202-2050 Cornwall St., Regina, Saskatchewan,
Canada 2K5
Tel. 306 787-0726
Fax. 306 787-0780
E-mail: SWCCNET@wetland.sk.ca
Located
approximately 120km north of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Geographic Coordinates: 51º 55'
N, 104º 20' W,
Area of Site: Approximately 40,000 hectares.
Quill
Lakes Land Description:
The Quill Lakes are a series of three large saline
lakes in a mixed grassland ecosystem.
Wind action on these shallow lakes creates large expanses of fresh
mudflats which are utilized by the shorebirds for feeding. Large open marsh complexes are situated adjacent
to the lakes which are utilized by staging shorebirds and other water oriented
birds.
Land Use:
Cattle ranching, recreation, swimming.
Protection:
Information not available
Current Threats:
Continuous drought could threaten the viability of
the site. Also, a limited threat exists
from ATV use in the beaches, along with cattle trampling in some areas.
Major Causes of
Disturbance:
Biology: What Shorebird Species Use This Site?
The Quill Lakes are used for feeding and roosting
during spring and fall migrations.
Spring migration begins approximately the second week of May and is
complete by the second week of June.
Fall migration begins the second week of July and extends well in to
September in most years.
Recruitment on Big Quill Lake is currently very
low. Hatch success is high but chick
survival appears limited. This limiting
is attributed to the absence of water near traditional nesting areas on old shorelines
due to receding water levels.
Some
of the shorebird species that use the Quill Lakes for nesting and roosting
include:
________________________________________________________________________________________
American Avocet
Baird's
Sandpiper
Black-bellied
Plover
Buff-breasted
Sandpiper
Common
Snipe
Dunlin
Greater
Yellowlegs
Hudsonian
Godwit
Killdeer
Least
Sandpiper
Long-billed
Dowitcher
Marbled
Godwit
Pectoral
Sandpiper
Red
Knot
Red
Phalarope
Ruddy
Turnstone
Sanderling
Semipalmated
Plover
Semipalmated
Sandpiper
Short-billed
Dowitcher
Stilt
Sandpiper
Western
Sandpiper
Whimbrel
Willet
________________________________________________________________________________________
Recent Management & Research
Activities:
A management plan is being developed to address the
concerns oft drought. in 1993, two
wells were drilled to provide additional wetland habitat near old shorelines in
an attempt to increase Piping Plover chick survival. Also, five miles were fenced to restrict cattle from Piping
Plover nesting areas and the well sites.
Information Relating to WHSRN
This site is provincial Crown land and 7,000 hects.
of old shoreline and adjacent upland is leased/owned by Saskatchewan Wetland
Conservation Corporation.
§
Ducks Unlimited Canada, Box 670, Wadena, SK SOA 4JO.
Tel: 306-338-3677.
§
Quill Lakes Nature Tours, Box 111, Quill Lake, SK SOA
3EO. Tel: 306-383-2616.
§
Wynyard, Wadena, Quill Lake, Elfross. Land of the Living
Sky Tourism Association, c/o Chuck dechamps, Ducks Unlimited Canada Office, PO
Box 670, Wadena, SKSOA 4J0, Tel: 306-338-3677.
Local
Activities:
§
Wadena
Wetland Wildlife Festival (last week of May). Includes guided walks, displays, viewing tower,
ATV tours. Coordinated by Town of
Wadena.
Ceremony
Celebrating Quill Lake’s Inclusion in WHSRN
celebration
pending
Bibliography
Dickson, H.L. and A.R. Smith, 1988. Canadian Prairie Shorebird Program: an
update. Wader Study Group Bull., 52:23-27.
Ducks Unlimited, 1986. Saskatchewan Heritage Marsh Program - Third Generation,
1986. Ducks Unlimited Canada,
Unpublished Report, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Ferry, J, 1910.
Birds Observed in Saskatchewan during the summer of 1909. Auk:185 -204.
Morrison, R.I.G.and K. Ross, 1989. Atlas of nearctic shorebirds on the coast of
South America. 2 vols. 325pp.
Special Publication, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa.