Northern Surveys Underway

Given winter’s reluctance to release its grip on northern waterfowl habitats, the crews surveying in the Bush start later than Prairie crews. We began our first survey lines out of Prince Albert, SK on May 16. Habitats in this region are a mix of agricultural fields and aspen and spruce forests. This is the transition area from the Prairies and Parklands to the Boreal Forest. There was a large variety of species prevalent on wetlands and occasional flocks of white-fronted geese were observed moving north to Arctic nesting areas. Locally, timing of the survey seems to be excellent since we have observed a mix of paired birds as well as scattered small flocks of only drakes. Survey conditions have been excellent with light winds and high overcast skies.