Saskatchewan
Hotspots

Photo copyright David Geale

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..Pelican Lake - Large numbers of shorebirds and waterfowl utilize 
Pelican Lake during both the spring and fall migration. Marbled Godwits, Wilson's Phalaropes and American Avocets are often present during the spring and fall migration.
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....Potential Saskatchewan IBAs - This is a working list and map of
potential Important Bird Areas in Saskatchewan. The process of identifying IBAs in this region is by no means complete. Additional sites that qualify as IBAs will likely be identified and likewise, some of the sites mapped may not qualify as IBAs once a thorough evaluation is completed. Once a site has been formally identified as an IBA the site name is linked to a one-page site summary. See also this site.
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....Crane Spotting in Saskatchewan - Saskatchewan is a major staging
area for the 4,000-kms (2,500-mile) migration, one of the best places in the world to observe the elegant Whooping Cranes. The environment is stable, the birds are widely dispersed throughout it, and it's accessible while thinly populated. Whooping cranes can linger more than a month here while foraging for the grain that fuels their long trip.
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....The Saskatchewan Birding Page - this is a compilation of rare bird
alerts and trip reports. Visiting Birders may particularly want to check the Saskatchewan Trip Report - Sept. 18-23, 1997 for an itinerary and sites to see birds around Regina.
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....Saskatchewan Birding Hotspots - from Harvey and Brenda Schmidt.
Also check out their birding trip reports covering various areas in Saskatchewan and southern Alberta.
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....Last Mountain Bird Observatory (near Govan, Saskatchewan,
30 miles northwest of Regina) - Bird Banding, Birdwatching
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....Last Mountain Lake Saskatchewan, Canada Regional Migratory Bird
Reserve. More RAMSAR information.
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....Quill Lakes Saskatchewan (50 miles north of Regina) - International
Migratory Bird Reserve. RAMSAR information on Quill Lakes. And from another part of the RAMSAR site...
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....Birdwatching at the Quill Lakes - This site will show you the Quill
Lakes area, one of the greatest places for bird watching and hunting in Western Canada. We have geese, ducks, shorebirds, songbirds and the people to show them to you. See also Birdwatching and Ecotourism at the Quill Lakes.
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....Quill Lakes International Bird Area, Saskatchewan, Canada. This new
website highlights the Quill Lakes International Bird Area in Saskatchewan, Canada. This birding hotspot hosts millions of birds annually with one day counts exceeding 250,000. Large concentrations of ducks, geese, cranes, and shorebirds. The site has numerous international designations including an Important Birding Area. The area includes Canada's largest saline lake and Canada's largest breeding population of endangered piping plovers. Facilities include the Quill Lakes Interpretive Centre, the Wadena Wetlands Viewing Area, and the Foam Lake Heritage Marsh Viewing Area. 
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....Chaplin/Old Wives/ Reed Lakes Complex, Hemispheric Reserve. 
Part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. The Chaplin/Old Wives/Reed Lakes area is one of the most important inland sites for migratory birds in North America. This area spans over 42,000 hectares (100,000 acres) and is the second largest saline inland water body in Canada. More than 30 species of shorebirds, some endangered, stop or nest here every summer. Over half of the world’s population of Sanderlings rest and eat here before completing their journey to nest in the Canadian Arctic. The numbers of Stilt Sandpipers and Piping Plovers are also significant.
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....Turtle Lake - A Site Guide - by Muriel Carlson. Turtle Lake doesn't
really have any turtles, but it does have habitat diversity that produces some great birding. In fact, it has become one of Saskatchewan birders' destinations for parkland and boreal species. 
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....Manitou Sand Hills  - located on the Canadian Prairies, in west-central
Saskatchewan. A large saline lake, Lake Manitou, and an area of about 100,000 acres (40,500 hectares) to the south of the lake has been designated a special “protected area” by the Saskatchewan Government. This area of wild prairie parkland provides important habitat for the migration of birds in the Spring and Fall, as well as a reserve for native plants and wildflowers. Manitou Lake has recently been nominated to the Western Hemispheric Shorebird Network for special designation as an important stopover for migratory shorebirds, and home to endangered species like the Piping Plover.
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....Raven Island National Wildlife Area - 35 km. northeast of Humbolt
Saskatchewan. Includes a map of the area. Lenore Lake is an important breeding, moulting and staging area for waterfowl and a breeding, feeding or nesting place for songbirds, grebes, terns, gulls, cormorants, pelicans and great blue herons. Ducks, Canada geese and passerines nest on Raven Island, while many species use it during migration.
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....Redberry Lake Nature Guide - Redberry Lake lies in the Parkland
Ecoregion of Saskatchewan, Canada.  It has been a national bird sanctuary since 1915. Saskatchewan has included the lake in its "Representative Areas Network" of ecologically important sites. In 2000,  the entire Redberry Lake watershed was named a  UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve. 
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....The Redberry Pelican Project Home Page - Coordinating research,
education and tourism initiatives to protect vulnerable species. The waters and islands of Redberry Lake were reserved as a federal Migratory Bird Sanctuary in 1915, and the islands have been protected as a Wildlife Refuge.
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...Saskatchewan Trip Reports - a number of Saskatchewan trip 
reports are available from Blake Maybank's "Birding the Americas - Trip Report and Trip Planning Repository". 

....Nature/Birding Festival - May 6, 2000. Regina Natural History Society,
P.O. Box 291, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4P 3A1 (306) 949-2505.
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....Shorebirds and Friends Festival, Wadena, Saskatchewan -
May 2005. For more information, call (888) 338-2145.
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....Prairie to Pine - Winds of Change in the Land of the Living Skies - 
The Canadian Nature Federation and Nature Saskatchewan ~ Joint Conference and Annual General Meeting ~ June 7-10, 2001. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. Hosted by the Saskatoon Nature Society. If you have never seen the Prairies, here is your chance to learn its secrets. Grasslands, sand dunes, piping plovers, burrowing owls, alkali sloughs and pine-covered hills are just some of the things you will come to know better at the CNF 2001 Conference and Annual General Meeting. 

    Regina Hotline: (306) 949-2505