Backyard birds in Calgary, Alberta
Which birds visit Calgary yards, when they nest at this latitude, and when to be out for the dawn chorus, all worked out from Calgary's own coordinates.
- Coordinates
- 51.050°, -114.085°
- Population
- 1,306,784
- June 21 daylight
- 16 h 33 min
- December 21 daylight
- 7 h 54 min
- Sunrise mid-April / late June
- 6:43 AM / 5:20 AM
- Nesting vs state average
- roughly 5 days earlier than the state-wide average
- Hardiness zones (state)
- Canada 2a–4b
Nesting timing in Calgary
The state guides give nesting windows for Alberta as a whole, weighted toward where most people live (about 52.2°N). Calgary is at 51.1°N. Going by Hopkins' bioclimatic law, spring events move about four days per degree of latitude, so breeding here starts roughly 5 days earlier than the state-wide average. Elevation and nearby water also play a part.
Daylight triggers breeding. Calgary goes from 7 h 54 min of daylight at the winter solstice to 16 h 33 min in June, a 8 h 39 min swing.
- Black-capped Chickadee — state window May–July; box hole 1 1/8 in round
- Purple Martin — state window June–July; box hole 1 3/4–2 1/8 in round, or starling-resistant crescent (3 × 1 3/16 in)
- Downy Woodpecker — state window May–June; box hole 1 1/4 in round
- Hairy Woodpecker — state window May–June; box hole 1 1/2 in round
- American Goldfinch — state window August–September
- White-breasted Nuthatch — state window May–June; box hole 1 1/4 in round
- House Wren — state window June–August; box hole 1 to 1 1/8 in round
- Purple Finch — state window June–July
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird — state window June–August
- Mourning Dove — state window April–September
Birds you can expect in Calgary
Year-round residents (30)
Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatchs, Purple Finchs, Dark-eyed Juncos, Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatchs, Brown Creepers, Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, House Sparrows, European Starlings, Steller's Jays, Black-billed Magpies, Canada Jays, Mountain Chickadees, Eurasian Collared-Doves, American Crows, Common Ravens, Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, Mallards, Belted Kingfishers, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pine Grosbeaks, Red Crossbills, Clark's Nutcrackers, Western Screech-Owls
Summer breeders (43)
Purple Martins, American Goldfinchs, House Wrens, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Mourning Doves, American Robins, White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Northern Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, Baltimore Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Cedar Waxwings, Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Great Crested Flycatchers, Eastern Kingbirds, Rufous Hummingbirds, Spotted Towhees, Mountain Bluebirds, Say's Phoebes, White-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, Varied Thrushs, Violet-green Swallows, Lazuli Buntings, Bullock's Orioles, Cooper's Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Great Blue Herons, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushs, Winter Wrens, Gray Catbirds, Western Tanagers
Winter visitors (2)
Cold winters broken by chinook thaws in the south.
When to watch: dawn chorus in Calgary
Songbirds sing hardest in the 30–60 minutes before sunrise, and most of all in spring. In Calgary, sunrise is around 6:43 AM in mid-April, 5:20 AM at the June solstice and 9:36 AM in late December (local time, America/Edmonton). Fill feeders the evening before so the first birds find food.
Native plants for Calgary yards
Tubular flowers for hummingbirds and seed heads for finches.
Prolific seed heads for finches and sparrows.
Annual native sunflower — the original feeder seed.
Native bunchgrass; winter seed and ground cover for sparrows and juncos.
Catkin seed feeds redpolls and siskins all winter.
Dark summer fruit and heavy caterpillar load.
Berry-like cones feed bluebirds, solitaires and waxwings in winter.
Nectar-rich in summer, seed for finches in fall.
Nearby cities in Alberta
- Panorama Hills — 7 mi away, nesting about the same time as Calgary
- Saddle Ridge — 8 mi away, nesting about the same time as Calgary
- Evergreen — 8 mi away, nesting about the same time as Calgary
- Tuscany — 9 mi away, nesting about the same time as Calgary
- Chestermere — 12 mi away, nesting about the same time as Calgary
- Cranston — 12 mi away, nesting about the same time as Calgary
Frequently asked
What birds live in Calgary all year?
Year-round residents across Alberta include Black-capped Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch. All of them visit backyard feeders in Calgary.
When do birds start nesting in Calgary?
Calgary sits at a different latitude from Alberta's population centre, so nesting runs roughly 5 days earlier than the state-wide average, going by the rule of about 4 days per degree of latitude.
What time does the dawn chorus start in Calgary?
Songbirds start singing about 30–60 minutes before sunrise. In Calgary, sunrise is around 6:43 AM in mid-April and 5:20 AM in late June.
Sources
- eBird region overview and bar charts — Alberta
- Plant Hardiness Zones of Canada — Natural Resources Canada
- Audubon Native Plants Database
- GeoNames gazetteer (city coordinates & population)
- NOAA Solar Calculator methodology
Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.