Seasonal Hunts and Challenges
Grab your mitts, your camera and a grown-up. Here are six printable hunts for every season in our city: animal tracks after a fresh snow, first signs of spring bingo, a fall leaf and seed hunt, a backyard night-sky checklist, a chinook watch and a campground scavenger hunt. Every one is about looking, listening and taking pictures, never collecting from parks.
On this page
Before you head out
Our river valley and coulees sit right in the middle of the city, and what lives there changes with every season. Print a card, tick the boxes as you go, and keep your cards to compare next year.
Ages: 5 to 7 with a grown-up beside them; older kids can run the card and camera.
Our hunting rules
- Look and photograph, don’t collect. The Lethbridge Nature Reserve’s rule says it best: “Take only pictures, leave only footprints.” Picking or removing plants isn’t allowed there.
- Stay on the trail, as Alberta Parks asks.
- Give wildlife lots of room, and never feed it. Parks Canada says to stay at least 30 metres from deer. If an animal moves away because of you, you’re too close. Never follow, approach or pet wild animals. As our Nature Centre says, “Keep wildlife wild!”
- Always go with a grown-up, and tell someone at home where you’re going.
Winter safety: dress in warm layers, with a hat that covers your ears and mittens. The Canadian Paediatric Society says to cut back time outside at −15°C or colder, and to think about staying in when the temperature or the wind chill is −27°C or colder. Check often that everyone is warm and dry. Skin that turns red and stings, or goes white, shiny and numb, may be frostbite: go inside, warm it slowly with warm (not hot) water, and don’t rub it. Our What should I wear? page helps. Stay off the river, ponds and storm ponds. Our ice safety page explains why.
Spring to fall in the coulees: the City says we have a small population of prairie rattlesnakes, and relocates them from April to December. They aren’t aggressive. Look before you step over rocks and logs. If you see one, back away slowly, never run, and never bother it. Wear long pants and sturdy shoes in the coulees, and keep dogs on a leash. If anyone is bitten, the City says to stay calm and get to the hospital as soon as possible. Don’t try to cut or suck out the venom. The City also says the Rocky Mountain wood tick is usually active in spring, so do a tick check after spring walks.
Winter animal tracks hunt
Here’s a fun one for a snowy Saturday. Fresh snow is like a big white notebook, and the animals write their stories in it overnight. Alberta Parks says the best time to find good tracks is usually 24 to 72 hours after a snowfall.
What you need
- Warm clothes and boots
- A phone or camera
- A ruler, to show a track’s size in your photo
- This card and a pencil
What to do
- Find a track and stop. Don’t step on it. Crouch down and look closely.
- Measure and photograph it. Put the ruler beside it, then take the picture from straight above.
- Follow the story with your eyes. Alberta Parks says that if you follow tracks long enough, you may find an animal’s “bathrooms, kitchens, and resting or sleeping areas.” Is it walking, hopping or running? Did it stop?
- Tick it off, and check your photos against the clues below.
Track clues
- Deer: the City lists white-tailed deer in our river valley. Look for hoof prints. Alberta Parks says you may see two little dots under them, made by the dewclaws. Its track booklet covers mule deer too, so you can compare.
- Coyote: the City says urban coyotes play a helpful role here. Alberta Parks warns their tracks are hard to tell from a dog’s, so ask: were dogs allowed here?
- White-tailed jackrabbit: Alberta Agriculture says these “prairie hares”, found throughout Alberta’s prairies, turn white in winter. Alberta Parks explains that a hare puts its large hind feet in front of its front feet, so the big prints come first.
- Mouse: Alberta Parks says look for a tail-drag mark, and tracks leading to little holes into tunnels under the snow.
- Owl: great horned owls nest in our cottonwood forests. Alberta Parks says an owl can leave a “starburst” mark where its wings hit the snow.
Who’s sleeping? You won’t find Richardson’s ground squirrel tracks on this hunt. They spend the winter hibernating underground. Alberta Agriculture says their first appearances are usually in late February.
Wonder: why would a jackrabbit turn white in winter?
Printable card: winter tracks
- ☐ Deer hoof prints (bonus: the two dewclaw dots)
- ☐ A deer (from at least 30 metres away)
- ☐ Coyote or dog tracks (which do you think?)
- ☐ Hopping tracks with the big prints in front: a jackrabbit
- ☐ A jackrabbit in its white winter coat
- ☐ A tiny mouse trail, or a hole into the snow
- ☐ A porcupine (the City lists porcupines among the animals you may see here). Look, never touch.
- ☐ A black-billed magpie
- ☐ An owl’s wing “starburst” in the snow
- ☐ Tracks that tell a story: where did the animal go?
- ☐ A photo of a track with the ruler beside it
Date: ________ Place: ________________ Temperature: ______
First signs of spring bingo
Spring sneaks up on the prairie a little at a time. Print the bingo card in March and keep it on the fridge. Write the date in each square when you spot it. Can you get a line by the end of April?
What you need
- This card, a pencil and sharp eyes and ears
- A camera for the flowers (they stay where they grow)
What to do
- Start in late February or March, and write the date in each square you find.
- Keep your card to see whether spring comes earlier or later next year.
When to look
- Richardson’s ground squirrels: Alberta Agriculture says they usually first appear in late February. The males come out first, and the females about two weeks later. Don’t feed them.
- Prairie crocus: the Galt Museum & Archives calls it one of the first prairie flowers, blooming from April to June, pale purple to blue. PlantWatch says the whole plant is covered with woolly white hairs. The Galt notes that all parts are poisonous: photograph, never pick.
- A robin singing: Journey North, a citizen science program that tracks spring, says male robins sing to mark their territory, and that the first songs are a reliable sign spring migration has reached you.
- Pelicans and swallows: the Nature Centre says pelicans fish around the weir, and bank swallows nest in colonies along the river banks, in spring and summer.
Why aren’t geese on our card? In lots of places, the first geese mean spring. In Lethbridge, thousands of Canada geese stay all winter. The Nature Centre says open water below the weir attracts them, and the 2021 Christmas Bird Count found 39,366 of them!
Printable card: spring bingo
| ☐ A Richardson’s ground squirrel, awake | ☐ A prairie crocus (photo only) | ☐ A robin singing |
| ☐ A chinook arch (see chinook watch) | ☐ FREE: check the live temperature on our weather station | ☐ The last snowbank on your street |
| ☐ A pelican on the river | ☐ A bee on a flower | ☐ A tick check after a walk |
Date of my first bingo line: ____________
Fall leaf and seed hunt
Fall in the river valley is gold and crunchy. This hunt is about colours and about clever seeds that find ways to travel.
What you need
- A camera, this card and a pencil
- For leaf rubbings at home: paper, a crayon with the paper peeled off, and a fallen leaf from your own yard
What to do
- Photograph your finds in parks, and leave every leaf, berry and seed where it is.
- Sort your seeds by how they travel. Let’s Talk Science groups seeds into ones moved by wind, by water, by animals and by “expulsion”, when the seed pod pops open.
- At home, lay paper over a leaf from your yard and rub the side of the crayon across it.
Clues
- Why leaves change colour: the USDA Forest Service explains that in fall, the green colour in a leaf breaks down. The yellows were hiding there all along, covered up by the green. Reds are made from sugars trapped in the leaf.
- Our cottonwoods: the Nature Centre says our river valley forests are made of plains cottonwood, narrowleaf cottonwood, balsam poplar and their hybrids. Can you find two leaves that look different?
- Rose hips: the Galt Museum describes the fruit of the prairie rose as a rounded, dull orange to red “hip”.
- Berry bushes: saskatoon, chokecherry, buffaloberry and snowberry grow in the river valley.
Never taste wild berries or seeds. Some are poisonous, and only an expert can tell them apart. Look, photograph, and wash your hands after a nature walk. If seeds hitch a ride on your socks, brush them off before you leave the trail, so they stay where they belong.
Printable card: fall leaves and seeds
- ☐ A yellow leaf
- ☐ An orange or red leaf
- ☐ A leaf that’s still green
- ☐ Two cottonwood leaves with different shapes
- ☐ A seed with fluff or wings, made to fly on the wind
- ☐ A hitchhiker seed with hooks that could stick to fur or socks
- ☐ A rose hip (look, don’t pick)
- ☐ A berry bush (look, don’t taste)
- ☐ A squirrel, bird or other animal eating seeds
- ☐ A leaf rubbing made at home
Backyard night-sky checklist
No telescope needed: just a clear night, a warm blanket and a grown-up.
What you need
- Warm clothes (nights get cold fast, even in summer)
- A grown-up’s phone with NASA’s free Spot the Station app, for the Space Station
- This card
What to do
- Find the Big Dipper. From Lethbridge, it’s above the horizon every clear night of the year. Our Sky and Stars page shows you how.
- Hop to the North Star. Follow the two pointer stars at the end of the Dipper’s bowl. Face the North Star, and you’re facing north.
- Catch the Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency says it looks like “a big white dot that moves quickly across the sky without changing direction”, and that it’s usually the brightest thing in the night sky after the Moon. The CSA’s how to see the Space Station page links to NASA’s tool for pass times, and our sky calendar explains the app.
- Look for a planet and a meteor. See which planets are up on our sky calendar, and pick a meteor shower night from the meteor shower table.
Printable card: night sky
- ☐ The Big Dipper (all seven stars)
- ☐ The two pointer stars
- ☐ Polaris, the North Star
- ☐ The International Space Station passing over (wave!)
- ☐ Something bright that doesn’t twinkle (it might be a planet)
- ☐ A meteor, or shooting star
- ☐ The Moon. Draw its shape: ________
- ☐ Bonus: Cassiopeia, the W
Want darker skies? Our dark skies page lists spots close to home.
Chinook watch
Chinooks are our very own weather show. The Canadian Encyclopedia describes them as warm, dry, gusty westerly winds blowing down from the Rockies, and says one in three winter days in southwestern Alberta is a chinook day.
Look for the chinook arch: a strip of clear sky along the horizon, under a straight, sharp-edged bank of cloud. An Environment Canada meteorologist told CBC News a wave in the atmosphere makes that sharp line.
What you need
- A window or yard that looks west
- A camera
- Our live station: westlethbridgeweather.com current weather
What to do
- Look west on a winter morning. Do you see a band of clear sky under a long, straight cloud edge?
- Photograph the arch and write down the time.
- Check the station and write down the temperature and the wind direction.
- Check again at lunch and after school. How much did it warm up?
Chinook winds can be very strong. Hang on to hats and car doors, and stay away from anything that could blow over. When the chinook ends, melted snow can freeze into ice overnight, so walk carefully the next morning.
Printable card: chinook watch
| Time | Arch? (yes/no) | Temperature (°C) | Wind from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morning ____ | ☐ | ||
| Lunch ____ | ☐ | ||
| After school ____ | ☐ |
How many degrees warmer did it get? ______ ☐ I photographed the arch
Campground scavenger hunt
Heading out camping? Print this before you go. Our camping with kids page has more rainy-day ideas. In provincial and national parks, tick things off by finding or photographing them, not collecting them.
Printable card: campground hunt
- ☐ A feather (look, don’t touch)
- ☐ Three different kinds of leaves
- ☐ Something smooth, and something rough
- ☐ An animal track or a bird’s nest (look, don’t touch)
- ☐ A cloud shaped like an animal
- ☐ Something that makes a sound in the wind
- ☐ Something red, something yellow, something blue
- ☐ The direction the wind is coming from (west, around here, most days)
- ☐ A bird you can name, or one to look up later
- ☐ A flower (photo only)
- ☐ The first star of the evening
At camp: stay where your grown-ups can see you, and never go near the water without one. The Lifesaving Society says to always keep young children within arm’s reach of an adult near water (see water safety). If there’s thunder, the camping page’s rule applies: go into a building or a hard-topped vehicle, not a tent, and wait 30 minutes after the last rumble.
Good places to hunt in our city
Helen Schuler Nature Centre
The City’s Nature Centre is open year round and sits in the Lethbridge Nature Reserve, about 80 hectares (196 acres) of prairie, coulee and floodplain with three self-guided trails. Bikes and dogs aren’t allowed, picking plants isn’t allowed, and feeding wildlife isn’t either.
Indian Battle Park
Walking trails wind through the floodplain under mature trees, beside the Oldman River and in view of the High Level Bridge. Stay well back from the river’s edge and off the ice.
Nicholas Sheran Park
The City says about 7 km of paved and shale trails wind through the park, around a man-made lake, where ducks and other waterfowl are common. Nicholas Sheran Lake is one of the City’s designated skating areas, but only skate when the City lists it as open (see ice safety).
What it means for you: try the winter, spring and fall hunts on one favourite trail. By next year, you’ll be your family’s river valley expert.
Sources
- City of Lethbridge, Helen Schuler Nature Centre, Outdoor experience (Nature Reserve size, ecosystems, trails, rules, “Take only pictures, leave only footprints”): nature.lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Helen Schuler Nature Centre, Wildlife and sightings (birds by season, wintering geese, pelicans, bank swallows, owls, cottonwoods, prairie crocus, berry bushes): nature.lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Helen Schuler Nature Centre, Living with wildlife and Wildlife tip sheets (no feeding, coyotes, ticks): nature.lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge River Valley flora and fauna (white-tailed deer, red fox, Richardson’s ground squirrel, trees and shrubs): lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Lethbridge wildlife (deer, porcupines and other animals you may see): lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Rattlesnake mitigation (not aggressive; move away slowly; pants and sturdy footwear; leashed dogs; if bitten, get to the hospital): lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Indian Battle Park: lethbridge.ca
- City of Lethbridge, Nicholas Sheran Park: lethbridge.ca
- Friends of Helen Schuler Nature Centre Society, Christmas Bird Count 2021 results (magpies and Canada geese): naturecentre.ca
- Galt Museum & Archives, Ethnobotany: Prairie crocus: galtmuseum.com
- Galt Museum & Archives, Ethnobotany: Prairie rose (the hip): galtmuseum.com
- Lifesaving Society, Water smart tips (young children within arm’s reach): lifesaving.org
- Alberta Parks, Animal tracks booklet (2020): albertaparks.ca
- Alberta Parks, Stories in the snow: albertaparks.ca
- Alberta Parks, Wildlife and you (stay on trails, keep your distance, don’t feed): albertaparks.ca
- Parks Canada, Waterton Lakes National Park, Wildlife safety (30 metres from deer; never feed or approach): parks.canada.ca
- Alberta Agriculture, Agdex 684-12, Rabbits and hares (white-tailed jackrabbit, winter coat): agric.gov.ab.ca
- Government of Alberta, Agri-News, Early intervention crucial in managing Richardson’s ground squirrels (emergence): alberta.ca
- PlantWatch (Nature Alberta), Prairie crocus: plantwatch.naturealberta.ca
- Journey North, Harbingers of spring (robin song, 2021): journeynorth.org
- Let’s Talk Science, Seed dispersal: letstalkscience.ca
- USDA Forest Service, Why leaves change color: fs.usda.gov
- Canadian Space Agency, How to see the International Space Station: asc-csa.gc.ca
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, Chinook: thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
- CBC News, How chinook winds bring warmth to southern Alberta (Environment Canada meteorologist on the chinook arch; undated): cbc.ca
- Canadian Paediatric Society, Caring for Kids, Frostbite (−15°C and −27°C guidance; signs; warm, not hot, water; don’t rub): caringforkids.cps.ca
- Canadian Paediatric Society, Caring for Kids, Winter safety (check that children are warm and dry; ice on rivers): caringforkids.cps.ca
- Live readings: West Lethbridge weather station, westlethbridgeweather.com