Many bird species are well into raising new families all over the city, making for great bird-watching.

Canada geese have been strolling around parks with their goslings for the past few weeks, and robins have attached nests to every nook and cranny they can find. Experts say the Canada geese are almost done their reproductive cycle, but other birds are nesting too, so there will be babies to watch all summer long.

“Different types of nesters, so you have the nest like we saw in the robin which is a cup nest, and then with a magpie, they’ve actually built it as a kind of dome, so with a front door and a back door and a rooftop, and then you have cavity nesters like the northern flickers which will burrow into a tree or into a house,” said Hadi Fares, City of Calgary Parks.

That’s a bit of a problem from some homeowners who get the northern flicker nesting in their homes. It’s a type of woodpecker and can peck through siding, and if it nests in your home, you can’t do a thing about it as they are a protected species.

The city also wants people to leave nests and nestlings alone, even if you think they are in distress.

“A lot of birds will actually build their nests on the ground, so it’s a good reason to never pick up nests, and nests actually get re-used over and over throughout the season and over multiple years,” said Fares.

If spotting larger birds is your interest, you can get an up-close view of an osprey family thanks to Enmax, which build a new platform with a camera at the zoo.

You can also get involved close up by taking part in the Calgary May Species Count. The event has taken place for the last 37 years and is happening this weekend. Birders say it’s a wonderful experience.

“With all the birds that are around Calgary this time of year it’s very exciting to just go out to any park, walk around the trees and have a look see," said Brian Gauld, birder. "People find nests, I have a buddy who has discovered three or four owl’s nests this year, last year he found a hummingbird’s nest, so it’s a time of discovery if anything.”

You can do some great birdwatching at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary or at any of the city’s parks.