City
Calgary
🇨🇦 Canada
North America, Canada 327 spp. recorded
Calgary is the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta. Wikipedia
51.021° N 114.086° W
🦜 Nature
327 Species sighted
707,170 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jun Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
LC
Plains Garter Snake
Thamnophis radix
LC
Brown Anole
Anolis sagrei
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
🌙 Most active after dark
LC
Vaux's Swift
Chaetura vauxi
Recent sightings in Calgary
LIVEiNaturalistWhere to look
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
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Inglewood Bird Sanctuary
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Fish Creek PP · Bebo Grove
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Rotary/Mattamy Wetlands (68 Street SE)
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Dale Hodges Park (Bowmont East)
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Fish Creek PP · Boat Launch
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Fish Creek PP · Mallard Point
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North Glenmore Park
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Elliston Park
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Fish Creek PP · Burnsmead
Sighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
21Jan
20Feb
24Mar
32Apr
40May
46Jun
43Jul
45Aug
42Sep
29Oct
23Nov
20Dec
🏙️ City
Essentials
Green cover
Medium
Protected land
2%
Protected sea
—
Protected areas
2
areasWildlife spots
12
spotsZoos & centres
1
placesClimate
Continental
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Zoos & rescue centres
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this city for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
3.1
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 394
🐒 Mammals 75
🦎 Reptiles 5
🐸 Amphibians 9
483 Total Species
679 Global average across 380 cities
19 Threatened 0 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
4.2
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
68% 📊
Coverage (109 species at ≥5% of 483 in the inventory)
23% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (12 bird)
0% 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
3 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
17 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.5
Climate Harsh Low
Green cover Medium Medium
Protected land & sea 2% land Medium
Protected areas 2 Medium
Wildlife spots 12 High
Zoos & centres 1 Medium
What visitors say
Before you go
What animals can you see in Calgary?
327 species
Calgary's urban area has 327 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Black-capped Chickadee (about 90%), Mallard (about 80%), Black-billed Magpie (about 80%), Northern Flicker (about 80%) and Canada Goose (about 70%). Among mammals, the most-seen is White-tailed Jackrabbit (about 40%); among reptiles, Western Terrestrial Garter Snake (about 20%); among amphibians, Boreal Chorus Frog (about 10%).
When is the best time to see wildlife in Calgary?
March and April
In those months the city's 12 most-seen species average about 80% on a given day, against about 60% in June to August.
Can you see a Black-billed Magpie in Calgary?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Black-billed Magpie sighting in Calgary on a given day, based on 36,732 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is October to February (over 90%).
Can you see a Black-capped Chickadee in Calgary?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Black-capped Chickadee sighting in Calgary on a given day, based on 32,474 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is December to March (over 90%).
Can you see a White-tailed Jackrabbit in Calgary?
Yes
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Jackrabbit sighting in Calgary on a given day, based on 1,557 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April and September–November (about 50%).
Where in Calgary is wildlife easiest to see?
Carburn Park
The spot where most wildlife watchers record their sightings is Carburn Park (211 bird species recorded), followed by Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Fish Creek PP · Bebo Grove. See them on the map.
Is Calgary good for wildlife watching?
3.9 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, which rates each city against other cities, Calgary gets 3.9/5: 257th of 380 cities worldwide and 36th in North America. 20 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
Nearest Cities
Nearest Parks
Nearest Zoos & Centres
Sources: urban area GHSL Urban Centre Database R2024A, European Commission JRC (CC BY 4.0) · protected land WDPA, UNEP-WCMC & IUCN (via GHSL) · climate NASA POWER · wildlife GBIF.org citizen-science data