>My wife and I are planning a birding trip to Jasper and vicinity in a couple of
>weeks. If any tweeters would care to share favorite birding sites in the area,
>please drop me a line (to the list or directly).
>
October 9th is Canadian Thanksgiving and Jasper gets to be pretty quiet
after that weekend. I know the townsite very well and can't say that there
are any great places to eat but there are no really bad ones either. The
Jasper Park Lodge has a good, expensive restaurant but this may be closed
for the fall.

The Handbook of the Canadian Rockies by Ben Gadd has a good section on
birding sites and how to get to them with an entry on Jasper that lists most
of the areas that Andy posted for you. If the weather is poor you may find
this book useful for planning day trips in the car! You may be able to get
the book before you go from Flora and Fauna Books in Seattle - (206) 623-4727.

There are hot springs at Miette, about 20 miles east of Jasper on the main
highway. Its quite an experience to sit in these with snow all around; you
may get snow in October! Check in Jasper if the springs are still open.

If you travel via the northern route up from Kamloops to Mount Robson check
the areas around the visitor centre. If the weather has not yet been too
cold there may be a few "late-staying" species. On this route just 2 miles
south of Valemont on the east side of the road there is a well-signed marsh
area that has many birds in summer, including Black Tern. I don't know what
you might find in October.

Should you travel south through Banff towards Calgary I can let you have
directions to one of the best hawk watches in the area. I was there on
October 6th some years back and the migration was in full swing.