On Saturday June 22th, the Manitoba IBA program led a bird walk at the Oak Hammock Marsh IBA. Six people met and joined us in the parking lot of the Harry J. Enns Interpretive Centre at 10am. Both the coordinator Marissa, and I, the program assistant (Aynsley) were there to lead our group. The birders in our group had a range of birding experience.

Our first exciting sighting came while we were still in the parking lot. A large flock of American White Pelicans, joined by a single Double-crested Cormorant flew overhead in a loose V-shape.  

We began our journey on Beaver trail, leading into Blackbird trail. Here we were able to hear a very loud Alder Flycatcher who sat very nice while having its picture taken. We also observed some Purple Martins around their nest boxes.

We continued our adventure along Blackbird trail, hearing a Virginia Rail, observing many Red-winged Blackbirds, Barn Swallows, American Pelicans, a few Yellow-headed Blackbirds, a Ruddy Duck and some Blue-winged Teals.

We continued along Toad Road, observing an Eastern Kingbird, more Blue-winged Teal, some Clay-coloured Sparrows, a Yellow Warbler, a Song Sparrow, and more Ruddy Ducks. We also saw some Yellow Lady Slippers, heard many Common Yellowthroats, and a Sora.

This trail led us to Duck Pond trail, where we stopped at the shorebird scrape. The water was so high that most of the scrape was underwater. The high water levels allowed us to see some more waterfowl and other species, including some Gadwalls, Redheads, Black Terns, Killdeer, and some Tree and Barn Swallows.

The humidity and hot weather were picking up as we headed back towards the main parking lot. Along the way we saw some more sparrows, including a Savannah Sparrow and a Clay-coloured Sparrow that were both singing away on easily visible perches (which gave us a great opportunity to learn how to identify them by sight and by sound).

Clay-coloured Sparrow. Photo: A. Woods

We heard another Sora, and learned a little bit about the insect traps around the marsh from one of our knowledgeable group members.

Overall, the trails were awesome and some great birds were seen! A very big thank you to all who joined us! Below is a full species checklist:

Species	Count
Canada Goose	20
Blue-winged Teal	7
Gadwall	2
Mallard	5
Redhead	2
Ring-necked Duck	1
Ruddy Duck	4
Mourning Dove	2
Virginia Rail	1
Sora	2
Killdeer	3
Black Tern	2
Double-crested Cormorant	1
American White Pelican	60
Alder Flycatcher	2
Eastern Kingbird	3
Tree Swallow	10
Purple Martin	6
Barn Swallow	8
Sedge Wren	1
Marsh Wren	3
American Goldfinch	2
Clay-coloured Sparrow	5
Savannah Sparrow	2
Song Sparrow	4
Yellow-headed Blackbird	8
Red-winged Blackbird	30
Brown-headed Cowbird	5
Common Yellowthroat	6
Yellow Warbler	5

-Aynsley