Ahead of the coming IBA blitz at Whitewater Lake, it feels like a good time to remind people just how special this place is for migrating birds, especially those boreal, tundra and High Arctic shorebirds. Garry Budyk and John Weier have been busy and sent in another report, this time from Whitewater Lake IBA. This time they clocked a mere 17 species of shorebirds on May 8th including an impressive 200 Pectoral Sandpipers. Hopefully next weekend, 13 days later on the 21st May, we will have larger numbers and more species as the migration season reaches its peak.

All photos below are taken by, and copyright of Garry Budyk

Snow Goose, 20

Canada Goose, 21

Wood Duck, 1

Gadwall, 54

American Wigeon, 2

Mallard, 125

Blue-winged Teal, 98

Northern Shoveler, 39

Northern Pintail, 45

Green-winged Teal, 19

Canvasback, 26

Redhead, 79

Ring-necked Duck, 2

Lesser Scaup, 25

Bufflehead, 5

Hooded Merganser, 1

Ruddy Duck, 56

Pied-billed Grebe, 2

Eared Grebe, 12

Western Grebe, 50

Double-crested Cormorant, 14

American White Pelican, 83

Great Blue Heron, 1

Great Egret, 24

Cattle Egret, 1

Black-crowned Night-Heron, 4

White-faced Ibis, 16

Turkey Vulture, 1

Osprey, 1

Northern Harrier, 6

Swainson’s Hawk, 1

Red-tailed Hawk, 1

American Coot, 198

American Avocet, 27

Killdeer, 11

Hudsonian Godwit, 3

Marbled Godwit, 5

Dunlin, 7

Baird’s Sandpiper, 17

Least Sandpiper, 6

White-rumped Sandpiper, 3

Pectoral Sandpiper, 200

Semipalmated Sandpiper, 1

Short-billed Dowitcher, 7

Wilson’s Phalarope, 9

Spotted Sandpiper, 2

Solitary Sandpiper, 4

Greater Yellowlegs, 4

Willet, 19

Lesser Yellowlegs, 28

Franklin’s Gull, 840

Ring-billed Gull, 4

Herring Gull, 1

Black Tern, 1

Forster’s Tern, 77

Mourning Dove, 16

American Kestrel, 1

Black-billed Magpie, 2

Common Raven, 1

Horned Lark, 5

Tree Swallow, 1

Bank Swallow, 1

Barn Swallow, 18

Cliff Swallow, 1

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, 2

American Robin, 14

European Starling, 1

American Pipit, 2

Orange-crowned Warbler, 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler, 2

Chipping Sparrow, 10

Clay-colored Sparrow, 26

Lark Sparrow, 1

Dark-eyed Junco, 1

White-crowned Sparrow, 15

Harris’s Sparrow, 43

White-throated Sparrow, 5

Vesper Sparrow, 6

Savannah Sparrow, 27

Song Sparrow, 10

Swamp Sparrow, 1

Red-winged Blackbird, 220

Western Meadowlark, 6

Yellow-headed Blackbird, 507

Brewer’s Blackbird, 33

Common Grackle, 68

Brown-headed Cowbird, 21

House Sparrow, 3

Finally, Garry sent a photo of the current status of the track leading to the viewing mound on the south of the lake. The high spring water levels and incredibly strong winds continue to cause erosion and have pretty much rendered access impossible now – be warned!