North America’s oldest bird sanctuary attracts millions of aerial travellers in Saskatchewan

One of the first bird sanctuaries in North America can be found in Saskatchewan. Sierra D'Souza Butts has the details.

Saskatchewan is home to the oldest bird sanctuary in North America that sees millions of birds pass though every year.

Located 165 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, the Last Mountain Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary serves as a waystation for migratory and local birds before they take flight for the winter.

Living near one of Canada’s historic bird sanctuaries has been a unique experience for the Nordick family.

“The scenery, the quietness. We say it’s so quiet it’s so loud. It’s hard to describe,” shared Troy Nordick.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

But it’s not just the serene surroundings, Troy said the wildlife preserve provides an educational opportunity for his children.

“I’ve learned that there’s a bunch of birds here and it’s just a really good place here,” said his nine-year-old son Kash.

“There’s so many different birds and the sunsets are very amazing. It’s just beautiful,” added Adelita, Troy’s daughter.

The sanctuary is an important place for millions of birds of various species - including Canadian and snow geese, grassland songbirds, marsh birds, and more.

“The birds will go up to the continent of North America from where they spend the winter, which can be in Texas, Minnesota, it could be all the way down to South America, Argentina,” explained Kerry Hecker, a protected areas manager with the Canadian Wildlife Service.

“They spend their winters there and then they hopscotch up the continent in areas that have decent habitat and are safe for them.”

Hecker says the sanctuary is the busiest in the fall and spring due to birds travelling as far as 15,000 kilometres in preparation for the cold winter months.

“The birds nest in the Arctic in the boreal forest across Canada, sort of closer up here, and then when they go to migrate, they actually narrow themselves down and come through parts of Saskatchewan,” she explained.

“We’re right in the middle of that central flyway. Then once we get past Saskatchewan, as they continue their migration, then they fan out again. They go all over the place from the Gulf of Mexico to Central America and in some cases all the way down south.”

When learning about the extensive distance birds travel to and from the sanctuary, Danny Strauss, a frequent visitor said he could not believe it.

“It’s kind of surreal to me. Like you see them it just seems impossible that they can go that distance,” said Strauss.

“It’s sort of seems normal just to see them around and everywhere you don’t really look at the bigger picture until you can see something like this that shows you kind of all what they can do.”

The site was the first bird sanctuary established in North America, with Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald signing the cabinet documents back in 1887.

The land is also home to Canada’s first protected area set aside for wildlife - formally known as The Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area and Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

Twelve-year-old Jesse Strauss credits his knowledge of birds to the sanctuary.

“Whenever I come up here I go down to the tower and I see dozens of species of birds around me. Like you look one way, there’s a bird. You another way there’s two more,” he said laughing.

With fall migration being a great time to visit the sanctuary, Hecker reminds people that the historic site is open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk.

-With files from Gareth Dillistone.