Birding | Town of Coaldale

Around 2000 I received my first bird book as a gift – A Guide to Field Identification of Birds of North America. I knew I was always chasing Robins out of my Saskatoon bushes, but that was about the extent of my bird interest. Then, in 2002, after completing our new deck, I took to taking my coffee outside every weekend morning to enjoy the early morning sun and relax before moving on with my day. On May 17, 2002 while having my morning coffee, I caught a glimpse of this little bird with a splotch of yellow on his wing zip past and land in a tree. I knew it wasn’t a sparrow, and then remembered my bird book. I grabbed my binoculars and the book and very slowly eventually found out I had just identified my first Pine Siskin. This was my first entry into my bird book and the exact moment I became hooked on bird watching.

Today, every chance I get, I grab my binoculars, my bird book and a cup of coffee and head for my deck (in the summer) or my kitchen window where I can keep a close eye on my bird feeders (in the winter) to see what new visitor has arrived in my yard. I watch for birds year-round and write down in my bird book the date I first see our migratory friends each year. To date, I have identified 85 different species of birds (not including the numerous duck species that call our area their summer home) who have visited my yard, including a few very rare birds to this area.

I encourage everyone to get a hold of a Bird Identification Book (or there are a number of bird identification apps available), grab your binoculars and start watching your yard for our feathered visitors. As you identify a species, please let me know by emailing commserv@coaldale.ca Tell me what species you saw and the date you saw the bird and approximately where you saw the bird (not a specific address, but a general location). As we don’t want groups of bird watchers descending on one location, I will not list sighting locations at this time.

With your help, we will be able to start a community bird list and understand what birds visit the Coaldale area and which birds are year round residents.