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Sora Photo: John Conkin

 

Welcome to MarshWatch – Prairie Canada Edition

 

MarshWatch is a free 10-week program to learn wetland birds and amphibians.
The content is suitable for participants of all skill levels. All are welcome!

The focus is on species occurring in Prairie Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). Don’t live on the prairies? There is broad overlap with species found across Canada and we’ve had attendees enjoy the content from across North America, so join us for a peek at the prairies!

MarshWatch is valuable for people of all skill levels; we share plenty of tips and tricks, and new in 2025 is more practice listening to real-life soundscapes.

Virtual webinars along with self-guided activities slowly build your identification skills without getting overwhelmed. We also lead guided walks in select locations so you can get out with an expert if you’re in the area. The ultimate goal is to give you the skills to confidently submit checklists of birds from a visits to wetlands of your choosing.

Live webinars take place every Wednesday evening, starting March 5 and run for 10 weeks, ending May 7. We encourage you to visit wetlands as they thaw out and birds arrive – there really is no better way to learn than to be out with the birds.

Each webinar is recorded and posted online by the following Friday, so you can always catch up or view content at your own pace.

 

2025 Schedule – Wednesdays at 7pm CST

March 5 – Intro & The Wonder of Wetlands
March 12 – Bird ID Basics & ID Session 1
March 19 – ID Session 2 & Wetland Plants
March 26 – ID Session 3
April 2 – ID Session 4 & Invasive Wetland Plants
April 9 – ID Session 5
April 16 – ID Session 6
April 23 – ID Session 7
April 30 – The Big Review
May 7 – Soundscapes & Program Wrap-up

In the event of a cancellation, an email will be sent to attendees and MarshWatch will be rescheduled to Friday

Register for MarshWatch here

Submit Observations on NatureCounts

 

Upcoming MarshWalks – go birding with experts

Follow the links for details as they are finalized.

MarshWatch acts a stepping stone for other citizen science programs by teaching identification skills without the pressure of a formal survey.

We hope you join us!

Missed a live webinar or want to review the material? We’ll be adding the 2025 recordings weekly!

Webinar 1 – The Wonder of Wetlands

Webinar 2 – Birding Basics & ID Session 1

Birds this session: Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Sora

Amphibians this session: Boreal Chorus Frog, Wood Frog

Webinar 3 – ID Session 2 & Native Wetland Plants

Birds this session: Northern Pintail, American Coot, Red-necked Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Killdeer, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt

Amphibians this session: Northern Leopard Frog

Plants this session: Cattails, Bulrushes, Rushes, Spike Rushes, Common Reed (Phragmites, native subspecies), Duckweed, Carex sedges 

Webinar 4 – ID Session 3

Birds this session: Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Wilson’s Snipe, Black Tern

Amphibians this session: Spring Peeper, Gray Treefrog, Cope’s Gray Treefrog 

Looking for past webinar recordings? View them on our MarshWatch YouTube playlists for 2023 and 2024

Be sure to check out the Bird Identification for Beginners webinar!

MarshWatch Supporters

The primary source of funding for the Wildlife Habitat Canada Grant Program is from the purchase of the Canadian Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp (Canadian Duck Stamp) by waterfowl hunters.

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