Lesser Yellowlegs – Forests of Memory. Forests of Learning. Forests for Life.

The Birder’s Covenant: A Stewardship Guide to the West Swale

As a birdwatcher in the West Swale, you are more than an observer—you are a sentinel for over 60 species at risk. Every step you take can either support or disrupt the delicate “green ribbon” of our wetlands.

1. The Golden Rule: Stay on the Path

The West Swale is a mosaic of breeding grounds.

Grassland Birds (Sprague’s Pipit, Baird’s Sparrow): These are ground-nesters. Walking through tall grass during the breeding season (May–August) can inadvertently crush nests or cause parents to abandon their young.
The Mudflat Zone: Species like the Lesser Yellowlegs and Piping Plover forage on the muddy margins. Your footprints can destroy the micro-habitats of the invertebrates they eat.

2. Respect the “wetlands”

Keep a respectful distance from the shoreline edges.

Action: Use binoculars or a spotting scope to observe colonies from at least 30 meters away.

3. Protect the “Floating Nurseries”

The Horned Grebe and Western Grebe build floating nests anchored to cattails and rushes.

Vulnerability: These nests are highly sensitive to “wake” and disturbance.
Action: If you have a dog, keep it on a leash and away from the water’s edge. Even a friendly dog swimming can swamp a Grebe’s nest or cause a Western Tiger Salamander to retreat, disrupting its breeding cycle.

4. Be a Bio-Coder: Document Your Sightings

Stewardship thrives on data. When you spot a species at risk:

Use eBird and / or iNaturalist: Recording your sightings helps the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas track the success of restoration strategies.
Note the Habitat: Are the birds in the Smooth Brome or the native Fescue? This information is vital for our “Battle of the Brome” management strategy.

5. Practice “Stealth Birding”

No Playbacks: Avoid using recorded bird calls to draw birds out. For species at risk already under pressure from urban noise and habitat loss, this extra stress can be detrimental.
Color Choice: Wear muted, earthy tones to blend into the willow and dogwood thickets, reducing the “threat profile” perceived by nesting raptors like the American Kestrel.

Species	Where to Look	Stewardship Tip
Common Nighthawk	Open skies at dusk; gravel patches.	Watch your step on open ground; they nest in the open.
Loggerhead Shrike	Thorny shrubs (Buffalo Berry).	Look for “larders” (insects impaled on thorns). Don’t trim shrubs!
Short-eared Owl	Low over grasslands at dawn/dusk.	Maintain silence; they hunt by sound.
Bobolink	Tall grass upland areas.	Listen for the “R2-D2” bubbling song; avoid walking in deep grass.

The Sustainability Connection

By following this guide, you are directly contributing to UN SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water). You are helping to maintain the carrying capacity of an ecosystem that provides over $32,000 in annual services to the City of Saskatoon.

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” — Let’s return it to them full of song.

American golden plover (Pluvialis dominica) sighted at Richard St. Barbe Baker spring 2019

Part SE 23-36-6 – Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A

Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A

S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A

NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063

Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area or

Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot

Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com

Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map

Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)?with map

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Blogger: FriendsAfforestation

Tumblr friendsafforestation.tumblr.com Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

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Facebook for the non profit Charity Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. FriendsAreas

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

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Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail / e-transfers )

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United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Use the UN Decade’s Visual Identity
Make it your own
Spread the word about the UN Decade
Let’s Bring Back Forests
Let’s Green Our Cities

““Be like a tree in pursuit of your cause. Stand firm, grip hard, thrust upward. Bend to the winds of heaven..”

Lesser Yellowlegs Threatened due to Loss of Wetlands

Threatened in Saskatchewan as recorded by SCDC Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes

So, everyone once in awhile, one wonders why there are such things as bioblitzes, or ecoquests to record biodiversity. Then there are such shorebirds as Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes which are considered threatened in Saskatchewan by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre. Coming out to connect with nature, and record your sightings are invaluable to a species such as Lesser Yellowlegs. Their lives depend on you!

In this year of severe drought, there are so many wetlands drying up, it is a wonder that those birds which migrated north have any water at all.

To begin to look at the species profile and why they are considered threatened, well there are little to no wetlands policies around for conservation when development wishes to go through, and then drought has taken what little there is away. And the reason for the threatened designation is that there are substantial declines recorded in bird surveys. Loss of wetlands is one concern, but there is also climate change taking its toll along with other factors.

Society has started to rally with Bee crusades, and Monarch butterfly flyways and pollinator gardens, but who has started a shorebirds action? Who has said that the wetlands policy must become a bylaw, and that it should protect the habitats of species at risk? So, COSEWIC provided the threatened designation 21 years ago for the Lesser Yellow Legs, and sadly to say, it has not changed. Are you good at letter writing. Can you write a letter to your Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly, or Councillor? What would happen to mankind if we did nothing for the decline in homo sapiens species from Coronavirus COVID-19 for 21 years? Society surely did rally to fix the rapidly declining deaths and illness from COVID through a number of vaccines. The Lesser Yellow Legs is not sick, so it doesn’t need a rapidly developed vaccine. The population of the Lesser Yellow Legs has gone down because they have no home to live in. Their homes are wetlands. And what do we do with wetlands? Fill them in as quickly as possible with compost, gravel or any excavation material so we can build on them – who cares how many basements are flooded, and who cares how many Lesser Yellowlegs die without a home.

Luckily in Saskatoon the long range planners are doing a Green Network Connectivity Strategy to keep the wetlands of the West Swale! The West Swale joins the North Saskatchewan River Valley to the South Saskatchewan River Valley, and what a marvellous wetlands corridor that is! That surely shows continuous improvements and environmental leadership!

When will action start for the shorebirds? It is surely good that this decade is the United Nations Decade on Ecological Restoration, and we can love some shorebirds and protect their habitat. What thinks you?

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

NEW P4G District Official Community Plan

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′

Addresses:

Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A