Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Field Trip September 5, 2026

Chris Olsen Report

Bird Focus People:

Nine birders joined us on the Alix Lake Nature Trails for our first outing of the fall on September 5th, 2026. It rained and misted steadily as I drove in from Vermilion, but despite gray and threatening skies it stayed dry for the entirety of our walk around Alix Lake. Perhaps because of the threatening skies, we saw few songbirds with just a single Robin, Northern House Wren and White-breasted Nuthatch, and a few Black-capped Chickadees and Cedar Waxwings seen on the first third of our walk. Things were much busier on the water with juvenile Bonaparte Gulls, Forster’s Terns, and Red-necked and Pied-billed Grebes feeding over and under the water. We saw large aggregations of American Coots as well as a range of dabbling and diving ducks. We had flocks of Canada Geese, Greater White-fronted Geese and Sandhill Cranes overhead. We walked out to ‘William’s Pond’ (on the west of the lake) and it was teeming with waterfowl and migratory shorebirds. There were many Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs and large groups of Pectoral Sandpipers feeding in the shallows. Wilson’s Phalaropes, Long-billed Dowitchers and dabbling ducks fed along the far shore. Strangely, a lone Rock Pigeon circled above.

The woods on the south and east of the lake were unusually quiet, with few of the regular songbirds about. American Goldfinch fed on the thistle patches along the shore and a few Black-capped Chickadees and Cedar Waxwings fed in the berry patches - there is a huge crop of chokecherries, high bush cranberries and hawthorns along the shores. Surprisingly, as we walked back through the village, we finished with a very large group of Common Grackles, a flock of European Starlings and a lawn of House Sparrows.

As we walked, we discussed some of the rarities seen across the province lately and in consideration, 5 of our group drove the short extra distance over to Erskine. The gravel road along the west part of the lake was busy with birders. They kindly welcomed us and pointed the way to a stubble field paralleling the west arm of Erskine Lake. Two mature Whooping Cranes moved placidly along the edge less than 100 m from the roadside. We watched them in silence for about 15 minutes until they spread huge wings and flew over to the main waterbody to wade the shallows there. A great finish to a first fall outing!

A nearly last note - Ron Bjorge has generously offered to host the Sep 26, 2026 outing (Maskepetoon Park) while I’m on the Bowron Canoe Circuit. We’re still hopeful someone can step in for the Heritage Ranch outing on Sep 19, 2026.

Finally, next weekend (Sep 12, 2026) is set for Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park - always breathtakingly beautiful in the fall colours. However, it is dangerous and the roads are impassible when it is wet. Right now, the forecast looks sketchy - watch your email and the RDRN social media and website as we get close - we’ll choose another destination if necessary.

Enjoy!

Chris

Here is the eBird report:

Alix Lake Nature Trails, Red Deer, Alberta, CA
Sep 5, 2026 10:03 AM - 2:51 PM
Protocol: Traveling, walking
6.121 kilometres
Checklist Comments: Red Deer River Naturalists, Bird Focus Group outing.
41 species
9 Participants
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)  70
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  25
Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)  15
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  20
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  5
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)  6
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)  3
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)  8
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  1
American Coot (Fulica americana)  44
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  60
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)  1
Wilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus tricolor)  10
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)  60
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca)  21
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  75
Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia)  12
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  1
Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri)  12
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)  3
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)  2
Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena)  9
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis)  1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  7
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  8
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  28
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
Northern House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  25
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  12
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  10
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  9
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  1
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  70

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S390580482