On August 14th, Manitoba IBA held the third bird blitz of the season at the Delta Marsh IBA. Our objective for this event was to record all birds we saw, however, special attention was to be given to any Species at Risk that might have been sighted. Waterbirds and shorebirds were also a special area of focus for the day due to their ideal habitat found in the IBA.

It was an early morning for the IBA staff and volunteers, starting our survey at 7:00 am or earlier in an effort to beat the heat that was coming. Luckily the day prior had been cool, so the morning was actually a great temperature. We were lucky to have a larger group of volunteers for this event and were able to cover more areas of the IBA. There were 15 of us in total including the IBA staff. We were separated into 6 different groups to cover 6 areas of the IBA.

The groups were broken down as follows:

Group A: Katharine and John Schulz, Barbara Emberley

Group B: Rudolf Koes and Garry Budyk

Group C: Jo Swartz and Rob Parsons

Group D: Pat Wally, Nathan Entz and Doreen Draffin

Group E: Vicky Tang, Amanda Shave and Ariel Desrochers

Clandeboye Group: Alyssa Stulberg and Theresa Mackey

We had no set routes for the day. The goal for each group was to simply explore the area assigned and record all birds and observe the habitat. Various species were recorded and some in very large numbers.

Group A (Katharine, John and Barbara) observed 59 species during their survey. Many shorebirds were observed during their survey including the Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Wilsons Phalarope and Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs. Gulls and swallows were observed in large numbers.  Otherwise, highlights of Group A consisted of three Virginia Rails, a large flock of approximately 24 Gray Partridge, a flock of Bank Swallows observed on the 44W just south of 80N, two Caspian Terns along the diversion and plentiful Red-tailed Hawks throughout!

Rudolf and Garry were the members of Group B. They covered the area surrounding Delta Beach, observing various species along their survey. They walked along the beach itself as well as birding from their car as needed. Large numbers of shorebirds were spotted, including 126 Least Sandpiper, 100 peeps (unknown small shorebirds), 17 Semipalmated Plover and 52 Killdeer. They also observed large numbers of swallows, including 325 Bank Swallows, 161 Tree Swallows and 85 Purple Martins. They also took a swing over to the landfill on PR 227 after our lunch-time meet up to see what birds were around in addition to what Group C observed there.

As Group C Jo and Rob covered most of the area between PR 430 on east, to just west of Portage Creek and the PR 227 landfill. They also saw large numbers of birds including 1200 Franklin’s Gulls and 1088 Ring-billed Gulls, most of which were at the landfill. They also spotted 4 Red-headed Woodpeckers, a coveted bird of the year! (At least for us IBA staff who have been doing Red-head Woodpecker monitoring this year). In total, Group C observed 59 species.

Alyssa and Theresa were our intrepid Clandeboye Group, who walked from St Ambroise Provincial Park west to Clandeboye Bay. They observed 28 species in total, with a mix of shorebirds, waterbirds and other species such as a Belted Kingfisher, a Great Blue Heron and a Black and White Warbler. The shorebirds they observed included Baird’s Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper and Lesser Yellowlegs.

Group D consisting of Pat, Doreen and Nate identified 45 species in total in the west portion of the marsh. They observed a variety of species including some shorebirds, various species of sparrow, hawks and waterbirds. An interesting sighting for them was the Eastern Wood-Peewee, a federal Species at Risk (special concern).

The IBA staff comprised Group E. We primarily birded while walking from where HWY 430 ends by the lake towards Twin Lakes beach. We noticed on our walk that the water level had been pushed back considerably due to drought conditions, leaving long stretches of empty shoreline. We observed 41 species including large numbers of Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Franklin’s Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants and 900 Brewer’s Blackbirds. We also saw what we thought may have been two separate families of Bald Eagles in their juvenile stage. The majority of shorebirds were seen closer to the end of HWY 430, with fewer seen near to Twin Lakes Beach.

We all met up at the end of the blitz at the former boardwalk trail in the Delta Beach community for a well deserved snack in the shade. We got pretty lucky with the weather, as the morning was a lovely temperature. It was considerably hotter after our group get-together! In total we were able to identify 115 different species during the blitz. Again, a big thank you to everyone who came out! The full list of species identified and their counts can be found below.

Species	Sum of Count
American Bittern	4
American Crow	41
American Goldfinch	44
American Kestrel	7
American Redstart	2
American Robin	14
American White Pelican	412
Baird’s Sandpiper	12
Bald Eagle	22
Baltimore Oriole	9
Bank Swallow	461
Barn Swallow	194
Belted Kingfisher	3
Black Tern	177
Black-and-white Warbler	2
Black-billed Magpie	11
Black-capped Chickadee	5
Blue Jay	7
Blue-winged Teal	91
Bobolink	7
Bonaparte’s Gull	137
Brewer’s Blackbird	1062
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	1
Buteo sp.	1
Canada Goose	32
Caspian Tern	5
Cedar Waxwing	15
Chipping Sparrow	1
Clay-colored Sparrow	19
Cliff Swallow	12
Common Goldeneye	1
Common Grackle	37
Common Raven	23
Common Tern	16
Common Yellowthroat	14
Cooper’s Hawk	3
Double-crested Cormorant	773
Downy Woodpecker	5
Duck sp.	14
Eastern Bluebird	1
Eastern Kingbird	131
Eastern Phoebe	4
Eastern Wood-Pewee	3
European Starling	3
Forster’s Tern	29
Franklin’s Gull	3697
Gadwall	1
Gray Catbird	19
Gray Partridge	24
Great Blue Heron	7
Great Egret	16
Great Horned Owl	1
Greater Yellowlegs	164
Greater/Lesser Scaup	2
Gull sp.	1768
Hairy Woodpecker	3
Herring Gull	66
Hooded Merganser	3
House Sparrow	67
House Wren	2
Killdeer	94
Least Flycatcher	16
Least Sandpiper	708
Lesser Black-backed Gull	1
Lesser Scaup	6
Lesser Yellowlegs	382
Lincoln’s Sparrow	1
Mallard	80
Marsh Wren	3
Merlin	12
Mourning Dove	78
Northern Flicker	4
Northern Harrier	13
Northern Pintail	1
Northern Shoveler	2
Northern Waterthrush	6
Olive-sided Flycatcher	1
Orchard Oriole	2
Pectoral Sandpiper	62
Peep sp.	200
Phalarope sp.	60
Purple Finch	1
Purple Martin	143
Red-eyed Vireo	3
Red-headed Woodpecker	4
Red-necked Phalarope	31
Red-tailed Hawk	43
Red-winged Blackbird	360
Ring-billed Gull	2146
Rock Pigeon	25
Rose-breasted Grosbeak	4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird	3
Sanderling	13
Sandhill Crane	5
Savannah Sparrow	28
Sedge Wren	4
Semipalmated Plover	30
Semipalmated Sandpiper	144
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
Sharp-tailed Grouse	2
Solitary Sandpiper	3
Song Sparrow	6
Sparrow sp.	1
Spotted Sandpiper	6
Stilt Sandpiper	9
Tennessee Warbler	3
Tree Swallow	314
Turkey Vulture	12
Virginia Rail	3
Warbling Vireo	8
Western Grebe	5
Western Kingbird	22
Western Meadowlark	92
White-breasted Nuthatch	3
White-rumped Sandpiper	1
Willet	3
Wilson’s Phalarope	131
Wood Duck	6
Yellow Warbler	96
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	5
Yellow-headed Blackbird	36
Yellow-rumped Warbler	2
Grand Total Individuals	15196
Grand Total Species	115 (+7 “sp”)

-Ariel

We were fortunate enough to run our second event of the summer at Manitoba IBA on July 24th, a bird blitz out at Oak Lake/ Plum Lakes IBA. Our objective was to record all birds we saw but focus on finding Red-Headed Woodpeckers.

Oak Lake is a decent hike away from Winnipeg so the day began quite early for the IBA staff. After a three hour drive, we arrived at the Oak Lake/Plum Lake IBA. We were pleased to see that the area was relatively clear of smoke, after having so many days of limited visibility. We were a small group this day, with Group 1 consisting of Gillian, Kathryn and Katharine and Group 2 consisting of the IBA staff (Amanda, Vicky and I). A fourth volunteer, Glennis, formed an unofficial Group 3 at the last minute, and birded on her own to the north of Highway 1. We set out on two routes, with Group 1 taking an Eastern route and Group 2 taking a Southern route.

We also had two objectives on this blitz. The first was new for this year. We wanted to try setting up some Red-headed Woodpecker survey routes in and around the IBA. The objective of these specific routes is to follow very detailed protocol, hopefully picking up all possible Red-headed Woodpeckers in the area. It involved stopping every 300m in appropriate habitat, watching/listening for two minutes, using playback for 30 seconds and then watching for another two minutes. As this detailed protocol is not conducive to being able to move widely through the IBA (it can be quite slow if you are lucky enough to have a lot of good Red-headed Woodpecker habitat), outside of the survey routes, we completed our bird blitz in the familiar fashion.

Despite some suitable habitat, Group 2 (IBA staff) saw 5 Red-Headed Woodpeckers, including 3 in a previously known site and 2 in a new spot next to a farm. We could barely hear the two birds at the new site over the barks of a very curious dog. During our survey, It became clear that some of the habitat had changed over the years (compared to where Red-headed Woodpeckers have historically been sighted), with certain areas having lots of bushes grown in and new younger trees rather than taller dead ones, which isn’t ideal for the Woodpeckers. Other interesting sightings for our group included a Vesper Sparrow, 2 Swainson’s Hawks, 7 Red-tailed Hawks, and 4 American Kestrels. We also saw a large number of Red-winged Blackbirds, 175 at our best count! In total, our group spotted 24 different species.

Glennis investigated a possible Red Headed Woodpecker site where she thought she may have heard one, but could not get a positive IDs. Glennis and a few other group members searched this area (north of Highway 1 within the IBA) last year for Red-headed Woodpeckers but had no luck then either, despite seeing some possible decent habitat.

Group 1 had the most success with the Red Headed Woodpeckers. They saw at least 10 in total at 5 separate stops. Three Red-headed Woodpeckers were seen along the survey route just outside the IBA. There was a possible fourth individual but it was determined to likely be a repeat count as it flew into from the east (where a stop already occurred) in response to the playback. Seven Red-headed Woodpeckers were spotted inside the IBA. At this site two adults appeared to be feeding young in a nest (the young were not counted) so there were more individuals we could not count. A second site in the IBA had two individuals. Group 1 was able to identify a total of 45 species on their route. Some of their other interesting sightings include a Sprague’s pipit, an Eastern Wood-peewee and 2 Eastern Bluebirds. Sadly, bluebird numbers this year seem to be lower than previous years based on anecdotes from local birders. Another interesting sighting is the numerous European Starlings, which can be usually found in similar habitat to Red-Headed Woodpeckers. With recommendations from Group 2, we will likely be amending the Red-headed Woodpecker survey route next year to include some of mile road 137 W.

You might be wondering if we reached our IBA trigger threshold for Red-headed Woodpeckers. The threshold is 14 individuals inside an IBA. Unfortunately we only saw 12 individuals inside the IBA, so we didn’t quite make it, but we were close!

Complicating the search for Red-headed Woodpeckers was the the dry, hot weather (and eventually windy). As we were doing our blitz round up and snacking at noon, all of a sudden a huge gust of wind started up – perhaps telling us that we should be on our way back to Winnipeg!

Thank you to our volunteers who braved the heat and strong wind to be with us! The full list of species counted is below! The map of our sightings and routes for the day is also below.

Species	Total
Mourning Dove	17
Killdeer	2
Black Tern	4
Turkey Vulture	2
Northern Harrier	1
Swainson’s Hawk	2
Red-Tailed Hawk	13
Red-Headed Woodpecker	13 (+3 outside the IBA)
Downy Woodpecker	4
Northern Flicker	5
American Kestrel	10
Eastern Wood Peewee	2
Least Flycatcher	9
Great Crested Flycatcher	1
Western Kingbird	1
Eastern Kingbird	24
Warbling Vireo	15
Black-billed Magpie	11
American Crow	20
Common Raven	24
Black Capped Chickadee	4
Tree swallow	5
Barn Swallow	23
Cliff swallow	25
House Wren	13
Marsh Wren	1
European Starling	30
Grey Catbird	3
Eastern Bluebird	2
American Robin	8
Cedar Waxwing	1
Sprague’s pipit	1
American Goldfinch	14
Chipping sparrow	1
Clay-coloured sparrow	2
Lark sparrow	1
Vesper Sparrow	2
Savannah Sparrow	9
Song Sparrow	8
Western Meadowlark	37
Baltimore Oriole	7
Red winged Blackbird	189
Brewers Blackbird	20
Common Grackle	2
Yellow Warbler	4
Pileated Woodpecker	1
blackbird sp.	20
Hawk sp.	1
Total Number of Birds	617
Total Number of Species	48

Green pins represent Group 2 sightings while Red pins represent Group 1 sightings.

Get your binoculars and rev up your engines! A as the morning arrived on July 17th, it was good weather (albeit hot) for a grassland bird search in Oak Hammock Marsh. We had our volunteers enjoy a nice walk and drive to the west side of the grasslands, exploring the tall-grass prairie to the north mound.

With the IBA Steering Committee a-okay, we conjured up our first public event of the year! COVID-19 protocols were maintained safely by us and our volunteers. Thank you to Pat, Carla, Al, and Cindy for joining us in the morning for a tour in the grasslands.  

Amanda and I arrived at the meeting location at 6:50 AM, to scope out the area and in case any one came early. There were significantly more mosquitoes here than in the city, ouch! Good thing Amanda was fully prepared with bug spray, sunscreen, juice, and snacks. First thing in the morning were the distinct and gentle calls of the Mourning Dove and a busy Eastern Kingbird, flying back and forth across the road.

When three vehicles stopped at the shorebird scrape, we knew they were kindred birders for sure. Lo and behold, they were indeed our volunteers for today! They made their way to the gathering spot by just after 8:00 AM. Pat said she saw a Willet over at the scrape, which got everyone excited. We were ready to go, and so began our route. We managed to avoid (most) of the midday heat and in our respective vehicles. The map below traces our path through the grasslands and past the canola fields.

We first started our route with a quick walk by the west side of the interpretive centre. Our first find, and a species we would encounter a few more times on the route were the Marsh (1) and Sedge (4) Wrens. They played a little game of peek-a-boo in the tall grass, making it difficult to get a good look, but their calls were distinct.

We then drove up to the path through the tall-grass prairie habitat north of the Interpretive Centre. The species that dominated the grasslands and wetland habitat mix were Savannah Sparrows (26), Clay-coloured Sparrows (25), and Red-winged Blackbirds (25). We heard four Common Yellowthroats and saw five Mallards fly by. There were a few mourning doves (4) calling in the distance from time to time, and we had one spotting of a Cedar Waxwing. At the end of our route, we stopped by a bridge, swarmed by swallows! It was a mix of Bank (3), Cliff (3), and Barn (30) Swallows to our best guess. It was difficult to tell exact numbers as they swirled around over and under the bridge. A Northern Harrier zoomed in on the Swallows out of nowhere and almost flew directly at us! However, the little birds started to bully the Harrier into a different direction. We had also seen another Harrier further back on the route. It was flying low in an empty field. It must have found something delectable there.

We saw only two Western Meadowlarks on the way there. We were expecting more Meadowlarks on the route, but they were mysteriously hard to find, we suspected a predator may have been in the area. And indeed, just down the road a raptor was scouting the from a hay bale (too far away to determine more than a silhouette), likely keeping the Meadowlarks at bay. On our way back, there was no sign of the raptor and we saw five more Meadowlarks – more what we had expected!

We had a catch of a Sharp-tailed Grouse flying by! It was quite fast, and I could not tell what it was, but Amanda recognized it instantly. We had an even rarer find further up the path. Right where the road curves right, we saw two Dickcissels! Unfortunately, they were against the sun and only briefly in sight before they flew off into the bushes. They were flying over the road a few times. Amanda had seen them earlier before the 17^th when she was preparing the route, and sure enough, they were still there!  

Overall, it was a nice warm-up event to meet the volunteers! Thank you again to Cindy, Al, Pat, and Carla for joining us. A list that summarizes the total birds we encountered can be found below.

-Vicky

We are excited to be holding three events this August and hope to see you there!

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Our first event is a bird blitz at Delta Marsh IBA on Saturday, August 14th. Join us starting at 7:00 am for a morning of birding in small groups before we end with a group round-up and refreshments. Email iba@naturemanitoba.ca to sign up or for more information.

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On Friday, August 20th we will hold a weedpull at Riverton Sandy Bar IBA. Join us at 8:00 am for refreshments before we head out onto the sand bar to pull invasive weeds, restoring the habitat for the threatened shorebirds that use this habitat. It also wouldn’t be an IBA event without some birding as well! Email iba@naturemanitoba.ca to sign up or for more information.

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Join us at one of western Manitoba’s best birding destinations. We will be focusing our blitz on shorebirds, but other waterbirds, warblers, and more are also sure to delight! This event is on Saturday, August 28th starting at 8:30 am. We will have a group round-up with refreshments at the end of the morning.