Last Mountain Lake Bird Observatory and National Wildlife Area
Tuesday August 12, 2025
Description: Come along as we travel to Last Mountain Lake Bird Observatory (LMLBO) – the oldest banding station in the province – to participate in a banding demonstration! We will also bird around LMLBO in the morning, and then head over to the National Wildlife Area and Bird Sanctuary, another historical landmark as it was the first migratory bird sanctuary to be established in North America. Here we will meet the Sanctuary staff for a guided grassland walk and visit their new interpretive center.
Driving time: This destination is 2.5h away from Saskatoon. Expect to be in the van for at least 6 hours on this trip.
Accessibility: This trip is open to all accessibility levels, there is some walking around at LMLBO, but that is largely optional. Walks at the MBS are mostly flat and short, but please watch for ground squirrel burrows. This will be a full day trip, so pack a lunch.
Highlights: summer resident birds, grassland birds, early migrants. Upland Sandpiper, Black Tern, American White Pelican, shorebirds.Shorebirds: Chaplin and Reed Lakes
Sunday August 17, 2025
Description: About 2.5 hours south of Saskatoon, lie the saline waterbodies of Chaplin Lake and Reed Lake. These lakes are major migratory stopover sites for numerous shorebird species, as well as nesting and staging sites for waterfowl. The area is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), and Reed Lake has been assessed as a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) at a global scale for aggregations of birds (namely shorebirds and waterfowl). The lakes and surrounding area also frequently host interesting breeding species such as Piping Plovers, Nelson’s Sparrows, Chestnut-collared Longspurs, and other grassland obligate species. Join us as we look predominately for migratory shorebirds and staging waterfowl on the lakes. We should expect numbers of dabbling ducks, avocets, ‘peeps’, phalaropes, godwits and other shorebirds. If we’re lucky, we may be able to find a late Piping Plover, hunting Prairie or Peregrine Falcons, or potentially grassland-obligate breeding species still on their territories.
Drive-time: Chaplin Lake and Reed Lakes are about 2.5 hours from Saskatoon. Be prepared to be in the van for ~ 7 hours total.
Accessibility: This trip is open to all accessibility levels. There will be some limited walking at the shorebird sites, however we will be predominantly stationed near the vans and scoping during this trip.
Highlights: Shorebirds, Shorebirds, SHOREBIRDS! Expect to see some shorebirds. Additionally we should see numerous dabbling ducks. We may get lucky with Peregrine or Prairie Falcons hunting shorebirds, or with late local breeding species such as Piping Plovers, Loggerhead Shrikes, or Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
Note: Visiting Chaplin and Reed Lakes will be conditional on adequate water levels on the lakes for birding. If the lakes are dry, we will look to alter this trip plan to lakes with sufficient water.
