See if you can spot a hairy woodpecker in the Canadian Rockies.

The Birds of Jasper

By Michele Kadison

Staff Writer

Rockies.com

JASPER, Alberta (Rockies.com) – Mt. Robson Provincial Park has a varied bird fauna, as does all of Canada and the Canadian Rockies. More than 180 species have been recorded in the park and vicinity, and of these, the majority are summer residents or transients.

Only about 25 species can be considered regular, permanent residents in Robson. These inlcude:

• Raptors – Goshawks, Great Horned Owl, Boreal Owl, Great Gray Owl
• Grouse: Ruffed Spruce, Blue Grouse, Willow and White-tailed Ptarmigan; they feed on the buds of trees and shrubs
• Corvids: Gray Jay, Black-billed Magpie and Common Raven; they are omnivorous feeders
• Woodpeckers: Hairy, Northern and Black-backed Three-toed; they eat grubs and ants from rotten wood and under bark 
• Chickadees: Black-capped, Mountain and Boreal; they are bark gleaners
• Waxwings: Bohemian Waxwing; they like frozen fruit
• Finches: Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, Red and White-winged Crossbills; they are seed eaters

Transients include several species of waterfowl which breed on the prairies and winter on the south coast as well as shorebirds, which breed in the more northerly Canadian boreal forests and winter generally well south of the Canadian border.

Red-necked and horned Grebes, Mallard and Ring-necked Ducks and American Coots breed in Moose Lake Marsh. They can be seen from the highway by even the casual visitor.

Most abundant of the summer bird visitors are the colorful small woodland species such as the warblers. The Blackpoll Warbler performs the longest and the most spectacular migration of all the summer birds. In late August, the Blackpoll, together with other migratory woodland species, move eastward through the parkland zone of the Canadian Prairie Provinces and even farther through the Atlantic seaboard. The final stage of their journey takes them non-stop across the open ocean over Bermuda to their winter home in South America.

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Mammals of the Mt. Robson Area of Jasper National Park

See all kinds of Canadian Rockies wildlife in Jasper National Park.

By Michele Kadison

Staff Writer

Rockies.com

JASPER, Alberta (Rockies.com) – Robson Provincial Park is home to a variety of mammals characteristic of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Canadian Boreal Forest. These  include the largest and most spectacular of Canada’s wildlife such as the moose and the grizzly bear. There is also an array of fur-bearing carnivores that figured prominently in Canada’s early history plus a variety of small but important rodents, shrews and lagomorphs.

Large herbivores also live within Robson and they perform short seasonal migrations which are mostly altitudinal in nature. These migrations coincide with the seasons and can be linked with the ebb and flow of the Canadian tide. In summer, the animals move up and disperse; in winter they move down and concentrate.

Goats generally stay close to their home range, while moose and caribou move much greater distances. A band of goats can usually be seen on Jasper’s Cinnamon Mountain northwest of the viewpoint.

In winter, moose concentrate in willow jungles at lower elevations such as the Moose Lake marsh area and deciduous forests in the vicinity of the Fraser River near Robson Meadows. Their winter range is the prime factor in the distribution and abundance of ungulates.

Robson in Jasper National Park is bear country with good populations of both black and grizzly bears. Visitors are most likely to see the former species.

Don't get too close to this prickly guy when visiting Jasper.

Small fur-bearers such as weasels, mink, marten and otters are moderately common in Robson, but seldom seen by visitors. Red foxes, coyotes and wolves may sometimes be met along trails and the highway. Since these animals are usually crepuscular or nocturnal, observations are often limited to fleeting glimpses around the corner of a trail or a flash in a car’s headlights. Frequently the only signs of mustelids and canids are their tracks and droppings.

Much can be said for muskrats and beaver. Muskrat houses, or “push-ips” (trapper jargon), are a feature of Moose Lake Marsh. Beaver workings can be found along the Fraser River Nature Trail below the Nature House and abundantly at Lucerne on the Labrador Tea Trail. Beavers affect boreal forest ecology and their national recognition as the Canadian symbol make them a favourite with both locals and visitors alike.

Columbian ground squirrels, hoary marmots, a variety of hares, porcupines and a multitude of mice, voles and shrews make Robson their home. Ground squirrels and marmots are local in distribution but diurnal in habit. Their sedentary habit and usually approachable nature make them popular subjects for photography.

Hares may be abundant and noticeable when at their cyclical peaks. Their effect on the regeneration of deciduous trees (their prime winter food) is considerable.

Porcupines are often seen by hikers. In summer they spend most of their time on the ground feeding on a variety of herbaceous plants; in winter they are mostly arboreal, subsisting on a diet of inner bark. The Lodgepole Pine is the porcupine’s favorite food tree. The porcupine climbs to the top branches then eats its way down leaving only a white skeleton behind.

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Animals in Jasper

Coyote pups can be spotted in Jasper National Park.

By Michele Kadison

Staff Writer

Rockies.com

JASPER, Alberta (Rockies.com) – The following is an introduction to the large mammals that call Jasper home.

Jasper National Park has a robust elk population numbering in the thousands. Highway 16 East, Highway 93 and the Maligne Lake Road are all excellent venues for seeing and photographing elk. The town of Jasper itself is frequented by elk intent on eating the greenery in local’s yards and escaping the predators they would face elsewhere in the park.

For the best viewing opportunities, visit the park in the summer months to see the big bull elk along Highway 16 East or near Medicine Lake, or come in September and join photographers and wildlife watchers from around the world for the famous elk rut along the banks of the Athabasca River in the picturesque Canadian Rockies.

Moose are on the decline in Jasper National Park, due in part to a deadly liver fluke, the return of wolves after a long absence and an unnaturally high number of deaths on the railways and highways.

Catch sight of "Bullwinkle" in Jasper National Park.

However, you still have a good chance of spotting a moose in the ponds and lakes along the Icefields Parkway in the northern part of the park. The Saskatchewan River Crossing and Waterfowl Lakes areas are moose “hot spots” in the spring and summer months. Both Jasper National Park to the north and Kananaskis Country to the south have large healthy moose populations.

Jasper National Park is home to both whitetail and mule deer, and both are common along Vermilion Lakes Drive and the Bow Valley Parkway, particularly in the spring. There are twice as many mulies in the park as whitetails and mule deer are common year-round in the vicinity of the Banff Centre and on Mount Norquay Road. Mule deer are larger and have a black tip on the end of their tail in contrast to the smaller, more slender whitetails who have a white underside to their tail.

Bighorn sheep are abundant throughout Jasper National Park and are most commonly seen along the Bow Valley Parkway at Backswamp, on Mount Norquay and Lake Minnewanka roads, and at the top of the gondola ride on Sulphur Mountain. The large rams are best viewed in the winter months when they are at lower elevations; in the summer, most of the rams and many of the ewes can be found by hiking into the high alpine meadows in the park.

Banff National Park has a healthy population of mountain goats, but very few good places to view them from roads or short trails. Watch for them high on the cliffs along the Icefields Parkway as you approach Jasper National Park, or, if you’re in a hiking mood, do a day hike around Bourgeau Lake and look for the herds of goats and sheep that call the area home.

Sheep vs. Goats – Who’s Who?

Mountain goats seem to pop up in impossible places in Jasper National Park.

Mountain goats have shaggy white coats and sharp black horns like this one on the right, while bighorn sheep have brown coats and brown horns. You’re more likely to see sheep in Banff National Park since most of the goats live at very high elevations on the cliffs and mountain tops.

Big Horn

The mountain caribou’s dwindling range in Alberta extends south into the northern section of Banff National Park, where a small herd of 10-15 animals makes its home in wild untouched country northeast of Lake Louise. The size of a large deer, caribou have dark brown bodies, white manes and large curved antlers. Though rarely seen in Banff, sightings are common in Jasper National Park during the winter and spring.

Jasper National Park is home to 45 wolves comprising five different packs. After eradication from Jasper in the 1950s, wolves returned for good in 1982 and have been thriving in remote parts of the park ever since. Three of the five packs are rarely seen, but numerous sightings are made each year of the Cascade pack in the Lake Minnewanka area in winter and of the Bow Valley pack between Banff and Lake Louise year-round.

The coyote population in Jasper National Park has been struggling in recent years, due largely to the increased volume of traffic on our roads. However, coyotes are still fairly common in most areas of Jasper where there are open meadows and good hunting grounds. The Vermilion Lakes Road, the Bow Valley Parkway and the Buffalo Paddock are all good places to spot them, as is most of Highway 93 South from Banff to Radium.

Wolf or Coyote?

Wolves are generally much larger than coyotes, usually the size of a large German shepherd. They also have a broad face, in contrast to the narrow fox-like muzzle of the coyote. Coyotes come in one shade, a greyish-brown, while wolves come in all colours, including grey, black, white and brown.

Jasper National Park supports a small population of mountain lions, however, sightings of these wily cats are extremely rare. They prey upon Jasper’s deer, bighorn sheep and elk populations, and cat tracks are often sighted in the winter in the Mount Norquay and Sunshine Road areas. A much larger and more viable population of cougars lives to the south of Jasper in Kananaskis Country.

A black bear may pop up in your wildlife search in Jasper.

The black bear population is considered to be a threatened species in Banff National Park, with only 35-40 left. However, sightings in the spring and summer are still quite common, particularly along the Bow Valley Parkway; the Trans-Canada Highway between Banff and Lake Louise and on the Icefields Parkway near Saskatchewan Crossing. Black bears in Banff come in a variety of colors, including black, brown and cream, and eat everything from ants to dandelions to buffalo berries. They go into hibernation in late October and usually don’t emerge from their slumber until late April or early May.

Surprisingly, there are more grizzly bears in Banff than black bears. Grizzly researchers working on the Canadian Rocky Mountains East Slope Grizzly Project estimate that Jasper is home to about 70 of the great bears. Grizzlies can be distinguished from black bears by the large hump of muscle on their shoulders and from the shape of their face: grizzlies have very broad round faces, while black bears have narrow roman profiles much like a dog’s face. While sightings of grizzlies are rare, you may spot them in the backcountry or along the Bow Valley Parkway or the Icefields Parkway.

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