Bird Watching on the Bow River, Alberta

Edit text   |   Edit all fields

The Bow River area, especially in the Banff National Park area but not limited to it, is a great place for bird watching. In Banff alone, there are 260 species to spot.

Best viewing spots are the town of Banff, the Cave and Basin Marsh, Vermilion Lakes and Johnston's Canyon, along the Bow River from Banff to Lake Louise, and at the Bow Summit, 20 kilometres north of the TransCanada Highway on Highway 93N.

Some good bets:

•Cliff Swallows on the Banff Avenue bridge

•Clark's Nutcrackers, Pygmy Owls and Cassin's Finches on Tunnel Mountain

•Mountain Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches in Banff

• Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Green-winged Teal, and Barrow's Goldeneyes at Cave and Basin Marsh

• Yellow and Orange-crowned warblers, Wilson's, at Cave and Basin Marsh

• Tundra Swans, Bald Eagles, Northern Shovelers, and Hooded Mergansers at Vermilion Lakes

• Black Swift , American Dippers, and Cordilleran Flycatchers at Johnston's Canyon

• Harlequin Ducks, Spotted Sandpipers and Bohemian Waxwings on the Bow between Banff and Lake Louise

This entry needs additional details, including:

• detailed directions to bird watching sites
  
• descriptions of how accessible the sites are
  If you can help, please click on “Edit Text,” above.