I’m at the top of Prairie View, a broad vista overlooking Barrier Lake. It’s been a long hike up and I’ll be headed back down soon, stopping wherever I hear birdsong.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

Barrier Lake is one of the most visually stunning locations in Kananakis Country. 

It is a large, sea-blue lake in a valley surrounded by hills and mountains.

For this two-part hike I’ll be climbing to Prairie View, a vista that overlooks Barrier Lake and its valley.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet has a lengthy and fascinating song for such a tiny songbird.

This little grey bird starts off with soft high notes, then break into a musical twittering, and concludes with a loud series of phrases.

It’s an enchanting song, and a loud one for such a tiny bird. 

The Ruby-crowned Kinglet breeds throughout most of Canada and much of the interior western United States.

For this species in focus episode I’ll be sharing my recordings of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet from the Barrier Lake Forestry Trails, and the Sibbald Flats.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

A classic birding-by-ear problem is having two or more species in the same area that have similar songs. 

The Chipping Sparrow and the Orange-crowned Warbler are two such species: two of many that are infamous for their cryptic trills. 

First, the Chipping Sparrow has a straight trill with a consistent spacing between each “note”. 

In contrast, this Orange-crowned Warbler’s trill slows down as it progresses, and is not very consistent in quality.

For this species in contrast episode I’ll be sharing my recordings of Orange-crowned Warbler & Chipping Sparrow from the Barrier Lake Forestry Trails, the Fullerton Trail, Prairie View, and the Sibbald Flats.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

This episode concludes the morning at Jumpingpound Demonstraton Forest, with a focus on the Townsend's Warbler

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

Not wanting to leave a good birding location, I’m continuing to hike up and down the main hill at the Pine Woods Loop Trail at Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, following each new bird species I hear. It may be getting late into the morning, but the intensity of birdsong is not letting up yet.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

I’m continuing my hike through Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest. As the morning air warms, the birdsong continues to increase in intensity and diversity.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

We continue the exploration of Jumpingpound Forest.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

The Northern Waterthrush is a small, brown bird that may resemble a thrush, and may even inhabit thrush habitat, but is actually a warbler.

They live in bogs and wooded swamps throughout Canada and the northeastern United States.

The song of the Northern Waterthrush can be considered similar to the Yellow Warbler, and is described as sounding like twit-twit-twit, sweet-sweet, chew-chew-chew.

For this hike I’ve returned to Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, this time in much better weather and early in the morning. It is the last day of May 2025, and I don’t know what to expect this time, I’m just hoping to hear and record some new bird songs.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is an abundant, versatile warbler found throughout Canada and the western United States during the summer.

They are easily identified by the bright yellow patch on their rump just above their tail.

The males sing a slow, soft warble or trill in two phrases, which is usually faster in the second part.

This species was once considered to be three separate species, and Kananaskis Country is right in the midst of the hybrid zone of two of them: the Myrtle Warbler, and the Audubon’s Warbler. 

For this species in focus episode I’ll be sharing my recordings of the Yellow-rumped Warbler at Little Elbow PRA, Prairie View, Allen Bill Park, and Long Lake Provincial Park (not in Kananakis, but in Alberta).

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support

Note: unlike most of my episodes this one will have some very loud weather. I know there are quite a few listeners who use Songbirding to relax and fall asleep, and I just wanted to give you a heads up that if you’re one of them, you may want to skip this one as it ends quite loudly, or, if you happen to find thunder sounds relaxing, set a sleep timer of 20 minutes.

When I first arrived in Kanaskis Country to begin to record Songbirding, I started at Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, one of the eastmost hiking areas of Kananaskis. It was noon, and I hadn’t looked at any forecasts, and also had no idea what to expect in terms of bird activity. Noon isn’t the best time for birdsong recording, especially as late as it was in the season. And while what I recorded wasn’t very many bird sounds, I encountered a very different experience with nature sounds that I will always remember.

Credits

Songbirding: Kananaskis Country is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

The Songbirding cover art (Townsend's Warbler) is by Lauren Helton: https://tinylongwing.carbonmade.com/projects/5344062

Creative Commons music is from Bluedot Sessions.

Learn how to support the show at https://songbirding.com/support