New Birding On The Block: Dawson’s Landing

During Seniors’ Week, Elaine and I had the opportunity to join Doreen Masran in hosting a presentation for interested seniors on the birds and other wildlife that make Chestermere home for a part of each year. This was our first visit to Dawson’s Landing Park, a relatively new and expansive green space, well designed for pleasant walks, providing habitat for wildfowl and birds.
The perimeter of the park provides the cyclist or walker a grand view of the entire park. Young trees have been planted and are well cared for and in the not too distant future, provide possible nesting locations for song birds. Currently, there are three distinct areas where water provides birds opportunities to forage, rest and if needed, an open space for landing or taking off. The largest section of the water on this day was home to a wide variety of wildfowl and a few shorebirds. Lesser Scaups, Mallards, American Wigeons, Redheads, Gadwalls and Northern Shovelers make Dawson’s Landing home. Shorebird species present include Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, a Willet, Spotted Sandpipers and numerous Killdeer. A few dozen Common Grackles, Robins, the raucous Yellow-headed Blackbird and the Red-winged Blackbirds added to the ambience of a nature park. Not to be outdone, true insectivores, Tree Swallows scouted the sky for the soon-to-be unfortunate flying insects. We were happy to see a pair of Black Terns dancing leisurely over the water, nabbing insects and exploring the water for minnows. In the north west corner of the storm pond, aquatic vegetation growth and water depth provides nesting grounds for Canada Geese and comfortable foraging grounds for the blackbird species and killdeer. Avocets and Stilts use their long bills to probe the soft shore silt, extracting nutrients for their survival.
A sizable park, there is plenty of space for Chestermere’s citizens to walk, cycle and to stop now and then to read the mounted panels about the park and the historical basis of the name choice. What’s nice is the connectivity of the pathways as well as the width of those very paths. Named in honour of the chief engineer behind the design and construction of the Western Irrigation District, Alexander Scott Dawson, the park connects land and history. If you are looking for a new location to explore not only for birding but providing an excellent venue for families, be sure to visit Dawson’s Landing Park at 288 Dawson Drive in Chestermere.