Following a fun morning workshop at Oak Lake Community School yesterday (May 9th), I (Tim), took a quick drive south through the Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA. There were plenty of waterfowl in the wetlands north and east of the Oak Lake Resort, including a few Tundra Swan. Shorebird numbers were few. In my view, the water levels were a bit too high, and the area of exposed wet mud too low for these birds. I did check out some of our shorebird monitoring route, and found around 30 American Avocets, a Solitary Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope and plenty of yellowlegs.
Tundra Swans at Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA. Copyright Tim Poole
Here are the counts from quick outing.
| Species | Count |
| Snow Goose | 3 |
| Canada Goose | 32 |
| Tundra Swan | 16 |
| Wood Duck | 2 |
| Blue-winged Teal | 39 |
| Northern Shoveler | 20 |
| Gadwall | 24 |
| American Wigeon | 2 |
| Mallard | 40 |
| Green-winged Teal | 2 |
| Canvasback | 14 |
| Redhead | 4 |
| Ring-necked Duck | 16 |
| Greater Scaup | 2 |
| Lesser Scaup | 50 |
| Bufflehead | 8 |
| Hooded Merganser | 12 |
| Ruddy Duck | 2 |
| Pied-billed Grebe | 4 |
| Red-necked Grebe | 13 |
| Eared Grebe | 2 |
| Mourning Dove | 4 |
| American Coot | 2 |
| American Avocet | 28 |
| Killdeer | 5 |
| Wilson’s Phalarope | 1 |
| Solitary Sandpiper | 1 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 1 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 16 |
| Franklin’s Gull | 30 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 1 |
| American White Pelican | 6 |
| Turkey Vulture | 1 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 |
| Swainson’s Hawk | 1 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 1 |
| Northern Flicker | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 4 |
| Blue Jay | 1 |
| Black-billed Magpie | 2 |
| American Crow | 2 |
| Common Raven | 1 |
| Purple Martin | 1 |
| Tree Swallow | 40 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 1 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| Marsh Wren | 1 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 1 |
| Swainson’s Thrush | 1 |
| American Robin | 8 |
| European Starling | 2 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 4 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 1 |
| White-crowned Sparrow | 2 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 1 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 12 |
| Swamp Sparrow | 4 |
| Yellow-headed Blackbird | 400 |
| Western Meadowlark | 10 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 200 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 2 |
| Brewer’s Blackbird | 30 |
| Common Grackle | 40 |
| Orange-crowned Warbler | 1 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) | 6 |
| House Sparrow | 12 |
Heading back towards Winnipeg on Highway 2, I came across several thousand geese at the bend in the highway east of Deleau. In total, I estimated at least 6,000 geese, primarily Snows. in among the Snows were some smaller white morph Ross’s and Greater White-fronted (I had down around 100 of this species). There were also Cakling Geese mixed in with the Canada’s
Some of the nearly 5000 Snow Goose at Deleau. Copyright Tim Poole
Launching Snow Geese. Copyright Tim Poole
A number of Greater White-fronted Geese were dotted around the area. Copyright Tim Poole
So a great chance to see all five typical Manitoba spring migrating geese if you are in the area. There were also a few more shorebirds, including Willet and Marbled Godwit in this spot.
Preening Willet. Copyright Tim Poole
This corner is currently just outside the IBA boundary. On yesterdays evidence, the boundary might need a rethink!
Manitoba Important Bird Areas Program 