Originally posted by jacamar but I understand a number are lost to hunters.
The whooping cranes tend to be found with other large migrating birds and the most enthusiastic hunters aren't necessarily the wisest.
Originally posted by jacamar That owl flew as soon as we took one more step towards it
In my experience, owls are extremely wary, intelligent and fast.
Originally posted by jacamar One common theme in Saskatchewan was that while the numbers of birds were spectacular, it was hard to get close to them.
I'm not a birder but I've found that migrating birds close to busy highways tend to be less easily spooked. It may help that I'm usually alone. Did you make it to Chaplin? The Trans-Canada is about 100 meters from the shore.
Now I know why you were in Meacham, checking out our oversized pothole sloughs.
---------- Post added 10-17-17 at 06:28 PM ----------
Originally posted by jacamar There are some people who will shoot at anything that moves, I guess.
True too often. I wonder if protecting the sandhill crane from hunting (even though it isn't a threatened species) would be a good idea. Let the hunters go after the Canada geese and snow geese and leave the other migratory species alone (although pelican numbers seem pretty healthy to me, but I could be wrong).
I will stop going off topic and post a couple pictures from the ghost town of Bents in a few days.