Birds of Alberta

What birds are common in Alberta?

The birds you are most likely to run into in Alberta right now are Red-necked Phalarope, Northern Shoveler, and Long-billed Dowitcher. Birders reported 249 species across Alberta on eBird during August 22–28, 2026 — the 18below are the ones that turned up on the most of those days, which is as close to “common” as sightings data gets.

• Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Northern Shoveler Spatula clypeata

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Franklin's Gull Leucophaeus pipixcan

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Green-winged Teal Anas crecca

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Northern Pintail Anas acuta

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

  Reported on all 7 of the last 7 days

• Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula

How this is measured: eBird publishes, for each day, every species reported anywhere in Alberta. We count how many of the 7 days sampled (August 22–28, 2026) each species appears on and rank by that count — nothing here is estimated or modelled. Species tied on days are ordered by the total number of individuals in those records. Rarities work the other way round: rare bird alerts tell you when a bird that is not common shows up near you.