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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