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.
Events Calendar
Presentations, webinars, in-person events and more
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!
Can’t wait to get started? Check out the 2024 recordings below:
Webinar 1 – The Wonder of Wetlands
Webinar 2 – Bird ID Basics and ID Session 1
Species covered: Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sora, Boreal Chorus Frog, Wood Frog.
Webinar 3 – Bird ID Session 2 + Wetland Plants
Species covered: Northern Pintail, American Coot, Red-necked Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Killdeer, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Northern Leopard Frog
Plants covered: Cattails, Bulrushes, Common Reed (Phragmites), Duckweed, Carex sedges, Rushes, Spike Rushes
Webinar 4 – Bird ID Session 3
Species covered: Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe
Wilson’s Snipe, Black Tern, Spring Peeper, Gray Treefrog, Cope’s Gray Treefrog.
Webinar 5 – Bird ID Session 4 + Invasive Wetland Plants
Species covered: Gadwall, American Wigeon, Great Blue Heron, American Bittern, Least Bittern, Wilson’s Phalarope, Canadian Toad, American Toad
Plants covered: Phragmites, Flowering Rush, Purple Loosestrife
Webinar 6 – Bird ID Session 5
Species covered: Canvasback, Redhead
Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck
Webinar 7 – Bird ID Session 6
Species covered: Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Harrier, Common Tern, Forster’s Tern, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Western Tiger Salamander, Eastern Tiger Salamander
Webinar 8 – Bird ID Session 7
Species covered: Virginia Rail, Yellow Rail, LeConte’s Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrow, Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Plains Spadefoot, Great Plains Toad
Webinar 9 – Bird ID Session 8 – The Big Review
All birds and amphibians reviewed!
Webinar 10 – Program Wrap-up and Soundscapes
In this final webinar we review some plant ID, listen to soundscapes, and wrap-up the program!
Looking for the 2023 webinar recordings? View them on our MarshWatch YouTube playlist here!
Be sure to check out the Bird Identification for Beginners webinar!
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