On Sunday, May 6th, 14 birders split into 4 groups and covered over 177 km of the North, West, and East Shoal Lakes IBA (IBA map). With a late start to spring this year we were not sure what to expect in terms of species diversity and numbers. On Saturday, the day before the blitz, Tim Poole and Lynnea Parker noted that ice coverage on Lake Manitoba was still quite extensive at Sandy Bay Marshes IBA near Langruth. Lynnea was therefore glad to observe that West and East Shoal Lakes were mostly ice-free. North Shoal Lake was partially open along the roadsides and marshes.

122 species were observed in the morning with good numbers of waterfowl and grebes. Group 1 with Pierre, Bill, Wally, and William were particularly fond of the 171 American Robins and 159 Red-winged Blackbirds they thoroughly counted. However, the robins and blackbirds paled in comparison to the 611 Western Grebes which were spotted rafting together at West Shoal Lake (Group 1 checklist).

At the Sandy Bay Grebe Watch event on May 5th, Tim and Lynnea had been hoping to see several hundred Western Grebes. Due to the heavy ice cover, only 112 Western Grebes were counted. It would seem our missing Grebes were over at West Shoal Lake instead! A further 500 were spotted by Bob Jones at Delta Marsh the previous day.

Group 2 with Jo, Betsy, Christian, and Mohammad surveyed the east side of East and North Shoal Lakes. Christian turned back the clock and took up his Atlas nickname ‘Moose Legs’, walking the rejuvenated wetland also known as PR415, which runs between North and East Shoal Lakes (Christian’s Checklist). The decommissioned, and partially flooded road was highly productive with 94 species, including high counts of waterfowl, Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, American Coot, Sandhill Crane, Gulls, and Blackbirds. Unfortunately for Christian, he missed the Snowy Egret spied by Group #4 which was found on the same decommissioned road just outside his survey area to the west. Group #4 didn’t feel bad however, as Christian managed to find a Clark’s Grebe which they didn’t see. Photos below feature a pair of Lesser Yellowlegs (upper left), pair of Canvasbacks (middle left), flock of American White Pelicans (lower left), and a Marbled Godwit preening (right) (photos by Christian Artuso). (Additional checklists for this group: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5)

 

 

Group 3 with Joanne, Richard, Louise, and Eric surveyed the IBA area north of North Shoal Lake. They had many species of waterbirds despite having less open water in their area. Good sights from Group 3 included 4 Trumpeter Swans, 18 Red-necked Grebes, and 1 Semipalmated Plover (Checklist). The photos below by Joanne Smith include Red-necked Grebe (Left) and Willet (Right).

 

 

Group 4 with Lynnea, Cam, and Jeff surveyed the northern part of West Shoal Lake, west side of East Shoal Lake, and west side of North Shoal Lake. The highlights from this group included a Snowy Egret, good numbers of Green-winged Teal and Blue-winged Teal, and 11 Great Egret. Access to the open water was limited, but the marshy areas were moderately productive. Photos below were taken by Cam Nikkel and feature a Forster’s Tern (Left) and a Great Egret (Right).

 

 

Overall, highlights of the day included: 13 Greater White-fronted Goose, 766 Western Grebe, 1 Clark’s Grbe, 490 American White Pelican, 6 American Bittern, 32 Great Egret, 1 Snowy Egret, 3 Black-crowned Night-Heron, 116 Sandhill Crane, and 58 Bonaparte’s Gull.

After the morning blitz everyone gathered at Rosie’s Cafe in Inwood for a glorious lunch before wrapping up the event.

Compiled IBA Event Checklist:

Snow Goose	1,455
Ross’s Goose	8
Greater White-fronted Goose	13
Cackling Goose	9
Canada Goose	1,554
Trumpeter Swan	8
Tundra Swan	99
Wood Duck	2
Blue-winged Teal	340
Northern Shoveler	73
Gadwall	59
American Wigeon	26
Mallard	591
Northern Pintail	42
Green-winged Teal	428
Canvasback	662
Redhead	75
Ring-necked Duck	145
Greater Scaup	7
Lesser Scaup	313
Greater/Lesser Scaup	4
Bufflehead	31
Common Goldeneye	17
Hooded Merganser	4
Common Merganser	18
Red-breasted Merganser	8
Ruddy Duck	19
Ruffed Grouse	1
Sharp-tailed Grouse	1
Common Loon	15
Pied-billed Grebe	45
Horned Grebe	56
Red-necked Grebe	36
Eared Grebe	1
Western Grebe	766
Clark’s Grebe	1
Double-crested Cormorant	479
American White Pelican	490
American Bittern	6
Great Blue Heron	14
Great Egret	32
Snowy Egret	1
Black-crowned Night-Heron	3
Turkey Vulture	1
Osprey	2
Northern Harrier	11
Cooper’s Hawk	1
Bald Eagle	15
Broad-winged Hawk	1
Red-tailed Hawk	17
Virginia Rail	3
Sora	3
American Coot	537
Sandhill Crane	116
American Avocet	8
Semipalmated Plover	1
Killdeer	41
Marbled Godwit	19
Pectoral Sandpiper	1
Wilson’s Snipe	52
Wilson’s Phalarope	7
Greater Yellowlegs	22
Willet	23
Lesser Yellowlegs	114
Bonaparte’s Gull	58
Franklin’s Gull	1,305
Ring-billed Gull	2,802
Herring Gull	102
gull sp.	742
Caspian Tern	3
Common Tern	3
Forster’s Tern	173
Mourning Dove	15
Belted Kingfisher	7
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	31
Downy Woodpecker	3
Hairy Woodpecker	2
Northern Flicker	28
Pileated Woodpecker	1
American Kestrel	6
Merlin	4
Eastern Phoebe	9
Blue Jay	6
Black-billed Magpie	25
American Crow	13
Common Raven	15
Tree Swallow	98
Barn Swallow	35
Black-capped Chickadee	2
Marsh Wren	23
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	7
Eastern Bluebird	4
Hermit Thrush	4
American Robin	208
Gray Catbird	1
European Starling	15
American Pipit	5
Orange-crowned Warbler	6
Palm Warbler	6
Yellow-rumped Warbler	5
LeConte’s Sparrow	2
American Tree Sparrow	2
Chipping Sparrow	1
Clay-colored Sparrow	6
Lark Sparrow	2
Fox Sparrow	1
White-crowned Sparrow	9
Harris’s Sparrow	1
White-throated Sparrow	7
Vesper Sparrow	3
Savannah Sparrow	53
Song Sparrow	115
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1
Swamp Sparrow	52
Yellow-headed Blackbird	665
Western Meadowlark	23
Red-winged Blackbird	2,676
Brown-headed Cowbird	54
Rusty Blackbird	104
Brewer’s Blackbird	32
Common Grackle	115
Purple Finch	1