Alberta Habitat Conditions

Habitat conditionsHabitat conditions are assessed regularly by DUC and are presented in our Habitat Reports. The following is a compilation of impressions, collected from DUC field staff, of environmental conditions relative to breeding waterfowl. These observations are not based on systematic surveys, and are not intended to describe hunting conditions. Our most recent Habitat Report was prepared November 2010, and had the following to say about habitat conditions in Alberta:

 

Winter arrived in mid November, along with snow and below-average temperatures. Daytime highs have been in the -15 to -20 C range, with overnight lows of -30 C, although a warming trend is now underway. Snowfall amounts have varied across the province, with greater amounts generally falling in the south.

For the period of October 1 to November 16, precipitation was below average to well below average in the Peace region and Aspen Parkland. During the same period, precipitation was generally below average to average in most of the Prairie, with the exception of the Cypress Hills-Medicine Hat area, where precipitation was above average. Current snowpack is: 15-20 cm in the southern Prairie; 10-15 cm in the northern Prairie and southern Parkland; and 5-10 cm in the northern Parkland, Boreal Transition Zone (BTZ) and Peace Parkland.

After a cool September, temperatures were average to above average in October. Combined with a period of dry weather, this allowed farmers to complete their harvest by the end of October.

According to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development soil moisture condition models, the frost seal will likely be: poor in the Peace Parkland; fair in the BTZ and in parts of the central Aspen Parkland; and good to very good in the southern Aspen Parkland and Prairie.

At freeze-up, pastures were generally in fair to good condition across the Prairie, Aspen Parkland and BTZ. In the Peace Parkland, pastures were in poor condition and surface water supplies for livestock were low. At this time, it looks like spring habitat conditions will be favourable throughout the province, except in the Peace Parkland, where drought conditions prevailed until freeze-up.

Warm October conditions appeared to extend the fall flight, and allowed birds to be widely dispersed on unfrozen ponds. Field reports indicate that ducks did not leave the Peace Parkland until early November. Most small wetlands were frozen by the first week in November, resulting in waterfowl being concentrated on lakes, rivers, and large wetlands. In the southern Aspen Parkland and Prairie, late flocks of Canada geese were observed until mid November. The arrival of winter weather has now forced most birds south, except for the usual overwintering waterfow l that remain on rivers and power plant cooling ponds.

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Download the full November report.