The Last Mountain Bird Observatory (LMBO), located in Last Mountain Regional Park, 15km West of Govan opens on May 9th for the spring season. The observatory is open in the spring and fall of each year to monitor the number and species of migrating songbirds and to offer educational opportunities to the public. Visitors of all ages are welcome in May, August and September from 9 am to 1 pm each day to see bird species up close and observe catching, handling and banding techniques.
Saturday, May 14 is International Migratory Bird Day and what better place to celebrate then the Last Mountain Bird Observatory. This year also marks the centennial of the Convention between Canada and the United States for the protection of migratory birds. The Migratory Birds Convention laid a foundation for the conservation of birds that migrate across international borders.
The Bird Day celebration begins at 10am where participants will be split into groups. The groups will spend the morning rotating through five different stations: bird banding, mist nets, shorebird adaptations and nature journals, migration obstacle course, and wetland metaphor display.
SaskEnergy will be sponsoring a free BBQ at 12:30pm at LMBO. In the afternoon, groups will participate in geocaching. Event concludes at 3pm. Nature Saskatchewan has partnered with the Regina Open Door Society to sponsor a group of new Canadians to attend this event.
Nature Saskatchewan will also be hosting the Great Canadian Birdathon on Saturday May 14th, 2016 starting at 8 a.m. in Regina and concluding at the Last Mountain Bird Observatory. Plan to get together with our Birdathon leader Ryan Dudragne, to enjoy a morning of birding around Wascana Lake and the Last Mountain Bird Observatory. It will be fun, challenging, and a great learning experience. Come on your own, or bring your friends and family - everyone is welcome! If you have binoculars, then don’t forget to bring them along too. Please meet at 8 am at Wascana Centre Authority and then everyone can walk around the lake as a group. After a morning of birding please join us at the Last Mountain regional park for a free BBQ and more birding.
More than 7,000 people from across Canada (and from several countries around the world) participate in and/or sponsor Birdathons in May of every year. During a 24-hour period, “birdathoners” attempt to find as many bird species as they can, sponsored at a flat rate, or on a per-species basis.
Everyone is welcome to join us for our Bird Day celebration and the Birdathon. Please RSVP to the BBQ by May 11th. Media is welcome to come out to the Observatory to observe the catching and banding of birds, as well as have a tour of the facility. Please call Nature Saskatchewan for more information.
