Charlie McPherson, IBA Caretaker for Netley-Libau Marsh shares this mornings tales of migrating birds… 

As I left for Warner Rd. (two miles from my house in Whytewold)  this morning a flock of some 30 crying gulls were flying over.  And when I got to Warner Rd., “Oh my! I guestimate 1000 scattered about on the ice as far as the binocs could see with another several thousand winging their way north as singles and small flocks averaging 10 – 50 at a time from 6:30 am – 7:30 am – all coming out of the Netley-Libau Marsh (MB IBA009) to the beach ridge separating the marsh from the lake, all following the lake’s shoreline north, all crying, a small contingent of Franklin Gulls being a part of this gull migration.  T’was very worth hearing and seeing..

Another thing worth seeing and hearing was the Tree Swallows migrating as singles, doubles, groups of 3 or four, ten etc… Their twittering tips one off to their presence although they’re easily spotted overhead. And with, and before, and behind them, hundreds of grackle and blackbird migrating as singles, doubles, and groups of 10, 20, 50, 100 etc…

As per usual, the migration stalls within 2- 3 hours of first light.

Conditions were a complete overcast sky, slight breeze (NW) and slight drizzle to start, document page getting whimpy wet,  lake ice a blotchy mix of light grey and white to crystallized, waterlogged  dark grey, shore pond size not bad, fingers cold to freezing cold. For a moment, a one inch square of orange broke through the cloud cover on the eastern horizon hinting of a rising sun but only for a minute before being swallowed up  – a one  inch square on a 16″x32″ canvas were I to pull out my paints and paint it, cupped drake Pintail dropping in for a splash in the foreground of course.

Strikingly handsome Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers dropped in for a visit and worked the shoreline shallows just out front. Small flocks of Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and a first flock (for me this year) of equally strikingly handsome Canvasback dropped in as well, as did a flock of about 200 Mallards. These guys (the Mallards) were very wary doing their 3-4 passes, circling ever lower,  before committing to a touch down.  5 Wood Ducks (4 M, 1F) worked the shoreline off in the distance.

Today’s Tally:

Gulls: (aprox: 3000)
Franklin: 32

Can. Goose: 16
Pintail: 11
Mallard 217
Bufflehead: 24
Wood Duck: 6
Wigeon: 3
Green-winged Teal: 16
Shovelor: 1
Goldeneye: 7
Ring-necked Duck: 7
Canvasback: 16
Lesser Scaup: 2
Just Ducks: approx.: 100

Common Merg: 6
Red-br. Merg: 6
Hooded Merg: 2

Robin: 1
Grackle and Blackbirds: (aprox: 700)
Flicker: 1
Tree Swallow: 42
Dickie-birds: 7 (:

Killdeer: 1 (singing – if you can call it that.)

Greater Yellowlegs: 8
Wilson’s Snipe: 2

Great-blue Heron: 1

Magpie: 2
Crow: 14

Raven: 1

Blog by Tim Poole, Manitoba IBA Coordinator

May 9^th is International Migratory Bird Day, a day where we celebrate one of the most important annual events in the Americas (and wider afield). This is probably the most exciting time of year for any self-respecting birder with even seeing common species seeming like an event. The American Robin at the back of my house burst into song last week, I saw my first Common Loon of the year just last night, raptors are daily on the move along the Red River and Pembina River Valleys and the sight of Canada Geese is no longer an event in Winnipeg. The birds are on the move!

Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre will be celebrating International Migratory Bird Day with a series of events including bird banding and a warbler workshop by Paula Grieef, Resident Naturalist (see here for details on the workshop). Earlier in the morning, I will be doing a birding walk to collect data to be entered on eBird later in the day. I will aim to leave the main parking lot at 8am. Along with meetings with our Caretakers, the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator, Christian Artuso, will be giving a talk in the afternoon on IBA’s and eBird. This is a fantastic opportunity for people to discover more about the IBA Program and get an insight into using eBird. The plan is that Christian will be entering data collected that very morning within the IBA. We will also be around before and after the talk to discuss volunteer opportunities (or you might just wish to go birding). Cost for Christians talk will be included in standard admittance to the Interpretive Centre, although the Workshop will cost extra. For more information on the day at Oak Hammock see http://www.oakhammockmarsh.ca/events/international-migratory-bird-day/.

For more information on International Migratory Bird Day see http://www.migratorybirdday.org/.

by: Joanne Smith, Caretaker at Riverton Sandy Bar IBA. All photos copyright Joanne Smith with the exception of caretaker photo by Lynda Baker

Black-bellied Plover, Sanderling, Northern Leopard Frog and Nature Manitoba summer student Marshall Birch

It has been rather interesting to see how an IBA can change within a few short months.  In 2014, the Sandy Bar sand spit (east of Riverton on the west shore of Lake Winnipeg) went from being a snow covered area with six foot high drifts in May, to a beautiful beach area accessible by foot in June, to a flooded area only accessible by boat in July and finally back to a normal looking beach area by October.  The area was normal in that it was again accessible by foot and the land area was probably about the same however, the shape had completely changed.

Riverton Sandy Bar IBA

On May 9^th, there were still 4 ft snow drifts at the south western part of Sandy Bar but by May 16^th the shoreline was basically bare with some ice remaining on Lake Winnipeg.  By this date, the two target species for this IBA, Common Tern and Ring-billed Gull, had both arrived.

From left to right and top to bottom: Common Tern nest, Common Tern, Sweet White Clover erosion and Caspian Tern, Common Tern and Ring-billed Gulls

In June, ground nesting signs were placed in two areas on Sandy Bar as well as the official IBA sign to alert visitors to the importance of this area.  Funding for the nesting signs was provided by Manitoba Conservation.

For those who were in Manitoba during the July Canada Day weekend, you may remember the rain/wind storm that resulted in high lake levels. Many young birds were found washed ashore on a few of the southern beaches of Lake Winnipeg.  This storm made some huge changes to the appearance of Sandy Bar.  A large portion of the sand bar was under water and the storm had washed away one of the nesting signs which had been bolted onto a steel post.  It is believed that this storm likely destroyed nests at Sandy Bar as there were only one juvenile Common Tern and one juvenile Ring-billed Gull seen during the summer visits to the area.  However, one advantage of having much of the sand bar under water was that it deterred ATV access.

In August, an information box was erected on the Chamber of Commerce notice board with Manitoba IBA brochures that were available for anyone interested in learning about all of Manitoba’s 38 IBA’s.

From right to left and top to bottom: Juvenile Bald Eagle, approximately 1500 Frankin’s Gulls, the only Juvenile Common Tern seen in 2014 and Green-winged Teals in fall migration

Juvenile Bald Eagles from the nearby nest, juvenile Spotted Sandpiper and a Great Blue Heron were common sights at Sandy Bar during the summer months. Fall migration brought with it a few interesting birds such as one Red Knot of the endangered ‘rufa’ subspecies and a number of “Species at Risk” Rusty Blackbirds.  The regular fall visitors Ruddy Turnstone, Least Sandpiper, Sanderling, Dunlin, Green-winged Teal and Caspian Tern were also seen in late summer and early fall.

From top to bottom: Rusty Blackbird, Blue-green algae, Ruddy Turnstone and Least Sandpiper

In 2014 Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship designated Riverton Sandy Bar as a Special Conservation Area.  This means that all-terrain vehicles will now be banned from this area from April 1 to September 15.  It will also forbid human use of the area should a piping plover be reported.  This will also be of great benefit for other ground nesting birds such as the Common Tern.

Top to bottom: White Sweet Clover, Dunlin, ATV tracks and Ring-billed Gull

To help make IBA Riverton Sandy Bar appealing to Piping Plovers, it has been suggested that pulling the white sweet clover from the sand bar would be beneficial.  In a previous conservation plan, it was suggested that if project funding was limited, encroachment by woody vegetation should be considered the highest ranking threat to avian nesting habitat along the Sandy Bar.

For those who may be interested in helping to “Weed for a Day” at IBA Riverton Sandy Bar, there will be a morning set aside within the next few weeks where volunteers can meet to help pull some of the clover from the area.  No experience necessary!  All that is required is a pair of work gloves and a little ambition. Many hands make for light work…and hopefully for successful nesting birds!

Weeds to pull on Riverton Sandy Bar

For more information on the weed-pulling day, please contact:

Joanne Smith

Email: picsmith@live.ca

Click the link to see Joanne’s Riverton Sandy Bar Facebook page

The following is an article which appears in the latest MB Breeding Bird Atlas newsletter. In it, Tim Poole, the Manitoba IBA Program Coordinator, suggests how former atlassers can continue to gather important bird data while helping the IBA Program.

Manitoba’s Important Bird Area (IBA) program

What are IBA’s?

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are places with lots of birds. Simple. In fact the populations of birds within each IBA is, or has been, significant, either at a global, continental or national scale. IBAs are not just Canadian; there are 12,000 of them across the world, representing the largest global network of important sites for biodiversity. To achieve IBA status, each candidate site has been assessed against standard criteria from Birdlife International. For some sites in Manitoba this might mean that they provide habitat for significant but small populations of a globally threatened species like the Piping Plover or that they hold significant assemblages of migrating waterfowl or shorebirds. Take Douglas Marsh for example. There were estimated to be 500 pairs of Yellow Rail present in 1995, an impressive 11.6% of the total global population of this species. Therefore Douglas Marsh meets the criteria based on the population of a single species. At Whitewater Lake spring shorebird counts are as high as 23,068 birds and total waterfowl counts exceed 250,000 birds, making the site globally significant. These figures are impressive and yet worrying at the same time: How many Yellow Rails are currently breeding at Douglas Marsh? Are there still 250,000 waterfowl at Whitewater Lake? Do we know? What is the current state of the habitats? Has land-use changed since 1995? Whitewater Lake and Douglas Marsh have some formal protection but what about the 78% of IBAs with none? The Manitoba IBA Program seeks to provide answers to these questions by engaging volunteers. We need your help!

Many of Manitoba’s IBA’s were identified because of large congregations of shorebirds. Here at Whitewater Lake there are American Golden Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pectoral Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper. Copyright C. Artuso.

Many of Manitoba’s IBA’s were identified because of large congregations of shorebirds. Here at Whitewater Lake there are American Golden Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pectoral Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper. Photo by C. Artuso.

Caretakers

Across Canada there are a number of IBA Caretakers, including 3 in Manitoba. The role of a Caretaker is to monitor birds, assess habitats, document changes and 6 Other Citizen-Science Initiatives build community awareness around one particular site. A Caretaker could be an individual, a group of like-minded friends or a local bird watching club or community group. The minimum commitment is 15 hours per year to cover 3 visits (spring migration, summer breeding, fall migration), although caretakers may wish to go the extra mile. If you wish to become a caretaker but do not have the time or resource to cover the entire site, then why not become a caretaker for a smaller subsection? Sites without a current caretaker includes well known birding spots as Delta Marsh, Whitewater Lake, Oak Lake/Plum Lakes, Langruth and Churchill. Plenty of opportunities then!

North, West and East Shoal Lake Caretaker, Donna Martin discovered breeding Least Bittern in North Shoal Lake in 2014. See here for more details. Copyright Donna Martin

Roving Birders

If caretaking a particular IBA is not your style, you can still help in various ways. This year we are rolling out our roving recorder program. It is very simple. If you are planning a trip to an IBA, you are already halfway to becoming a Roving Recorder. By the end of May we will be adding maps to our website of many of the more accessible IBAs. Each map will contain a specific monitoring area making data recording simpler. We will make monitoring forms available. All you have to do is record all the birds you encounter in each subarea. All IBA data should be recorded on eBird which will upload automatically into the IBA system. If you do not wish to enter data on eBird we will even do it for you!

Groups of birders at Whitewater Lake. Photo by Bev Sawchuk.

What next?

By volunteering with the program, you are not only taking part in grassroots conservation but joining a network of people globally committed to conservation of our best sites. Our IBAs are amongst the best and most treasured birding spots in Manitoba and we can keep them that way.

We can send volunteer packages by mail or you can download them here:

IBA Monitor Welcome Package 2014

IBA Site Caretaker Welcome Package 2014

Using eBird for the Manitoba Important Bird Area program.

These provide information, a volunteer job description and even a brief introduction to using eBird for IBA. Contact Tim Poole at iba@naturemaniotba.ca or 204-943-9029.

by: Donna Martin, Caretaker at the North, West and East Shoal Lakes IBA

Least Bittern – copyright Donna Martin

I am the volunteer caretaker of North, West and East Shoal Lakes Important Bird Area, which is located within the southwestern part of Manitoba’s Interlake Region.  Identified as MB038, this IBA is approximately 15 km east of Lake Manitoba, in Manitoba, Canada.

The North, West and East Shoal Lake IBA is a landlocked drainage basin consisting of three large bodies of water. Land use surrounding this IBA is mainly grazing, with a small percentage used for forage crops. Open deciduous forests are found scattered around all three areas, mostly in early successional stages. In recent years, water levels have risen to an all-time high, which has affected land use surrounding all three lakes and has impacted the avian species that use this area for breeding and staging.  The marshes associated with these lakes are mostly cattail marshes, which is prime habitat for least bitterns and other waders, waterfowl and marsh birds.

North, West and East Shoal Lakes IBA

Between 1985 and 1996, 46 pairs of Piping Plovers (1.5% of the Great Plains population) were found nesting here (IBA Canada, http://bit.ly/1ugivvD). However, they have not been recorded here since the early 1990’s (IBA Canada, http://bit.ly/1ugivvD).  Historic records also identified large numbers of breeding American White Pelican, four species of grebe, Black-crowned Night Heron, and to a lesser extent, Common Tern, Double-crested Cormorant, Herring Gull and Ring-billed Gull (IBA Canada, http://bit.ly/1ugivvD).  At one point, fall staging records documented over 100,000 Canada Geese and approximately 200,000 snow geese using this area, along with large numbers of waterfowl species (IBA Canada, http://bit.ly/1ugivvD).  Also recorded were various species of shorebirds, using the area for staging during both the spring and fall (IBA Canada, http://bit.ly/1ugivvD).

A moderate shift in both the number and species using this area has been observed and hopefully with continued survey effort over the next few years, we will update and document the breeding bird data and staging usage for this IBA.

One of five juvenile Least Bitterns found in the North Shoal Lake area on Sept 15, 2014 – copyright Donna Martin

This year, we were excited to document two adult male Least Bitterns early in the breeding season. Observed by quite a few people, these two birds were identified in two different areas of the IBA. The first bird was found in the North Shoal Lake area and the second bird was spotted in the East Shoal Lake area.

Both adult birds were very skittish and although I saw both on most days I was out there, they would fly into the dense cattail reeds at the first sign of approach.

Adult male Least Bittern – copyright Christian Artuso

The Least Bittern is classified as a small heron of about 30 cm, just bigger than a robin. It breeds in marshes associated with emergent vegetation and needs some open, clean and clear water, as it hunts the marsh edges by sight. This bird is seldom seen but most often detected by call.

Listed by Manitoba’s Endangered Species and Ecosystem Act (ESEA) as an endangered species and considered nationally threatened by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), it was a great bird to find associated with this IBA.

According to the Species at Risk Public Registry, there are approximately 1500 pairs of Least Bitterns in Canada, with the majority of breeding populations found in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=51).

One of the five juvenile Least Bitterns found in the North Shoal Lake area – copyright Donna Martin

It was great to document the two adult Least Bitterns early in the season, but it was even more exciting to find 5 hatch year birds in early September.

Trips to the IBA revealed one Juvenile Least Bittern on September 6, 2014. Two juveniles were seen on September 10, 2014 and September 14 revealed three birds, all believed to be hatch year birds. On September 15, five juveniles were seen in the same area in North Shoal Lake.  The juveniles found this year appeared more tolerant than the adults found earlier in the season, which allowed for some great photographic opportunities and documentation.

This was the first juvenile Least Bittern found on September 6, 2014 – copyright Donna Martin

The Least Bittern is protected under the Federal Species at Risk Act (SARA), Migratory Birds Convention Act, and the Manitoba Endangered Species Act.

The main threats to this species are mostly anthropogenic, with loss from destruction of habitat, shoreline development, wetland drainage and invasive species. It has a low threshold and does not tolerate human disturbances well and will leave suitable habitat if human activities become too great. Climate change could also be a threat, as it can alter water levels, which can alter habitat.

Close up view of a Least Bittern seen at North Shoal Lake, September 15, 2014 – copyright Donna Martin

The Least Bittern was an exciting species to find this summer.  Efforts next year will include trying to document breeding evidence, behavior, density and numbers of young birds of this species.

– Donna Martin

Additional Least Bittern info and photos can be found on Christian Artuso’s Birds and Wildlife Blog at http://artusobirds.blogspot.ca/2014/09/least-bittern-shoal-lakes-iba.html

Hot off the press! To request your copy of the Manitoba Important Bird Areas bilingual brochure with a full colour map of the all the IBAs in the province inside, please contact iba@naturemanitoba.ca or by phone at 204-943-9029.

Thank you to David Hatch for this detailed account of the effects of flooding in the Oak Lake/Plum Lake IBA area.

July 8, 2014

Immediate impacts on local nesting birds of the massive flooding in the Oak Lake area of southwestern Manitoba

Over a four-day period between Thursday, June 26 and Sunday, June 29, the area received 200-215 mm of rain, coupled with winds in the 70 kilometre range on the final day. Prior to this deluge, the area was already saturated with far too much rain.

Oak Lake [the actual lake] and its massive network of wetlands, meadows, pastures croplands and aspen woods, plus the Oak Lake recreational area are located southwest of the town of the same name and are south of Hwy. #1 and north of Hwy. #2. The wetland complex is also primarily west of Road 140 W and east of Road 150 W.

The impact of this latest flooding is devastating to local farmers and extremely disheartening, so it is almost sacrilege for me, raised in the local area and still where my heart resides, to talk about the impacts on birds.

The colonies of Franklin’s Gulls, Black-crowned Night Herons and Eared Grebes are drowned out, becoming parts of broad expanses of open water. So also are two of the three Cattle Egret colonies. One small colony of 200-300 birds still remains and here is some good news. It is a site of frantic activity with many birds carrying stocks and leaves of aquatic vegetation to rebuild or raise their nests as the water continues to rise. In mid-June, this particular colony also had six or more Great Egrets and at least one Snowy Egret hanging around it and possible nesting. Both species are still present and they are also carrying nesting material.

The biggest surprise was that now Black -crowned Night Herons and as many as 17 White-faced Ibis have arrived in this maze of cattail beds and are carrying nesting material. Possibly, they are birds flooded out from other wetlands and, finding this colony still intact, have decided to try a new area. To reach this colony one has to know the terrain very well and trudge and wade for nearly two hours to get close enough to see with a telescope what is occurring. I remained still a long distance from these colonial nesters so as not to disturb them.

Although White-faced Ibis have been in the Oak Lake marshes in the nesting season during 2012 and 2013, I have not had any evidence that they were nesting, but from a distance it sure appeared that they were this week. This year was the first year that I have had any evidence that Cattle Egrets or any other egrets were nesting in the Oak Lake area, even though they arrive in the area in late August annually now and remain well into October. In the fall of 2012 and 2013, some of the roosts were attracting hundreds of birds with it possible to see a dozen flocks of 10-25 birds arrive before dusk to spend the night in the cattails.

I only spent July 2 and 3 in the Oak Lake area, but there was not a Franklin’s Gull around. Where could thousands of pairs go so quickly? Are they searching for a new possible colony site far from here or has their nesting season ended for 2014? Many local residents enjoy birds and have oriole feeders, which every summer are daily used by both Orchard Orioles and Baltimore Orioles. Every person with an oriole feeder told me they had not seen an oriole since the heavy rains and furious winds of June 29. One couple had been enjoying watching a Baltimore Oriole on its nest on a low branch of an American Elm only three meters from the oriole feeder, but the bird disappeared in the winds. Last year it had nested within a meter or two of the same location and given the family great pleasure. Where would all the orioles go so suddenly after the rainstorm? I did not record either species during this visit.

The number of pairs of Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup and Redheads observed was astonishing. Will these four species of late nesters still attempt to raise a brood? Nesting habitat is at a premium as many meadows and pasture fields have stretches of flood waters that extend for 2000-3000 acres across them. The marshes have become open water devoid of the emergent vegetation essential to anchor and protect floating nests.

Even Hwy #256, which connects Oak Lake Provincial Park, resort and golf course with the TransCanada Hwy has a third of a meter of water over the pavement, but is still open to traffic.

I spent much time off the west side of the lake utilizing Road 150 W, where it was passable and a few connecting roads. Despite the challenge, I recorded four singing Chestnut-collared Longspurs and 13 Sprague’s Pipits. Both species were doing a great deal of singing. With little patches of dry ground and the cool temperatures, hopefully there will be much re-nesting for these now-scarce, prairie residents.

Large numbers of three other grassland-nesting species, were also highly vocal and may also make another nesting attempt. They were Willet [heard in eight sited] and the much more common locally Upland Sandpiper and Marbled Godwit. Even if these species had young before the major four-day storm, it would have been difficult for their offspring to survive the overland flooding. All three species were making so much noise that it sounded like they had just returned from the south in spring and were staking out territories. Upland Sandpiper, which can have a prolonged nesting season, are often seen in the Oak Lake area with young as late as in the first week of August, but normally the Willets and Marbled Godwits are drifting south out of the Oak Lake area by then.

Finally, one last piece of really good news. Both pairs of Trumpeter Swans, which had broods on my mid-June visit, were located and still have their broods. They nested in quiet, isolated marshes, but now that everything is so flooded, they are so conspicuous from the air, that they look like white sailing ships on a lake.

Please respect private land and indeed all land and give these species a chance to salvage their nesting season. In my travels around the world, I have seen so many researchers and photographers in particular do much damage to breeding birds, that I am very guarded in ever reporting breeding bird activity, but felt the damage from this flooding and the stories associated with it should be passed along. The less disturbance nesting birds have by humans, the better it is for the birds.

Good birding,

David Hatch

by Marshall Birch, IBA Program Assistant

The North, West, and East Shoal Lakes area – not to be confused with the town of Shoal Lake in Western Manitoba, or the Shoal Lake in Western Ontario that Winnipeg receives its water supply from – is a vibrant and easily accessible Important Bird Area (IBA) located in the southern portion of the Interlake area, under an hour North-West of Winnipeg. We visited the area to meet with IBA Caretaker Donna Martin, deliver IBA signs for the site, and take a look around.

American White Pelican – Photo by Donna Martin.

The N,W and E Shoal Lakes were originally one lake. With the construction of the Wagon Creek drain in 1912, water levels fell four to five meters and separated the Lake into three distinct cells now known as the North, West, and East Shoal Lakes. All three lakes have shallow, marshy edges and provide excellent habitat for waterfowl, wading birds, and shorebirds alike, with American White Pelican, Cackling Goose, Snow Goose, and Piping Plover being the IBA trigger species for the area.

Kildeer – Photo by Donna Martin.

To access West Shoal Lake, we headed up Highway 6 and turned North onto PR 518 at the small town of Woodlands. The gravel road runs along the West side of West Shoal Lake, with the water coming right up to the roadside ditches. You could have a successful day of birdwatching just by driving slowly along and keeping your eyes peeled, though pulling over on this very low-traffic road to take a look is definitely worth your time. PR 518 / Ideal Road will take you all the way up to Highway 229, which runs along the North edge of North Shoal Lake. While there are a few turn-offs along the way to get in closer to the lakes in certain areas, including PR 415 which runs between the lakes, the conditions of these roads are likely to vary with weather conditions, and we found quite a few “road closed” signs. This, along with time constraints, kept us from visiting East Shoal Lake, though the West and North lakes provided us with a satisfyingly large selection of bird species.

Great Egret – Photo by Donna Martin.

American White Pelicans were definitely in abundance, whether soaring overhead in groups or resting on the lake. We were also able to spot a good number of Great Egrets as well. Other birds of special interest included a number of Great Blue Herons and Black-crowned Night-Herons, several Eared Grebes, many Killdeer on the road (one performing it’s “broken-wing act” rather exuberantly to distract us from its nest), a Double-Crested Cormorant, and one Least Bittern (at North Shoal Lake). Ina addition, we spotted Mallards, Blue-winged Teals, Canada Geese, Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks, American Coots, Lesser Scaups, Canvasbacks – along with numerous Franklin’s Gulls, Black Terns, Red-winged Blackbirds and Tree Swallows.

Yellow-headed Blackbird – Photo by Donna Martin.

The proximity to major centres, such as Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie, combined with the ease of access to viewing areas, make the Shoal Lakes IBA an ideal birding destination for those looking for a day trip out of the city. The diversity of birds visible from the roadside was impressive enough that any serious boating would be unnecessary for anyone but the more serious and experienced birders. Still, for those willing to go the extra mile, one could imagine a boat could allow opportunities for even more incredible birdwatching. The Shoal Lakes should definitely be a destination in mind for any Manitoban interested in birding.