REGINA, Sask. — In the trees of A.E. Wilson Park in Regina, a variety of bird species can be seen flocking throughout the area.
Jenn Smith Nelson, founder and guide with Wildview Tours, has gone birdwatching hundreds of times throughout the park, looking to find the vast number of species in the city and province.
“We see about 447 species that have been recorded in Saskatchewan, and of that, I think 367 come through Regina.”
Smith Nelson said Saskatchewan’s variety of habitats makes it an ideal destination for birdwatchers.
“Prairies meet marsh, meet lake, meet woodland,” she said, adding that interconnected habitats allow a wide range of species to live in the same area.
But the province also has a geographical advantage for bird migration and breeding.
“We have two major flyways overhead, so it's like a bird superhighway. And a lot of people just are really unaware of how rich this province is in species.”
That richness has led Tourism Saskatchewan to work on a documentary project called Big Sky, Big Year, which started with in-house content creator Mitch Doll leaning into birdwatching.
“He actually came to me one day and said, ‘I'm really getting into birding, and I would love to do a big year,’ which is seeing as many birds as possible in one year, and he wanted to capture the content of his journey through a big year,” said Brooke Lochbaum, executive director of marketing at Tourism Saskatchewan.
Through four completed episodes totalling 140,000 views online, Doll’s journey with experts has taken him to various parts of the province, with more areas planned.
“He has plans to visit other locations across the province, including Cypress Hills Provincial Park, Last Mountain Bird Observatory, Redberry Lake Biosphere and several other locations along the way,” noted Lochbaum.
For Tourism Saskatchewan, CEO Jonathan Potts said the organization sees an opportunity to position the province as one of North America’s premier birding destinations.
“We are well positioned to be one of the great birding destinations in North America,” Potts said.
Potts said the organization is also seeing more birding guides partner with accommodations and other tourism providers, creating opportunities for visitors to travel throughout the province while taking part in birding experiences.
Smith Nelson recommended that those interested in taking up birdwatching simply use their “eyes and ears.”
“You don’t need fancy binoculars or a camera. Those things can help, but sometimes it’s just about sitting and pausing. As you can hear, the birds are all around us. It’s really just about stopping and paying attention and picking up on their habits.”
