Following a successful count of Western Grebes in 2017, the Manitoba IBA Program will be looking to count grebes and other birds in the Sandy Bay Marshes IBA in 2018.

The Manitoba IBA Program are partners on some exciting projects to deliver incentives to land managers, primarily beef producers, in southwestern Manitoba. These projects are being funded under the auspices of the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) program ‘Species At Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Land’ or SARPAL.

As part of our contribution to this project, Christian Artuso of Bird Studies Canada carried out monitoring surveys on 32 properties. These properties were located in a target area covering the Southwestern Manitoba Mixed-grass Prairie IBA, Pipestone and Maple Lakes and the western portion of the Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA. The intention of these visits was to produce a baseline of bird abundance and presence on these properties, and to provide a list of species for the producer (each were later to receive a 2 sided summary of the results for their property). Close attention was given to Species At Risk (SAR), especially grassland species, such as Sprague’s Pipit, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Baird’s Sparrow, Ferruginous Hawk and Loggerhead Shrike. You can see Christian’s photos of all these species in the mosaic below (all copyright Christian Artuso).

Ferruginous Hawk. Photo copyright Christian Artuso

You can read a summary of the outputs for yourself by downloading the document at the end of this blog, but for a quick summary, here is a summary of Species At Risk recorded during the summer of 2017 by the bird surveys (and a couple of IBA events and volunteers) in these areas.

We would like to thank all our project partners, West Souris River Conservation District, Turtle Mountain Conservation District, Manitoba Beef Producers and Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation. Most of all, thank you to each landowner who kindly gave us permission to survey their property.

To read the report in full,  please download here.

For more information on the SARPAL program, please visit the Keep Grazing webpages on the Manitoba Beef Producers website.

Lynnea Parker presenting her research poster, 2016

My name is Lynnea Parker and I am very thrilled to be joining Nature Manitoba for the next year as a full-time internship student. This intern position was made possible through co-funding provided by EcoCanada and Nature Manitoba. I will be working directly with the Manitoba’s Breeding Bird Atlas, Nocturnal Owl Survey, Important Bird Areas (IBA) program and the Chimney Swift Initiative.

I moved to Winnipeg from Nanaimo, BC in the fall of 2015 to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Manitoba. My thesis is on bear smart messaging and black bear conflicts near Riding Mountain National Park. This project was a perfect fit for me, as I have always held a passion for understanding human-wildlife interactions and finding non-lethal ways to reduce conflict. I plan to defend my thesis and graduate this summer.

Aside from my educational goals, I have held an interest in birding since 2013 when I received my first field job as a Grassland Songbird Research Technician in Brooks, AB. This is the same project that was the focus of ex-IBA Summer Assistant, Patricia Rosa’s PhD. I learned how to identify grassland songbirds and conduct various bird and plant survey methods for the first time. Since that summer, birding has become a dedicated hobby. The wonderful bird diversity and variety of conservation-oriented initiatives in Manitoba have prompted me to stay in the province after the completion of my master’s degree.

Chestnut-collared Longspur chicks

Long-billed Curlew

Marbled Godwit

Prairie Rattlesnake

Left: Chestnut-collared Longspur chicks, Right Upper: Long-billed Curlew, Right Middle: Marbled Godwit, Right Lower: Prairie Rattlesnake. Photos by Lynnea Parker.

Riding Mountain National Park was a fantastic setting to conduct research and go bird watching. A little known, but highly diverse IBA is located at Proven Lake, just 20 minutes south of Wasagaming. It was at this IBA I encountered my first Great Gray Owl at dusk. Other highlights of this IBA included being startled by a Short-eared Owl in the spooky black spruce bog, watching Bobolink glide across open fields, and stumbling across many nests alongside the 1.5 km trail.

Great Gray Owl at dusk, Proven Lake IBA, Photo by Lynnea Parker

Joanne Smith, our caretaker for MB091 Riverton Sandy Bar gives us an overview of comings and goings during another successful 2017 in the IBA. All photos unless stated otherwise were taken by and copyright to Joanne Smith. 

The year 2017 began as most years do at Important Bird And Biodiversity Area MB091 Riverton Sandy Bar. From January to March, ice fishing shacks dotted the ice on Lake Winnipeg, just south of the IBA’s Riverton Sandy Bar and Hecla Bar. This area is well known to both local and visiting recreational fishermen. 2017 also proved to be special because of local and visiting volunteers who came out to help pull invasive sweet clover with the goal of improving the habitat for possible future Piping Plover. With recent breeding success in other parts of the province, the possibility of having this nationally Endangered species return to Sandy Bar is quite real. The last record of nesting Piping Plover at Sandy Bar was in 2004.

From the arrival of Herring gulls in late March and first signs of nesting Canada Geese in early April, to the last fall migrants in late October, Sandy Bar can definitively be a hot spot for many species of birds ranging from the more common Mallard to the endangered Red Knot rufa subspecies. Fishermen, birders, volunteers and the birds all flock to Sandy Bar!

By the third week of April Herring Gulls had already begun to settle in and prepare nests. Approximately 65 gulls and 18 nests (without eggs) could be seen at the far end of Sandy Bar. American White Pelicans and Double Crested Cormorants had also made their arrival at this point.

Along with the arrival of new species, massive chunks of ice littered the shoreline as a wind/ rain/snow storm had battered the area in mid-April. Willows were bent over along the shoreline and the old wooden building which is used by nesting Barn Swallows (COSEWIC Threatened) received damage to many of its boards. The destruction left by the storm was a sharp contrast to the tranquility of seeing three Common Loons diving on the calm Lake Winnipeg waters just north of Sandy Bar. Hawk species Northern Harrier and Bald Eagle as well as the migrating song bird American Tree Sparrow were also regulars at this point. The huge Bald Eagle nest just west of the IBA boundary had already been occupied for several weeks at this point.

April images, clockwise from top: Sandy Bar; occupied Bald eagle nest; Herring Gulls checking out nest sites

By early May other waterfowl species such as American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Lesser Scaup and Gadwall were visiting the waters off Sandy Bar. Migrants Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers could be seen along the shoreline and the Song Sparrows had already begun to check out the vegetation on the edge of the marsh that would make ideal spots to nest. One lone Snow Bunting lingered further out on the sand bar and one Barn Swallow had arrived to check out the building that would serve as home to its young in the coming weeks. At this point, a few shorebirds and marsh birds had also made an appearance. Two Marbled Godwits and one Sora (local breeder) were seen by mid-May. Towards the end of May sightings of migrating Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstone, Whimbrel and Red Knot were also added to the shorebird visitor list.

The month of June included a few more shorebird species including Dunlin (seen by Jock McCracken), Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plover, Black-bellied Plover, White- rumped Sandpiper and local breeding species Killdeer and Spotted Sandpiper. By June 8th one Killdeer pair had already chosen an area of the shoreline to nest on. Unfortunately they had chosen an area close to human foot and ATV traffic and it didn’t appear in later weeks as if they had been successful in this particular spot. But then again, much goes on that our human eyes never see. June was definitely a successful month for Canada Geese. Numerous families could be seen on the lake consisting of little fluffy goslings bouncing on the waves between protective parents. A view of Hecla Bar with binoculars showed American White-Pelican and Double-crested Cormorants taking it easy on the distant sand bar.

In July, 75 Herring Gull adults could be seen at the far end of Sandy Bar with at least 5 juveniles. Close to 300 Franklin’s Gulls were sunning themselves on the shoreline some distance from the Herring Gulls. Marsh Wrens were numerous along the road that winds through the marsh area of the IBA. Even though we humans think of July as a summer month, some shorebirds had already begun their fall migration south. By July 10th, two Greater Yellowlegs made a stop at Sandy Bar before continuing their journey south.

By the first week of August more shorebirds were using Sandy Bar as a refueling station before continuing their fall migration. Many shorebird species nest in northern Canada and the Arctic and then fly back to South America for the winter months. Baird’s Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Black-bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstone, one lone Sanderling and one Red Knot had made appearances in early August.

Early August images. Clockwise from top left: Marsh Wren; Zebra Mussels; Baird’s Sandpiper; Blue-green algae

On August 17th, thirty-six volunteers from the Riverton, Interlake and Winnipeg areas, came together to pull weeds at Sandy Bar. Riverton resident, Thor Johannson was instrumental in recruiting local volunteers and both the East Interlake Conservation District and Manitoba Sustainable Development were on board to pull weeds. After a brief introduction and coffee and donuts, volunteers headed out onto the sand bar to begin the weed pull. The day started with a pleasant 16 degrees but soon rose to 26. Despite the heat, volunteers sweated their way to filling sixty-six bags of weeds! Not too shabby! Along with the humans, there were three additional shorebird species using the sand bar as a stopover refueling station. Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper and the super long distance migrant American Golden Plover (can fly up to 20,000 miles per year, including a nonstop flight of over 3000 miles over the Atlantic Ocean) put in an appearance. An extra bonus was when Linda Curtis spotted and photographed two Trumpeter Swans just north of the Sandy Bar marsh area.

Late August provided sightings of five Buff-breasted Sandpipers and four Red Knots. Buff- breasted Sandpipers are sometimes seen during migration in plowed fields or the sod farms near Oak Hammock Marsh. Having them show up at IBA Riverton Sandy Bar was an extra special bonus. A week later, both species were seen by a group of nine individuals. For some, this was the first time seeing them in 2017 and for a few others, they were lifers (a birder’s term used when they see a species for the very first time).

September highlights, clockwise from top left: Sanderlings; Horned Lark; American Bittern; Lapland Longspur

Late summer also brought its regular waves of algae rolling onto shore. While it can look rather interesting, it’s probably not a good sign for Lake Winnipeg. Zebra mussels are now so common on the shoreline at Sandy Bar that one almost forgets to mention them.

On September 29th, another weed pull was carried out by volunteers. Thirty-five volunteers spent the morning pulling fifty bags of invasive sweet clover including a good number of people from the Riverton Friendship Centre. Riverton High School Science teacher Don Bodnarus brought his grade 9/10 class out to experience the event as part of their science and outdoor education program. And dare we use the word “snow” in the month of September, but one lone Snow Bunting was seen amongst the sixty-five Lapland Longspurs. A nice sighting of two more American Golden Plover and numerous Snow Geese also added to this successful event.

Final weed pull, clockwise from top left: Great-Horned Owl; American Golden Plover; Sept 29 weed pullers

Earlier in September, John Weier spotted a Peregrine Falcon flying past the tip of Sandy Bar and by mid-October, the northern shore of the IBA was occupied by hundreds of migrating Canada and Cackling Geese. Later that month, Common Redpolls were also added to the 2017 fall bird list at Sandy Bar. Another sign that fall had definitely arrived.

The lake levels were lower in 2017 than the previous 4 years since IBA Riverton Sandy Bar monitoring had begun. Despite this, one cannot help but think that it was the combined effort of many volunteers who cleared the area of weeds along with the lower lake levels that made Sandy Bar more appealing as a stopover for important migrating shorebirds such as the Buff- breasted Sandpiper and the endangered Red Knot.  With more weed pulling events and continued lower lake levels, maybe we’ll eventually see another pair of nationally Endangered Piping Plover stake out Riverton Sandy Bar as their place to successfully raise young.

Many thanks to all weed pullers, weed burners, bird monitors, Rona in Gimli for a donation of bags and gloves, those who made eBird entries and all who simply showed an interest in learning more about Important Bird And Biodiversity Area MB091 Riverton Sandy Bar.

May 2018 be as productive as 2017!

Top: Fishing Ice shacks Bottom: Sunrise taken morning of weed pull Sept 29

Footnote: 2017 has been a wonderful year in the life of Riverton Sandy Bar, no doubt almost 100% due to one person. Joanne has been a fabulous caretaker and a real asset to the program. Thanks Joanne!

Thank you to everyone who has counted birds, pulled weeds, led public bird walks, been an advocate for globally important habitats for biodiversity and the many other critical activities which make this program what it is. 2017 has been a fantastic year for the Manitoba IBA Program and we would be nothing without our brilliant volunteers.

A few notable highlights from 2017 included:

• counted some ridiculously good concentrations of birds;
• monitored bird populations in at least 19 IBAs in Manitoba;
• organised two weed pulls at Riverton Sandy Bar (see Riverton pull number 1 and Riverton pull number 2);
• organised a bioblitz at Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA with Nature Conservancy Canada
• set forth on 3 blitzes at Whitewater Lake (blitz 1, blitz 2 and blitz 3);
• searched for Red-headed Woodpeckers on the western side of Lake Manitoba;
• had a bird blitz at Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA;
• counted geese in Netley-Libau;
• provided outreach activities in Churchill;
• got overwhelmed by cranes;
• began some exciting outreach projects with Manitoba’s indigenous communities;
• continued to build on early successes working with our SARPAL partners in southwestern Manitoba and;
• much, much more!

Have a wonderful holiday season and see you in 2018!

Geese are some of the most recognisable and numerous birds found in IBAs across Canada. Perusing the on the IBA Canada website, you will notice that geese are significant trigger species for a number of Manitoba’s IBAs – I make it 12, so around one third. It is likely that the Canada Goose makes an appearance in every one of Manitoba’s IBAs each year, with the possible exception of one or two of the rockiest and more remote islands on Lake Winnipeg.

Given all of the above, one may come to the conclusion that counting geese is not important. In fact, we could argue that there is little purpose to giving geese any attention. BUT these large concentrations of geese are among the highest concentrations in North America. Geese are also likely to be a good indicator of some wider environmental issues (pollution, wetland loss, habitat changes and overexploitation for example – ok little chance on the last one right now). Collecting accurate information on goose concentrations in our IBAs not only contributes to our long-term understanding of their populations but also helps us to identify issues within individual IBAs.

It is with this in mind that 6 people gathered at 4 different points around the Netley-Libau Marsh IBA in October to count the geese as they left their roost in the morning. The Netley-Libau Marsh was historically considered to be one of the most important resting areas for migratory geese, primarily Canada and Snow, in the central flyway. In recent years attention has shifted understandably to the showstopper scenes at Oak Hammock Marsh and it appeared to be a good time to see what was happening at Netley-Libau.

This was very much a trial – but we hope to expand this principal to other IBAs in future years. The objective was simple: to test the methodology at Netley-Libau and identify ways to improve the approach for future years. These experiences will hopefully be transferred to counting other sites in 2018.

Netley-Libau Marsh is the largest inland coastal marsh in North America. The flow of the Red River through the centre and into Lake Winnipeg effectively splits the marsh into two distinct areas: Netley Marsh and; Libau Marsh.

Such a large area is hard to cover with few people – we had three groups on the Netley side and one on the Libau side.

A glorious morning with calm bright conditions made it perfect for waterfowl counting. Eric Smith and Louise Buelow-Smith counted the geese as they headed northwest over Chalet Beach. They counted 1,100 Canada Geese in total.

A beautiful sunrise over Netley Marsh. Copyright Tim Poole

A few miles south of Eric and Louise, Tim Poole stood at the end of Henry Road. This area had the largest counts of the morning with Snow Geese, Cackling Geese and Canada Geese present. This is one of the few spots with good views of the water. However, views were  impeded by trees and bushes. Total counts included 1,115 Snow Geese, 289 Cackling Geese, 2758 Canada Geese and 1,565 Ring-billed Gulls.

A third group, Pat and Dave Wally took up a location south of the marsh and west of the Red River. They saw fewer birds leaving from here, perhaps as they were further from grain fields. This was a good future lesson: position your volunteers in areas between the marsh and good feeding. They did however see 1,240 Canada Geese, 540 leaving the marsh and a further 700 in fields as they left the area. This is interesting as it suggests that a combination of standing observation followed by checking a few blind spots afterwards might be important.

Due to a lack of volunteers, we were unable to check the Libau side as thoroughly as we would like. We did however have high hopes that there might be good numbers of geese. The actual marsh here is more functional than the Netley side, and Christian Artuso had counted 1,975 Canada and 4,128 Snow Goose on the northeastern corner the previous weekend. Surely it would turn up something good! John Hays turned up full of hope and was left standing almost alone – only 26 Canada Geese flew over for company – bizarre! Still, there were several hundred Canada Geese by Patricia Beach later in the morning. What would have caused such a large fall from Sunday to Thursday? Maybe a change in the wind direction? Maybe a shift in foraging area from east to west? Maybe the geese migrated? Whatever it was, it goes to demonstrate how dynamic migration can be.

Before moving on, another lesson learned was that it probably doesn’t pay to be too close to the action as birds leave a marsh. A panoramic view across grain fields on the west side of the IBA will probably in all likelihood provide a wider field of vision than a closeup but restricted view. The grid system of roads in this area might lend itself to positioning a counter at every second mile road giving a very large view across the area. Here is a possible ideal scenario monitoring map for future years. Preferably with 2 volunteers at each point – a caller and a counter – but if necessary with a single monitor.

Louise had found out that the Red River Basin Commission were going to lead boat trips to Netley-Libau Marsh, an area which has become degraded over decades. Louise, Eric, Pat, Dave and Tim attended following the goose count. The event was led by Dr Gord Goldsborough, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Manitoba, Dr Richard Grosshans from the International Institute of Sustainable Development,  and Steve Strang, Manitoba Director for the Red River Basin Commission. This was a fascinating opportunity to see the state of the marsh and hear firsthand from about the various influences which have led to the current state of the marsh.

From the boats – a flotilla of local boat owners had been hired for to take us out – our first point of call was the Netley cut. This is a small cut which was created in the 1920’s to allow access from the river to Big Netley Lake. Unfortunately a narrow cut has grown to become a very wide opening effectively flooding the marsh at this point with river water. A cursory glance (past the pelicans and gulls on the sandbar) demonstrated the issues succinctly: a lack of emergent vegetation (e.g. cattails, phragmites, bulrushes and sedges) and some very choppy water.

A view of the Netley Cut. Note how open it is, Copyright Tim Poole

Continuing north we learned that the issues affecting the marsh were complicated: Lake Winnipeg Regulation creating elevated water levels and preventing drawdown; the cut; nutrient load; weather and climate impacts and; isotonic rebound (glacial melt in the north is causing the lake to ’tilt’ towards the south). These issues add up to a marsh which is deteriorating and at risk of losing the functionality which makes marshes so important for communities and wildlife. Wetlands after all provide us with a high number of ecosystem services. Loss of these functions in an already struggling watershed will impact on everyone and everything in the area. For example, consider the issues with phosphorous loading in Lake Winnipeg. Functioning wetlands act like kidneys, absorbing these excess nutrients before they reach Lake Winnipeg.  Netley-Libau should be part of the solution to the many issues in this area – but only if it the marsh regenerates.

It was pretty cold out on the boat! Copyright Tim Poole

We finally ended up at the north end of the marsh near where the river opens into Lake Winnipeg. We were told about the historic use of dredging to keep the channels open for boats (there are 3 channels entering Lake Winnipeg). Dredging is controversial when used in some locations, and it is certainly not our intention here to get into a debate about the good, the bad and the ugly of this management. However, we are also facing a critical situation in this watershed. Silt is building up in the channels, some natural but much due to human-induced erosion.

The plan here is dredge, remove the silt from the channels and try to create artificial reefs in the marsh on which emergent vegetation can begin to grow. If this could be made to work then the marsh might begin to regenerate in places. It certainly would not deal with all the issues at Netley-Libau but it might begin to mitigate for some of the impacts. This idea is certainly creative and worth exploring – something needs to happen in this marsh before it is too late. So best of luck to everyone involved!

For more information on this please take a look at the Red River Basin Commission website.

Finally, the following is the Red River Basin Commission conclusions from the day:

• The Netley-Libau Marsh is in danger: vegetation is being lost and the riverbanks are being eroded: the marsh is disappearing
• The wetlands act as the kidneys of the lake: they have the capacity to absorb nutrients and harmful toxins in water before it enters Lake Winnipeg, hence reducing the toxic algae blooms
• Wetlands are also capable of sequestering carbon and providing important habitat for wildlife and fish
• Since dredging ending in 1999,the bottle-neck caused by siltation at the mouth of the Red River has been consistently contributing to flooding of the marsh
• The time to act is NOW!