Welcome to Week CLV of ‘Fishing Parkland Shorelines’. Like most of us I am a novice fisherman, loving to fish, but far from an expert. In the following weeks I’ll attempt to give those anglers who love to fish but just don’t have access to a boat, a look at some of the options in the Yorkton area where you can fish from shore, and hopefully catch some fish.
A few weeks ago I expounded on the idea that as fisherfolk we need to see our natural waters as more than a place for fish.
The experience of fishing is made better by the sightings of beaver, muskrat and otter. We find added joy in a swimming garter snake. The passing of a family of teal. The flight of pelicans low over the water.
Now not every water pond on the Prairies has fish, but they are all parts of larger watershed areas, and what occurs in one area, even one where no fish exist, can have an effect downstream on the resource we love.
We, as the fishing collective, should appreciate a larger vision of our natural water system than if a big walleye is hiding by the fallen offshore tree.
I know in my own case I increasingly find a walk to see a wildflower nearly as enjoyable as catching another small walleye.
So it was with some interest I came across www.migrationweek.org via an online newsletter from Ducks Unlimited.
The migration period is pretty over by now, which means a) I am often behind on looking through my non-business emails, and b) that I should apologize this appears here a bit late.
While the opportunities to actively go looking for birds in their migration north may have passed, the site is still one a conservation fisherman is going to appreciate delving into. There is a ton of information on the site to peruse. It might be of greater interest to the true birdwatcher, the one eager to record every sighting, but migrating birds, especially waterfowl do overlap into areas we fish.
I’ll add here I have often been tempted to buy a set of binoculars to birdwatch a bit while fishing. I don’t ever see myself an avid birder, but keeping a log of water and shore species seen over the course of a summer might actually be a great enhancement to a fishing outing.
I have to say I nearly laughed out loud when I checked out what to pack for shorebird watching. A cellphone was listed number one “essential in case you get lost or your car breaks down.” Yes I get the convenience but I wonder how anyone birdwatching managed before cellphones if they are essential? And I wonder how many waters on the Prairies are out of service areas?
Then the website article notes as ‘good-to-haves’; “a pair of binoculars and tuck a well-illustrated field guide under your arm and you’ll look like a true naturalist.” In my way of thinking a guide book and binoculars would be essential birding tools.
What I found of even greater interest was an article of the migration of Monarch Butterflies and dragonflies. I knew butterflies migrated. I did not know that was the case with dragonfly.
“Monarchs are one of the most well-known butterflies in North America,” detailed a website article. “Their migration is now quite well understood. Monarchs in Manitoba begin to move south in the late summer. These migrants make it all the way to Mexico where they spend the winter. In the early spring, they will begin to head north. They probably only make it to Texas, where they start a new generation and then die off. Adults born in Texas will then continue north to Canada. They migrate so that they can have greater access to the milkweed plant, which is necessary as food for their young. As they move north, there is also less competition for flower nectar.”
And then the dragonflies.
“Dragonfly migration is less understood. Like Monarchs, they begin to travel south in late summer. The dragonflies make their way to warmer areas, near the Gulf of Mexico or south into Mexico. Dragonflies find their way south using natural landscape features, such as seacoasts and large rivers. Migration takes place in large swarms. In the swarm there is no actual leader, just many of the same insect traveling together. One of the interesting features of dragonfly migration is that it seems to follow the passage of cold fronts. It has been noted that even in two separate geographic areas, two separate swarms of dragonflies began to migrate in response to the same cold front.
“Much like the Monarch, the adults that head south in the fall will not be the same ones to return to Manitoba in the spring. It will be their offspring completing the trip.”
It is tidbits of information like that which make the migration site worth digging into some rainy spring day.
Next up is a mid-April release regarding one of the best known wetlands in the region, those at Quill Lakes.
From the release; “the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) now conserves Big Quill Lake South, 460 acres (186 ha) of shallow saline wetland and mixed grasslands, part of Saskatchewan’s Quill Lakes world-class birding habitat.
“NCC’s Big Quill Lake South property along Highway #6 near Dafoe, is located 150 km (93 mi) north of Regina. This property is part of the broader Quill Lakes area, renowned for abundant migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. The area holds a Ramsar designation as a wetland of international importance and was designated a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network of international significance, an Important Bird Area, and a Saskatchewan Heritage Marsh.
“Birdwatching in the Quill Lakes, named for the bird quills that were once collected here and shipped to England for use as writing pens, is second to none. Many waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds stage or refuel here, providing both the novice and expert birder a great view of sandhill cranes, snow geese, yellow warblers, LeConte’s, clay-coloured and Nelson’s sharp-tailed sparrows, even colonies of American white pelicans and double-crested cormorants. NCC permits on-foot-only access on all of its Saskatchewan properties.
“Shorebird species that stop or stage here include the black-bellied plover, Hudsonian godwit, stilt sandpiper, sanderling, semipalmated sandpiper, long-billed dowitcher, red-necked phalarope, lesser yellowlegs, the endangered piping plover, and more.
“Duck breeding is extraordinary, with mallards, northern shovelers, green- and blue-winged teal enjoying the area. Up to 50 nesting duck pairs per square mile have been documented here during spring and summer months. The area’s species at risk include Sprague’s pipit, northern leopard frog, fescue prairie grass, even bobolink!
NCC’s contributing partners for purchase of the Big Quill Lake South property were the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan.
“The protection and preservation of Saskatchewan’s diverse wildlife and their habitats is an important priority for the provincial government,” Saskatchewan Environment Minister Scott Moe said in a prepared quote with the release. “Partnering with the NCC on land conservation efforts brings awareness and appreciation to one of our greatest natural resources.”
“Our ability to secure and conserve the Big Quill South property will extend the prime habitat of many wildlife and bird species,” said Cameron Wood, East Parklands area manager, NCC in Saskatchewan in the same release. “This property is next to Saskatchewan Crown land and other lands that hold NCC conservation agreements, providing habitat connectivity for many species.”
In Saskatchewan alone, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has conserved over 140,000 acres (57,000 ha) of ecologically significant lands through land donation, purchase and conservation agreement, in partnership with governments, corporations and other organizations.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) works with a broad range of organizations to advance long term land conservation in Saskatchewan and throughout Canada.
The NCC is the nation’s leading land conservation organization, working to protect our most important natural areas and the species they sustain. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect more than 2.7 million acres (1.1 million hectares), coast to coast, placing national perspective on great Saskatchewan work.
You can learn more visiting www.natureconservancy.ca
