Red Deer River Naturalists

Bird Focus Group Walk Field Trip
2026-05-16 10:00 - 13:00 (America/Edmonton) | Alix Lake Campground, Alix Lake, Alix, Alberta, T0C 0B0, Canada
You are all invited to the Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Walk Field Trip
Location: Alix Lake Nature Trail
Meet: Alix Lake Campground
When: May 16, 2026 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Maybe longer.
Host: Chris Olsen
All are welcome, you do not have to be a RDRN member to attend. We’re an inclusive group that learns from each other, and birders of all skill levels are welcome!
Bring your binoculars*, camera/phone, bug spray and sunscreen. Wear sturdy hiking footwear, some trails are on rough terrain. Carry water and an energy snack. Wear layers and carry rain gear and a hat as required by conditions. Distances vary, but may be up to 5 kms. Let Chris know if you have any potential medical issues.
RDRN has purchased a spotting scope and tripod. This will be a real asset for long distance observations.
*RDRN have two birding binoculars that can be borrowed (first come, first considered) by new participants. Binoculars courtesy of a City of Red Deer Community Better ParticipACTION grant.

Bird Focus Group Walk Field Trip
2026-05-30 10:00 - 13:00 | Kuhnen Park
You are all invited to the Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Walk
Location: Kuhnen Park https://www.lacombecounty.com/index.php/parks-and-trails or https://birdingtrailsalberta.com/central-alberta-east/kuhnen-park-2/
When: May 30, 2026 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Maybe longer.
Host: Chris Olsen
All are welcome, you do not have to be a RDRN member to attend. We’re an inclusive group that learns from each other, and birders of all skill levels are welcome!
Bring your binoculars*, camera/phone, bug spray and sunscreen. Wear sturdy hiking footwear. Some trails are on rough terrain. Carry water and an energy snack. Wear layers and carry rain gear and a hat as required by conditions. Distances vary, but may be up to 5 kms. Let Chris know if you have any potential medical issues.
*RDRN have two birding binoculars that can be borrowed (first come, first serve) by new participants. Binoculars courtesy of a City of Red Deer Community Better ParticipACTION grant.

Bird Focus Group Walk
2026-06-06 10:00 - 13:00 | River Bend Golf & Recreation Area, 3800 River Bend Drive, Red Deer, Alberta, T4P 0Y4, Canada
You are all invited to the Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Walk
Location: River Bend Golf & Recreation Area – Upper Trail
Meet: In the main parking lot
When: June 6, 2026 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Maybe longer.
Host: Guest Host Ron Bjorge
All are welcome, you do not have to be a RDRN member to attend. We’re an inclusive group that learns from each other, and birders of all skill levels are welcome!
Bring your binoculars*, camera/phone, bug spray and sunscreen. Carry water and an energy snack. Wear sturdy hiking footwear, some trails are on rough terrain. Distances vary, but may be up to 5 kms. Wear layers and carry rain gear and a hat as required by conditions. Let Chris know if you have any potential medical issues.
*RDRN have two birding binoculars that can be borrowed (first come, first serve) by new participants. Binoculars courtesy of a City of Red Deer Community Better ParticipACTION grant.
Bird Focus People with an urge to travel are also welcome to join the Vermilion Provincial Park annual Spring Species Count today. You can camp in Vermilion Provincial Park, and join all or any of several walks throughout the day. We start at 5:00 a.m., meeting at the Trout Pond parking lot, and shuttling from there to do a 5-6 km walk along the riparian shore trails of Vermilion Park Lake. We’ll see literally hundreds of warblers, orioles, catbirds, woodpeckers, waterfowl and raptors on that one, but there are also shorter woodland and shore walks through the mid-day and afternoon, and even an evening night heron/nighthawk/owl prowl outing. Anyone interested can contact Chris Olsen directly for details.

Bird Focus Group Walk Field Trip
2026-06-13 10:00 - 17:00 | Alberta
You are all invited to the Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Field Trip
Location: Medicine Lake Provincial Recreation Area (north of Rocky Mountain House on Hwy 22) see map, best to use a mapping app on your phone as a guide if you have one. Cell phone service is poor at the campground, but probably text msgs. will get through.
Host: Chris Olsen
When: June 13, 2026 bird walk from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and paddling from 3:00 p.m. onward.
Meet: Day use area/boat launch for both the birding walk and paddling. We may shuttle from there for the walk, or simply hike back to the trail head. We’ll paddle the lake counter-clockwise, and so people that want a short outing can see ‘water lily bay’ and do a short loop (about 2 kms) back to the launch. Those that are up for a longer paddle can continue along the far shore for as long as they like, and eventually we’ll explore the mouth of the Medicine River and loop back to the boat launch (about 4 hrs). Bring your own paddling equipment with safety gear.
While Medicine Lake Rec. Area can be booked, there are two non-reservable sites in each loop, and those are usually available to access on-site if you are interested in camping, first come first served. Chris will be camping at site A-08 June 11th to 15th, and anyone arriving early can find him there.
All are welcome, you do not have to be a RDRN member to attend. We’re an inclusive group that learn from each other, and birders of all skill levels are welcome!
Bring your binoculars* and camera/phone. Carry water, energy snack, sunscreen, bug spray and bear spray. Wear sturdy hiking footwear, dress in layers and carry rain gear and a hat as required by conditions. Some trails are on rough terrain. Distances vary, but may be up to 5 kms. Let Chris know if you have any potential medical issues. RDRN has purchased a spotting scope and tripod. This will be a real asset for long distance observations.
*RDRN have two birding binoculars that can be borrowed (first come, first served) by new participants. Binoculars courtesy of a City of Red Deer Community Better ParticipACTION grant.

Bird Focus Group Walk Field Trip
2026-06-27 10:00 - 13:30 | Alberta
You are all invited to the Red Deer River Naturalists Bird Focus Group Field Trip
Location: Radar Hill – see Alberta Discover Guide – https://www.albertadiscoverguide.com/site.cfm?grid=E3&number=12
Meet: End of RR 260 – This 480-acre site is approximately 21 km SE of Red Deer. To access the site, travel 16 km E of Red Deer on Highway 595, then S 4.8 km on RR 260.
When: June 27, 2026 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May be longer.
Host: Chris Olsen
All are welcome, you do not have to be a RDRN member to attend. We’re an inclusive group that learn from each other, and birders of all skill levels are welcome!
Bring your binoculars*, camera/phone, bug spray and sunscreen. Wear sturdy hiking footwear. Some trails are on rough terrain. Distances vary, but may be up to 5 kms. Carry water and an energy snack. Wear layers and carry rain gear and a hat as required by conditions. Let Chris know if you have any potential medical issues.
*RDRN have two birding binoculars that can be borrowed (first come, first serve) by new participants. Binoculars courtesy of a City of Red Deer Community Better ParticipACTION grant.
Radar Hill Driving directions

Radar Hill
