/2026

One of the most unfair questions one can ask a birder is "What's your favourite bird?" It's an impossible choice for me, but one that always gets me excited when I see or hear it is the Ovenbird. There's no specific reason why, but I love them, and that's why I spent as much time as I did getting the group good looks at this one in Backus Woods in southern Ontario during with .

On our second to last day of the tour with back in May, we stopped by for a morning hike. We were overwhelmed by th...
08/19/2026

On our second to last day of the tour with back in May, we stopped by for a morning hike. We were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Hooded Warblers, Ovenbirds, and Wood Thrushes, in this patch if incredible Carolinian forest. Imagining if this fragment of mature forest remained intact all along the Lake Erie shoreline is kind of surreal, but I'm happy we can still enjoy just a little bit of it now.

While they're not native to North America, this species is abundant in the east, and you can easily see how that might h...
08/19/2026

While they're not native to North America, this species is abundant in the east, and you can easily see how that might have happened with this photo!

This Mute Swan family was one of many seen along the Big Creek Marsh trail at Long Point back in May for our tour with .

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