Have you seen an unusual bird in Calgary? If it is a species on the list below, please report it. If you are a member of the online discussion group Albertabird, it should be reported there.
Note that if it is a sensitive species or a nesting bird, specific locations should not be given publicly.
If you would like some help with species identification, or to confirm that your bird is a rarity, please email us at us at birdscalgary@gmail.com.
Note that some of these species are always rare for this area, whereas others are more common on migration, or in certain locations near Calgary. Others are expanding their ranges or increasing in numbers. Do a search on Albertabird or search eBird records to see if the bird is rare at the time and place sighted. All of them are reportable if sighted within the city.
Some species may be common here at certain times of the year but usually absent at other times. A species seen when it should not be here may be reported as a “seasonal rarity.” For example, any warbler seen here in the winter would be a seasonal rarity, regardless of how common it is in the summer or on spring and fall migration.
Waterfowl
Greater White-fronted Goose
Snow Goose
Ross’s Goose
Brant
Cackling Goose
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Fulvous-Whistling Duck
Eurasian Wigeon
American Black Duck
Garganey
Tufted Duck
Greater Scaup
King Eider
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Grouse, Quail, and allies
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Wild Turkey
Loons and Grebes
Red-throated Loon
Pacific Loon
Yellow-billed Loon
Clark’s Grebe
Herons, Ibis, and allies
American Bittern
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
White-faced Ibis
Vultures, Hawks, and allies
Turkey Vulture
Northern Goshawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
Golden Eagle
Gyrfalcon
Peregrine Falcon
Prairie Falcon
Rails, Gallinules, and Allies
Yellow Rail
Virginia Rail
Cranes
Sandhill Crane
Shorebirds
American Golden-Plover
Pacific Golden-Plover
Wandering Tattler
Spotted Redshank
Upland Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Long-billed Curlew
Hudsonian Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Red-necked Stint
Western Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Dunlin
Curlew Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Ruff
Short-billed Dowitcher
Red Phalarope
Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
Black-legged Kittiwake
Sabine’s Gull
Black-headed Gull
Little Gull
Ross’s Gull
Mew Gull
Western Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Iceland Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Slaty-backed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Glaucous Gull
Least Tern
Caspian Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Forster’s Tern
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Alcids
Ancient Murrelet
Long-billed Murrelet
Pigeons and Doves
Band-tailed Pigeon
White-winged Dove
Cuckoos
Black-billed Cuckoo
Owls
Barn Owl
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Burrowing Owl
Barred Owl
Great Gray Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Boreal Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Nightjars
Common Nighthawk
Common Poorwill
Whip-poor-will
Swifts
Vaux’s Swift
Hummingbirds
Black-chinned Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Woodpeckers
Lewis’s Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Sapsucker
Williamson’s Sapsucker
Red-breasted Sapsucker
American Three-toed Woodpecker
Black-backed Woodpecker
Tyrant Flycatchers, Pewees, Kingbirds, and allies
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Hammond’s Flycatcher
Gray Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Pacific-Slope (Western) Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Shrikes
Loggerhead Shrike
Vireos
Yellow-throated Vireo
Cassin’s Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Jays, Magpies, Crows, and Ravens
Gray Jay
Steller’s Jay
Clark’s Nutcracker
Larks
Horned Lark
Martins and Swallows
Purple Martin
Violet-green Swallow
Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Wrens
Rock Wren
Winter Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Dippers
American Dipper
Gnatcatchers
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Old World Flycatchers
Northern Wheatear
Thrushes
Eastern Bluebird
Western Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Varied Thrush
Catbirds, Mockingbirds, and Thrashers
Northern Mockingbird
Sage Thrasher
Accentors
Siberian Accentor
Wagtails and Pipits
Sprague’s Pipit
Longspurs and Snow Buntings
McCown’s Longspur
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Wood-Warblers
Blue-winged Warbler
Virginia’s Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Mourning Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Canada Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Sparrows and other Emberizeds
Green-tailed Towhee
Brewer’s Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Lark Bunting
Lark Sparrow
Black-throated Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Baird’s Sparrow
Le Conte’s Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow
Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and allies
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Black-headed Grosbeak
Lazuli Bunting
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Blackbirds
Bobolink
Rusty Blackbird
Bullock’s Oriole
Finches, Euphonias, and allies
Gray-crowned Rosy –Finch
Purple Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Red Crossbill
White-winged Crossbill
Hoary Redpoll
Evening Grosbeak