Best Birding Hotspots of Souris River 2026 Tour from Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw or Weyburn, Canada

Best Birding Hotspots of Souris River 2026 Tour

Private Tours

Private Tours: MAY – AUGUST

Public Tour

  • July 3 – 5, 2026

Escorted self-driving birdwatching tour to Estevan area.

IDEAL BIRDING TOUR FOR RESIDENTS OR VISITORS TO

  • SASKATOON 
  • MOOSE JAW
  • REGINA
  • WEYBURN
  • ESTEVAN
  • SWIFT CURRENT (1 h 45 m to Moose Jaw)
  • YORKTON (2 h 45 m to Weyburn)

SASKATOON starting point: 8:00 AM
MOOSE JAW starting point: 10:30 AM
REGINA starting point: 11:00 AM
WEYBURN starting point: 12:30 PM
ESTEVAN starting point: 5:00 PM

Souris River Birding Tour Description

Join Stan Shadick for a guided bird watching tour to the Souris River region of SE Saskatchewan.  We will visit the favourite birding hotspots of Saskatchewan’s keenest birders.

This Best Birding Hotspots of Souris River is one of the tours in the Saskatchewan Birding Hotspots Series offered by Saskatoon Custom Bird Tours during 2026.

Some of the special unique birds along the Souris River include Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Eastern Bluebird, Orchard Oriole and Lazuli Bunting. We also look for a rare Chimney Swifts, Red-headed Woodpecker or Black-headed Grosbeak.

See sidebar for a list of potential species of interest in Souris River region.

A checklist of Saskatchewan birds may be downloaded HERE.

Accommodation Options. Both camping and hotel accommodation options are available.

Best Birding Hotspots of Souris River 2026 Tour Itinerary

Weather conditions may result in changes to this planned itinerary.

Day 1

Tour starts in Estevan at 5:00 pm. (It might be possible to join tour in Regina or Saskatoon earlier.)

Some of our planned birding stops include the following sites.

  • Nickle Lake
  • Rafferty Dam
  • Overnight at a motel in Estevan, SK
  • Explore Souris Valley watching for rare Chimney Swifts.

DAY 2

We plan to drive along the Souris River valley between Estevan and the US border watching for grassland and woodland birds. We plan to visit

  • Roche Percee
  • Souris River
  • Supper and overnigh
  • Overnight at a motel in Estevan

DAY 3

Today we will hike several easy trails

We will return home in the afternoon.

Transportation

Participants on this tour need to drive their own personal or rented vehicle. RVs and vehicles pulling trailers are permitted on a private tour but not on the group tour. This tour may not be suitable for owners of full electric vehicles due to distances travelled. Several Saskatoon and Regina hotels have EV charging stations. There is a FLO station at a Canadian Tire in Estevan.

Carpooling

If you would like to share the costs of a tour with other interested birders or bird photographers, then complete the Carpooling Section of the Registration Request Form below or email the tour name, your name, phone number and email address to birdtours@sasktel.net

Best Birding Hotspots of Souris River 2026 Tour Fee

July 3 – 5, 2026 Souris River Public Birding Tour Fee: CAD $1990 (about US$1400, £1100)  per vehicle for a party of 1 – 4 persons travelling in a single vehicle.
Fee includes guiding services. Meals and accommodation and transportation are NOT included.
Trip begins in Saskatoon at 8 am or in Estevan at 5 pm. Your vehicle will be one of up to 5 vehicles plus the leader on this group tour.
Save $300 if you can transport leader during tour from Saskatoon and back.

Private Souris River Public 3-day Tour Fee: CAD $2490 (about US$1770, £1340) per vehicle for a party of 1 – 4 persons travelling in a single vehicle.
Fee includes guiding services. Meals and accommodation and transportation are NOT included.
Trip begins in Saskatoon at 8 am.
Save $300 if you can transport leader during tour from Saskatoon and back.

Tax Receipt. You will receipt a tax receipt for 50% of the tour fee.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Refunds less a $50 administration fee will be given if cancellation notice received 60 days before date of tour.
No refunds if cancellation notice received less than 60 days before date of tour unless another client takes your place.

Best Birding Hotspots of Souris River
Souris River

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CLICK HERE to sign up for the monthly electronic Newsletter from Saskatoon Custom Bird Tours.

Covid Safety Policy on Souris River Birding Tours

  1. Your tour leader is fully vaccinated.
  2. Clients must normally drive themselves in their own personal or rented vehicle. The leader will usually drive in a separate vehicle. We will use cell phones to communicate via cars.
  3. If requested, leader may be willing to ride in client’s non-smoking vehicle or drive client’s vehicle.

Insurance

We recommend that you consider buying travel medical insurance to cover emergency medical expenses during your tour.
We also recommend Trip Cancellation and Interruption insurance.

Travel insurance with trip cancellation and interruption benefits can reimburse you for non-refundable, pre-paid trip costs (up to the amount of your plan limits) should your participation in the trip be canceled or interrupted for a covered reason. According to our cancellation policies, your payment to us will become non-refundable if you cancel your participation after the deadlines outlined in our policies.

In general, Trip Cancellation insurance reimburses you for non-refundable expenses if you are unable to join the tour. Trip Interruption reimburses you for the unused portion of your tour if you have to leave part-way through a tour and it also covers some additional unexpected expenses incurred during your travel (e.g. additional hotel of flight costs due to weather delays or other delays that are not covered by your airline).

Some Potential Souris River Birds of Interest

  • Wood Duck
  • Ring-necked Pheasant
  • Ruffed Grouse
  • Sharp-tailed Grouse
  • Red-necked Grebe
  • Black-billed Cuckoo
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Swainson’s Hawk
  • Black-necked Stilt
  • White-faced Ibis
  • American Avocet
  • Upland Sandpiper
  • California Gull
  • Franklin’s Gull
  • Eastern Screech-owl (rare)
  • Eastern Wood-Pewee
  • Willow Flycatcher
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  • Eastern Bluebird
  • Sprague’s Pipit
  • Grasshopper Sparrow
  • Chestnut-collared Longspur
  • Brewer’s Sparrow
  • Lark Sparrow
  • Lark Bunting
  • Baird’s Sparrow
  • Lazuli Bunting
  • Yellow-breasted Chat
  • Black-headed Grosbeak
  • Yellow-headed Blackbird

Can I bring my pet dog on this tour?

Dogs are permitted on private tours but cannot be let out of the vehicle when we are stopped to look at birds. Dogs are not permitted on group tours.

Gift Certificates Available Now

This Souris River Birding tour makes an excellent birthday gift, anniversary gift, graduation gift or special gift for a birder, birdwatcher or anyone interested in nature.

GIFT CERTIFICATES: Click here for information about purchasing a gift certificate for this tour or any of our other tours.

How to get to Saskatoon

Air: Saskatoon International Airport (YXE) is served by Air Canada, Westjet and their U.S. partners United and Delta.

Air Canada Star Alliance partners also include Aegean, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels, Copa, Croatia, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, EVA, Lot, Lufthansa, SAS, Shenzhen, Singapore, South African, Swiss, TAP, Thai, Turkish, United.

Westjet international partners include AeroMexico, Air France, Air Transat, Azores, Cathay Pacific, China, China Eastern, China Southern, Delta, Emirates, Hainan, Hong Kong, Japan, KLM, Korean, LATAM, Philippine, Quantas, Virgin Atlantic, Xiamen.

Train: Saskatoon’s  Train Station is served by Via Rail’s Canadian train serving Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper and Vancouver.

Bus: Saskatoon – Edmonton and Saskatoon – Regina bus service

Car: Saskatoon is located on Canada’s Yellowhead cross-country highway plus 6 other major highways connecting with all cities in Canada and USA. If you drive, you do not need to rent a car for our tours.

Tour Guide

Tour Guide: Stan Shadick. Click for more information about your tour guide.

 

Registration Request Form for Canadian Residents

Souris River Birding Grand Tour: July 3 – 5, 2026 Reservations

Reservations: Complete the form below or email: birdtours {at) sasktel.net and provide names of clients, their addresses and requested type of tour and tour date.

Full payment due at time of booking. Payment instruction will be emailed to you after registration form is received. You may also phone Stan Shadick at 306 then 652 next 5975.

  • Tax receipt for 50% of fee available with this method of registration.

Payment Options

  • E-transfer must be made at least 2 days before date of tour
  • Canadian cheques must be received at least 10 days before date of tour
  • USA checks must be received at least 6 weeks before date of tour
  • Payment by credit card is accepted with a 3.5% processing fee

Tour Reservations

RESERVATIONS for Souris River Birding Tour: July 3 – 5, 2026.

Please complete and submit the following form or email us your full name(s), mailing address, email address and requested tour dates.

E-mail: birdtours@sasktel.net
Phone: 306-652-5975

Payment instructions will be emailed to you after you complete and submit the form below.

All fees support Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation.

Select all that apply.
Select all that apply.
Smoking is allowed only inside your own personal vehicle. No smoking is permitted during meals, anywhere in shared accommodations or outside during birding stops or hikes.
Least to most expensive options.

Instant Registration Form for USA and overseas residents

Reservation for Souris River Birding Tour: July 3 – 5, 2026 when paying by credit card

  • This form is recommended for USA and overseas residents who wish to pay by credit card.
  • It may be used by Canadian residents paying by credit card.
  • Deposit option available
  • Note that due to CRA rules, partial Canadian tax receipts are not available with this method of payment.
    (Use the other Reservation Request Form instead.)

QUESTIONS?

E-mail: birdtours@sasktel.net
Phone: 306-652-5975

 

CLICK HERE for link to Instant Registration Form.

NOTE: Because it is still possible that there may be changes to the itinerary of this tour, we are not yet taking bookings. If you are interested in this tour, please email your name and tour name to
birdtours@sasktel.net
We will contact you when the tour itinerary has been finalized and we are ready to accept bookings.

Other Tours

Other Tours and Workshops: Click here to see a complete list of our upcoming tours and workshops.

MULTIPLE TOURS DISCOUNT

Can’t decide which tour to take?

Check out our multiple tours discount described here.

TOP QUALITY BINOCULAR OFFER

Do you want a better pair of binoculars for birdwatching?

Great for watching birds at tree top level.

CLICK HERE for information about the
Kite Optics 16X42 Image Stabilized Binoculars