Throughout the winter I’m planning to post recaps from our 2025 events, to help us dream of warmer days and get excited for what’s to come in 2026!

The first of these recaps will cover the Grassland Bird Blitz, which took place on June 7th in the Southwestern Manitoba Mixed-Grass Prairie IBA. The IBA was split into 6 sections, with each section monitored by a group of birders. The map below shows the boundaries of each section. Each group started between 5:00 and 6:30 am, with all groups wrapping up by noon. Each group recorded all the birds they saw, and paid special attention to the eight target species below: 

• Sprague’s Pipit 
• Chestnut-collared Longspur
• Baird’s Sparrow
• Ferruginous Hawk
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Grasshopper Sparrow
• Burrowing Owl
• Bobolink

Marissa and Liam were in Group 1, and they covered the northeast portion of the IBA. They saw five of the eight target species, including Sprague’s Pipit, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, and Loggerhead Shrike. 

Group 2 consisted of Gillian, Jianping and Luc, and they covered the northwest portion of the IBA. This group had the most observations of Species at Risk, with 35 individuals of six different species including Sprague’s Pipit, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Ferruginous Hawk, and Baird’s Sparrow. 

Jackie and Leanne were in Group 3 and covered the southwest portion of the IBA. They observed five of our target species including Loggerhead Shrike, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Grasshopper Sparrow (10 individuals!), Baird’s Sparrow and Bobolink. They also observed a Sharp-tailed Grouse lek. 

Carson and Marvin covered the central portion of the IBA in Group 4, and they observed two of our target species, including Bobolink and Grasshopper Sparrow. In addition to this, Carson and Marvin also observed a Red-headed Woodpecker. Not one of our target species for this blitz, but still a Species at Risk in Manitoba! 

Katharine, Carol and Brian were in Group 5, and they covered the southeast portion of the IBA. This group observed Ferruginous Hawks, Baird’s Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Sprague’s Pipit, Bobolink, and Grasshopper Sparrow. Notably, the Ferruginous Hawk was observed sitting on a large stick nest in the top of a tree. 

Our final group was Colin and his son, and they covered the east-central portion of the IBA. This group saw two of our target species at risk, the Chestnut-collared Longspur and the Bobolink. 

Once all groups were finished for the day, everyone met up at the Chicken Chef in Melita for a group lunch and to share their adventures from the morning. Huge thank you to our volunteers, Colin, Katharine, Carol, Brian, Carson, Marvin, Jackie, Leanne, Gillian, Jianping, Luc and Liam for joining our Grassland Blitz, and thank you to Carol, Gillian and Marissa for sharing your photos! A full list of the species observed can be found in the table below.  

Species	Count
American Coot	2
American Crow	8
American Goldfinch	31
American Kestrel	4
American Redstart	2
American Robin	40
American Wigeon	2
Baird’s Sparrow	7
Bald Eagle	2
Baltimore Oriole	12
Bank Swallow	4
Barn Swallow	54
Barn Swallow (American)	15
Belted Kingfisher	2
Black Tern	72
Black-billed Magpie	17
Black-capped Chickadee	2
Blue-winged Teal	22
Bobolink	45
Brewer’s Blackbird	58
Brown Thrasher	8
Brown-headed Cowbird	397
Canada Goose	421
Canvasback	4
Cedar Waxwing	9
Chestnut-collared Longspur	26
Chipping Sparrow	3
Clay-colored Sparrow	69
Cliff Swallow	433
Common Grackle	69
Common Raven	32
Common Yellowthroat	24
Double-crested Cormorant	5
Eared Grebe	2
Eastern Kingbird	291
Eastern Wood-Pewee	1
European Starling	17
Ferruginous Hawk	4
Franklin’s Gull	531
Gadwall	12
Grasshopper Sparrow	42
Gray Catbird	9
Gray Partridge	10
Great Blue Heron	3
Great Crested Flycatcher	3
Green-winged Teal	2
Green-winged Teal (American)	12
Hairy Woodpecker	1
Horned Lark	27
House Sparrow	5
Killdeer	35
Lark Sparrow	6
Least Flycatcher	44
LeConte’s Sparrow	2
Loggerhead Shrike	4
Mallard	97
Marbled Godwit	14
Marsh Wren	3
Merlin	2
Mourning Dove	193
Northern Flicker	5
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)	2
Northern Harrier	11
Northern House Wren	24
Northern Pintail	9
Northern Shoveler	6
Orchard Oriole	11
Pied-billed Grebe	3
Red-eyed Vireo	3
Redhead	4
Red-headed Woodpecker	1
Red-tailed Hawk	25
Red-winged Blackbird	768
Ring-billed Gull	2
Ring-necked Pheasant	22
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)	50
Ruddy Duck	1
Savannah Sparrow	69
Say’s Phoebe	1
Sedge Wren	3
Semipalmated Plover	1
Semipalmated Sandpiper	15
Sharp-tailed Grouse	27
Song Sparrow	17
Sora	3
Spotted Sandpiper	1
Sprague’s Pipit	19
Swainson’s Hawk	21
Tree Swallow	48
Turkey Vulture	3
Upland Sandpiper	40
Vesper Sparrow	80
Warbling Vireo	22
Western Kingbird	75
Western Meadowlark	265
Willet	24
Wilson’s Phalarope	19
Wilson’s Snipe	13
Wood Duck	3
Yellow Warbler	51
Yellow Warbler (Northern)	6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	1
Yellow-headed Blackbird	56
Yellow-throated Vireo	3
Grand Total	5106
Total Species	104