Birds & Conservation in BC’s Columbia Valley

We’ll set off from our hotel right after breakfast. As we drive through the foothills we’ll look for Swainson's hawks, and mule deer calmly browing in the fields - and try not to gape as the magnificent front ranges of the Rocky Mountains come into view. Our first chance to connect with the wild nature of the West begins at the Flowing Waters trail in Bow Valley Provincial Park, where we will stroll on boardwalks and gravel trails to explore both wetland and montane ecosystems.

Next stop will be in magnificent Banff, Canada's first national park, where we will enjoy a picnic lunch at the Cave and Basin site and hopefully get acquainted with local birds such as Townsend's warbler, Swamp sparrow, and Violet-green swallow.

We will continue on through Banff and Yoho National Parks, with a couple of stops to look for mountain birds, and check into our hotel in Golden.

We’ll begin our day at the aptly named Reflection Lake, a wonderful aquatic complex on the outskirts of town. Then we drive up to the base of famous Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, stopping along the way in search of subalpine forest species such as Varied thrush and Clark's Nutcracker, and nesting finches. The gondola then whisks us above the treeline into the Alpine (where Eagle-Eye Tours will buy you lunch in the Eagle’s Eye restaurant!) where we’ll take in some breathtaking views and look for Alpine species such as Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, and perhaps even a resident Golden Eagle. We’ve got a good chance of seeing a Grizzly bear, too – the resort’s Bear Refuge highlights an orphaned Grizzly bear, Boo.

Today we head south down the length of the fabulous ‘Trench,’ never far away from the Columbia River. We’ll stop at a number of wetlands and river crossings in search of breeding birds including Bullock's Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Lazuli Bunting – and a breathtaking variety and abundance of other species that will take your breath away! We’ll visit with conservationists Chris Bosman and Marcy Mahr, who will share their work to protect bats, badgers, birds, and bears as we explore a wonderful new property outside Edgewater, managed for conservation by The Nature Trust of British Columbia. Later, we’ll check into our Invermere hotel.

Today begins with a look at some jaw-dropping scenery as we visit Ritchie’s Point to view Red-necked grebes, Trumpeter swans, and Wood Duck in the Wilmer lagoon. From there we’ll check in on our regular Lewis’s Woodpecker viewing spot in Fairmont meadows, and visit White-throated Swifts at the Dutch Creek Hoodoo conservancy, where staff will walk us through the meadows and share their work to protect wild nature at this site. We’ll end the day at the Source of the Columbia River trail in Canal Flats, in search of Empidonax flycatchers, Calliope Hummingbirds, and perhaps even a Rock Wren. Check into Elizabeth Lake Lodge in Cranbrook.

Elizabeth Lake is a highly productive lake, replete with species such as Black Terns and several species of teals and grebes – and is just a hundred metres from our hotel! We’ll offer an optional pre-breakfast bird walk - then we’ll meet up with our host Dianne Cooper, steward of the nearby Skookumchuck Prairie Important Bird Area. Dianne will orient us to this important site and others, where we’ll have excellent opportunities to learn about her work and view southern species such as Long-Billed Curlew, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Western and Mountain Bluebirds, and Black-chinned Hummingbird. Night in Cranbrook.

Our tours ends a high note as we travel back towards Calgary via prairie sloughs and Frank Lake, a 5000 acre hotspot of lake, wetlands, and uplands that boasts spectacular nesting birds such as White-faced Ibis, Ruddy duck, American Avocet, and American White Pelicans. We’ll have dinner and our traditional end-of-trip awards ceremony back in Calgary where we began the tour. Night near the Calgary airport.