Red Deer River Naturalists

The Red Deer river Naturalists are a group dedicated to learning about and preserving natural history. They have regular programs with speakers and many field trips.

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Sunday, October 19, 2025

Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Field Trip October 18, 2025

Chris Olsen Report 

Bird Focus People:

Two birders made it to Crimson Lake October 18, 2025 to walk the Amerada Trail on a spectacular fall day. The leaves were off the poplars, but the Larches were in full gold and the fall colors were stunning against the bright blue sky!

Woodpeckers and creepers were the story of the day. A walk to the shoreline first thing gave us repeated drum calls from an American Three-toed Woodpecker and drumming and calling from both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. On the lake itself, a log of sleepy Ring-billed Gulls basked in their own reflections, and a single Common Loon called in the distance. Later in the day we added Mallards and a Common Merganser, but otherwise the waters were still and empty.

A kilometre or so down the trail, we flushed a Ruffed Grouse and then followed more drumming to another American Three-toed Woodpecker. In the same stand, we heard and saw our first Brown Creeper of the day, and a mixed feeding flock of Black-capped Chickadees, Boreal Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and Golden-crowned Kinglets fed by us.

Surprisingly, there were no birds on the wetland pond, but a kilometre or so past, we encountered Canada Jays on the trail, and gentle tapping nearby led us to another American Three-toed Woodpecker. At lunch near the island, we were joined by a second Brown Creeper. Remarkably, we encountered a third Brown Creeper and a third American Three-toed Woodpecker before the boardwalk fen trail!

Enjoy!

Chris 

Here is the eBird report:

Crimson Lake Provincial Park, Clearwater County CA-AB 52.45105, -115.03274, Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, CA
Oct 18, 2025 9:49 AM - 2:10 PM
Protocol: Traveling, walking
9.913 kilometres
Checklist Comments: Red Deer River Naturalists, Bird Focus Group outing.
17 species
2 Participants
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  1
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)  2
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  7
Common Loon (Gavia immer)  1
American Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis)  3
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus)  1
Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)  4
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  3
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  2
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  4
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  12
Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus)  12
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)  6
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  2
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)  3
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S280218978

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