Carburn Park was once part of Senator Patrick Burns' vast prairie empire and, at one time, was the right-of-way for a railway line that was to have run between Calgary and Montana.

Carburn Park was created in the 1970s; the name comes from "Carburn Aggregates," the name of the company from whom much of the land was acquired and who constructed the ponds.

The upper part of the park is situated on the Porcupine Hills Formation bedrock, which is exposed along the escarpment, but most of the parkland is on deposited river gravel. Some of this gravel was mined, and the remainder was landscaped to its current form.

European settler uses of the land were restricted to ranching, gravel mining, and a right-of-way pipeline running through the middle of the park.

Carburn Park is located on Treaty 7 land. Indigenous peoples have used this land since time immemorial.

This lake makes great habitat for Canada's largest rodent the American Beaver (Castor canadensis). You may have noticed many of the trees in the park are wrapped in wire mesh. The City’s practice is to find a balance between the surrounding areas' health and the beavers' wellbeing. The wire prevents the beavers from chewing the trees in high-traffic areas, like along pathways. Overall, 70-80% of trees are protected leaving the rest for these industrious engineers.

Look at the lodge on the northwest side of the lake. It might look a little different than you imagined. Many of our beavers grow up along the river in Calgary therefore, they learn to build bankside lodges rather than freestanding lodges.

One of our beavers' favourite foods is willow trees and shoots. It might surprise you to learn that beavers chewing on willows can benefit them. Willows regenerate quickly from cut stumps, severed branches and plant fragments. Through this process willows can create a larger biomass and start growing in new locations. Many of the trees that line the main pond are non-native Laurel Leaf Willows (Salix pentandra). You may also see Sandbar Willow (Salix exigua) or Pussy Willow (Salix discolor) along the Bow River, which are both native to Alberta. 

Carburn Park is one of the best parks in the city to go birding (or birdwatching). This is partly due to the variety of habitats attracting many different species. Unusual waterfowl are often spotted on the larger pond and the Bow River. Some unique waterfowl include swans, Harlequin Ducks, Wood Ducks, Buffleheads, Common Mergansers, Double Crested Cormorants, and pelicans.

In total, 233 species of birds have been spotted in this park. The forested areas are great for spotting woodpeckers and songbirds.

This large Balsam Poplar tree (Populus balsamifera) was planted in 1907 and is one of over 70 Heritage trees in Calgary. Due to its location along the Bow River, this tree has withstood many large flood events and remains a tall, proud sentinel on the shore. 

The history of this park goes way beyond the years this tree has lived. People camped at this location for thousands of years, with the oldest radiocarbon date recovered from a site within the park being 3,500 years.  Artifacts provide evidence of daily activities taking place at these campsites. Animal hides were worked, meals were prepared, and stone tools were made. Of 34 archaeological sites recorded near Carburn Park, only six are within the park's boundaries. Most of the sites recorded reflect campsite locations along the Bow River terrace. 

The Bow River valley has been an important locale for Indigenous peoples for millennia. The river provided food and water, while the valley provided shelter from the cold winter winds and shaded relief from the hot summer sun. 

Mule and White-tailed deer call this park home and can often be seen with their fawns in the spring. Although these deer are quite used to humans, they are still wild and should be treated as such. Please keep the deer wild by keeping a distance and not offering them any food. The deer have plenty of natural food within the park, including foliage, berries, twigs and bark. The ever-present deer give this park a calming feel.

What are some differences between Mule deer and White-tailed deer?

Mule Deer have larger ears and a white tail with a black tip. White-tailed deer have smaller ears, and you can see the white of their tail when they flick their tail up. The antlers are also different. White-tailed Deer grow a main beam called a tine, with smaller tines growing off the main one. Mule Deer antlers fork — meaning the smaller tines that grow off the main one split into two or make a "U" shape.

Do you know which type of deer is in the photo?

It is a White-tailed Deer — you see the white on the tail when it is lifted!

Though they may be hard to spot, there are resident porcupines in this park. They are mostly nocturnal and stick to the heavily forested areas of the park. If you are looking for a porcupine having a daytime snooze, be sure to look up, as porcupines tend to sleep up in trees. Their grippy paws and long claws make them great climbers. Hanging out up in the trees offers protection from coyotes as well as an accessible buffet of fresh cambium bark.

An interesting fact about these quill-covered rodents is that their skin has antibacterial properties. This means that if they accidentally fall (as they sometimes do) and hurt themselves, their cuts are likely to heal without risk of infection.

Did you know? Porcupines can’t shoot their quills. They can detach them from their bodies, though!

The creation of the ponds diminished the grassland areas of the park. These grasslands provided habitat for our local pollinator species, so Parks Operations introduced pollinator gardens and "bee hotels" to the park. The "bee hotels" aim to provide pollinators a safe place to overwinter. They worked very hard to create a purposeful space to support our threatened pollinator species. We have over 300 species of native bees in Calgary, including 19 species of bumblebees.

Owls, mainly the Great Horned Owl, Calgary’s most common urban owl, have been known to nest in this park. These owls tend to nest much earlier than other birds. This timing is purposeful, as it allows the owlets to grow large enough to hunt for food when it’s most abundant in spring and summer.

Great Horned Owls tend to lay their eggs as early as January to give time for a month-long incubation period. This is followed by a month and a half of raising the babies in the nest. The owlets leave the nest around March-April.

Long-eared and saw-whet owls have also been seen at this park, and on rare occasions, snowy and short-eared owls.