ALBERTA
Plants and Animals

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Alberta	British columbia	Manitoba
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Plants and Animals

Plants

In Central and Northern Alberta, the arrival of spring is heralded by the early flowering of a variety of the common man's herb, Pulsatilla patens. This member of the buttercup family can bloom as early as March, but April is the normal flowering time. Other early bloomers on the prairie are Thermopsis rhombifolia, also called 'golden bean' or 'buffalo bean', and Rosa acicularis, a variety of the wild rose. The Rosa acicularis, which grows from Quebec to British Columbia, was chosen by schoolchildren in 1930 as the official flower of Alberta.

Rosa acicularis of wild rose, official flower of Alberta _{Photo: Qwert1234 CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

Members of the sunflower family bloom on the prairie in the summer months between July and September. The southern and central-eastern parts of Alberta are covered by short prairie grass, which withers during the summer and is then 'replaced' by hardy perennials such as Ratibida columnifera or 'Mexican hat', a fine jet species and sage. Both the lemon yellow honey clover and the white honey clover are found in Southern and Central Alberta. The trees in the parkland of Central Alberta, deciduous trees such as aspen, poplar and willow, grow in bushes on the hills. North of the North Saskatchewan River, forests dominate the landscape over thousands of square kilometers. American aspen, balsam poplar, and paper birch are the primary large deciduous species. Evergreen conifers include shrub, Rocky Mountain scots pine, twirled, white spruce, black spruce and the deciduous conifer Larix laricina or tamarack.

Larix laricina or tamarack in fall outfit_{Photo: Linda Baird-White in het publiek domein}

Other trees and conifers typical of Alberta: Larix lyallii or 'alpine larch', Pinus flexilis or 'limber pine', ash gray pine, balsam fir, Douglas fir, Engelmann fir, Rocky Mountin maple, feather maple or California maple, American red maple, Rocky Mountain juniper, American larch, American or American black poplar, Western American balsam poplar, American white pine. Watch out for the common 'poison ivy', touching this plant can be enough for successively unbearable itching, inflammation and ulcers.

Poison ivy_{Photo: Public domain}

Animals

Alberta's four landscape types (mountains, arctic forests, parklands and prairies) are home to many different types of animals. There are not many places in the world with such a wide variety of wildlife as Alberta. Alberta has about 587 species, including 10 amphibians, 93 mammals, 411 birds, 8 reptiles and 65 fish. In addition, some 20,000 insect species still walk, crawl and fly around Alberta. British Columbia is the only province in Canada with a higher number of mammal species. Alberta's 'national' animal is the bighorn sheep.

Bighorn Sheep, the 'national' animal of Alberta _{Photo: Jon Sullivan in the public domain}

The southern and central prairie regions were once fully owned by millions of wood bison, a subspecies of American bison. The bison population was rapidly being decimated and threatened with extinction from the beginning of colonization. At the moment the bison is doing reasonably well again.

Forest Bison_{Photo: CanadianEman CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

Alberta is home to a number of large carnivores, including the grizzly and blackbear in the mountains and wooded areas. The smaller carnivores of the dog and cat family include coyotes, wolves, foxes (including the rare kit fox), bobcat, Canadian lynx, and cougars. Other small predators include wolverine, river otter or North American otter, weasel, fishing marten, silver badger or American badger, black-footed bunzing, mink or American mink, and striped skunk or skunk. Large herbivorous mammals are found throughout the province, moose, mule deer, elk, white-tailed deer, woodland caribou in forested areas, gaffbuck on the prairies of southern Alberta, bighorn sheep and snow goats live in the Rocky Mountains.

Rabbits, porcupines (including the primeval sun or North American porcupine), raccoons, beavers (including the Canadian beaver), squirrels (including the American red squirrel, red-tailed chipmunk) and many types of rodents, including the American hare, mountain cottontail, North American flute bunny, jackrabbit, the musk or bisamrat, the gray marmot, woodchuck, yellow-bellied marmot and the rare Ordinary Kangaroo sacrifice from the cheek-bag mouse family scattered throughout the province. Alberta has only one venomous snake in its territory, the prairie rattlesnake.

In Central and Northern Alberta, migratory birds find nesting sites in the spring. In addition to the Canadian crane or prairie crane, large numbers of ducks, geese, swans and pelicans nest on or near the many lakes. Eagles, hawks, owls and crows also benefit from this and there is also a great variety of seed and insect-eating birds. Rivers and lakes are full of pike, broad-mouthed, American yellow bass, rainbow trout, brook trout, among others. red-throated trout, fathead minnow, brook or river trout, spotted omberfish and sturgeon. The Salvelinus confluentus or 'bull trout' is Alberta's provincial fish.

Salvelinus confluentus of 'bull trout ', provincial symbol of Alberta_{Photo: Bart Gammet in the public domain}

A selection of the many butterfly species: thistle butterfly, mourning cloak, atalanta (also known as admiral or number butterfly), small fire butterfly, monarch butterfly, variegated tadpole, black-headed tadpole and small cabbage white.

A selection of the bat species: big brown bat, red bat, gray bat, small brown bat and a number of species from the smooth-nosed family.

A selection of amphibians and reptiles: long-toed salamander, tiger salamander, forest frog, western ornamental turtle, red-sided garter snake and western hook-nosed snake.

What is special is that Alberta has been completely free of the brown rat, being the only province in Canada and one of the few places in the world anyway. Successive governments have worked on this since the early 1950s, and with great success until a few years ago. However, a colony of brown rats was found in a landfill in Medine Hat in 2012, and again in 2014.

Southeast of Drumheller, UNESCO established Dinosaur Provincial Park in 1955. This World Heritage area contains the richest fossil beds in the world. More than 300 important discoveries have been made here.

T-Rex in Drumheller, Alberta_{Photo: Kevstan CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

Elk Island National Park is home to large mammals such as the wapiti, the steppe bison and the endangered forest bison. Wood Buffalo National Park is Canada's largest national park and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983 because rare animals like the wood bison live there. Peregrine falcons and the bald eagle also live here and it is the only stable natural breeding ground in the world for the rare trumpet crane.

Trumpeter Crane_{Photo: Rod CC 2.0 Generic no changes made}

Waterton Lakes National Park has the richest wildlife of all Canadian parks, from bears to bighorn sheep and from waterfowl to sapwoods.

Banff National Park (6,640 km2), Canada's oldest national park, is home to many animal species in their natural environment: mountain goats, big horn sheep, deer, black bears, grizzly bears and wapiti. A special appearance is the American nutcracker. The lower slopes are covered with dense forests of pine, silver fir, and some Douglas fir. At higher altitudes, the species are supplanted by pine trees and the Engelmann spruce. At an altitude of 2,135 meters there is a semi-arctic climate where many colorful alpine flowers still bloom. Around Banff Cave & Basin, an area with many hot springs, a snail species lives in the hot water that is only found here, the Physella johnsoni or Banff Springs snail.

Physella johnsoni or Banff Springs snail, unique in Alberta_{Photo: Paulmkgordon CC 2.5 Generic no changes made}

The flora in Banff and Jasper National Park includes 996 species of vascular plants (trees, grasses and flowers), 407 lichens, 243 mosses and 53 liverworts.

Saskatoon Island Provincial Park is one of the nesting areas of the rare trumpeter swan.

Nesting trumpet swan_{Photo: public domain}

McLennan in western Alberta is known as the 'Bird Capital of the World' as it is here that three major migration routes converge around Kimiwan Lake, namely Mississippi, Pacific and Central. About 27,000 beach birds and 250,000 water birds converge here, more than 200 different species have been spotted here.

Below is an extensive overview of breeding and migratory birds observed in Alberta:

DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS
American wigeon	whistling swan	small winner	ruddy thorntail
American pochard	Great Canada Goose	cockade sawbeak	Brent Goose
American Scoter	large pochard	white-fronted goose	shoveler
American Black Duck	Great merganser	king eider	wigeon
Blue-winged Teal	Great Scoter	gadwall	snow goose
goldeneye	harlequin duck	Tufted Duck	topper
Spectacled Sea Duck	long-tailed duck	middle merganser	trumpet swan
buffalo-headed duck	Icelandic goldeneye	pintail	wild duck
Summer duck	cinnamon teal	ring-billed duck	teal
eider	Small Canada Goose	Ross' goose	summer translation

Male Gargeney_{Photo: Dick Daniels CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

PARTRIDES, PHASANTS, TURKEYS, HOVERS
Blue Grouse	turkey	partridge or field hen	fan fowl
forest grouse	collar grouse	Prairie Fowl	White-tailed Grouse
pheasant	Marsh Grouse	Spiny-tailed Grouse

White-tailed Snowgrouse_{Photo: Footwarrior CC 3.0 Generisk no changes made}

DIVERS, GREENS, CORMORANTS, PELICANS
Clark's Grebe	Eared Cormorant	Crested Diver	Red-throated Diver
Fat-billed Grebe	Black-necked Grebe	Pacific pearl diver	white pelican
Yellow-billed Diver	Ice Diver	red-necked grebe	gooseneck grebe

Swan-necked Grebe_{Photo: Frank Schulenburg CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

ROERDOMPEN, HERONS, IBISES
American Blue Heron	green heron	Cattle Egret	White-bellied Heron
American Little Egret	Great Egret	quack	white-faced ibis
Yellow-crowned night heron	Little Blue Heron	North American Bittern

North American Bittern_{Photo: Walter Siegmund CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

BIRDS OF PREPARATION, VULTURES
American Sparrowhawk	Cooper's Sparrowhawk	Red-headed Vulture	merlin
American Kestrel	Gyrfalcon	Red-tailed Hawk	golden eagle
Bald eagle	hawk	red rough-legged hawk	osprey
Hen harrier	prairie buzzard	rough-legged hawk
broad-winged hawk	prairie falcon	Peregrine Falcon

Coopers Sparrowhawk_{Photo: Cephas CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

RAILS, COATS, CRANES, PLEASURES
American coot	soraral	American Golden Plover	killdeerplevier
Canadian crane	Trumpeter Crane	American Kentish Plover	Mongolian plover
yellow ral	Virginia-ral	Asian Golden Plover	Prairie Plover
crane	Ringed Plover	Piping Plover	silver plover

Great Ringed Plover_{Photo: Dick Daniels CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

BEACH RUNNERS, SNIPES, CHAPTERS
American Avocet	blonde rider	big gray snip	red godwit
American Black-winged Stilt	Bonapartes Sandpiper	knot sandpiper	Red-throated Sandpiper
Alaska Randloper	variegated sandpiper	ruff	red phalarope
American Woodland Rider	surf runner	Little Yellow-legged Rider	Siberian Sandpiper
yellow ral	three-toed sandpiper	little gray snip	turnstone
American Woodcock	eskimo curlew	little sandpiper	stilt sandpiper
American sandpiper	striped sandpiper	smallest sandpiper	willet
American snipe	gray phalarope	curved sandpiper	black rider
American curlew	gray sandpiper	Spoon-billed Sandpiper	black turnstone
Baird's sandpiper	large phalarope	marble godwit
Bartrams rider	Great Yellow-legged Rider	whimbrel

Eskimo curlew_{Photo: Cephas CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

GULLS, STERNS, FIGHTERS
Little Tern	great black-backed gull	smallest hunter	Thayer's gull
Bering Gull	ivory gull	middle hunter	common tern
Kittiwake	Kamchatka century	arctic tern	fork-tailed gull
Little Gull	Little Mayor	prairie gull	herring gull
Forsters stern	little hunter	giant tern	black tern
Franklin's Gull	little black-headed gull	Ring-billed Gull
great mayor	lesser black-backed gull	Storm Gull

Grand Mayor_{Photo: Sowls Art in the public domain}

ALKEN, PIGEONS, COOKIES
Asiatic Marble Alk	rock pigeon	white-winged terror pigeon	Black-billed Guillemot
band-tailed pigeon	weeping pigeon	Silver Alk
Yellow-billed Cuckoo	Collared Dove	black guillemot

Yellow-billed Cuckoo_{Photo: Factumquintus CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

OWLS
American Eagle Owl	Lapland Owl	long-eared owl	Short-eared Owl
striped tawny owl	North American Scops Owl	rough-legged owl	Western Screech Owl
burrowing owl	Eastern Screech Owl	snowy owl	saw owl
Barn Owl	Ponderosa Scowl's Owl	Eurasian hawk

American Eagle Owl, 'national' bird of Alberta_{Photo: Brendan Lally CC 2.0 Generic no changes made}

SWALLOWS, HUMMINGBIRDS, KINGFISHES
American nightjar	Pied Common Swift	poorwill	whippoorwill
Anna's Hummingbird	callio hummingbird	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	black swift
band kingfisher	Costa's hummingbird	ruddy hummingbird	Black-throated Hummingbird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird_{Photo: Jeffreyw CC 2.0 Generic no changes made}

SWALLOWS, HUMMINGBIRDS, KINGFISHES
American three-toed woodpecker	yellow-bellied woodpecker	North American Helmet Woodpecker	black-backed woodpecker
mountain sapwood	golden ground woodpecker	Red-bellied Woodpecker
Down Woodpecker	hair woodpecker	Red-headed Woodpecker
acorn woodpecker	Lewis' woodpecker	Red-necked Woodpecker

North American helmeted woodpecker_{Photo: Cephas CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

PAIRING BIRDS
wormwood tyrant	Cassin's bunting	cat bird	red-necked bunting
American Tree Creeper	Cassin's rosefinch	keep	red-throated bluebird
American Wood Thrush	Cassins vireo	Kentucky singer	Red-crowned Cock
American Magpie	Cedar Waxwing	Great Gray Shrike	red-eyed vireo
American Gold Rooster	Connecticut singer	little fairy tyrant	red-eared bunting
Great Gray Shrike	pine ice cream	king tyrant	Red-tailed Bunting
American cliff swallow	pine warbler	curved-billed thrush	Red Mockingbird
American crow	dickcissel	crossbill	mourning singer
American bullhead	dwarf thrush	lazuligors	savannah bunting
American rosefinch	Elzenfeetiran	Lecontes bunting	Says phoebe
American Redstart	epaulet starling	Lincolns bunting	snow bunting
American Rock Winter King	Gambels tit	Louisianatangare	spruce tyrant
Arkansas King's Tyrant	yellow-breasted vireo	magnolia pendant	spruce piewie
evening fat beak	Yellow-breasted Warbler	mangrove warbler	spruce warbler
evening bunting	Yellow-Jawed Meadow Starling	McCowns Ice Bunting	mockingbird
Baird's bunting	yellow-throated warbler	Mexican Redhammer	grasshopper thorn
Baltimoretroepial	yellow headed groupial	swamp bunting	Steller's Jay
Redpoll	yellow-rumped warbler	swamp wren	beach lark
mountain hedge sparrow	Scarlet Warbler	Monk Warbler	scrub tyrant
mountain bluebird	yellow black-throated warbler	sparrow bunting	Wheatear
mountain solitaire	spotted towie	Nashville singer	Tennis singer
mountain spot thrush	regular mask singer	Nelson's White-tailed Bunting	Tiger Warbler
Birch Feather Tyrant	common raven	North American rough-winged martin	tundra dragons
blue jay	Common Starling	North American dipper	Townsends singer
blue black-throated warbler	shiny gravel	Northern House Wren	veery
blue-gray mosquito trap	Gold Kruingors	arctic water thrush	field bunting
Blue-throated Bluebird	gold ice cream	river tyrant	fork-tailed king tyrant
Blue-winged Warbler	Gray-headed Warbler	sand martin	western forest view
pale bunting	gray-crowned mountain finch	East American Wren	willow flycatcher
bobolink or rice troepial	gray-cheeked thrush	Orpheusvireo	Wilson's singer
barn swallow	gray junco	oven bird	whiteband crossbill
variegated ice bunting	Gray Nutcracker	Pacific water pipit	White-breasted Nuthatch
pied thrush	gray black-throated warbler	palm warbler	Whitefish Meadow Starling
colorful singer	green vocalsthere	Waxwing	White-throated Sparrow
tree martin	green swallow	Philadelphiavireo	White-crowned Gingers
Brewers bunting	green-tailed towie	phoebe	white-rumped redpoll
Brewers troopial	great crested tyrant	Pinyongaai	singing bunting
Glasses singer	hook beak	prairiegors	say winter king
glasses vireo	Hermit Thrush	prairie beeper	summer tangare
brown-headed cowbird	Hermit Warbler	purple bunting	Swallowtail King's Tyrant
Bullocks troopial	Hudson Tit	purple swallow	black troopial
cactus pot thrush	house sparrow	red cardinal	black-throated bunting
Canadian Nuthatch	Ice Bunting	rust flank warbler	Black-headed Cardinal
Canadian taiga jay	indigogors	Robin Cardinal	Black-headed Warbler
Canadian singer	chestnut back	European Robin	black-crowned goose
Carolina Wren	chestnut warbler	red-sidedowie	Black Wing Tangare

Canadian long jay_{Photo: Mdf CC 3.0 Unported no changes made}

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Sources

Canada
Cambium

Canada
Lonely Planet

Hempstead, Andrew / Calgary
Avalon Travel

Hempstead, Andrew / Edmonton & Northern Alberta
Avalon Travel

Pashby, Christie / Frommer's Alberta
Wiley

Struijk, Aad / West-Canada
Elmar

Teuschl, Karl / Canada-West : Rocky Mountains, Vancouver
Uitgeverij Unieboek/Het Spectrum BV

Veldt, Marc / Canada
Gottmer/Becht

Wagner, Heike / West- Canada
Lannoo

Wikipedia

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated May 2023
Copyright: Team The World of Info