The morning is beginning to draw to a close and I am wrapping up my first exploration of the Sibbald Meadows Pond. Things may be a bit quieter but that does allow for me to focus more on the sounds of individual birds.

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

Episode Notes

Notes go hereThe Common Yellowthroat is a loud and lively warbler found along the edges of marshes and wetlands.

It is one of the few warblers found nearly everywhere across North America every summer.

Males are known for their broad black masks, and unmistakable "witchety-witchety-witchety" song.

In this episiode, we continue our hike around Sibbald Meadows Pond.

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

It’s a sunny mid-July morning and I’m continuing my exporation of the Sibbald Meadows Pond: a secluded wetland surrounded in all directions by mountains, and abundant with bird song.

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 Lincoln’s Sparrow is a very secretive songbird that looks almost like it’s got a tailored plumage: complete with the stripes, spots, and the streaks of typical brownish North American sparrow.

Most notably its chest is buffy coloured and has visible fine streaks.

The song of the Lincoln’s Sparrow is a song of jumbled notes, and to me is reminiscent of an abbreivated House Wren song.

This species is found almost everywhere in Canada except for southern Ontario, the south central prairies and the arctic. It can also be found in limited parts of the western United States.

For this species in focus episode I’ll be sharing my recordings of the Lincoln’s Sparrow from Sibbald Meadows Pond, Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, and the Fullerton Loop Hiking Trail.

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

In Alberta, many road and highways are actually called trails. One such trail I’ll be exploring at lot is the Sibbald Creek Trail, a very wide, winding gravel road that passes through a diversity of mountain habitats.

One of those habitats is the Sibbald Meadows Pond, a popular fishing spot surrounded on all sides by mountains, which also happens to be a fantastic birding location. For the next few episodes I’ll be sharing my experiences at this location during my first trip here in mid-July of 2023.

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

About an hour’s drive west of Calgary, Alberta in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rocky Mountains is an area known as Kananaskis Country.

Within this nearly 1 million acres of land are towering mountains, alpine meadows, glaciers, forests, lakes, wetlands, grasslands, and thickets. Over 130 species of birds nest in Kananaskis Country, including many songbirds.

I’ve felt a draw to return to this place ever since I first camped here when I was 13.

The imagery of the mountains, sky, and forests have never left me. But I didn’t remember much about how it sounded.

Now, 30 years after I first visited Kananaskis Country, I’m back once again, this time with some field recorders and the skills and knowledge to help me identify the birdsongs I hear.

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 Eastern Warbling-Vireo is greyish olive bird that can be found in deciduous trees in open areas in the central and northeastern United States, and in the prairies and southern parts of Ontario and Québec in Canada.

Its name is quite descriptive of its song — a rapid and almost frantic warbling song that is loud enough that you are more likely to hear this bird than see it.

In 2025 this species was split from the Western Warbling-Vireo, which has a much more disjoined sounding song. I’ll be sharing its songs and sounds in future episodes.

For this species in focus episode I’ll be sharing a previously unreleased hike from the Bruce County Rail Trail in 2021.

Credits

Songbirding: Species in Focus is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

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

Creative Commons music is from Universfield.

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

Here in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies, the birds are our hosts. We are their guests.

Premieres March 2, 2026.

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/ Creative Commons music is PlainGrey by Blue Dot Sessions: https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/362688

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

The Common Grackle is a blackbird with bright yellow eyes and a glossy-irridescent plumage.

Their vocalizations are a mix of croaks, creaks, squeaks, and whistles.

Common Grackles are typically found in most of Canada and the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and are present year-round in the south-eastern half of that range.

For this Species in Focus episode I’ll be sharing a spring walk at Fifty Point Conservation Area in Grimsby, Ontario in March 2022 and at Valens Conservation Area in March 2023.

Credits

Songbirding: Species in Focus is a Songbirding Studios production.

Recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

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

Creative Commons music is from Universfield.

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

The Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the western hemisphere that is held between December 14 and January 5 each winter.

It was devised originally as an alternative to the 19th century tradition of hunting birds at Christmas, and has evolved to become the longest running citizen science project.

There are tens of thousands of participants - seeking out and counting tens of millions of birds each year.

2025 will be the 126th year of the Christmas Bird Count. If you don’t already participate in one, as of this episode’s release, you still have time to find and join a count local to you.

This episode was recorded during the 48th Cambridge Christmas Bird Count in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

Credits

Songbirding is a Songbirding Studios production, and was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

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

Creative Commons music is by Scott Buckley.

For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, see: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count

Support Songbirding by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songbirding

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-da20d0 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Songbirding.

The Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the western hemisphere that is held between December 14 and January 5 each winter.

It was devised originally as an alternative to the 19th century tradition of hunting birds at Christmas, and has evolved to become the longest running citizen science project.

There are tens of thousands of participants - seeking out and counting tens of millions of birds each year.

2025 will be the 126th year of the Christmas Bird Count. If you don’t already participate in one, as of this episode’s release, you still have time to find and join a count local to you.

For the next two episodes I’ll be sharing with you my experiences out in the field during two of the 2024 Christmas Bird Counts, starting with the 49th Hanover-Walkerton Christmas Bird Count in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada.

Credits

Songbirding is a Songbirding Studios production, and was recorded, engineered, narrated and created by Rob Porter.

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

Creative Commons music is by Scott Buckley.

For more information about the Christmas Bird Count, see: https://www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count

The eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S124632617

Support Songbirding by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/songbirding

This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-da20d0 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Songbirding.