Birdingpals Trip Report

Trip Report, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, May 26-30, 2005 to meet the local Birdingpals

By Birdingpal Pat White

I traveled to Saskatoon to visit family and go birding. Birdingpal Mary Gilliland gave me good advice before the trip on what Canadian birds I was likely to see on those dates, where it is safe to walk alone, etc. My niece also sent me email address of Jim Wood, a local birder, and I was invited to participate in the Saskatoon Nature Society bird count on May 28.
Arrived on the afternoon of May 26. My hosts at Colony House B&B, George & Shirley Haines lent me a copy of ‘Birds of the Saskatoon Area’ published by the Saskatoon Nature Society and Nature Saskatchewan. This is a wonderful reference book, (not a field guide) to know what birds you will see any season around Saskatoon. It provides detailed information and maps on the birding hot spots, as well as information on abundance, migratory movements, breeding, and habitat preference of each species.
May 27 went out before breakfast to learn the common local warblers, sparrows, gulls, and see the famous American White Pelicans that fish at the weir.
May 28, our team counted birds all morning on a chilly overcast day. May 29 and May 30, I went birding alone and with relatives between other activities, and was able to hold their interest with easily identifiable birds: Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, American Redstart, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow Warbler… I may have started a new generation of birders!

Here is my trip list:
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Greater White-fronted Goose
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Gadwall
Blue-Winged Teal
Ruddy Duck&
Sharp-shinned Hawk
American Kestrel
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull
Common Tern
Forster's Tern
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Swainson’s Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Trasher
Cedar Waxwing
Tennessee Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstar
Ovenbird
Northern Watertrush
Common Yellowthroat
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch


Last update 11/01/2013