Northwest Territories Portion of the Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut Trip, July 1-11, 2026

My annual birding trip for 2026 featured extended stops in 3 Canadian provinces and territories:

- Alberta (AB) - 3 days concentrating in and around Calgary and Edmonton,
- Northwest Territories (NWT) - 3 days centered on Yellowknife, and
- Nunavut (NU) - 4 days in Cambridge Bay with a brief stop in Kugluktuk.

For AB my goal was to fill gaps in my province list which stood at 173 before the trip, hoping for perhaps 17 additions.  This was my first trip to NWT and NU, so my goals there were to maximize the number of species I could find in each territory, hopefully at least 60 in NWT and 40 in NU.  All in all, I hoped for 117 new "ticks".

I was joined by my local NC birding friend Bill Hooker for the entire trip, and his wife Anita for the first 2 days. 

By all accounts the trip was a great success!  Among the 198 species we had on the trip, 41 were new for my AB list. That brings my province total to 214.  We had 76 species in NWT, and 40 in NU including all our realistic Arctic targets.  That gave me 157 new ticks for the trip, well over my goal.  Four of these species were new for my Canada list, now at 393.  

The eBird Trip Report can be found here:  ebird.org/tripreport/546824

There’s now only one Canadian territory that I’ve yet to bird – Yukon Territory.  Whitehorse, the largest city in the Yukon, is located in the southwest part of the territory near British Columbia and close to the Alaska panhandle.  Birding in all three of those jurisdictions would make for a nice trip in 2027!

This post summarizes the NWT portion of the trip.  My previous blog post focused on the AB portion.  The next post details the NU portion of the trip.

Planning for Birding Yellowknife

I often start my planning for birding a new area by reading either paper or on-line field guides about the site.  However, I found no field guides that addressed Yellowknife specifically, or even NWT in general.  I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised given Yellowknife’s small size (population of about 20,000 per its Wikipedia site).  There were a couple bird guiding companies that offered trips that included Yellowknife, though details were limited.  Then I found an NWT birding page on Facebook.  I queried the group about preferred birding sites nearby and got several suggestions for the best hotspots.  As the trip neared, I hoped to see lots of posts about recent sightings but there were few from Yellowknife.  But of course there’s always eBird, where I principally picked out the hotspots with the greatest number of checklists or greatest number of species.  Plus, Google Maps in satellite mode was helpful to look for good habitat. 

All in all, I felt as prepared as I could be as the NWT portion of our trip approached.  One guiding company had seen 55 species in Yellowknife in 2 days the previous year.  We were going to give it 3 days, and despite not knowing the area well, I hoped for perhaps 60 species.

July 3 – First Day in Yellowknife, NWT

After an uneventful morning flight from Edmonton, AB, Bill and I landed at the small Yellowknife airport right on time.  While waiting for our rental car we spotted a Ring-billed Gull flying around the parking lot.  A less-than-exciting first bird for the territory, but we had to start somewhere.

We then headed to our hotel, the Chateau Nova.  This has been the hotel of choice for past birding tours at least partially because it was adjacent to Niven Lake, one of the best hotspots in Yellowknife.  Niven Lake was nestled in a suburban community, with a walkway around the perimeter featuring boreal spruce woods on one side, and cattail marsh and lake on the other.  With lots of nice, diverse habitats in a relatively small area, there was considerable birding potential.

The hotel restaurant was not yet open for lunch when we arrived, so we headed over to Niven Lake for a short walk near the lake’s headwaters.

We only stayed for 15 minutes until the mosquitoes found us (our bug spray was still in the suitcases), but we tallied a quick 13 species featuring - American Wigeon, Lesser Scaup and Horned Grebes on the water, numerous breeding plumage Bonaparte’s Gulls and Tree Swallows overhead, Swamp Sparrows in the marsh, and Eastern Kingbird and Tennessee Warblers in the woods. 

My province map for Tennessee Warbler is inserted below.  The light blue shaded provinces/territories are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular range.  The cross-hatched ones are those in its regular range where I’ve yet to see this species.  And per Sibley's maps they're not expected in NU.

That gave us 14 for our NWT list before heading to lunch.

Lunch at the hotel was tasty but painfully slow, especially given that we were anxious to get back to birding.  We eventually made it back to Niven Lake, and this time we made a complete loop around the lake, including this picturesque view.

We added six waterfowl species – Gadwall, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, and Red-necked Grebe.  Numerous Lincoln’s Sparrows, Soras and a couple Eastern Phoebes sang from the wetlands.  A flyby Bald Eagle passed overhead.  New gulls featured Herring and California, and our first of many Short-billed Gulls, likely nesting in the marsh.

 

Walks through the wooded portions of the trail netted species like Hermit Thrush, Orange-crowned and Yellow Warblers, and 3 sparrows – Junco, White-throated, White-crowned.

When we finished the loop around Niven Lake we were at 34 species for the day so far  – not a bad total after just 2 hours of birding. 

Our last stop of the day was at Willow Flats, one of the best hotspots in the area at the northern end of an arm of Great Slave Lake.  Before we even started birding there, we noticed these houses floating on the lake, taking the term “house boat” to a new extreme.

One of the targets of this site are waterfowl, but our scans were unsuccessful due to swells and whitecaps in the windy conditions.  Though we were able to find numerous small groups of Tree Swallows passing by, all flying into the wind.  And twice we found lone Cliff Swallows flying by as well (NWT #35).  We also had several Sterna terns fly by, each one we could identify being an Arctic (NWT #36).  Later we found this one nicely perched nearby.

Next we focused our attention on the wet grasses and brush along the boardwalk at Willow Flats.  One of the first birds we saw was a Blackpoll Warbler that flew by at eye level (NWT #37)  And in the wetlands we had singing Savannah and LeConte’s Sparrows (NWT #38-39).  In my Savannah Sparrow map below I just need this species in NU and YT.

Our last birds of the day were several calling House Sparrows along the city streets – certainly not too exciting but still a new one for the list (NWT #40).  And we had our only “sighting” of a Ptarmigan for the trip.

July 4 – Day 2 in Yellowknife

The plan for the day was to principally bird hotspots east of Yellowknife along the Ingraham Trail (Route 4).  But first we decided to start the day back at Niven Lake.  Since the stop there the day before was in the afternoon, we wondered if there would be a better mix of species in the early morning. 

Although we did add 2 species – Cedar Waxwing and Chipping Sparrow (NWT #41 and #42) – we were pretty much seeing the same birds as yesterday, including the same waterfowl.  It’s interesting to note that Sibley’s range maps indicate that Cedar Waxwing is not expected in NWT, instead being replaced by Bohemian Waxwings.  However, Cedars are much more likely in this area per eBird.  In my province map for Cedar Waxwing below, NWT is shaded in dark blue indicating that I’ve seen this species as a rarity per Sibley’s maps.

As we started to re-think our plan, we realized that there was next to no wind.  So we decided to change our strategy and go back to Willow Flats for a short visit to see if we might have better views of waterfowl in the calmer conditions.

Just as we exited the car at the Willow Flats parking lot we heard a Black-capped Chickadee calling (NWT #43), surprisingly our only one for NWT.  And as we headed toward the lake, we heard 2 singing Northern Waterthrushes (NWT#44), and 2 calling Wilson’s Snipe (NWT #45).  That gave us 3 new birds before we had even made it to the lake.  I still need Snipe in NU, NWT, and Ontario.

As expected, with nearly calm winds, viewing conditions on the lake were much different than yesterday.  Soon after setting up the scope we picked out a Common Loon on the water in the distance (NWT #46).  And then we noticed a Red-breasted Merganser swimming right by us (NWT #47) - that was easy.  Our last addition to the list was a pair of very distant all-dark diving ducks which were definitely scoters – but which species?  Under these excellent conditions I was finally able to get pretty good views of the head and felt good calling them White-winged Scoters (NWT #48).  Slowly filling in the province map for this species.

Other notable birds were 5 flyby Arctic Terns; still couldn’t turn one into a Common though.

It was just barely 7 AM and we had already made 2 quick stops, adding 8 new birds, bringing us to a total of 48. 

We then returned to our original plan to bird east of the city, and headed to Vee Lake.  The lake itself was an eBird hotspot, though with few checklists.  However, on Google Maps the 3-mile-long road to Vee Lake appeared to go through nice boreal habitat.  So we focused our birding along that access road, and soon were greeted by this nice scenery. 

At one of our first wetland stops we heard an Alder Flycatcher singing nearby (NWT #49).  And on the other side of the road, we could hear a Least Flycatcher singing from the drier forest (NWT #50).  That made for 2 quick additions.  A bit farther down the road we stopped in some boreal forest and were serenaded initially by a Hermit Thrush, then the first of 3 Swainson’s Thrushes (NWT #51).  I’ve now seen Swainson’s Thrush in each province/territory where it is regular except Yukon Territory.  (Will that come in summer 2027?)

Our next stop in spruce/fir forest netted at least 2 calling Canada Jay’s in the distance (NWT #52).

We stopped at a number of lakes and other wetlands along the way, with one or more nesting pairs of water birds at most every stop.  Red-necked Grebes were the most common, followed by Lesser Scaup, Mallards, and Common Loons.  And in one of the last ponds we spotted a flock of 18 adult Ring-necked Ducks (NWT #53).  Plus, we can’t forget the Short-billed Gulls likely nesting in the wetlands.

Vee Lake at the end of the road was pretty quiet likely due to the presence of several boats.  But these wildflowers at the lake edge were a nice distraction.

Continuing our trek east, our next stop was at the Route 4 bridge over the Yellowknife River.  There were a couple recent eBird reports from this spot, which included a small flock of Greater Scaup and several nice landbirds we still needed.  Our initial focus was to look for the Scaup, and finally downstream of the bridge I picked out a pair of Scaup with rounded heads – we had the Greater Scaup (NWT #54).  My province map for Greater Scaup looks a lot like my map for White-winged Scoter map.

While scanning for the Scaup we were serenaded by Cliff Swallows nesting under the bridge, though couldn’t pick out any Barn Swallows that might have been mixed in.  And we had no luck with the Kingfisher previously reported from this spot.

We then headed back into the little park downstream of the bridge and added a Flicker and a flock of Boreal Chickadees, captured in this photo taken by Bill (NWT #55 and #56).

Other birds in the park included Chipping and White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, and Tennessee and Orange-crowned Warblers.  Along with good numbers of mosquitoes!

A short distance to the east we headed to Cell Tower Road which had had some nice reports recently.  However, we didn’t see a single bird there.  As we headed back to the car we heard a distant call that sounded like an Osprey.  Sure enough, in the distance we spotted a large Osprey nest on a power pole, with an Osprey perched nearby (NWT #57).

Continuing our route east we took the turnoff to Cassidy Point.  Although we had 5 waterfowl species in our brief stop here, the key attractions were the landbirds.  While scanning the lake we spotted a Barn Swallow flying low over the water (NWT #58).  I’ve seen this species throughout the provinces, including in Newfoundland as a rarity.

And then from the thin strip of vegetation along the lake edge we heard a singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet (NWT #59).   

Prosperous Lake was our next stop as we continued our trek east.  This was another brief but rewarding stop – and it had some nice scenery too.

As we starting to scan out over the lake we heard a shorebird calling from the water’s edge nearby – was it a Spotted Sandpiper?  We eventually got a quick view which confirmed the ID (NWT #60).  Then we spotted a Tern flying out over the lake.  Luckily it wasn’t too far out as it gave good views showing additional black in the wings.  We finally had a Common Tern (NWT #61).  I still need this species in British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Our farthest east stop was at the Cameron Falls trail.  The spruce habitat looked great, though we saw few birds – likely since it was now mid-afternoon on a surprisingly warm day in the upper 70’s. 

We eventually made it to the falls which were most impressive!  Made the long walk worthwhile. 

 

As we doubled back to the car, we discussed starting the next morning along this trail hoping to run into a Spruce Grouse.  But we decided to bird closer hotspots where target birds were also more likely.

Our last stops of the day were at lakes within Yellowknife.  First we headed to Frame Lake, though a quick stop didn’t reveal anything new for the list.  Then we made our way to Range Lake where we found this very young juvenile Pacific Loon with its sleeping parent (NWT #62).

Another very successful day of birding!  I had originally hoped for 60 species in NWT, and we had already tallied 62.  Plus, we still had one more day of birding in the territory.

July 5 – Day 3 in Yellowknife

The plan for the day was to bird at a mixed bag of hotspots near town, including two hotspots that are almost always on a birder’s list of favorites – a landfill and a sewage treatment impoundment. 

Our first stop of the day was at the Yellowknife landfill, specifically looking for Sandhill Cranes.  That’s a new one for me – I’ve never seen Cranes at landfills, unless maybe they were in grassy patches or wetlands around the perimeter of the landfill.  I reached out to the NWT Facebook group to get some advice, and it seemed like the Cranes were routinely seen right amidst the landfill trash.  We arrived just after 6 AM and found the landfill gate was still closed.  So we drove along a perimeter road just outside the landfill and luckily we could see the open face of the landfill from there.  Just as we were parking a pair of Canada Geese flew by (NWT #63).  And just a minute later a Crane flew in and landed in the trash (NWT #64), just as the local birders suggested.  Go figure…

And of course, before we left we had to look through the gulls at the landfill.  But we were only able to pick out Herring and Ring-billed in the small flock.  As we drove away from the landfill 3 other Cranes flew overhead, hopefully headed towards some more natural habitat. 

Next, we were on to the small First Nations community of Dettah a short distance east of Yellowknife.  Located at the southern tip of a peninsula surrounded by an arm of Great Slave Lake, it looked to be a good spot for a seawatch.  Along the way we passed by some small lakes with Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, and Wigeon, not to mention a breeding Lesser Yellowlegs calling from the top of a spruce (NWT #65).  My province map for this species is similar to many of the others – I’ve seen Lesser Yellowlegs in most of the provinces but still need it in the 2 territories where I’ve yet to bird.

The seawatch at Dettah was quite successful.  The first birds we saw were a flock of 5 Surf Scoters (NWT #66) and later a single White-winged Scoter flying north.  We also had a flock of 9 Red-breasted Mergansers, and a single Common Goldeneye (NWT #67), fly in and land right in front of us. 

And while scanning the lake a Song Sparrow chipped from the brush nearby (NWT #68). I just need this species in Yukon Territory (maybe next year?)

On the drive back we spotted a Kestrel perched on a wire along the road (NWT #69).  And I’m glad we stopped to confirm the ID because that gave us a chance to scan a nearby lake picking out a small group of Buffleheads (NWT #70).  I still need this species throughout the Maritimes where it’s a wintering bird – I’ve never birded there in the winter.

We next headed west of town, first stopping at a wetlands along Merlin Rd. where Yellowthroat and Clay-colored Sparrow had been reported.  It was a nice wetlands, with singing LeConte’s, Lincon’s, and Swamp Sparrows, and Yellow Warblers, but we couldn’t tease out either target.

Then after a bit of doubling-back we eventually found our way to the hotspot named Yellowknife Sewage Outlet.  As sewage lagoons go, this one was quite attractive with nice natural habitat, including shallow open water, brushy edges, and mudflats.  

We had 4 species of dabbling ducks including 16 Pintails (NWT #71).  Then we got excellent looks at Short-billed Gulls as they foraged nearby at the water surface.

Then we started scanning the distant edges and noticed some shorebirds moving in and out of the vegetation.  We were able to find 6 species, including Solitary, Least and Pectoral Sandpipers (NWT #72-74).  All of which took off as a Merlin came passing by (NWT #75).  Looks like I missed Merlin during my Ontario trips.

That was quite the stop!

Our last stop of the day, and the last one for Yellowknife, was a cattail marsh along Kam Lake where Common Grackles had occasionally been reported.  Sibley’s range maps indicate that Grackle is a rarity anywhere in NWT, but they seemed to be almost reliable at this spot. 

Within seconds of getting out of the car a Grackle flew low over the cattails (NWT #76), which was followed by a flock of 8 more that landed in trees at the edge of the marsh.  That was easy for a rarity!  I’ve now seen Common Grackle in every province where it is regular, and now in NWT as a rarity.

As we headed back to the car we noticed this sign – appropriate for this high latitude location.

 As was this license plate for NWT residents. 

We finished our 3 days in NWT with 76 species, obviously well above my goal of 60.  And although 76 is a nice tally, it only puts us in 143rd place for NWT all time per eBird records.  Though 12th place for 2026 is pretty respectable.