This past spring our wonderful volunteers and Manitoba IBA staff conducted International Shorebird Surveys (ISS) within the province. Started by Manomet, the goal of these surveys is to track long-term global shorebird trends. Spring International Shorebird Surveys are conducted annually between April 1^st and June 15^th, with the peak of the season occurring between April 24^th and May 16^th.

In Manitoba, four of our IBAs are surveyed using the ISS protocol: Whitewater Lake; North, East, and West Shoal Lakes; Oak Lake/Plum Lakes; and Oak Hammock Marsh. Within each site, there are pre-set routes. Whitewater Lake has four routes on the east side of the lake, three on the west side and one stationary route. Oak Lake/Plum Lakes has five routes, two of which are stationary. Oak Hammock Marsh has three routes, although one was not accessible this year due to high water levels. Finally, North, East and West Shoal Lakes IBA has four routes around the lakes. We try to survey each route three times in the spring and three times in the fall. While all species observed can be recorded, only shorebird observations are included in this roundup.  

Last year, many areas were flooded and water levels were higher than the norm. This year however, much of the usual preferred habitat was drier than usual, while some areas were inaccessible due to flooding. These conditions in addition to a late spring created an interesting survey period. Below is a summary of the results from the spring survey period.

Whitewater Lake

2023 Spring Whitewater Lake Shorebird Counts
Species	Total # of Individuals	Proportion of Individuals (%)
American Avocet	45	4
American Golden Plover	16	1
Baird’s Sandpiper	24	2
Black-bellied Plover	65	6
Dunlin	17	1
Killdeer	17	1
Least Sandpiper	316	27
Lesser Yellowlegs	180	16
Marbled Godwit	9	1
Pectoral Sandpiper	3	0
Red-necked Phalarope	17	1
Ruddy Turnstone	7	1
Sanderling	10	1
Semipalmated Plover	1	0
Semipalmated Sandpiper	304	26
Short-billed Dowitcher	3	0
Spotted Sandpiper	1	0
Stilt Sandpiper	26	2
Upland Sandpiper	3	0
White-rumped Sandpiper	4	0
Willet	11	1
Wilson’s Phalarope	78	7
Total	1157	100
Total Number of species	22

Whitewater Lake was visited four times during the spring ISS period. Route E1 was surveyed once. Routes E2, E3, W1 were each surveyed twice. Lastly, routes W2, W3, and Sexton (the stationary spot) were each surveyed three times. Large numbers of Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers were observed during the spring migration, as well as numerous Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Black-bellied Plovers.

A big thank you to Carson Kearns, Colin Blyth, Duane Diehl, Gillian Richards, Jackie Dixon, Kathryn Hyndman, Tim Poole, Veronica White, Cam Tramley, Baylana Hiebert, and the Westman Naturalists for monitoring Whitewater Lake!

Oak Lake/Plum Lakes

2023 Spring OPL Shorebird Counts
Species	Total # of Individuals	Proportion of Individuals (%)
American Avocet	2	4
Killdeer	10	19
Least Sandpiper	2	4
Marbled Godwit	1	2
Shorebird sp.	6	11
Spotted Sandpiper	4	7
Willet	2	4
Wilson’s Phalarope	27	50
Total	54	100
Total Species	8

Oak Lake/Plum Lakes was visited once this season. Routes 1, 2, 3 and 4 were all surveyed. Route 5 was not surveyed due to the roads being flooded. The most numerous species seen at Oak Lake/Plum Lakes was Wilson’s Phalarope and Killdeer, with one Marbled Godwit sighting.

A big thank you to Amanda Shave and Shannon Landels for making it out to this site!

North, East, and West Shoal Lakes

2023 Spring North, East and West Shoal Lakes Shorebird Counts
Species	Total # of Individuals	Proportion of Individuals (%)
Greater Yellowlegs	2	3
Hudsonian Godwit	5	8
Killdeer	18	29
Lesser Yellowlegs	11	17
Marbled Godwit	6	10
Solitary Sandpiper	1	2
Spotted Sandpiper	15	24
Willet	2	3
Wilson’s Phalarope	1	2
Wilson’s Snipe	11	17
Total	72	114
Total Species	10

North, East and West Shoal Lakes was surveyed on four occasions this spring season. Routes 1, 2 and the campground stationary route were each surveyed once. Routes 3 and 2 were surveyed 4 times each. The most numerous shorebirds seen were Lesser Yellowlegs and Spotted Sandpipers, with some sightings of Hudsonian and Marbled Godwits.  

A big thank you to Bonnie Chartier, Mike Karakas, Tami Reynolds, Jo Swartz, Betsy Thorsteinson, Tim Poole, Veronica White and Cam Tramley for monitoring the North, East and West Shoal Lakes!

Oak Hammock Marsh

2023 Spring OHM Shorebird Counts
Species	Total # of Individuals	Proportion of Individuals (%)
Hudsonian Godwit	6	14
Killdeer	20	45
Marbled Godwit	5	11
Peep sp.	2	5
Semipalmated Sandpiper	2	5
Short-billed Dowitcher	1	2
Spotted Sandpiper	3	7
Willet	3	7
Wilson’s Snipe	2	5
Total	44	100
Total Species	9

Oak Hammock Marsh was visited a total of four times, with all routes being surveyed each visit. The most numerous shorebird seen was Killdeer. There was one sighting of a Semipalmated Sandpiper, as well as other peeps.

A big thank you to Amanda Shave, Tami Reynolds, Mike Karakas, Tim Poole, Veronica White, and Aynsley Woods for monitoring Oak Hammock Marsh.

Based on the above summaries, it is clear the drier weather and late spring in Manitoba affected the spring ISS monitoring season. All four of the IBAs monitored showed low numbers similar to the last few years, as the past few years have also had weather influences. Like last year, Whitewater Lake had the greatest number of individuals and species, compared to the other IBAs.

Summaries like this one are possible due to the time and effort put in by our volunteers, so a very big thank you goes out again to all who went out and monitored this spring! If you are interested in volunteering for our fall International Shorebird Surveys, we are looking for volunteers. Our fall ISS period runs from July 11^th – October 25^th, 2023. Email iba@naturemanitoba.ca for more information.

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