Birds have been illegally shot during breeding season in a wetland area west of Red Deer.
Myrna Pearman, biologist and site services manager for Ellis Bird Farm, was shocked to discover at about 2 p.m. on Tuesday that two ruddy ducks and one American coot were used as target practice in an area frequented by birdwatchers and naturalists.
“I am aghast and astounded that people could be so heartless and stupid to shoot birds right in the middle of breeding season,” Pearman said.
A bunch of beer cans were located nearby.
A Fish and Wildlife officer attended the scene shortly after and confirmed that whoever shot these birds did so in contravention of provincial laws.
Pearman said she had been photographing the birds, including the legislated-protected migratory birds known as an eared grebe, for an extended period of time.
She was last out to the area, just west of Red Deer and south of Hwy 11A at Range Road 281, on Monday at about 8:30 p.m. During the evening outing, she photographed two eared grebes with three babies on their backs.
On Tuesday, Pearman said only one eared grebe was found in an agitated state swimming in the water, but the parents and the babies were nowhere to be found.
“I am not very hopeful,” Pearman said. “I’m resigned to the fact they also shot them . . . these are innocent parents feeding their babies and these are uncommon species, especially the grebes.”
Coots and ruddy ducks are more common, but that doesn’t take away the stupidity of the act, Pearman said.
All of the local naturalists were so excited that the grebes were nesting so close to the road, so it gave them the opportunity to photograph and watch them, she added.
The three dead birds were retrieved from a wetland ditch. They were shot from a vehicle on a road, likely about 10 metres away from the birds. Pearman described the ducks as being “very tame” little ducks, the males being very spectacular in colour with their blue bills.
Spent cartridges from a .22-calibre rifle were found on the ground near the ducks, but no similar cartridge was found near the coot.
Local naturalists have dubbed this area Sora Central in reference to the sora rail, a type of wetland bird that’s common to this area.
“It’s an area that’s very diverse in its wetlands and the road is quite low, so it’s very easy to observe wildlife,” said Pearman.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com