On August 8^th we had our first IBA Blitz of the year (much later than normal of course, but better late than never!). Volunteers went out in the North, East and West Shoal Lakes IBA in search of Red-headed Woodpeckers.

The day started off with perfect weather for our 15-member blitz crew to survey for birds! We surveyed a large area of the IBA, as well as outside the IBA northeast of Inwood.

The IBA appeared much drier than in previous years and many marsh areas looked a lot more like dried ground with no water in sight! However, the low water level was a boon for groups that surveyed the edges of the Shoal Lakes, as a variety of shorebirds were using the shallow water and mud flats left over. No individual shorebird had a huge number of individuals (although there were 107 Greater Yellowlegs and 191 Lesser Yellowlegs) but we had a good number of different shorebird species at 13.

A large number of Great Egrets were also spotted (55 individuals). Some folks were lucky enough to even see a Black-crowned Night-heron, which has overwise proven illusive this summer. Amanda and Alyssa surveyed an area outside the IBA (prior years with good Red-headed Woodpecker habitat) and ended up with a fairly large gathering of Franklin’s Gulls (744 individuals).

Now to our focal species – Red-headed Woodpeckers. The species was abundant in this IBA, although surveying success seemed different than surveys in past years that occurred earlier in the year. Some groups found that without playback detection of Red-headed Woodpeckers was unlikely. Birds did, however, seem to respond to playback and call back or appear out from behind trees. Other groups did not experience the same thing and either saw birds without playback or found that the birds did not react to playback at all! The variation in experiences between groups was interesting.

 We found Red-headed Woodpeckers at points all across the IBA, as well as an area to the northeast of the IBA surveyed due to high numbers seen there last year. Each group was lucky enough to detect at least one Red-headed Woodpecker, and we had a day total count of 20 individuals.

Despite the delayed time of year, we had a successful day in the Shoal Lakes IBA. Thank you again to all the volunteers that came out: Jo, Bonnie, Peter, Doreen, Katherine and John, Matt, Garry, Rudolf, John, Randy and Odette who joined Amanda, Alyssa and Nate on this blitz. Your dedication to birding and conservation is always appreciated and helps our feathered friends within Manitoba!

Our full bird count is below.

Species Name	Inside IBA	Outside IBA	TOTAL
Canada Goose	90	0	90
Trumpeter Swan	1	0	1
Wood Duck	1	0	1
Blue-winged Teal	235	0	235
Northern Shoveler	12	2	14
Mallard	347	0	347
Green-winged Teal	16	1	17
Ring-necked Duck	1	0	1
Common Goldeneye	2	0	2
Gadwell	1	0	1
Northern Pintail	9	0	0
Redhead	23	0	23
Duck spp	30	0	30
Hooded Merganser	3	0	3
Sharp-tailed Grouse	3	0	3
Pied-billed Grebe	3	0	3
Western Grebe	30	0	30
American Coot	2	0	2
Belted Kingfisher	1	0	1
Rock Pigeon	4	2	6
Mourning Dove	35	1	36
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	5	0	5
American Coot	2	0	2
Sandhill Crane	67	21	88
American Avocet	6	0	6
Baird’s Sandpiper	3	0	3
Killdeer	46	0	46
Marbled Godwit	5	0	5
Pectoral Sandpiper	9	0	9
Wilson’s Snipe	14	0	14
Spotted Sandpiper	1	0	1
Solitary Sandpiper	17	5	22
Least Sandpiper	7	0	7
Stilt Sandpiper	9	0	9
Greater Yellowlegs	107	3	110
Lesser Yellowlegs	191	0	191
Tringa spp	10	0	10
Peep spp	20	0	20
Wilson’s Phalarope	8	0	8
Bonaparte’s Gull	1	0	1
Franklin’s Gull	173	744	917
Herring Gull	2	0	2
Ring-billed Gull	122	46	168
Gull spp	15	0	15
Black Tern	17	0	17
Common Tern	14	0	14
Forester’s Tern	1	0	1
Double-crested Cormorant	8	0	8
American White Pelican	95	7	102
American Bittern	1	0	1
Black-crowned Night Heron	1	0	1
Great Blue Heron	7	0	7
Great Egret	55	0	55
Turkey Vulture	3	1	4
Northern Harrier	4	0	4
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	0	1
Cooper’s Hawk	1	0	1
Bald Eagle	7	0	7
Red-tailed Hawk	14	3	17
Broad-winged Hawk	2	0	2
Peregrine Falcon	1	0	1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	11	0	11
Red-headed Woodpecker	13	7	20
Downy Woodpecker	7	0	7
Hairy Woodpecker	1	0	1
Pileated Woodpecker	6	0	6
Northern Flicker	7	2	9
American Kestrel	27	2	29
Merlin	2	2	4
Eastern Wood-Pewee	11	2	13
Eastern Phoebe	7	0	7
Alder Flycatcher	4	0	4
Least Flycatcher	19	6	25
Great Crested Flycatcher	8	0	8
Eastern Kingbird	98	19	117
Blue-headed Vireo	2	0	2
Warbling Vireo	15	0	15
Red-eyed Vireo	27	3	30
Blue Jay	14	1	15
Black-billed Magpie	24	1	25
American Crow	40	10	50
Common Raven	13	3	16
Black-capped Chickadee	10	1	11
Horned Lark	1	2	3
Purple Martin	1	2	3
Cliff Swallow	3	0	3
Tree Swallow	52	0	52
Bank Swallow	1	0	1
Barn Swallow	79	6	85
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	1	0	1
House Wren	4	0	4
Sedge Wren	20	2	22
Marsh Wren	5	0	5
European Starling	73	0	73
Gray Catbird	16	1	17
Brown Thrasher	3	0	3
Eastern Bluebird	20	0	20
Veery	1	0	1
American Robin	50	8	58
Cedar Waxwing	83	8	91
American Goldfinch	99	14	113
Chipping Sparrow	3	1	4
Clay-colored Sparrow	68	1	69
Vesper Sparrow	1	0	1
Savannah Sparrow	31	0	31
Song Sparrow	39	5	44
Swamp Sparrow	3	0	3
Yellow-headed Blackbird	8	0	8
Western Meadowlark	60	0	60
Baltimore Oriole	15	1	16
Red-winged Blackbird	312	9	321
Brown-headed Cowbird	16	0	16
Brewer’s Blackbird	38	0	38
Common Grackle	132	0	132
Black-and-white Warbler	1	1	2
Chestnut-sided Warbler	1	0	1
Tennessee Warbler	1	0	1
Nashville Warbler	1	0	1
Common Yellowthroat	6	0	6
Yellow Warbler	21	2	23
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	6	0	6
White-breasted Nuthatch	4	0	4
House Sparrow	18	0	18
TOTAL NUMBER BIRDS			4547
TOTAL NUMBER SPECIES			122