“If you go to Saskatchewan or even Strathclair, farms are smaller and there is still swath on the fields,” Barwick explained. “Here there is more straight cut, where a lot was swathed in the past. Everything here is more efficient farming.”
He added there are more sloughs in Saskatchewan and there is a little more habitat further north in the Minnedosa region. This impacts ducks and geese as “water attracts waterfowl.” However, the drought that impacted the entire prairie region has not helped either.
Hunting too has been down generally over the years, with Barwick saying they have been trying to improve the numbers through initiatives like the Youth Hunting Program. This is true in both resident and non-resident categories.
Over the years, technology has affected hunting as well, particularly with visitors. Barwick said guides/outfitters have seen different trends, in which hunters are able to go where they know birds are.
“A lot of change has to do with the internet. They don’t have to come here and hope they can get birds. They can check it out and go further north to intercept them. Technology has changed things.”
The pandemic has also impacted the US hunters. Last year, Barwick said he had zero income from guiding because of COVID. This year, it was close to normal with most of his groups he guides making it up. He said many were scared about what they would see at the newly opened border, but it was made much easier by the ArriveCan app.
However, there is still a lot of anti-vax attitude across the 49th. A member of one of Barwick’s hunting groups was turned down because there was not enough time elapsed after his second shot, which was unfortunate.
Barwick said we would continue to see waterfowl in the area. The warmer weather we had earlier stalled migration a bit, but now that it is colder they will start heading south again. The flyway changes, which have impacted areas farther along in their journey like Arkansas, have certainly not kept all waterfowl away, and we will continue to see them in the years to come, particularly if we have a little more water next year.
“Not all of them have left. We still have good numbers.”
by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff