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 are the Government of Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan.
• The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) works with a broad range of organizations to advance long term land conservation in Saskatchewan and throughout Canada.
