On Saturday July 20th, a group of intrepid volunteers traveled to Riverton Sandy Bar to pull weeds. Thank you to Joanne, Lynnea, Kelsey and Bonnie for taking care of the days event. Kelsey Bell gives us a rundown of the mornings fun.
Often when you think of habitat loss, you think of trees being cut down for paper, areas being cleared for development, or land conversion for agriculture. So, it might be strange to think that the removal of vegetation can actually create habitat for a species of bird, the Piping Plover.
Piping Plovers nest on wide, sandy beaches with little vegetation. In Manitoba, areas such as this are under threat due to above average water levels or encroachment of weeds. Historically, Piping Plovers used the sand bar between the west shore of Lake Winnipeg and Hecla Islands (which together make up the Riverton Sandy Bar IBA) as nesting habitat. However, the last confirmed sighting was in 2000. Unfortunately, this likley due to the presence of white-sweet clover, an invasive weed that has taken over the sand bar.
Sweet-white clover, copyright Kelsey Bell.
Sweet-white clover, copyright Kelsey Bell.
The early morning trek out to the sand bar was a little chillier than expected, but upon arrival and after a quick survey of the area, 23 eager volunteers set to work. Volunteers from Winnipeg, Gimli and surrounding areas came for the morning, as well as a team from the East Interlake Conservation District and Manitoba Sustainable Development. With so many hands on deck, we quickly made headway.
The trek to the weed pull site, copyright Joanne Smith.
The trek to the weed pull site, copyright Joanne Smith.
Turns out the cooler weather was a blessing, because weed pulling is hard work. Everyone grabbed a bag and got to work. In no time at all, we had a pile of sweet clover filled bags. First, we started with some maintenance in the areas that had been worked on in previous years. It was great to hear all the positive comments from volunteers that had been involved for multiple years. Many commented on how great it looks since the weed pulls began and how much of a difference it has made for the habitat.
Hard working volunteers, copyright Joanne Smith.
Hard working volunteers, copyright Joanne Smith.
Hard working volunteers, copyright Kelsey Bell.
Hard working volunteers, copyright Kelsey Bell.
Once the maintenance was done, we dug into the bigger weed clearing. Everyone worked together, old friends and new acquaintances, with plenty of laughs and good conversations to go around; it hardly felt like work. As the final bags were being filled our day was cut just a little short by a sudden rain system moving through. We collected our bags, packed up our things and hiked back to our vehicles.
Sand bar pre weed pull, copyright Kelsey Bell.
Sand bar post weed pull, copyright Kelsey Bell.
You’ve heard of “pack out what you pack in” or “leave it as you found it”, but with the help of so many hard working hands, I think we left it better than we found it. And we most certainly packed out more than what we packed in.
The pile of weeds pulled by IBA volunteers, copyright Kelsey Bell.
Thank you to everyone who came out! If you would like to help out, or you missed the last one, don’t worry! We have another fun filled day of weed pulling for plovers on Friday, August 16th. You can find information about the day here.
The volunteers after a hard days work, copyright Joanne Smith.
And of course, below is the list of birds observed that day:
| Species |
Count |
| Killdeer |
1 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs |
17 |
| Franklin’s Gull |
280 |
| Ring-billed Gull |
71 |
| Herring Gull |
1 |
| Common Tern |
3 |
| American White Pelican |
6 |
| Osprey |
1 |
| Bald Eagle |
2 |
| Merlin |
1 |
| Least Flycatcher |
7 |
| Eastern Kingbird |
2 |
| American Crow |
1 |
| Barn Swallow |
3 |
| Marsh Wren |
13 |
| Song Sparrow |
9 |
| Swamp Sparrow |
4 |
| Red-winged Blackbird |
32 |
| Common Yellowthroat |
6 |
| Yellow Warbler |
7 |
Manitoba Important Bird Areas Program 