Sandhill Crane Season in 2026 ?

Received a letter from Delta Waterfowler regarding the opening of a season in 2026 for Sandhill Cranes in the Northern and Central District but not in the Southern District. Good but not good enough as they are wintering over down here in the Long Point area and I would love a chance to taste this so-called "Rib eye of the sky".

Also news of increasing the American Black duck limit to 3 per day but that only applies to certain WMU's ( Long Point being one of them) and Northern and Central WMU's get 6 per day.

Doesn't sound fair to me ?

that was my first thoughts as well not in the south. is to bad and doesn't mention the season. I could get a bunch in the early goose season.

Life is rarely fair. Starting a trial in a few areas isn’t an uncommon practice. I would expect future expansion if all goes well

It's called "sticking the toes in the water" to gauge public reaction. If the program was launched in southern Ontario,every whack job animal rights loony tunes would be marching in the streets.

I think a lot has to do with population density, more than likely there’s more waterfowl hunters in southern Ontario than the northern WMU’s.. and like others have said less heat up north than the tree amount of tree huggers down here…




huggers down here.

Hello Guys,

I posted a six (6) part response to the Sandhill Crane thread that "longpointer" started on the "waterfowl" forum at the Channel 68 website ... check it out.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

True... life is not fair. I suppose it's the Canadian way of doing things as in baby steps, as opposed to the Yanks where they jump in with both feet ? LoL !
Good excuse to visit my buddy in Burks Falls in 2026 as it will give me time to save up the extra gas money.

Hello Guys,

I made a slight error in my last post ... it was longpointer's brother who started the Sandhill Crane thread on the Channel 68 "waterfowl" forum.

I will post my six (6) responses here for your convenience. I covered some other related topics as well since they were brought up.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Date: January 26, 2024

Re: Response to Comments

Hello Guys,

I am responding to several comments and questions that have been made.

It should be noted that the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) has been (remains) an active participant of the Ontario Waterfowl Advisory Committee (OWAC) which consists of representatives from the Ontario Government as well as the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH). The current OFAH representatives are staff members of Delta Waterfowl and therefore (due to their extensive wealth of experience and knowledge) are able to contribute significantly to any discussion regarding waterfowl and waterfowl hunting in this province.

1) Blue-Winged Teal Season:

I originally submitted a proposal to the CWS in September of 2010 regarding the potential implementation of an earlier waterfowl season so that we would have an opportunity to harvest a few Blue-Winged Teal before they leave the province as they generally left by the end of September (back then) and often just prior to opening day. This proposal was added as an agenda item for the OWAC meeting to be held in November of that year.

The concerns raised by the CWS at that time were:

a) that the Ontario Blue-Winged Teal population was not doing very well (due to habitat issues) and that an earlier start to the Southern Waterfowl District would result in an increased harvest of birds from a relatively small population. Note that the western (prairies) Blue-Winged Teal population (which was booming at that time) does not migrate through southern Ontario.

b) that an earlier start for the Southern Waterfowl District would also result in an increased harvest of other waterfowl species ... some of which may not have reached their flight stage.

c) that an earlier start for the Southern Waterfowl District would also result in a corresponding reduction to the end date ... something that the CWS would want the waterfowl hunting community to consider.

I was advised after that OWAC meeting that the majority of waterfowl hunters in this province would probably prefer the extra two (2) weeks that had recently been added to the end of the season to remain. Although the ice conditions here at Long Point (at that time) generally prevented any meaningful waterfowl hunting (from my perspective) the climate has certainly changed since that time ... which would favour a later end date to the waterfowl season.

The Sandhill Crane Season will be covered in Part 2 to follow.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Continued from Part 1

2) Sandhill Crane Season:

I was advised in January of 2010 that the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes consisted of approximately 20,000 birds and was increasing year over year. That number however had apparently increased to approximately 60,000 birds by 2016 and was consequently raising further concerns in the agricultural community.

The OFAH did submit a letter dated October 02, 2014 to the CWS requesting consideration for the establishment of a Sandhill Crane season in Ontario with apparently no results. However the OFAH and Delta Waterfowl subsequently submitted a joint letter dated October 19, 2018 to the OWAC that included a specific proposal for the establishment of a Sandhill Crane season throughout Ontario that would permit a daily bag limit of two (2) birds during a short season to prevent an over harvest of the number of birds.

I was advised sometime in 2022 (as I recall) that the CWS had an issue regarding using a tag system for a Sandhill Crane season as well as for a Tundra Swan season. Consequently I can understand (do not agree) why the CWS has decided upon a brief two (2) week Sandhill Crane season in Ontario with a daily bag limit of only one (1) bird and a possession limit of only one (1) bird as well. This Sandhill Crane season would be limited to the Hudson-James Bay Waterfowl District, the Northern Waterfowl District and the Central Waterfowl District.

The Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes is currently estimated to be over 97,000 birds and increasing by 6% per year while the Mid-continent Population of Sandhill Cranes is currently estimated to be nearly 1,000,000 birds ... a ten fold differential in the number of birds. It should be noted that the Management Plan for the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes (2010) is to maintain the population between 30,000 to 60,000 birds.

I would like to note that the CWS has estimated the annual Ontario harvest of Sandhill Cranes over the next four (4) years to be between 500 to 1,000 birds. The annual American harvest (Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama) from the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes is currently approximately 1,000 birds.

An annual growth rate of 6% will permit the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes to increase by nearly 6,000 birds per year less the estimated annual Ontario harvest of between 500 to 1,000 birds ... remember that this population is already increasing by 6% per year with the annual American harvest of approximately 1,000 birds. Consequently we should expect that the Eastern Population of Sandhill Cranes will continue to increase by approximately 5% per year.

I believe that when my Sandhill Crane population estimates (which are based upon the CWS numbers) are realized that the Sandhill Crane season in Ontario will include the Southern Waterfowl District as well.

The Tundra Swan Season will be covered in Part 3 to follow.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Continued from Part 2

3) Tundra Swan Season:

I originally submitted a proposal to the CWS in October of 2010 regarding the potential implementation of a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season in this province. This proposal was added as an agenda item for the OWAC meeting to be held in November of that year. Unfortunately (as it was not on anybody's "radar" at that time) this proposal received little support during that OWAC meeting. The CWS however conducted a Tundra Swan Season Assessment between April of 2011 and August of 2013 that fully supported a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season that would utilize our current allotment of tags (41% of 9600).

It should be noted that approximately 20% of the members attending the Annual General Meeting of the Long Point Waterfowlers' Association (LPWA) in April of 2011 supported my proposal based upon a survey that I conducted at that time. The level of support throughout Ontario however for a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season has consistantly increased over the years as more waterfowlers in this province have become aware of the continuing lost opportunity to utilize our current allotment of tags to harvest this particular waterfowl species.

I eventually sponsored a dual Waterfowl Survey that Delta Waterfowl conducted in Ontario (members as well as non-members) during the fall of 2018 that indicated an exceptional level of support for such a season with over 50% definitely supporting and over 20% probably supporting such a season (averages of both surveys). It should be noted that less than 5% definitely would not support such a season with the remaining respondents split between undecided and probably not supporting such a season. The respondents of the non-member survey were generally younger and more supportive.

The full analysis of the results from this dual Waterfowl Survey by Delta Waterfowl was shared with the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) by my Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Haldimand-Norfolk and subsequently distributed to the OWAC members by Delta Waterfowl in the spring of 2019.

I recently had a rather extensive and productive exchange of correspondence with a senior representative of the CWS between March and June of 2023. Several senior representatives from Delta Waterfowl and the OFAH were also included in this exchange. The salient points established through our correspondence were:

1) Several other significant CWS staff members were introduced to me who would be involved in any future implementation of a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season.

2) A limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season will be an agenda item when the Migratory Birds Regulations are reviewed in the fall of 2025 for the 2026-27 and the 2027-28 hunting seasons.

3) An option for dealing with the current Mute Swan population in this province. Details to follow in Part 4.

4) The CWS expressed an interest in two (2) suggestions of mine that would greatly help mitigate the incidental harvest of a Trumpeter Swan during a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season in this province.

Representatives of Delta Waterfowl and the OFAH have expressed their support for a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season in this province and representatives of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation have reconfirmed their support for such a season in their province.

I trust that every Ontario "waterfowler" who would be interested in a limited (tag only) Tundra Swan season will become a member of Delta Waterfowl and the OFAH if they are not already a member of both organizations.

The Mute Swan Issue will be covered in Part 4 to follow.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Continued from Part 3

4) Mute Swan Issue:

I originally submitted a proposal to the CWS in October of 2010 regarding the delisting of the Mute Swan from the List of Protective Species as the Mute Swan is an "invasive" species. This proposal was added as an agenda item for the OWAC meeting to be held in November of that year. Although this proposal received general support during that OWAC meeting this issue was left for further discussion betwen the CWS and the Province of Ontario. Environment Canada apparently recognized the Mute Swan as a non-native invasive species in 2013.

The salient point that was established through my correspondence with a senior representative of the CWS between March and June of 2023 (reference Point 3 from Part 3) was the CWS interest in considering my suggestion that they could implement a Mute Swan hunting season rather than attempting to "delist" the bird from the List of Protective Species. Consequently a Mute Swan season will also be an agenda item when the Migratory Birds Regulations are reviewed in the fall of 2025 for the 2026-27 and the 2027-28 hunting seasons.

I later received a copy of The Status of Mute Swans in Ontario (2017) from the CWS with a note that their Mute Swan survey was not conducted in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. The report indicated that the total Mute Swan population in Ontario had incresed from 3200 in 2014 to 4251 in 2017. It was also interesting to note that the Mute Swan population observed at Long Point had increased from only 18 in 2014 to 109 in 2017. During this past summer I regularly had observed between 35 and 47 Mute Swans in Coletta Bay alone.

The Black Duck changes will be covered in Part 5 to follow.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Continued from Part 4

5) Black Duck Changes:

The following is a brief synopsis of the proposed changes to the Black Duck bag limits for this province:

a) the daily bag limit is increased from 4 to 6 in the Hudson-James Bay, Northern and Central Waterfowl Districts.

b) the daily bag limit is increased from 2 to 6 in the Southern Waterfowl District for WMUs 60 to 87 only.

c) the daily bag limit is increased from 2 to 3 in the Southern Waterfowl District for WMUs 88 to 95 ... so that includes the Long Point area.

My response to the CWS regarding the Sandhill Crane season will be covered in Part 6 to follow.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Continued from Part 5

6) My response to the CWS as submitted:

Date: January 18, 2023

Re: Proposed Sandhill Crane Season

I am writing to express my support for the proposed Sandhill Crane season that the CWS is considering implementing in the future. I thought however that a limited (tag only) Sandhill Crane season would have been more appropriate since it would have provided everybody an opportunity to obtain a tag to harvest one bird. I noticed that hunters residing in the Southern Waterfowl District will not be able to harvest a Sandhill Crane without travelling considerably north to do so.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.
Port Rowan, Ontario

I hope that everybody found my preceeding six (6) installments informative.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

proposed 14 day season with a daily bag limit of one crane...

man im in stitches! thats alotta work for an ugly bird!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by punkrockerpj

proposed 14 day season with a daily bag limit of one crane...

man im in stitches! thats alotta work for an ugly bird!

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To each their own. I can’t wait to finally have a chance to take one

Hello Punkrocker,

Delta Waterfowl and the OFAH had proposed a two (2) bird daily limit with a shorter season since the CWS apparently had an issue with implementing a "tag only" season which would have provided us with a longer season but a limited number of tags ... one tag (one bird) per hunter.

Jerome Katchin, D.V.M.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by punkrockerpj

proposed 14 day season with a daily bag limit of one crane...

man im in stitches! thats alotta work for an ugly bird!

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Yep a challenge. There's a good reason they're called 'ribeye of the sky'. I went to Manitoba to get mine (plus geese and ducks).

i suppose we go mad in april and may and spend more than a handful on a turkey anyways.
i remember seeing them in sudbury wishing i could shoot one. now maybe someone can at least. Appreciate all the hard work to pull these changes off anyways.

I think it's a step in the right direction. Long Point is the only area in the south, that I know of, where they would be very huntable at all. Not to say you couldn't opportunistically take one here and there in other areas, but there isn't much concentration outside of LP. That said, I think there is a chance to get a southern season going once the northern one takes root. No doubt there are a lot more of them up in those areas.

How difficult is on-the-fly ID between a Sandhill and a Whooping Crane?

Whooping Cranes are white bodied vs brownish-grey on Sandhills, a very noticeable difference.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by longpointer

Whooping Cranes are white bodied vs brownish-grey on Sandhills, a very noticeable difference.

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Thanks. I looked it up on the Audubon website. The only difficulty may be with juvenile Whoops being almost identical in color to adukt Sandhills until their color phase changes to white as they mature. I also note that Whoops have red on their faces around the beak and Sandhills have a red patch on their head. Like anything waterfowl related,proper identification is very important.

Hello Trimmer,

It is my understanding (might be wrong) that the Whooping Crane is essentially a "western" bird that migrates down the Central Flyway ... do not think that you would encounter a Whooping Crane in this province.

Your point about a young Whooping Crane is a good point however it would be very unlikely that you would encounter a young Whooping Crane flying by itself over your decoys. Please note that nothing is guaranteed.

Jerome

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buddy Boy

Hello Trimmer,

It is my understanding (might be wrong) that the Whooping Crane is essentially a "western" bird that migrates down the Central Flyway ... do not think that you would encounter a Whooping Crane in this province.

Your point about a young Whooping Crane is a good point however it would be very unlikely that you would encounter a young Whooping Crane flying by itself over your decoys. Please note that nothing is guaranteed.

Jerome

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Thanks for this,Jerome. I find it very interesting. I've tasted almost every species of North American game meat at least once over my lifetime,but,I've never had Crane "steaks".

Alberta and Sask are the only two provinces where you could see Whoopers mixed in with Sandhills. When they leave Sask they pass into North Dakota, on their way to their wintering grounds in Texas. It would be amazing to get to see one !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fenelon

Alberta and Sask are the only two provinces where you could see Whoopers mixed in with Sandhills. When they leave Sask they pass into North Dakota, on their way to their wintering grounds in Texas. It would be amazing to get to see one !

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True but in the last few years they have successfully re-introduced breeding birds into Wisconsin and their range is expanding. There is now a population of whoopers that breed and summer in Wisconsin and then fly south from there. Wisconsin is not too far west of here (only one state between them and us) so who knows what will happen in another generation or two.

Hello Fenelon & Species 8472,

Fenelon ... thank you for confirming that.

Species 8472 ... remembered hearing something about that.

Jerome

I am not an avid waterfowler, but I will gladly make a trip - within reasonable distance - to get one of these!
When visiting Manitoulin Island in August (few years ago) we saw lots of Sandhill Cranes and I heard that some locals were shooting them. :(
Then, we saw a few pairs of them east of Chapleau last September when we were scouting for moose.
They don't appear to me as "easy shooting" birds, so I suppose you need to set up and wait for them, just like other waterfowl.