Trip
Information
Date: April
19 - 23, 2006
Duration: 5
days
Leader: Al
Smith
Limit: 12 people
Cost: $895
USD, $1075 CDN, singles add $210 USD, $250 CDN
(Prices include GST)
From: Regina,
Saskatchewan
Featured
birds:
•
Snow goose
•
White-fronted goose
• Canada Goose
• Ross's Goose
• Tundra Swan
•
Sandhill
Crane
•
Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Bald Eagle
• Golden Eagle
• Peregrine Falcon
•
Gyrfalcon
• Lapland Longspur
• Snow Bunting
Activity
level: easy |
 Every
year in southern Saskatchewan, in late April, a wildlife spectacle
occurs as huge numbers of migrants flood into the province from wintering
grounds to the south. Tens of thousands of Snow Geese and Canada Geese,
with lesser numbers of Ross’s and White-fronted Geese, stop
to feed before continuing their journey to the Arctic. Sandhill Cranes
by the hundreds alight in stubble fields, the air filled with their
bugling calls as pairs begin their courtship. Tundra Swans are moving
through, and with them come ducks of 20 or more species, and raptors
are following as well, and could include Bald and Golden Eagles, Peregrine
and even Gyrfalcon. Passerines are also migrating, and clouds of Lapland
Longspurs and Snow Buntings could be present. There are Sharp-tailed
Grouse dancing grounds close to where we are staying, and we’ll
take time to watch the males as they display at their leks. It will
likely still be chilly in late April, so dress warmly and prepare
for quite cool winds.
Click here to download
a registration form.
Click
here to download a list of birds seen on the 2004 Saskatchewan Spring
Migration Tour.
Photos:
Yellow-headed Blackbird by Renee Franken |
Itinerary
Day
1 - Arrival
Our tour begins after dinner in Regina.
Days 2 - 4 - Saskatchewan Birding
We concentrate in an area north of Regina bounded by Big Quill Lake,
Little
Manitou Lake and
Last Mountain Lake. The National Wildlife Refuge at Last Mountain Lake
is a superb area – a mixture of grassland habitat with potholes, springs, fen bogs
and saline wetland complexes. The site contains shallow marshy bays and inlets
surrounding a large freshwater lake and is recognized as a Migratory Bird Sanctuary,
a Ramsar site, and a National Historic Site. It has also become a stopping ground
for migrating Whooping Cranes in late April; reports of where cranes have been
seen can be obtained from the Canadian Wildlife Service and we will attempt to
find these majestic birds should the location be accessible. The area near Little
Manitou Lake and the town of Watrous supports thousands of Snow Geese each year;
the actual fields that the birds occupy shifts from one year to the next, depending
upon the type of crop grown the previous summer, but we should have little difficulty
in locating the foraging areas for the flocks. Snow Geese will be the most abundant
species in these flocks, but there are also groups of Greater White-fronted Geese,
Ross’s Geese and Canada Geese. Tundra Swans should still be present, and
with them will be ducks of 20 or more species. Raptors are attracted to the area,
and could include Bald and Golden Eagles, Peregrine and even Gyrfalcon. Sandhill
Cranes gather near Big Quill Lake and near Watrous each spring, sometimes in
the thousands, and waves of early passerines such as Lapland Longspurs and Snow
Buntings should be migrating north. Wascana Lake in Regina itself is also a magnet
for waterbirds, and can provide excellent opportunities for looking at several
species at close range. Finally, there are Sharp-tailed Grouse dancing grounds
at Last Mountain Lake and other locations close to Regina, and we’ll
take time to watch the males as they display at their leks in their attempts
to attract
a female.
Day 5 - Departure
Our tour ends after breakfast for departure home.
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