It’s been a beautiful fall with memorable images of huge flocks of snow geese taking off from fields and many of us were very fortunate to see the impressive numbers of whooping cranes stopping by. It is truly an amazing story of species recovery that we can still witness!
On the news front, I know many of you got out on the October Big Day on Saturday October 10th. Over 50,000 birders identified over 7400 species this year around the globe. In Saskatchewan, we identified 132 species from 89 birders – Saskatoon region led the pack with 95 species from 27 ebirders. All good – thank you all for coming out!!
Of course, John Patterson and Stan Shadick have just released the results of the fall 2026 bird count – fascinating work of our 40 volunteers who counted those birds. The bird count summaries are on our web site and provide a lot to think about regarding the future of birds in our region!
In other news, as president, I was fortunate to meet with Mike Velonas of the Meewasin Valley Authority to get a sense of their new plans regarding a new building and what that might mean for the MVA. As well, we discussed the progress of the National Urban Park – all of this is still in early stages, so we need to watch carefully and be ready to share our thoughts with the MVA!
On September 22 you may have seen Bird Friendly Saskatoon in the news announcing that City Hall has gotten an upgrade: window decals and stenciled dots have been applied to the north side windows to prevent bird-window collisions. 
Previously this side of City Hall was well-known for its numerous fatal bird collisions. At the news event, Mayor Cynthia Block said: “This project is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when community members, volunteers, and the City work together. By taking this simple step, we are helping protect migratory birds and making Saskatoon a more welcoming place for wildlife. My thanks to Bird Friendly Saskatoon and everyone involved for their leadership and commitment to our environment.”
Saskatoon BF team thanked everyone who made this possible including the Saskatoon Environmental Advisory Committee, councillors Parker and MacDonald, Shannon Dyck at the Sustainability dept and the staff at the City of Saskatoon for doing such a fantastic job installing the dots.
We have a great Bird Friendly team including Mercy Harris and Jan Shadick – thank you all!
We had another excellent general meeting in October with the MVA and the NCC, two major conservation partners. Both gave great overviews then a bit of where they want to go in the future. Interestingly both the MVA and NCC won Sabex awards on that same evening, MVA for Spirit of Saskatoon and NCC for Community Impact. Andrea stressed that the NCC sees the SNS as a significant partner in the Asquith property and as such as a big part of the reason they won - we are glad to help out!!
I am looking forward to Dr. Ryan Brook’s update on the state of wild boars in Saskatchewan in November. These invasive animals are growing in number and area and pose a huge risk to the natural balance in our biodiversity - come on out on November 19th!
I am very happy to report out that we have 10 members on our conservation committee, and we had a very good organizational meeting a few weeks ago. Members who are interested in advocacy and conservation are always welcome! If you want to join us, please send me an email at president@saskatoonnature.org
Please check out two ads in our newsletter regarding a new website master and a new treasurer (as Nancy Lease has decided to take a break). She has done an amazing job of mastering the role of treasurer, so we thank her immensely! Please take a look at these ads and see if you have something to offer!
Finally, last call for any suggestions or comments for bylaw amendments or just even about things in general for the SNS board to consider – due Oct 31st! So far, the two issues we have identified are 1) the necessity of auditors and our year financial statements and 2) when the AGM must be held; both were changed in legislation recently. As well, we are looking at creating a Year End protocols policy document in December – a work in progress but one that needs some attention Please submit your thoughts to me at president@saskatoonnature.org The SNS is doing a review of its bylaws to make sure they are in tune with the current legislation, reflect best practices and allow the Board to govern effectively following our goals, so things are not missed!
Have a great fall – I’m heading out right now to check in on those whooping cranes!!
- David
