Saskatoon Fall 2022

October 3-7, 2022

How time flies! It had been 11 years since our previous trip to Saskatchewan. We were overdue. Plus, we wanted to see our son Craig who had undergone surgery in August. So, we cashed in our Airmiles and headed out via Calgary so as to avoid Toronto. Grant came too as he also wanted to see Craig and Pamela.

October 3

Craig met us at the airport and brought us home to meet, Rodin, their latest cat. Craig and Barbara went grocery shopping, while Bill took photos of neighbourhood birds. When they got back, Craig whipped up his signature leek and potato soup dish for supper. We retired early to try to get caught up on the sleep we had missed with our early flight.

October 4

In the morning, Craig drove us to various hotspots near town, including a slough near his office, the Meewasin Trail overlooking the river, and the Northeast Swale. We saw lots of ducks, geese and Tundra Swans.




In the afternoon, Pamela made an appointment for us to visit Restoring 71, a Prairie Habitat, which was west of the city. Following that, we explored some productive sloughs further west near Perdue where there were thousands of Snow Geese and some shorebirds. On the return trip, we saw hundreds of Sandhill Cranes.




When we got back, Craig had received a parcel - the ducks jigsaw puzzle we had ordered for his birthday to go with a puzzle board which had arrived before us. So, we all got going on the 1,000-piece puzzle after supper. It was challenging.

October 5

This was Craig’s birthday, so Barbara cooked him an egg for breakfast. He is on a very restricted diet because of his surgery. Craig and Pamela continued to work on the puzzle. Their feeders in the backyard were attracting dozens of House Sparrows and also some White-throated Sparrows and other visitors.





All five of us went out today, so we packed a lunch and headed to various sloughs and lakes east of town. We saw lots of interesting ducks; for example, Northern Shovellers, Northern Pintails and Canvasbacks. There were also many Tundra Swans, American Coots and both Snow Geese and Greater White-fronted Geese. For land birds, we had several immature White-crowned Sparrows and even a couple of Western Meadowlarks. The only raptors were Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers, since the normally common Swainson’s Hawks had all migrated.





We returned to town to work on the puzzle. Craig barbequed some shish kabobs for supper to accompany small potatoes and salad. Pamela’s parents, Howard and June, came over to join us bringing Saskatoon berry pies and ice cream for dessert as well as some of Heather’s amazing cookies. Craig opened the cards that Samuel and David had made for his birthday, which had been transported by Grant in his luggage. Then we had some more puzzle time.

October 6

Another big day of birding! Having gone east and west, this time we headed south to the Diefenbaker Dam. But first we checked the backyard feeders, and saw a Downy Woodpecker.




On the way to the dam, we passed several fields with Sandhill Cranes. There were easily a few hundred. We also saw a couple of family groups of Pronghorn Antelopes. Craig said it was not where they usually see them.





Below the dam, the first thing we saw were the many American White Pelicans and a couple of Common Mergansers, the first for the trip. Once again, there were thousands of Snow Geese and a few hundred Greater White-fronted Geese.





We decided to go on to Elbow, where we saw more Red-tailed Hawks and Pronghorns. By the boat launch, we saw our only warbler of the trip, a Yellow-rump. On the return trip, in one location, we saw about two dozen Mountain Bluebirds perched on fences, wires and trees.




Back at the house, we worked some more on the puzzle. Then Pamela finished tweaking their photos from their recent trip to France, while Craig, Barbara & Grant took the car to a car wash.





After supper, we watched their June visit to France slide show. Unfortunately, their friends, Barb and Joe, were not able to join them as Joe was too sick to travel. Craig and Pamela rented a car, visiting sites such as Juno Beach and the Vimy Memorial; and they stayed at Dunkirk for a week. They kept to themselves to avoid COVID contacts and found getting take-out at McDonald’ s (including some French specialties) was convenient. Both agreed it was an informative and enjoyable trip.





Then, while Barbara & Bill retired for the night, the younger generation stayed up and finished the puzzle.

October 7

Craig and Pamela had booked a special tour for us today with guide Stan Shadick, a retired professor who donates the fees to the Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

https://livingskywildliferehabilitation.org/birding-tours/whooping-crane/

In September/October, Stan specializes in Whooping Crane tours.





This time, we drove north from Saskatoon before sunup. Stan, in his own car, led the way. He and Craig had their phones on the whole time, using Bluetooth, so that we were in constant communication. Stan gave us a detailed history of the Whooping Cranes, highlighting their recovery from a low of 14 individuals to over 500 now. The cranes migrate from their nesting area in Wood Buffalo NP to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge in Texas, passing through Saskatchewan every year.



Stan guided us to a few roads where they have been seen, but not on this day. He pointed out some Bald Eagles, Cackling Geese and White-fronted Geese. Finally, he spotted a family group of Whooping Cranes at an extreme distance. On another road, we saw a single-parent family with one colt, which were much closer. We also saw a small group flying very far off.





We stopped at some sloughs where we had good photo ops for Northern Pintail and Gadwall ducks. We also saw a Black-bellied Plover, Franklin’s Gull, two Long-billed Dowitchers, a very pale Red-tailed Hawk and the usual large flocks of Snow Geese. Stan had a Ross’s Goose in his scope, but we could not get a photo.





We had to catch our plane back home, but Stan just had time to take us to see the largest tree in Saskatchewan. Nearby we saw an American Kestrel.




We said goodbye to our guide, and Craig drove us straight to the airport in time for our flight.





We reflected on our action-packed trip with plenty of good sightings. We were glad to get caught up with Craig and Pamela and thoroughly enjoyed their hospitality.