On September 9th, the Manitoba IBA program held a Red-headed Woodpecker (RHWO) Blitz in the North, East and West Shoal Lakes IBA. Back in July, IBA program staff conducted Red-headed Woodpecker surveys in this area and observed a total of 14 adult Red-headed Woodpeckers. We were not sure how many Red-headed Woodpeckers would still be around, especially as many species seem to be migrating a week or two earlier than usual this year.
Our blitz was divided into 3 groups of 3 people. Just like our Oak Lake blitz, each group was given an area within the IBA to cover with suggested survey routes to follow. Below is a map of our group areas:
Originally, we were going to have four groups but we ended up having three groups instead, so Group 1 covered both the ‘Group 1’ and ‘Group 2’ areas on the map, in the southern and western portion of the IBA. This group was made up of Marissa, Arianne and AJ. This group saw 2 juvenile Red-headed Woodpeckers in the ‘Group 2’ area.
Group 3 included Bonnie, Gwen, and Catherine. They saw a lot of activity from many birds including Mallards, Pine Siskins, Sandhill Cranes. They saw 1 juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker along their route.
Group 4 included Carson, Dries and Janice. They observed a total of 3 juvenile Red-headed Woodpeckers in addition to many other species.
After a full morning of blitzing and birding, our group met for lunch at Rosie’s Café in Inwood to fuel up and share about our mornings. The consensus was that while it seems that most of the Red-headed Woodpeckers had already left the area to migrate, it was a beautiful morning with lots of bird activity overall.
In total, we observed 6 juvenile Red-headed Woodpeckers during the blitz followed by 2 more (1 adult and 1 juvenile) on the way home after the blitz. In addition to 58 species, and 1,080 individuals. Below is a recap of all species observed. A big thank you to our volunteers Bonnie Chartier, Gwen Armbruster, Catherine Copp, Carson Kearns, Dries Desender, Janice Thordarson, Arianne Ruff, and AJ Bhuiyan for participating to count this important species at risk!
-Marissa and Aynsley
| Species | Total # of Individuals |
| Accipiter sp. | 1 |
| American Bittern | 1 |
| American Coot | 20 |
| American Crow | 17 |
| American Goldfinch | 25 |
| American Kestrel | 9 |
| American Redstart | 2 |
| American Robin | 33 |
| American White Pelican | 7 |
| Bald Eagle | 3 |
| Barn Swallow | 45 |
| Belted Kingfisher | 6 |
| Black-billed Magpie | 12 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 2 |
| Blackpoll Warbler | 2 |
| Blue Jay | 23 |
| Blue-winged Teal | 8 |
| Buteo sp. | 1 |
| Canada Goose | 425 |
| Cedar Waxwing | 31 |
| Clay-coloured Sparrow | 3 |
| Common Raven | 11 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 1 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 4 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 3 |
| Eastern Kingbird | 2 |
| Eastern Phoebe | 1 |
| European Starling | 27 |
| Gray Catbird | 3 |
| Great Blue Heron | 2 |
| Great Egret | 1 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 7 |
| Green-wing Teal | 2 |
| Hairy Woodpecker | 3 |
| Harris’ Sparrow | 1 |
| LeConte’s Sparrow | 1 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 1 |
| Lincon’s Sparrow | 7 |
| Mallard | 108 |
| Merlin | 4 |
| Mourning Dove | 5 |
| Northern Flicker | 61 |
| Northern Harrier | 1 |
| Northern Shoveler | 1 |
| Pine Siskin | 68 |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | 8 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 20 |
| Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) | 4 |
| Ruddy Duck | 1 |
| Sandhill Crane | 16 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 6 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | 2 |
| Sharp-tailed Grouse | 1 |
| Song Sparrow | 2 |
| Swamp Sparrow | 1 |
| Turkey Vulture | 4 |
| Western Meadowlark | 6 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 3 |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 5 |
| Total | 1080 |
Manitoba Important Bird Areas Program 