Thank you to everyone who has counted birds, pulled weeds, led public bird walks, been an advocate for globally important habitats for biodiversity and the many other critical activities which make this program what it is. 2017 has been a fantastic year for the Manitoba IBA Program and we would be nothing without our brilliant volunteers.

A few notable highlights from 2017 included:

• counted some ridiculously good concentrations of birds;
• monitored bird populations in at least 19 IBAs in Manitoba;
• organised two weed pulls at Riverton Sandy Bar (see Riverton pull number 1 and Riverton pull number 2);
• organised a bioblitz at Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA with Nature Conservancy Canada
• set forth on 3 blitzes at Whitewater Lake (blitz 1, blitz 2 and blitz 3);
• searched for Red-headed Woodpeckers on the western side of Lake Manitoba;
• had a bird blitz at Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA;
• counted geese in Netley-Libau;
• provided outreach activities in Churchill;
• got overwhelmed by cranes;
• began some exciting outreach projects with Manitoba’s indigenous communities;
• continued to build on early successes working with our SARPAL partners in southwestern Manitoba and;
• much, much more!

Have a wonderful holiday season and see you in 2018!