With 11 days left in October, there had been a scarcity of honking geese flying south over Moose Jaw to warmer climates.
Then a news story explained that geese and sandhill cranes have been staying further north as the weather stayed warm.
Aside from hearing some cranes one day and being told some geese and cranes were resting and feeding in fields in the Central Butte and Riverhurst districts, Yours Truly had seen or heard none.
As an excuse for an afternoon drive, I got a friend to come with me on a goose photo hunt.
We headed south since a previous trip north only spotted a moose in water and some antelope.
Driving south to the extinct community of Michellton, we saw the Lake of the Rivers, which extends about 20 miles from Mossbank to north of Assiniboia.
A dearth of water bodies in the region meant geese would have to land and swim in this salt lake.
To our amazement, the lake was mostly salt flats and some weeds. As we drove near and along the lake we saw pools of water here and there, but that was it.
This lake likely hasn’t been this dry since the drought of 1988.
Even at the 717 grid road bridge crossing at the south end of the lake, we saw only weeds and two little pools of water.
As we drove west through the maze of huge windmills, we spotted five antelope.
It was mid-afternoon and those juicy hamburgers at the 121 Restaurant in Assiniboia appealed to us.
At the restaurant, a female server was run off her feet tending the coffee-break crowd. The burger and wonton soup was excellent.
After leaving, we headed north on Highway Two to Moose Jaw, spotting three small flocks of Canada geese in their v-shaped pattern.
A large flock of snow geese, a thousand or more, flew up but traffic coming and going prevented us from taking photos.
The afternoon had all the appearances of a wild goose chase until just south of Moose Jaw near the Highway363 access to South Hill.
About 35 big Canada geese stood their ground beside the road, unconcerned by the noise of passing traffic.
The drive wasn’t a bust after all.
Snow three days later likely drove the geese straight south.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected].
