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!
Missed a live webinar or want to review the material? We’ll be adding the 2025 recordings weekly!
Webinar 1 – The Wonder of Wetlands
Webinar 2 – Birding Basics & ID Session 1
Birds this session: Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Red-winged Blackbird, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Sora
Amphibians this session: Boreal Chorus Frog, Wood Frog
Webinar 3 – ID Session 2 & Native Wetland Plants
Birds this session: Northern Pintail, American Coot, Red-necked Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Killdeer, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt
Amphibians this session: Northern Leopard Frog
Plants this session: Cattails, Bulrushes, Rushes, Spike Rushes, Common Reed (Phragmites, native subspecies), Duckweed, Carex sedges
Webinar 4 – ID Session 3
Birds this session: Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Horned Grebe, Eared Grebe, Wilson’s Snipe, Black Tern
Amphibians this session: Spring Peeper, Gray Treefrog, Cope’s Gray Treefrog
Webinar 5 – ID Session 4 & Invasive Wetland Plants
Birds this session: Gadwall, American Wigeon, Great Blue Heron, American Bittern, Least Bittern, Wilson’s Phalarope
Amphibians this session: Canadian Toad, American Toad
Invasive plants this session: Common Reed (Phragmites, invasive subspecies), Flowering Rush (not a real rush), Purple Loosestrife, Water Hyacinth
Webinar 6 – ID Session 5
Birds this session: Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser
Webinar 7 – ID Session 6
Birds this session: Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Harrier, Common Tern, Forster’s Tern, Willet, Marbled Godwit
Webinar 8 – ID Session 7
Birds this session: Virginia Rail, Yellow Rail, LeConte’s Sparrow, Nelson’s Sparrow, Western Grebe, Clark’s Grebe, Bobolink, White-faced Ibis
Amphibians this session: Plains Spadefoot, Great Plains Toad
Webinar 9 – The Big Review!
This session we review all of the birds and amphibians covered to date, with the exception of the mergansers (sorry!).
Note: This recording is approximately 2 hours long
Webinar 10 – The End!
In this final session we review why wetlands are important, all of the plant species covered, and listen in on some wetland soundscapes to practice our ear..
Be sure to check out the Bird Identification for Beginners webinar!
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