(Mountain Bluebird, WBU Inc.)

Nature Happenings

• Project FeederWatch ends this month, feederwatch.org
• Bald Eagles begin their nesting behaviours.
• Ravens, crows and Canada Geese begin nesting.
• Ground Squirrels are beginning to emerge from hibernation.
• Listen for singing Northern Leopard Frogs, Boreal Chorus Frogs, and Columbia Spotted Frogs.
• Phoebes return this month.
• Song Sparrows begin calling.
• South winds bring major waves of migrating birds like thrushes and warblers.
• Flickers establish their territories late in the month.
• Dark-eyed Junco population increases this month.
• Robins returning now.
• Mourning Cloak Butterflies emerge on the first sunny days.
• Wildlife Week, the week of April 4-9 - a program of the Canadian Wildlife Federation to celebrate our country's natural heritage and play an important role in its conservation.
• Pairs of Canada Geese stake out potential nest sites often standing on frozen ponds waiting for the ice to melt.
• Northern Saw-whet Owls give their piping territorial calls along the North Saskatchewan River valley.
• Richardson's ground squirrels are now out in prairies and pastures.
• Osprey are sitting on their eggs.
• Red-tailed Hawks return to set up nesting territories.
• The yap and yodel of coyotes is heard across the province, including the river valleys in Edmonton and area.
• Prairie crocus or pasque flower is a traditional harbinger of spring.
• Our largest fish, the lake sturgeon, may live for 60+ years.
• Mountain Bluebirds are nesting by end of month. Be sure to have their houses ready. A Mountain Bluebird was spotted east of Edmonton on March 11, 2016. A male Mountain Bluebird was spotted in West Edmonton Apr 1, 2018.
• Tree Swallows return and compete for tree holes and nest boxes throughout the region.
• Long-toed salamanders are moving to their breeding ponds.
• Snakes are beginning to move out of their hibernacula in southern Alberta.
• Gulls are migrating into the region.
• By early April, grizzly bears begin to emerge from their dens.
• By mid-April, American kestrels arrive in south-central Alberta and are often found nesting in holes and cavities in trees, banks, and nest boxes.
• Listen for the dancing of Sharp-tailed Grouse.
• Lyrids meteor shower will peak between April 22 and 23.
• The April 5 full moon is called the Pink Moon.
• Earth Day, Saturday, April 22. Earth Day is the largest environmental event in the world. More than six million Canadians— typically including nearly every school-aged child—participate in an Earth Day activity in their communities.
• Sources
  1. Wild Birds Unlimited
  2. Alberta's Watchable Wildlife
  3. Royal Astronomical Society of Canada