Experience the Canadian Prairies on a birding tour like no other....
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Unparalleled prairie birding
In late spring, the prairie regions of Saskatchewan and Alberta the landscape is filled with birds. The wetlands hold a variety of breeding waterfowl and shorebirds while the grasslands are teaming with sparrows and longspurs.
Chestnut-collared Longspur - Gavin McKinnon
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Beautiful landscapes
On this tour we will visit some of the most overlooked and under-appreciated landscapes prairie landscapes in the world. We will visit the spectacular Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan and Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta.
Grasslands National Park - Gavin McKinnon
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Tour Information
Dates: June 2 - 9, 2025
Early June is one of the best times to visit the prairies in Saskatchewan and Alberta. This is the time of year that many specialty species are most active as they are establishing their territories.
Cost: $3140 CAD + GST (5%)/fees
The tour fee above its based on double occupancy and includes all ground transportation, accommodation in good-quality hotels, breakfast, lunch and professional guiding services.
Deposit & Cancellation Information: $600 CAD
The deposit for this tour becomes non-refundable 150 days prior to the starting date of the tour. The remaining balance is due by February 1, 2024. For cancellations between 60-90 days prior to departure a 50% refund will be issued. If a cancellation is made 59 days or less prior to departure, no refund will be issued.
Group Size: 4-10 participants
If 8 or more participants register for the tour a second guide will be added. This small group size and high guide to participant ratio ensures that everyone will have an enjoyable experience on this tour.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Regina
Today we will arrive in Regina, Saskatchewan and meet for a group dinner where we will discuss the plan for the upcoming days in the field.
Day 2: Regina to Grasslands National Park
We will leave Regina early this morning, we will make several stops at wetlands along our route. We can expect to see a variety of nesting shorebird species such as Wilson's Phalarope, American Avocet and Piping Plover today. Our destination is the small town of Val Marie, our base for the next two nights.
Day 3: Grasslands National Park
We will spend this day exploring one of Canada's best kept secrets, Grasslands National Park. This unique park is home to some of Canada's most threatened wildlife, Burrowing Owls and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs have healthy populations here and the re-introduced Plains Bison roam the park freely. Today we will have our first introduction this morning to many prairie specialties such as Chestnut-collared Longspur, Sprague's Pipit, Lark Bunting and the highly desired Baird's Sparrow.
Day 4: Grasslands National Park to Cypress Hills
We will start the day birding in the town of Val Marie. It may be surprising, however the town itself is also a very productive birding location. We will be on the lookout for straggling migrants as well as all of the expected prairie woodland species. The town is also known to host locally rare species such as Red-headed Woodpecker and Orchard Oriole. Later on, we will spend a few more hours visiting different areas of Grasslands National Park and searching for species that we may have missed the day before. In the afternoon we will make our way to our base for the next two nights, Elkwater, Alberta.
Day 5: Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
This day will be spent exploring the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan. This very unique habitat hosts a number of species that are typically found in the mountains. For example, Red-naped Sapsucker, Dusky Flycatcher, Black-headed Grosbeak and MacGillivary’s Warbler. These hills are also the only location in Canada where one can regularly find the ‘Pink-sided’ subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco. After dinner today, there will be an optional outing to search for another regional specialty, Common Poorwill.
Day 6: Wild Horse & Pakowki Lake
This morning we will drive south from Elkwater towards the Alberta-Montana border. We will spend most of the morning within the nationally significant Sage Creek Important Bird Area. This area encompasses 3000 square kilometres and is recognized for holding some of the few remaining Greater Sage-Grouse, Burrowing Owls and potentially Sage Thrashers in Canada. While none of these species can be expected here, they would be a welcome surprise! Our main targets this morning will be Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Thick-billed Longspurs and Lark Buntings. We will also visit Pakowki Lake, the first site in southern Alberta to establish a population of White-faced Ibis. We will spend some time here searching for waterbirds such as Cinnamon Teal, Black-crowned Night-Heron and any shorebirds that may be lingering in the area. In the nearby, isolated stands of trees we will spend some time searching for Bullock's Oriole. In the afternoon, we will slowly drive north to Brooks where we will spend the night.
Day 7: Dinosaur Provincial Park
On our last birding day of the tour we will venture into a new habitat type, the badlands. More specifically we will visit Dinosaur Provincial Park. Officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, this site is famous for its rich fossil history. In the valleys of this park we will search for species such as Rock Wren, Lark Sparrow and Yellow-breasted Chat. If we are lucky we may also see our first Violet-green Swallows of the tour. In the afternoon we will start to slowly make our way to Calgary for the evening.
Day 8: Departure from Calgary
The tour ends today in Calgary. Participants may depart from Calgary at any time today.
Today we will arrive in Regina, Saskatchewan and meet for a group dinner where we will discuss the plan for the upcoming days in the field.
Day 2: Regina to Grasslands National Park
We will leave Regina early this morning, we will make several stops at wetlands along our route. We can expect to see a variety of nesting shorebird species such as Wilson's Phalarope, American Avocet and Piping Plover today. Our destination is the small town of Val Marie, our base for the next two nights.
Day 3: Grasslands National Park
We will spend this day exploring one of Canada's best kept secrets, Grasslands National Park. This unique park is home to some of Canada's most threatened wildlife, Burrowing Owls and Black-tailed Prairie Dogs have healthy populations here and the re-introduced Plains Bison roam the park freely. Today we will have our first introduction this morning to many prairie specialties such as Chestnut-collared Longspur, Sprague's Pipit, Lark Bunting and the highly desired Baird's Sparrow.
Day 4: Grasslands National Park to Cypress Hills
We will start the day birding in the town of Val Marie. It may be surprising, however the town itself is also a very productive birding location. We will be on the lookout for straggling migrants as well as all of the expected prairie woodland species. The town is also known to host locally rare species such as Red-headed Woodpecker and Orchard Oriole. Later on, we will spend a few more hours visiting different areas of Grasslands National Park and searching for species that we may have missed the day before. In the afternoon we will make our way to our base for the next two nights, Elkwater, Alberta.
Day 5: Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
This day will be spent exploring the Cypress Hills of Alberta and Saskatchewan. This very unique habitat hosts a number of species that are typically found in the mountains. For example, Red-naped Sapsucker, Dusky Flycatcher, Black-headed Grosbeak and MacGillivary’s Warbler. These hills are also the only location in Canada where one can regularly find the ‘Pink-sided’ subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco. After dinner today, there will be an optional outing to search for another regional specialty, Common Poorwill.
Day 6: Wild Horse & Pakowki Lake
This morning we will drive south from Elkwater towards the Alberta-Montana border. We will spend most of the morning within the nationally significant Sage Creek Important Bird Area. This area encompasses 3000 square kilometres and is recognized for holding some of the few remaining Greater Sage-Grouse, Burrowing Owls and potentially Sage Thrashers in Canada. While none of these species can be expected here, they would be a welcome surprise! Our main targets this morning will be Chestnut-collared Longspurs, Thick-billed Longspurs and Lark Buntings. We will also visit Pakowki Lake, the first site in southern Alberta to establish a population of White-faced Ibis. We will spend some time here searching for waterbirds such as Cinnamon Teal, Black-crowned Night-Heron and any shorebirds that may be lingering in the area. In the nearby, isolated stands of trees we will spend some time searching for Bullock's Oriole. In the afternoon, we will slowly drive north to Brooks where we will spend the night.
Day 7: Dinosaur Provincial Park
On our last birding day of the tour we will venture into a new habitat type, the badlands. More specifically we will visit Dinosaur Provincial Park. Officially recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, this site is famous for its rich fossil history. In the valleys of this park we will search for species such as Rock Wren, Lark Sparrow and Yellow-breasted Chat. If we are lucky we may also see our first Violet-green Swallows of the tour. In the afternoon we will start to slowly make our way to Calgary for the evening.
Day 8: Departure from Calgary
The tour ends today in Calgary. Participants may depart from Calgary at any time today.