Sandhill Crane
 

An exciting new hunting opportunity awaits Alberta’s game bird hunters for the fall 2020 season.

A sandhill crane hunt launches on September 1 in more than 50 wildlife management units in southern and east-central Alberta.

“It’s great to see widespread support for a sandhill crane season in Alberta, which will support the province’s wildlife management goals and boost local economies. Alberta hunters care deeply about the province’s environment, species and wild places, and providing another opportunity to engage in a pursuit that supports conservation as well as economic activity is a win-win.”

Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks
“The Alberta Fish and Game Association is pleased that Alberta hunters will have the opportunity to participate in the sustainable harvest of sandhill cranes starting this fall. The multi-jurisdictional population and harvest monitoring undertaken by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the support of this season by Alberta Environment and Parks, under the leadership of Minister Nixon, has made this opportunity possible.”

Brian Dingreville, President, The Alberta Fish and Game Association
“This announcement opens up a great opportunity for Albertans to participate in the sustainable harvest of a waterfowl species that has been hunted for many years across the rest of its range. Sandhill crane makes excellent table fare and I am certain Alberta’s waterfowl hunters will find that putting in the effort to harvest a Sandhill crane for a family meal is well worth it.”

Todd Zimmerling, President & CEO, Alberta Conservation Association
The Alberta sandhill crane hunt will be similar to sandhill crane hunts in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, with Alberta taking additional precautions by limiting sandhill crane hunting season to areas that are not known to overlap with the whooping crane migration or breeding range.

The number of sandhill cranes in the province has increased steadily in recent years with exceptional survival rates for both young and adult birds.

Alberta’s new sandhill crane hunt is supported by Alberta hunting stakeholders, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Central Flyway Council.

Quick facts

The new sandhill crane hunt will run concurrently with Alberta’s waterfowl season.
Participating in the sandhill crane hunt requires a provincial game bird licence and a federal migratory bird licence.
Sandhill cranes are hunted and eaten throughout their range. The Alberta hunt is expected to add only two per cent to the number of sandhill cranes harvested across North America.
Sandhill crane hunting seasons have existed in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba for more than 50 years, with the sandhill crane population remaining healthy.
In 2018 – the latest year for which we have numbers –fishing, hunting, trapping, and sport-shooting activities contributed $1.8 billion to Alberta’s GDP supporting 11,700 jobs, and generating $875 million in labour income.

Very exciting. Great news and long long overdue. Already have the dekes. May even sell a few dozen off as it doesn’t take allot to decoy. Eating juvies ribeye of the sky is enjoyable. Less miles travelling to sask this year. 😊

Be interesting to see what zones are not open due to crossover with whopping cranes

Great news... decoys will be hard to find in a week!!!

From another thread:

:)

Now get Swans opened up!
And a phone that works. ;)

Great news. Would love to hunt them

Great news, but sure don't recall seeing any in 248....

This will be magical. We chase them in Saskatchewan and marvel at how many are just across the border in Alberta.

I saw them a few times just North of CFB Edmonton a couple times.

definitely not very often though.

Saw a couple in Broadmoor lake this year. Of course you cant shoot there....:thinking-006:

Are they primarily dark meat like geese? Anyone tasted before? It says above they make excellent table fare.

Old reciepe for Sandhill crane cooking. After bird plucked and cleaned place rock inside breast cavity, roast for 6 hours remove rock, then throw crane away and eat the rock.

Like a big flavorful goose breast. Of course there is a difference between a juvie and an old bird but a nice juvie done up right does kinda remind you of a good steak minus the fat.

Can't wait to get out and give it a go!

Killing a Sandhill crane will rain pestilence and morbidity on the next generation of your family!!!

Just saying.....

Or maybe that's possums.....I forget....

Personally, I am not in favor of shooting Sandhill Cranes, they are vocal but not bothering anyone, not out there by the thousands like geese and also beautiful birds. I guess you can argue that geese, pheasants and all other legal birds are beautiful too...
Jason claims a lot of support for a hunting season, I like to see is supporting numbers.

Your reasoning can be applied to majority of species hunted. If you have a valid conservation concern to bring forward regarding the hunt I would understand and likely support your view if based on facts

I would bet most hunters are neutral or support the season. There is animals in this world I have no interest in hunting but that doesn’t mean others should not have the right to if the numbers are sustainable

Myself I would like to try hunting cranes but if I don’t care for the meat or hunt it would be the last time

Now how about those doves?

Might as well shoot a few more, we already have Trudeau and Covid. ;)

Convert. I’m guessing that you have never been on the prairies in the fall when flocks of thousands of these birds land in the swaths and proceed to jump up and down on the swaths knocking the grain out of the heads and scattering the crop everywhere just to get at the grasshoppers and other bugs that are in the swath. Can totally ruin the harvest for the farmers.

Rib eye of the sky. The breast looks like a rib eye steak!! Tastes nothing like a rib eye steak.
Wonder when BC will open up a season on them and swans.

If you happen to have crop in the middle of the fall flyway you would certainly not say they are not bothering anyone . And because they are protected birds they are far harder to make move off the crop land than Geese and Ducks are. I really don’t feel like hunting them but fully support anyone who would like to have the opportunity


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seeing more and more doves for sure

Mid-Continent population was last estimated at over 900,000

Seems like a lot

Rock doves aka pigeons are open , no all year with no license required. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/d282...feb20-2015.pdf

the ones Im seeing are not pigeons