Sora Photo: John Conkin
Welcome to MarshWatch – Great Lakes Edition
MarshWatch – Great Lakes Edition is a free program to learn wetland birds and frogs. The content is suitable for participants of all skill levels. All are welcome!
The focus is on species occurring in the Great Lakes region, especially the watersheds of lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario, and the Ottawa / St. Lawrence River. Don’t live near the Great Lakes? There is broad overlap with species found across Canada, so you are welcome to join us from wherever you wish for a peek at the Great Lakes! But please be aware that we offer MarshWatch in different regions across the country, which we refer to as editions, so you might wish to participate in the region that is closest to where you live. You can learn more about the different editions of MarshWatch here. Please note that MarshWatch—Maritimes Edition is the only edition offered in French.
MarshWatch – Great Lakes Edition is designed for beginners and other keen naturalists. We share plenty of tips and tricks to help anyone learn how to survey a wetland for birds and frogs. Live virtual webinars along with self-guided activities will slowly build your identification skills without getting overwhelmed. Interactive quizzes and other fun challenges help to reinforce the material, and discussion about sightings follow each webinar. The ultimate goal is to give you the skills to confidently submit checklists of birds from a wetland of your choice!
Recordings of the live webinars will be available online, so you can learn at your own pace, but we encourage you to visit wetlands as migratory birds arrive and different frogs start to call over the course of the season – there really is no better way to learn than to be out with the birds and other wildlife.
Register for MarshWatch
Submit Observations on NatureCounts
Upcoming MarshWalks – go birding with experts
No walks scheduled at the moment
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? Please enjoy the recorded webinars below.
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..
Great Lakes MarshWatch Partners and Supporters
Hodgson Family Foundation
