Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Brine Shrimp and Giant Birds

JJ and I are on a western road trip en route Calgary to pick up Jess, but we have things to see before we get there. One of those places was Chaplin Lake on the Transcanada highway between Moose Jaw and Swift Current.



Chaplin Lake is a huge salt lake and the Brine Shrimp are so good, shorebirds come from all over to dine on the tasty morsels.



Here's some shrimp on display at the Chaplin Lake Interpretive Centre.



We climbed the observation platform and JJ availed himself of the giant binoculars to check out the big salt mine.


I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that...


Those Brine Shrimp are an important food source enabling the Plovers to grow to spectacular sizes.



In fact, this American Avocet seems to think JJ is a shrimp!



The next time we go through Chaplain Lake, I think we'll take a tour of the actual lake for a close up of the shorebirds and other going's on.

Have you ever been to a salt lake such as this? Any other salt mine?

3 comments:

  1. I didn't know about Chaplain Lake and it being a salt lake. I've been to Manitou Lake (by Watrous) which is saltier than the Dead Sea. I haven't toured salt mines but I've toured a potash mine -- and potash is salty too!

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  2. Hey Elaine, Chaplin Lake (sans a) isn't exactly a salt mine... more like a salt processing centre where the lake drains in, the salt is retrieved, and the water goes out. I picked up a small sample bag of the salt and it looks just like real table salt. Too chicken to try it, though. LOL

    I've been to the mineral pool at Manitou and really liked it except there was so much salt that it stung my legs. Ouch. Next time I'll shave a few days before I go and save myself some pain.

    Anita.

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  3. haha! That's funny about shaving your legs. I've experienced that too! Ouch!!

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