The Manitoba IBA Program is delighted that Red River Co-op will be supporting a new initiative to get more people to submit birding records to the program and using our data portal, eBird. Each month from spring to fall, we will set a monthly prize draw for a $50 Co-op gas card. Each month will have a different theme. The rules are simple for anyone wishing to enter:

1. Each eBird checklist submitted to the program will be eligible as long as:
   1. It is within the boundary of any of Manitoba’s 36 IBAs (for a list of all our Manitoba IBAs, you can simply look at our updated map, clicking here) and;
   2. The checklist is submitted using the IBA Canada Protocol, or if the monitoring is for shorebirds, the International Shorebird Survey (90% should be the former). Here is more information on using the IBA Canada Protocol.
2. Email the program at iba@naturemanitoba.ca, so we can set up a link to your eBird account. You will need to share your eBird profile name so we can set up a direct link with our account.
3. Once complete, share your checklist with our account, username being ManitobaIBA (one word).
4. Each single eligible checklist will be submitted to the contest via a randomised draw (we will use an Excel spreadsheet randomiser to make it fair). The winner will be contacted and then announced early the following month.
5. Anyone is eligible to enter, except members of the staff from the Manitoba IBA Program.

If you are not an eBird user, do not despair. We have developed a new tool to upload your information to eBird. There is now an online form on our website to match the IBA reporting cards which we have produced, or are producing for each IBA. These will also be included in the contest, with one entry for every day that a bird submission is made via this form. You can see the form, and how easy it is to use at this link.

The first contest will be for March. As this is a shortened month, both for birding in IBAs, and with the long winter, we have made it simple.

For any bird observation submitted during the month of March from any IBA, you will be eligible for the contest.

Happy Birding!

Bird Studies Canada, Nature Manitoba and Nature Saskatchewan are delighted to announce a new Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures IBA contains significant breeding populations of two globally threatened bird species, a host of other priority birds, and impressive biodiversity.  “Bird Studies Canada is thrilled to designate this new site and to support the essential role that Community Pastures play in keeping birds and biodiversity on the landscape,” said Andrew Couturier, Senior Director, Landscape Science and Conservation with Bird Studies Canada.

Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures (read full profile here)

The Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures IBA is located near Spy Hill in Saskatchewan, and Birtle and St Lazare in Manitoba. This is the first Manitoba IBA to  cross the provincial boundary into Saskatchewan, although the Saskatchewan River Delta and Cumberland Marshes IBAs are part of a huge adjoining wetland complex between Cumberland House and The Pas. The Spy Hill-Ellice Community Pasture nestles between the Assiniboine and Qu-Appelle River Valleys, with the Ellice-Archie Community Pasture bordered by the Assiniboine River on the east, and a smaller river valley to the west.

The Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures take you back to a time long gone. A time when an ocean of grass would spread over the prairies. The experience of wildness begins in the base of the Assiniboine and Qu’Appelle River Valleys. The tall riparian woodlands provide a home for a chorus of migrating and breeding songbirds during May and June.  Climbing the valley sides, the riparian forest phases into an intermediate oak-aspen scrub. Both Eastern and Spotted Towhees breed here – and probably the occasional hybrid can be seen as well. It is only once you climb through the scrub zone that you reach the climax, a sea of grass on the plateau at the top of the valleys.

The Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures are shaped by history. That history is shaped by the combination of nature and people. The grassland ecosystem would once have been conserved by natural processes, including climate, wildfire and grazing by large herbivores, notably Plains Bison. Some of this area was broken prior to the 1930’s. The dirty thirties define this area in modern history. The Community Pastures were established in the 1930’s as PFRA sites (Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration), following years of drought. Drought caused widespread crop failure on lands poorly suited for cultivation, and this led to alternative land-uses being sought. Grass species, notably native species, are drought tolerant and provide land cover which reduces erosion, leading to the establishment of these pastures across Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Interest in the Community Pastures peaked in the past few years following the federal governments decision to divest the management of Community Pastures to provincial control. In Manitoba, this led to the establishment of the Association of Manitoba Community Pastures (AMCP). The grasslands of the Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill-Ellice Community Pastures are primarily native mixed-grass prairie, with some smaller patches of tame non-native grass species.

The two pastures are managed by professional Pasture Managers employed by AMCP. AMCP is a non-profit organization governed by a Board of Directors composed of pasture patrons.  Overall it manages 20 community pastures across Manitoba, and is a significant contributor to the conservation of grassland Species At Risk in Manitoba.

The Province of Manitoba awarded AMCP the 2017 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Award for Water and Natural Areas Stewardship.   The Award recognizes AMCP’s range management practices, the numerous environmental benefits of the community pasture program, as well as support for Manitoba’s cattle industry and rural communities.  The specific management activities that support healthy grasslands undertaken by dedicated staff include:

• Maintenance of large, intact areas;
• Moderate/sustainable stocking rates;
• Managed grazing rotations adjusted annually;
• Work done by horseback to protect the lands; and
• Range health assessments and long-term land management planning.

Significant Birds and Biodiversity

AMCP is supported by the Range Implementation and Management Group (RIMG). RIMG is comprised of government agencies (Manitoba Agriculture and Manitoba Sustainable Development), a crown corporation (Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation) and non-government organisations (Nature Conservancy of Canada and Bird Studies Canada).

Members of the RIMG are involved in monitoring the wider environment around these Community Pastures. It was during these monitoring sessions that it became apparent that Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill-Ellice were special. Dr. Christian Artuso of Bird Studies Canada carried out point counts in 2017, finding 151 species of birds, including 15 Species At Risk. Of those Species of Risk, some were migrants (Canada Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Rusty Blackbird, Harris Sparrow), some were woodland, scrub and riparian breeding species (Bank Swallow, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Whip-Poor-Will), and some were grassland birds.

According to various reports, grassland birds are one of the most under threat groups of birds in North America (see State of Canada’s Birds, 2012 for example). Significant populations of two globally vulnerable species of bird breed in these pastures. Sprague’s Pipit numbers are truly impressive. 146 calling males were counted in 2017 across a sample portion of both community pastures.

The highest total count of another globally threatened grassland bird, the Chestnut-collared Longspur, was 230 individuals in June 2015. Both these totals qualify as globally significant under Birdlife International’s criteria for IBA designation. At the Ellice-Archie Community Pasture, a total of 1.1 Sprague’s Pipit per point count and 1.4 Chestnut-collared Longspur per point count is the highest recorded densities of these species in Manitoba.

Another threatened grassland bird, Baird’s Sparrow (provincially Endangered, nationally Special Concern) is also present in high concentrations. 12 calling males were recorded here in 2017. There are also good numbers of Grasshopper Sparrow, plus this is one of the best places in Manitoba to see the stunning Mountain Bluebird.

These grassland birds are under severe pressure. They breed in large, uninterrupted areas of grassland. If the grassland is fragmented (i.e., split up into small portions by roads, fences, infrastructure, scrub, or cropland), then the ability of that grassland to support large concentrations of grassland birds becomes compromised. Fragmenting these habitats may also increase levels of predation, and parasitism by cowbirds. Therefore conserving these large areas of grassland are critical to the survival of these species in Manitoba.

It is not just a place which is special for birds. A report from Manitoba Sustainable Development found at least ten provincially rare or uncommon plants within the IBA in 2002, including Indian Rice Grass and Waxleaf Beardtongue. Of most interest was the presence of the Roundleaf Monkey-Flower, a nationally rare species found in springs and seepy slopes.

Conservation

Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures sits at a crossroads. There are numerous, dire threats facing these critical grassland complexes, including the following:

• There are few areas of expansive grassland remaining in Manitoba. Tallgrass Prairie, found in remnant patches in southeastern Manitoba near Tolstoi, became one of two endangered ecosystems listed in the Manitoba Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act in 2015. The conservation status of mixed-grass prairie in Manitoba fares little better. Therefore, the future for these birds and their associated habitats is dependent on conserving this expanse of community pasture, the animals that graze it, and the people that steward the land.
• The proposed Birtle Transmission Line may be routed through the centre of the Spy Hill-Ellice Community Pasture in Saskatchewan (see Nature Manitoba’s objection here). Fragmentation, effectively slicing the grassland in half, is a large factor in the decline of many species, leading to predation, parasitism and an effective loss of habitat.
• Mineral extraction, notably for potash is a potential future threat. A potash mine is already located on the boundary of the IBA within the province of Saskatchewan.
  

  The north end of the new IBA. Note the potash mine circled in red

• It is not just potash. The subsurface of the IBA is within the Bakken Oil Fields. Subsurface rights are key, and currently 50% are in the hands of the Crown. The  subsurface holdings are like a checkerboard, and therefore, even if the Crown retains the subsurface rights, there is huge potential for oil extraction over the remainder of the IBA. The demand for extraction activities makes it very difficult to guarantee the extent and quality of the mixed-grass prairie expanses on these pastures.

• The cumulative impacts of the above industrialisation will likely lead to large-scale losses of habitat, an increase in predation, and parasitism from generalist species such as the Brown-headed Cowbird. However, we need to consider another factor which has been touched upon, but not recognised above. What about the pasture itself, the Pasture Manager, the grazing animals, and the impact that changes to the wider area would have?
• Climate Change will have an impact on all ecosystems. We need robust grassland ecosystems. In fact, grasslands provide us with huge benefits, for example intact soils sequester, or store carbon.

Opportunities

We mentioned earlier that these are actively managed pastures, but we have not expanded on what this means for the Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill Community Pastures IBA. We have previously espoused the benefit of active grazing management on the conservation of grassland birds. We work on projects with a wide variety of partners, including the Manitoba Beef Producers, Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation, West Souris River Conservation District, and Turtle Mountain Conservation District. These projects are aimed squarely at retaining a working landscape, with working people, and grazing animals. Grassland birds need grass. They do not breed in fields of soy beans, or corn, or wheat or potatoes. They need the complex structural mosaic that diverse grass species can offer. They also need the complex structure provided by grazing animals. In our modern world, this means cows. Grassland birds in the native prairies therefore need a thriving beef industry to retain and conserve these special habitats.

A number of organisations, including Manitoba Sustainable Development, Manitoba Agriculture, Nature Conservancy Canada, Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation and Bird Studies Canada, are coming together to work with AMCP to find ways to protect this special place. An amendment under the Crown Lands Act was made recently to enable the designation of community pastures as protected areas. The next steps of course will be to bring this to fruition, but this is a postive development which will protect the land, while retaining the grazing interest.

The AMCP and Pasture Managers are the critical component to Species At Risk management at the Ellice-Archie and Spy Hill-Ellice Community Pastures IBA. The grazing animals and the systems they use to sensitively manage this land, has created something special. We have a place in Manitoba where a sea of grass provides habitat for hundreds of threatened breeding birds, in densities found nowhere else in our province. Surely for this reason alone, this is a place not only worth being called an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area, but also a place worth protecting for generations to come.

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If you are interested in visiting this IBA, first understand it is a working landscape. You will need permission from the pasture manager ahead of time, and he will obviously not wish to have lots of people calling. If there is interest, instead, first email the Manitoba IBA Program at iba@naturemanitoba.ca, and we will look into if and how that interest can be met. PR41 from St Lazare to McAuley and further south to Kirkella on the TransCanada does cross the middle of Ellice-Archie, so if you are in the area, this is a great way of seeing the IBA without leaving the road.

Manitoba IBA Program were delighted that Bird Studies Canada (BSC) asked our Coordinator, Tim Poole to write a piece for their latest enews. The piece is about work funded by the Baillie Fund on the west side of Lake Manitoba.

Thank you to the Baillie Fund for its support in 2018, and to all the people that contribute to the fund through the Birdathon.

You can read the blog at https://www.birdscanada.org/news/baillie-fund-helps-recruit-local-champions-for-birds

The year is almost ended, there is little time remaining, and everyone is doing their year in review. Here are some of the highlights from our year at Manitoba IBA:

A New Workparty

We tried something new, and decided to start picking up garbage, mainly discarded angling material from St Ambroise Beach. We collected quite the pile.

Back to the bar

We managed two more weed pulls at Sandy Bar in 2018. The first, in August attracted quite the crowd.

The second pull had a smaller crowd, the wind and cold were horrific, but then again, who cares when you can see Red Knots on the tip!

IBA Blitzes

We had a fair few blitz events this year. A visit to Kinosota-Leifur scored over 50 Red-headed Woodpecker (it was World Cup final day after all), visits to North, West and East Shoal Lakes turned out some great numbers of Western Grebes and other waterbirds (spring blitz report here), a trip to Delta Marsh provided a really high species count, Oak Hammock gave us some lovely views of shorebirds on the front pond, and Oak Lake and Plum Lakes provided good counts of Franklin’s Gull, and grassland birds.

We also had a few great volunteer trip reports. Glennis provided one on a trip to Oak Lake, with Tundra Swans being very prominent. A few days earlier, Katharine did likewise in the same IBA. Photos can also tell a story, and Garry, John and John had quite the find at Delta Marsh in the fall. Not reported previously, but we also know of a Bonaparte Gull trigger in the same IBA in October. Top stuff!

Grassland Birds

We continue to work on grassland bird conservation. This year saw even more landowner surveys delivered in the southwest corner. We plan to publish a report in the New Year, summarising the monitoring results, but in the meantime, Lynnea gave a nice overview of her time out in the prairies. We also delivered a workshop in an indigenous community in this area of the prairies, and three workshops in local schools in Reston, Oak Lake and Pierson.

It’s not grim ‘oop north

As part of our northern outreach, Bonnie Chartier returned to Churchill and had some great success taking local members of the community to see some of the special birds of her home area. She was also, thanks to the generosity of Churchill Wild, able to spend a day at the Seal River IBA. Churchill Wild have been extremely generous in fact to the program in the past two years, and we would like to extend our thanks to Mike, Jeanne and the rest of their team for all their help.

Our Coordinator, Tim Poole also got to spend a night on an island on the Nelson River with members of Fox Lake Cree Nation.

Sandy Bay Marshes IBA

We did get out for a cold Grebe Watch in May. We have also given a couple of school IBA workshops in the area.

Shorebirds

It’s been quite the year, with pilot routes of ISS route being delivered at Whitewater and Oak Lake. There are multiple reports on our website, but take a look here for a sample.

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There will be many things missed, but all in all, it has been another exceptionally busy year for the program. Thank you to every volunteer and partner who has helped make 2018 a success, and we look forward to working with you in our special IBAs in 2019!

We were interested to hear the recent updates from the IUCN Red List and Birdlife International. Two of Manitoba’s most well-known species have been listed as Near Threatened. Under IUCN criteria, Near Threatened is the equivalent of Special Concern in Canada. This means that the declines in populations and range are significant, but not considered so significant that they warrant full endangered status.

The first of these species was no surprise, given the Eastern Whip-poor-will is a species which has been listed as Threatened under the Species At Risk Act in Canada for a few years. As an aerial insectivore, it is perhaps no surprise that it’s status has followed that of numerous other birds of this group. Loss of habitat is also thought to be a major contributory factor.

The second species to be listed was, quite frankly jaw-dropping, and extremely concerning. Common Grackles, birds considered by some, but not all, to be agricultural pests, and therefore a species which has been persecuted, have declined enough to be considered as globally Near Threatened. Just think about it – Common Grackles, of all species now require a global listing. That’s incredible! The figures used to come to this conclusion suggest a 50% decline between 1970 and 2014.

In better news, one of our favourite IBA birds, the Red-headed Woodpecker has lost its global Near Threatened status, and is now merely Least Concern. This is tremendous news, but we have a caveat. In April 2018, COSEWIC, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, voted to upgrade the species to Endangered in Canada. The mismatch seems odd, but presumably the species is doing much better in USA than Canada.

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In other news, the IBA Canada website has just updated the Manitoba IBA profiles. This includes up-to-date information on the bird populations, some updates to the conservation status, and description of the area.

Of particular note are the following:

• We have changed the name of MB033 from Langruth-RM of Lakeview to Big Grass Marsh and Langruth IBA. This reflects the changing municipal status of the area, but now includes the marsh name. 
• The boundary of MB011, Oak Lake and Plum Lakes IBA has been changed. By doing this, we removed some areas from north of the Assiniboine River, replacing them with the excellent Pipestone grasslands (Sprague’s Pipit, Loggerhead Shrike and Chestnut-collared Longspur abound in this area), and the large Franklin Gull colony in the Maple Lakes.
• MB100, Kinosota-Leifur has also had its boundary updated, to take in the best places for Red-headed Woodpecker in this area. 
• Due to a geographic anomaly, we amalgamated four previous IBAs: MB66 North Channel Island IBA; MB67, Dory’s Reef IBA; MB70, South Long Island IBA and; MB98 Spruce Island Reef IBA. This is now known as the North Lake Winnipegosis Reefs IBA.

You can find Manitoba’s IBAs and read more about them by clicking on this link. If you find any mistakes in the accounts, please let us know, and we will ask our partners at BSC to edit them.

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For those in a birdy nerdy mood, the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas, an absolutely stunning success, has now published the full accounts of every species on its website, in English and French. Take a look at the American White Pelican account for some very updated information about the total pelicans counted by Environment and Climate Change Canada at the North, West and East Shoal Lake IBA and the Dog Lake IBA in 2017 (click here).

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Finally, we were saddened to hear a few months ago of the passing of Manitoba IBA volunteer, Dave Mayor. Dave, with his wife Pat, were regular attendees at many of our events, and he will be sorely missed. You can read more about Dave’s life here.

Lynnea Parker has been working with the program since January, assisting on a number of projects as our Avian Stewardship Assistant. Recently, she took a well earned vacation in Cuba – and we thought it would be fun for Lynnea to write a short blog on her trip. Here it is in her own words!

I went on a family vacation to Cuba in mid November. While everyone was frying on a beach near Varadero (turning various shades of red to purple) I was often found scampering around the resort looking for birds in the dense vegetation which bordered the property. On the occasion I braved the 30+ degrees Celsius to frolic in the ocean, I was keen to spot potential seabirds. My constant desire to bird watch no doubt annoyed my family to some extent! They didn’t understand why I couldn’t just “relax” 🙂

To prepare for my trip I purchased the Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba by Arturo Kirkconnell and Orlando H Garrido published in 2000. Studying it on the airplane, I identified which species could be found in the Matanzas – Varadero area (located on the north eastern side of Cuba, east of Havana). While I wasn’t going to the “hotspot” of Cuba, which could arguably be Playa Largo near Cuba’s largest National Park, I was still able to put together a list of roughly 100 potential species. The species diversity in Cuba is limited, despite being situated nicely between mainland Florida and Mexico. One reason for islands having reduced biodiversity relates to Island Biogeography Theory, in which limited resources and greatly reduced immigration from other islands, or indeed the mainland, leads to less diversity, but greater appearance of endemics (species which are found nowhere else on Earth). The Galapagos are the most famous example of this phenomena, although being a larger island, Cuba has a greater diversity of species and habitats. The list of potential species included the Cuban Trogon, Cuban Tody, Great Lizard Cuckoo, Key West Quail Dove, Smooth-billed Ani, Antillean Palm-Swift to name a few. 

During my seven day trip I was able to find 50 species. Unfortunately, the Cuban Trogon and Cuban Tody were not among them. The two best places I visited for birds was Rancho Gaviota west of Matanzas (a huge rural farm set in a nature landscape) and the Varahicacos Ecological Reserve on the eastern end of the Varadero peninsula.

Below is a selection of photos to highlight some aspects of my trip, with a species list at the end of this blog post. My full album of photos can be seen here: Birds of Cuba Album

Rancho Gaviota, Matanzas Cuba

On this particular day my family and I drove to Rancho Gaviota in caravan of Jeeps. The excursion was to visit the rural ranch and have a traditional Cuban lunch which consisted of foods originating from the farm. I think everyone agreed it was fantastic. After lunch we had an hour or so to explore the farm, of which my mom decided to cave in and help me bird. I had been recounting earlier in the day how difficult a time I was having finding new species. While, my mom made the difference and found me some of the best species of the whole trip! Who knew! She remarked that I was trying too hard to find the birds, and therefore missing them all.

 

Varahicacos Ecological Reserve

On this day I went off with a companion to check out the ecological reserve close to the resort I was staying at. It was a fantastic experience walking through the reserve. As we walked down the forest path, geckos and lizards would scurry away to the nearest tree. At one point we heard a loud buzzing and found a massive bee’s nest formed in the cracks of a rock fissure (quickly departing after the discovery). While there were few birds to be seen, numerous species could be heard… or was there? I quickly grew tired of the Grey Catbirds and Northern Mockingbirds fooling me at every turn. Despite their trickery, there were a few nice finds.

 

Other interesting sightings from my trip:

Left column, top to bottom: Cape May Warbler, Royal Tern, Eurasian-collared Dove, Greater Antillean Grackle

Right Column, top to bottom: Black-throated Blue Warbler, Northern Mockingbird, Sanderling

–>Odd incident, I had a female Cape May Warbler land on my table and eat rice right from my plate while I was still sitting there…. not the kind of species you would expect to come begging for scraps! 

Species Seen in Matanzas and Varadero, Cuba (November 8th to 14th) Lifers indicated in Bold

Helmeted Guineafowl – Numida meleagris

Rock Pigeon – Columba livia

Scaly-naped Pigeon – Patagioenas squamosa

Eurasian Collared-Dove – Streptopelia decaocto

Common Ground-Dove – Columbina passerina

Key West Quail-Dove – Geotrygon chrysia

White-winged Dove – Zenaida asiatica

Smooth-billed Ani – Crotophaga ani

Great Lizard-Cuckoo – Coccyzus merlini

Antillean Palm-Swift – Tachornis phoenicobia

Cuban Emerald – Chlorostilbon ricordii

Black-necked Stilt – Himantopus mexicanus

Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus

Ruddy Turnstone – Arenaria interpres

Sanderling – Calidris alba

Laughing Gull – Leucophaeus atricilla

Royal Tern – Thalasseus maximus

Magnificent Frigatebird – Fregata magnificens

Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus

Brown Pelican – Pelecanus occidentalis

Great Egret – Ardea alba

Snowy Egret – Egretta thula

Cattle Egret – Bubulcus ibis

Green Heron – Butorides virescens

Roseate Spoonbill – Platalea ajaja

Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura

Osprey – Pandion haliaetus

Cuban Black Hawk – Buteogallus gundlachii

Broad-winged Hawk – Buteo platypterus

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker – Sphyrapicus varius

West Indian Woodpecker – Melanerpes superciliaris

American Kestrel – Falco sparverius

Merlin – Falco columbarius

Cuban Pewee – Contopus caribaeus

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – Polioptila caerulea

Gray Catbird – Dumetella carolinensis

Northern Mockingbird – Mimus polyglottos

Cuban Blackbird – Ptiloxena atroviolacea

Greater Antillean Grackle – Quiscalus niger

Ovenbird – Seiurus aurocapilla

Black-and-white Warbler – Mniotilta varia

American Redstart – Setophaga ruticilla

Cape May Warbler – Setophaga tigrina

Northern Parula – Setophaga americana

Blackburnian Warbler – Setophaga fusca

Black-throated Blue Warbler – Setophaga caerulescens

Palm Warbler – Setophaga palmarum

Yellow-throated Warbler – Setophaga dominica

Prairie Warbler – Setophaga discolor

House Sparrow – Passer domesticus

 

Winnipeg will be hosting the 12th Prairie Conservation and Endangered Species Conference on February 19-21, 2019. This is a great opportunity to hear about the diverse conservation initiatives ongoing in the three prairie provinces, meet fellow enthusiasts, and be challenged about the future of the prairies. The theme of ‘Working Landscapes’ is timely, and very much complements the SARPAL projects, of which we are partners.

See http://www.pcesc.ca/ for more info.

Monica, part of Manomet’s shorebird program team, has published a blog from our workshop in May. Enjoy!

http://shorebirdscience.org/information-exchange-and-monitoring-in-manitoba/