Canadian Province - Alberta

Alberta is the province in western Canada between British Columbia and Saskatchewan. It covers 163,520,000 acres (255,500 square miles or 661,848 square km). Though much of Alberta is flat boreal forests and plains, the spine of the Rocky Mountains creates its southwestern border so provides its tallest point – Mount Columbia at 12,293 feet (3,747 meters). Alberta is rich with a diversity of habitats. It has a vast boreal forest, a spine of the Rocky Mountains and open plains. It has millions of lakes, rivers and wetlands. It has Dinosaur Provincial Park in the badlands, Wood Buffalo National Park on the plains, and Banff National Park in the Rockies.
Alberta has 115 million acres (465,000 square km) of boreal forest where more than 2,000 boreal woodland caribou make their home. It is the breeding ground for  more than 200 species of birds. As many as 240 million birds breed there each year.

Alberta is broken down by scientists into natural communities called "Ecozones."
The northwestern corner of Alberta is the Taiga Plains Ecozone – a cold, dry prairie with some river canyons along the MacKenzie River. This is a region that experiences fires regularly, so supports fire tolerant species like paper and dwarf birch, willows, quaking aspen, tamarack, green alder, white and black spruces, balsam poplar, lodgepole and jack pines, and balsam fir. This region supports fewer mammals, but does include black bear, lynx, wolf, red fox, ermine, marten, woodland and barren-ground caribous, wood bison, moose, snowshoe hare, red squirrel, and arctic ground squirrel.

Below the Taiga Plains is a large region covering most of central Alberta called the Boreal Plains Ecozone. This region has long, cold, dry winters with much of the moisture blocked by the Rocky Mountains. It was scraped flat by the glaciers and left with many lakes. There is some forest of white and black spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, tamarack, white, water and Alaska birch, quaking aspen, willows, maple and balsam poplar. The region supports black bear, wolf, lynx, elk, mule and white-tailed deer, moose, caribou, bison, coyote, weasel, river otter, badger, striped skunk, muskrat, marten, fisher, beaver, woodchuck, Richardson's, Franklin's and thirteen-lined ground squirrels, chipmunks, porcupine, eastern cottontail, and snowshoe hare.

The southwestern border of Alberta is made up of Montane Cordillera Ecozone. This is a very mountainous region with forested valleys marked by glacial debris. Forests include: alpine and Douglas firs, lodgepole, western white and Rocky Mountain ponderosa pines, quaking aspen, western hemlock, Rocky Mountain red cedar, balsam poplar, paper birch, black, white and Engelmann spruces, and western larch. This is a biologically rich region supporting caribou, mule and white-tailed deer, moose, mountain goat, California bighorn sheep, elk, black and grizzly bear, wolf, lynx, bobcat, mountain lion, coyote, red fox, marten, wolverine, badger, marten, mink, skunk, marmot, ground squirrel, beaver, chipmunk, lemming, and pika.

The southeastern Alberta is made up of Prairie Ecozone. This cold, flat region has been developed into agricultural and oil-producing land. This is considered the "Breadbasket of Canada" and as much as 94% is used for agriculture and grazing pasture. Little of the natural habitat is left in the region and it is considered the most endangered natural habitat in Canada today.

A small area in the northeastern corner of Alberta is Western Taiga Shield Ecozone – a region of boreal forest. This flat, wet, coniferous forest region has long, cold winters and is the transition zone between the boreal forest and the Arctic. It is dotted with millions of lakes left by the retreat of the glaciers making it a popular breeding ground for waterfowl. The forest includes: black and white spruce, jack pine, green alder, paper, white and dwarf birch, tamarack, balsam fir, quaking aspen, and balsam poplar.  The region supports black and grizzly bear, wolf, lynx, moose, barren-ground and woodland caribou, coyote, weasel, wolverine, river otter, red and arctic fox, muskrat, marten, mink, beaver, voles, red squirrels, and snowshoe hare.

Below the Taiga Shield Ecozone is a small region of Boreal Shield Ecozone within Alberta. Overall his huge ecozone stretches all across Canada with boreal forest and millions of lakes left by the retreat of the glaciers, making it a popular breeding ground for waterfowl. The forest includes: black and white spruce, jack pine, green alder, paper, white and dwarf birch, tamarack, balsam fir, quaking aspen, and balsam poplar. The region supports black and grizzly bear, wolf, lynx, moose, barren-ground and woodland caribou, coyote, weasel, wolverine, river otter, red and arctic fox, muskrat, marten, mink, beaver, voles, red squirrels, and snowshoe hare.

Mammals of Alberta, Canada

Antelope (Pronghorn) - Antilocapra americana
Badger (American) - Taxidea taxus
Bat (Big Brown) - Eptesicus fuscus
Bat (Eastern Red) - Lasiurus borealis
Bat (Hoary) - Lasiurus cinereus
Bat (Little Brown Myotis) - Myotis lucifugus
Bat (Long-eared)  - Myotis evotis
Bat (Long-legged Myotis) - Myotis volans
Bat (Northern long-eared) - Myotis septentrionalis
Bat (Silver-haired) - Lasionycteris noctivagans
Bat (Western Small-footed Myotis) - Myotis ciliolabrum
Bear (Black) - Ursus americanus
Bear (Grizzly) - Ursus arctos
Beaver - Castor canadensis
Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis
Bison - Bison bison
Bobcat - Lynx rufus
Caribou - Rangifer tarandus - endangered
Chipmunk (Least) - Tamias minimus
Chipmunk (Red-tailed) - Tamias ruficaudus
Coyote - Canis latrans
Deer (Mule) - Odocoileus hemionus
Deer (White-tailed) - Odocoileus virginianus
Elk - Cervus canadensis
Fisher - Martes pennanti
Fox (Red) - Vulpes vulpes
Fox (Swift) - Vulpes velox - endangered
Hare (Snowshoe) - Lepus americanus
Jackrabbit (White-tailed) - Lepus townsendii
Kangaroo Rat (Ord's) - Dipodomys ordii
Lemming (Brown) - Lemmus trimucronatus
Lemming (Northern Bog) - Synaptomys borealis
Lynx (Canadian) - Lynx canadensis
Marmot (Hoary) - Marmota caligata
Marmot (Yellow-bellied) - Marmota flaviventris
Marten (American) - Martes americana
Mink (American) - Neovison vison
Mole (Baird Shrew-mole) - Neurotrichus gibbsii
Mole (Townsend’s Mole or Bachman)  - Scapanus townsendii
Mole (True Coast) - Scapanus orarius
Moose - Alces alces
Mountain Goat - Oreamnos americanus
Mountain Lion (Cougar, Puma) - Puma concolor
Mouse (Deer) - Peromyscus maniculatus
Mouse (Keen’s ) - Peromyscus keeni
Mouse (Great Basin Pocket ) - Perognathus parvus
Mouse (House) - Mus musculus - Introduced
Mouse (Olive-backed Pocket) - Perognathus fasciatus
Mouse (Meadow Jumping) - Zapus hudsonius
Mouse (Pacific Jumping) - Zapus trinotatus
Mouse (Western Harvest) - Reithrodontomys megalotis
Mouse (Western Jumping) -  Zapus princeps
Muskrat  - Ondatra zibethicus
Otter (River) - Lontra canadensis
Pika (Common) - Ochotona princeps
Pocket Gopher (Northern) - Thomomys talpoides
Porcupine - Erethizon dorsatum
Rabbit (Eastern Cottontail) - Sylvilagus floridanus
Rabbit (Mountain Cottontail) - Sylvilagus nuttallii
Raccoon - Procyon lotor
Shrew (Wandering) - Sorex vagrans
Skunk (Striped) - Mephitis mephitis
Squirrel (Columbian Ground) - Spermophilus columbianus
Squirrel (Franklin's Ground) - Spermophilus franklinii
Squirrel (Golden-mantled Ground) - Spermophilus lateralis
Squirrel (Northern Flying) - Glaucomys sabrinus
Squirrel (Red) - Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Squirrel (Richardson's Ground) - Spermophilus richardsonii
Squirrel (Southern Flying)  - Glaucomys volans
Vole (Meadow) - Microtus pennsylvanicus
Vole (Prairie) - Microtus ochrogaster
Vole (Taiga) - Microtus xanthognathus
Vole (Water) - Microtus richardsoni
Weasel (Least)  - Mustela nivalis
Weasel (Long-tailed) - Mustela frenata
Weasel (Short-tailed or Ermine) - Mustela erminea
Wolf (Gray) - Canis lupus
Wolverine - Gulo gulo
Woodchuck - Marmota monax

Birds of Alberta, Canada

accentor (Siberian)
avocet (American)
bittern (American)
bittern (least)
blackbird (Brewer's)
blackbird (red-winged)
blackbird (rusty)
blackbird (yellow-headed)
bluebird (eastern)
bluebird (mountain)
bluebird (western)
bobolink
brambling
bunting (indigo)
bunting (lark)
bunting (Lazuli)
bunting (painted)
bunting (snow)
cardinal (northern)
catbird (gray)
chat (yellow-breasted)
chickadee (black-capped)
chickadee (boreal)
chickadee (chestnut-backed)
chickadee (mountain)
coot (American)
cormorant (double-crested)
cowbird (brown-headed)
crane (common)
crane (sandhill)
crane (whooping) - endangered
creeper (brown)
crossbill (red)
crossbill (white-winged)
crow (American))
cuckoo (black-billed)
cuckoo (yellow-billed)
curlew (Eskimo)
curlew (long-billed)
dipper (American)
dove (Eurasian collared)
dove (mourning)
dove (white-winged)
duck (American black)
duck (American wigeon)
duck (black scoter)
duck (Barrow's goldeneye)
duck (blue-winged teal)
duck (bufflehead)
duck (canvasback)
duck (cinnamon teal)
duck (common eider)
duck (common goldeneye)
duck (Eurasian wigeon)
duck (gadwall)
duck (garganey)
duck (greater scaup)
duck (green-winged teal)
duck (harlequin)
duck (King eider)
duck (lesser scaup)
duck (long-tailed)
duck (mallard)
duck (northern pintail)
duck (northern shoveler)
duck (redhead)
duck (ring-necked)
duck (ruddy)
duck (surf scoter)
duck (tufted)
duck (white-winged scoter)
duck (wood)
eagle (bald)
eagle (golden)
egret (cattle)
egret (great)
egret (snowy)
falcon (gyrfalcon)
falcon (peregrine) - endangered
falcon (prairie)
finch (Cassin's)
finch (house)
finch (gray-crowned rosy-finch)
finch (purple)
flicker (northern)
flycatcher (alder)
flycatcher (ash-throated)
flycatcher (dusky)
flycatcher (fork-tailed)
flycatcher (gray)
flycatcher (great crested)
flycatcher (Hammond's)
flycatcher (least)
flycatcher (olive-sided)
flycatcher (scissor-tailed)
flycatcher (western)
flycatcher (willow)
flycatcher (yellow-bellied)
gallinule (common)
gnatcatcher (blue-gray)
godwit (Hudsonian)
godwit (marbled)
goldfinch (American)
goose (Brant)
goose (cackling)
goose (Canada)
goose (great white-fronted)
goose (Ross's)
goose (snow)
grackle (common)
grèbe (Clarke's)
grèbe (eared)
grèbe (horned)
grèbe (pied-billed)
grèbe (red-necked)
grèbe (western)
grosbeak (black-headed)
grosbeak (evening)
grosbeak (pine)
grosbeak (rose-breasted)
grouse (dusky)
grouse (greater sage-grouse)
grouse (ruffed)
grouse (sharp-tailed)
grouse (spruce)
guillemot (black)
gull (Bonaparte’s)
gull (California)
gull (Franklin's)
gull (glaucous)
gull (glaucous-winged)
gull (great black-backed)
gull (herring)
gull (Iceland)
gull (ivory)
gull (lesser black-backed)
gull (little)
gull (mew)
gull (ring-billed)
gull (Sabine's)
gull (slaty-backed)
gull (Thayer's)
gyrfalcon
harrier (northern)
hawk (broad-winged)
hawk (Cooper's)
hawk (ferruginous) - endangered
hawk (northern goshawk)
hawk (red-tailed)
hawk (rough-legged)
hawk (sharp-shinned)
hawk (Swainson's)
heron (black-crowned night)
heron (great blue)
heron (green)
heron (little blue)
heron (tricolored)
heron (yellow-crowned night)
hummingbird (Anna's)
hummingbird (black-chinned)
hummingbird (calliope)
hummingbird (Costa's)
hummingbird (green violetear)
hummingbird (ruby-throated)
hummingbird (rufous)
ibis (white-faced)
jaeger (long-tailed)
jaeger (parasitic)
jaeger (pomarine)
jay (blue)
jay (Clark's nutcracker)
jay (gray)
jay (pinyon)
jay (Steller's)
junco (dark-eyed)
kestrel (American)
killdeer
kingbird (western)
kingfisher (belted)
kinglet (golden-crowned)
kinglet (ruby-crowned)
kittiwake  (black-legged)
lark (horned)
longspur (chestnut-collared)
longspur (Lapland)
longspur (McCown's)
longspur (Smith's)
loon (common)
loon (Pacific)
loon (red-throated)
loon (yellow-billed)
magpie (black-billed)
martin (purple)
meadowlark (western)
merlin
merganser (common)
merganser (hooded)
merganser (red-breasted)
mockingbird (northern)
murrelet (ancient)
murrelet (long-billed)
nighthawk (common)
nuthatch (pygmy)
nuthatch (red-breasted)
nuthatch (white-breasted)
oriole (Baltimore)
oriole (Bullock's)
osprey
ovenbird
owl (barn)
owl (barred)
owl (burrowing)
owl (eastern screech)
owl (flammulated)
owl (great gray)
owl (great horned)
owl (long-eared)
owl (northern hawk)
owl (northern pygmy)
owl (northern saw-whet)
owl (short-eared)
owl (snowy)
owl (western screech)
partridge (gray)
parula (northern)
pelican (American white) - endangered
phalarope (red)
phalarope (red-necked)
phalarope (Wilson's)
pheasant (ring-necked)
phoebe (eastern)
phoebe (Say's)
pigeon (band-tailed)
pigeon (rock)
pipit (American)
pipit (Sprague's)
plover (American golden)
plover (black-bellied)
plover (lesser sand)
plover (mountain)
plover (Pacific golden)
plover (piping) - endangered
plover (semipalmated)
plover (snowy)
poorwill (common)
prairie chicken (greater)
ptarmigan (white-tailed)
ptarmigan (willow)
rail (Virginia)
rail (yellow)
raven (common)
red knot
redpoll (common)
redpoll (hoary)
redshank (spotted)
redstart (American)
robin (American)
ruff
sanderling
sandpiper (Baird's)
sandpiper (buff-breasted)
sandpiper (curlew)
sandpiper (least)
sandpiper (pectoral)
sandpiper (semipalmated)
sandpiper (sharp-tailed)
sandpiper (solitary)
sandpiper (spotted)
sandpiper (stilt)
sandpiper (upland)
sandpiper (western)
sandpiper (white-rumped)
sapsucker (red-breasted)
sapsucker (red-naped)
sapsucker (Williamson's)
sapsucker (yellow-bellied)
shrike (loggerhead)
shrike (northern)
siskin (pine)
solitaire (Townsend's)
sora
snipe (Wilson's)
sparrow (American tree)
sparrow (Baird's)
sparrow (black-throated)
sparrow (Brewer's)
sparrow (Cassin's)
sparrow (chipping)
sparrow (clay-colored)
sparrow (field)
sparrow (fox)
sparrow (golden-crowned)
sparrow (grasshopper)
sparrow (Harris's)
sparrow (house)
sparrow (lark)
sparrow (LeConte's)
sparrow (Lincoln's)
sparrow (Nelson's)
sparrow (Savannah)
sparrow (song)
sparrow (swamp)
sparrow (vesper)
sparrow (white-crowned)
sparrow (white-throated)
starling (European)
stilt (black-necked)
stint (little)
stint (red-necked)
surfbird
swallow (bank)
swallow (barn)
swallow (cliff)
swallow (northern rough-winged)
swallow (tree)
swallow (violet-green)
swan (trumpeter) - endangered
swan (tundra)
swift (black)
swift (white-throated)
tanager (scarlet)
tanager (summer)
tanager (western)
tattler (wandering)
tern (Arctic)
tern (black)
tern (Caspian)
tern (common)
tern (Forster's)
tern (least)
thrasher (Bendire's)
thrasher (brown)
thrasher (curve-billed)
thrasher (sage)
thrush (gray-cheeked)
thrush (hermit)
thrush (Swainson's)
thrush (varied)
thrush (wood)
towhee (eastern)
towhee (green-tailed)
towhee (spotted)
turkey (wild)
turnstone (black)
turnstone (ruddy)
veery
vireo (blue-headed)
vireo (Cassin's)
vireo (Philadelphia)
vireo (red-eyed)
vireo (warbling)
vireo (yellow-throated)
vulture (turkey)
warbler (bay-breasted)
warbler (black and white)
warbler (blackburnian)
warbler (blackpoll)
warbler (black-throated blue)
warbler (black-throated gray)
warbler (blue-winged)
warbler (Canada)
warbler (Cape May)
warbler (chestnut-sided)
warbler (Connecticut)
warbler (golden-winged)
warbler (hermit)
warbler (hooded)
warbler (Kentucky)
warbler (Lucy's)
warbler (MacGillivray's)
warbler (magnolia)
warbler (mourning)
warbler (Nashville)
warbler (orange-crowned)
warbler (palm)
warbler (pine)
warbler (Tennessee)
warbler (Townsend's)
warbler (Wilson's)
warbler (yellow-rumped)
warbler (yellow-throated)
waterthrush (northern)
waxwing (Bohemian)
waxwing (cedar)
wheatear (northern)
whimbrel
willet
woodcock (American)
woodpecker (acorn)
woodpecker (American three-toed)
woodpecker (black-backed)
woodpecker (downy)
woodpecker (hairy)
woodpecker (Lewis's)
woodpecker (pileated)
woodpecker (red-bellied)
woodpecker (red-headed)
wood-pewee (western)
wren (Carolina)
wren (house)
wren (marsh)
wren (Pacific)
wren (rock)
wren (sedge)
wren (winter)
yellowlegs (greater)
yellowlegs (lesser)
yellowthroat (common)

For more details about Alberta's Birds: LINK

Amphibians of Alberta, Canada (10)
Frog (Boreal Chorus) - Pseudacris maculate
Frog (Columbia Spotted) - Rana luteiventris
Frog (Northern Leopard) - Rana pipiens - endangered
Frog (Wood) - Rana sylvatica
Salamander (Long-toed) - Ambystoma macrodactylum
Salamander (Tiger) - Ambystoma tigrinum
Spadefoot (Plains) - Spea bombifrons
Toad (Canadian) - Bufo hemiophrys
Toad (Great Plains) - Bufo cognatus
Toad (Western) - Bufo boreas

Reptiles of Alberta, Canada (9)
Lizard (Mountain Short-horned) - Phrynosoma hernandesi
Rattlesnake (Diamondback) - Crotalus atrox
Rattlesnake (Prairie) - Crotalus viridis
Snake (Eastern Yellowbelly Racer) - Coluber constrictor flaviventris
Snake (Plains Hognose) - Heterodon nasicus nasicus
Snake (Plains Garter) - Thamnophis radix
Snake (Western Garter) - Thamnophis elegans
Turtle (Painted) - Chrysemys picta belli

Canada: Alberta's Animals and Habitats: Mini-Posters, Coloring and Labeling Bundle - Downloadable Only

Get to know Alberta’s Animals and Habitats with the Alberta, Canada Bundle.
This includes 12 downloadable pages:

Illustrated Map of Canada ( Color)
Alberta Map with Provience Symbols (Color)
Alberta Map with Provience Symbols (Black & White)
Alberta Ecozone Map (Color)
Alberta Mammals Coloring Page
Alberta Mammals Labeling Page
Alberta Birds Coloring Page
Alberta Birds Labeling Page
Alberta Amphibians and Reptiles Coloring Page
Alberta Amphibians and Reptiles  Labeling Page
Northern Boreal Forest Mini-Poster (Color)
Rocky Mountain Mini-Poster (Color)

.