Alberta
offers world class sporting opportunities for the wing shooter.
The following is a brief description of what's available
for species and hunting for each region of the
province.
The Boreal and Peace
Country:
Along
with bears, big whitetails and moose, northern Alberta is known for
it’s bird game. Thousands upon thousands of local and migrating Canada
geese stage in northwest Alberta’s Peace country throughout September
and October. It is here that the geese fuel up on protein for the long
migration south in the surrounding fields of barley, peas and wheat. The
Peace country is a large block of parkland habitat surrounded by forests
of poplar and mixed coniferous trees. Running throughout the “Peace”
is the mighty Peace River, which is the primary roosting and staging
habitat for the birds. Several large lakes and wetlands provide
additional staging habitat for migrating wildfowl. This is the first
place where the geese are introduced to sportsmen and the birds are
naive and rarely shy from a blind.
The Peace Country
may be the very best goose-hunting destination on the continent. As with
the geese, ducks (particularly mallards) stage in the Peace parklands by
the thousands. The abundant mallards share the same food source as the
geese and very often mallards are shot prior to and in between goose
flights. Most sportsmen visiting the Peace pursue geese and duck hunting
is only secondary. For those hunters wishing to pursue field- feeding
ducks, the Peace River country is world class. The large wetlands
and lakes of the Peace parklands the boreal forests also offer some of
the best diver hunts in the West. There are literally countless
water-bodies throughout the North that have never seen a duck boat.
Late September and
early October is the ideal time to witness the migration of most duck
species.
The
Parkland:
The Parkland region within Alberta
provides an array of opportunities for the wing shooter. The bird game
in the central Alberta is second to none.
The aspen parkland is home to the highest densities of breeding mallards
on the continent. Add to this, numerous flocks of locally raised Canada
geese and tremendous numbers of migrating Canada’s, snow geese and
white-fronted geese and ducks of all species. There is little doubt that
the region is a waterfowler’s heaven. A long season and liberal limits
only add to the package.
All
three species of geese with several species of ducks can comprise the
bag limit on any single hunt. The migration is in full swing by the
beginning of the season in mid-September and lasts until the end of
October in most years. Many of the best mallard hunts occur on
small wetlands, locally known as potholes. The mallards stage on large
bodies of water and at least once a day fly out to feed in nearby
fields. The birds will virtually always fly into a small body of water
near the field. It is here that the birds are intercepted. These hunts
can be fast and furious, often with thousands of ducks recklessly
winging into your decoys. Very often large parties of hunters are
limited out by the time the sun paints the surrounding fields gold
The Foothills and
Mountains:
Aside from world-class big game hunting
in Alberta’s foothills, the region also offers good opportunities for
waterfowl and upland game hunting.
Duck and goose hunting in this region is fairly localized and the
majority of opportunities occur along the eastern boundary near to
farming country. The region is best known for late season
shooting especially in the south. Warm water springs
throughout southwest Alberta provide the only open water refuge for tens
of thousands of wintering mallards. Opportunities for ducks and
geese exist from early September in the north through to late December
in the south.
The Prairie:
One of the most attractive
aspects of Southern Alberta is the opportunities for the
sportsman, as there is an abundant diversity of bird game to
pursue. Southern Alberta is known worldwide for its quality waterfowling
opportunities. Sharing the Pacific and Central Flyways, Southern Alberta
is blessed with millions of migrating ducks and geese. The prairies have
thousands of acres of staging water with very low hunting pressure.
Field shooting of large Canada geese is particularly attractive to
visiting sportsmen, with many shoots being complimented with wave after
wave of mallards and pintails. Big water shooting opportunities
are plentiful for divers, dabblers or mixed bag hunts, with virtually no
competition. The migration and seasons begin in early September and
continue through to the end of the season in late December, although
most shallow wetlands are frozen by the first of November.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND PACKAGES AVAILABLE.