Manitoba Birding News
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Larry de March from Winnipeg, Manitoba
E-Mail address: ldemarch@escape.ca
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  • SOUTHWEST MANITOBA
    - AUGUST 29 TO SEPTEMBER 1, 2000     - Wed, 6 Sep 2000

    Evan Thornton and I spent Monday, August 29 to Friday, September 1, 2000 birding the south-west corner of Manitoba. We stayed at the comfortable Adam Lake campground in Turtle Mountain Provincial Park and concentrated much of our birding effort on the Whitewater Lake area.

    The following is a brief report on our trip.

    WHITEWATER LAKE

    Whitewater Lake is a large, shallow body of water located in southwest Manitoba. The site's best birding location is an artificial impoundment (with a viewing mound and parking lot) on the lake's southeast side. The most recent edition of the Bird-finding Guide to Canada provides instructions for locating the impoundment when approaching the lake from Boissevain to the north and east. From Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, which is to the south of the lake, the impoundment can be reached by proceeding north on Highway 10 to the junction with Highway 3, west 11.3 kilometres on Highway 3, north 3.3 kilometres on Strathallan Road (A.K.A. 12N), west 1.6 kilometres to 123W and then north on 123W, past the Mennonite cemetery, 3 kilometres to the impoundment. This route is well-marked with "wildlife viewing area" road signs. Although there are other access points that can be found by driving the roads in the area, our experience was that the impoundment at the end of 123W was by far the best birding location.

    The lake itself held large numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds. There were approximately 1,500 shorebirds in total, with Semipalmated, Least, Baird's, Stilt, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs and dowitchers (the majority of which were Long-billed) predominating. Avocet, Willet, Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plover, Sanderling and Red-necked Phalarope were present in smaller numbers. On August 29 we saw 1 Hudsonian Godwit. On August 28 and 29 single Buff-breasted Sandpipers were on the mudflats within the impoundment. On September 1 a flock of 27 Buff-breasted Sandpiper, along with 2 American Golden Plover, was in the last cultivated field along 123W before the impoundment.

    A variety of herons and egrets were also present. On the morning of August 29 we arrived at the viewing mound at dawn and just at sunrise we counted a large number of Great Egret leaving the main impoundment and flying west. An initial flock of 19 birds was followed by a number of smaller groups for a conservative total of 36 Great Egret. Throughout our stay this species was always visible on the lake. We also saw 1 Cattle Egret (August 30 and 31 - associating with a herd of cows to the west of the final stretch of road to the viewing mound) and 4 White-faced Ibis (August 29). The area also had good numbers of American Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron and Great Blue Heron. 300-400 Sandhill Cranes feed in the nearby fields and White Pelicans were always in view.

    The large number of shorebirds and ducks attracted a variety of raptor species. Merlin, Peregrine, Northern Harrier and Bald Eagle were almost always present over the impoundment.

    WEST TO THE SASKATCHEWAN BORDER

    On August 30 we did a tour west to the Gainsborough dam, which is just inside the Saskatchewan border. Our plan was to check the riparian habitat along the Souris and Antler Rivers in the extreme southwest corner of Manitoba and the wetland habitat at the Gainsborough dam in Saskatchewan. At our first stop, along the Souris River north of the Coulter Municipal Park, we had 1 Eastern Screech Owl. Along the Souris River valley we also saw 2 Sharp-tailed Grouse, 7 Eastern Bluebird, 2 Loggerhead Shrike, 2 Orchard Oriole and, in the non-bird category, a number of Fox Squirrels. The Gainsborough dam held nothing more than the expected puddle ducks.

    On the return journey to Turtle Mountain we found a single Great Egret just inside the Manitoba border and a mixed passerine flock in the "stone church" area along the North Dakota border. Included in that flock were 17 Western Kingbird, 10 Eastern Kingbird, 1 Loggerhead Shrike, 2 Lark Sparrow and 1 Orchard Oriole.

    OTHER MISCELLANEOUS POINTS OF INTEREST

    In the early evening on August 29 we saw two groups of Wild Turkey totaling 22 birds along Highway 10 through Turtle Mountain Provincial Park.

    The landfill north of Portage la Prairie on Highway 227 between Highways 240 and 430 had three California Gull on August 26.

    On August 27 at Delta Beach at the end of the 240 north of Portage there were a variety of shorebirds including 9 Marbled Godwit, as well as 47 Caspian Tern.

    We checked Oak Lake, another large shallow body of water in southwest Manitoba, on August 31. A long causeway that is driveable halfway across the lake provided excellent access to the habitat, but other than an adult Peregrine Falcon, we saw nothing unusual.

    Paul Jones
    306-159 Murray Street, Ottawa, ON
    K1N 5M7

    jones@caut.ca


  • BIRDING IN THE SANDILANDS PROVINCIAL
    FOREST THIS SPRING/SUMMER     - Wed, 06 Sep 2000

    The weather started out in March below normal values. Resident birds such as Great Horned and Saw-Whet Owls, Downey Woodpecker and Hairy Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Evening Grosbeak, Black-capped Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatch, Gray Jay, Blue Jay-were calling and/or here in the first week of March. Pine Grosbeaks had moved out already for the north.

    The major start of migration north through here started in the middle of March. Rough-legged Hawk, Pileated Wood- pecker, Gulls and Shorebirds. For resident summer birds, we were about 10 days behind Winnipeg(which is the prairie region). For example, our 1st Robin was March 24, the Dark-eyed Junco(ss slate-coloured), Canada Geese, Bald Eagle, Common Goldeneye and Snow Bunting, Mallards, Northern Harriers, Purple Finch, Commom Mergansers, Tree Sparrows and Northern Goshawk between the 24th-29th, Hooded Mergansers, Common Grackle, Red-wing Blackbird, Sharp-shinned Hawk on on the 30th & 31st.

    April was very warm, with well below normal precipitation. The resident birds were all here in force and nest building was started in earnest(for good reason as you will read). More birds than in past year, but nothing out of the ordinary. Wood Ducks, Fox Sparrow, Wild Turkeys(depending on your definition), Song Sparrows, Sandhill Cranes, Ring-billed Gull, Broad-winged Hawk, Merlin, Turkey Vulture, Common Goldeneye, Green-winged Teal, Kestrel, White-throated Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Chipping Sparrow, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Phoebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Wilson's(commom) Snipe, White-crowned Sparrow, Kildeer, Mourning Dove, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Starling, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Double-crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-necked Duck, Swamp Sparrow and Great Blue Heron.

    May was the same weather as April. We turned up some very good birding May 14-21st. I only wish I was more knowlegable about these southern bird songs as I was with the bird songs in the Churchill area, but I am learning. It just means some have to be seen before we enter them into our Park list. Birds for May are Harris's Sparrow, Peregrine Falcon, Cooper's Hawk, Great Gray Owl, Osprey, Lark Sparow, Spotted Sandpiper, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Goldfinch, Tundra Swans, Pine Siskins, Northern Oriole, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Lincoln's Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Black and White Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Barn Swallow Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-eyed Vireo, Least Sandpiper, Blue-winged Teal, Whip-poor-will, Commom Nighthawk, Western Kingbird, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Herring Gull.

    June, the heavens opened up and it never stopped till the end of July. We had 3 times the normal rainfall. Humidity and mosquitoes were terrible this year. Some birds Veery, Hermit Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Olive-sided Flycatcher, American Redstart, Black-billed Cuckoo, Warbling Vireo, Sora Rail, Northern Flicker, Wilson's Warbler.

    Warbler fall migration was under way by August 3rd. with other birds following by mid August. First flock of Canada Geese went over on August 31st. Highlighted birds in bold are the first ones for the Park Checklist. Anyone wanting dates or a more detailed listing can contact us.

    Al Chartier
    Sept 3 /2000
    whtcamp@granite.mb.ca


  • Birding this winter at Sandilands - Wed, 01 Mar 2000

    Gord,

    Here is a list of the birds we had at Whitemouth River Park & Campground. The weather had periods of well below and well above average temperatures, with the overall being just above normal. We had very little snow cover, well below normal. Noticably absent this winter were the Dark-eyed Junco and the Spruce Grouse.

    Birds that we abundant throughout the winter were: Evening and Pine Grosbeak, Blue and Gray Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, Ruffed Grouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Common Redpoll and Ravens.

    Birds that were spotted fairly common were: Bald Eagle, Pileated Woodpecker and Black-billed Magpie.

    Uncommon were: Northern Goshawk, Black-backed Woodpecker and Hoary Redpoll.

    Thank you

    Al Chartier
    whtcamp@granite.mb.ca

  • Manitoba: Delta Marsh - Sat, 18 Sep 1999

    Hi, all.

    Today I finally got to meet another cyber-birding buddy, Rob Parsons from Winnipeg, MB, and he took me on the grand tour of Lake Manitoba (at least the southernmost edge)! It was a beautiful, sunny day, brisk in the early morning but gradually warming up to vest weather (as opposed to down jacket weather or shirt weather).

    Rob likes to guess what the first bird of the day will be, and we both assumed Crow, but as we stopped at a little line of trees along the highway (near a house that hosted a European Tree Sparrow for many years), the first bird actually turned out to be a Blue Jay! Lots of things were calling although they seemed reluctant to come out at this early hour: Robins, Goldfinches, Butterbutts, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets for the most part. As we continued on and it got lighter, more expected country birds showed up, like Red-tailed Hawk, Harrier, Kestrel, Magpie (my personal favorite), Crow, Raven (Rob's personal favorite), Meadowlarks, a troupe of Red-winged Blackbirds in a sunflower field, and one lone Brewer's Blackbird on a post. With every passing Mourning Dove Rob kept hoping for Manitoba's first Eurasian Collared Dove!

    We finally arrived at Ambroise Provincial Park, on the edge of Lake Manitoba (the second-largest lake in the province; Lake Winnipeg is first). A Kingfisher was there to greet us, and just beyond the gate was a group of sparrows on the ground: mostly Whitethroats, but also a couple of Harris'! As we walked the road through the campground I was amazed as one Flicker after another flew overhead or into the tree in front of us; I'll bet at least 20 to 30 went by! The tree we were zeroed in on was quite productive: mostly Butterbutts, but also a Purple Finch (Rob called them "plufs"), a Redstart, a Yellowthroat, and a Nashville Warbler (Rob also had a Blackpoll that I missed). I pointed out the Mockingbird-like scold note of the Red-eyed Vireo to Rob--not that that reference would be useful here in Manitoba!

    The lake had a few good things: a flock of female Common Goldeneye were the first to greet us, and way out in the water (and flying by as well) were lots of Franklin's, Ring-billed, and Herring Gulls, with a few token Bonies every once in awhile. A young Bald Eagle sat on a rock, and two White Pelicans sat on another spit. A flock of Lesser Scaup also flew by, too far for me to tell, but Rob ID'd them through the scope.

    More walking produced more sparrows: Swamp, Chipping, a young White-crowned, and several brown-looking Dark-eyed Juncos. We also had a Swainson's Thrush on the road who disappeared into the woods, and when what I thought was the same bird jumped up, Rob called Hermit, based on the way it was lifting its tail, which is something evidently only Hermits do; I had never heard that before! We also had a couple of hawks that were probably Cooper's and Sharpie, but I just didn't get good enough looks to count them comfortably.

    We then drove to the other end of the park where there's a boardwalk through the marsh and out to an observation platform. It was rather quiet here, but we did pick up Pied-billed Grebe, Coot (the most uninspiring bird, Rob says), and Ruddy Duck for the day.

    We then headed over to Delta Beach (this whole area we were in was called the Delta Marsh, Rob said); on the way we added several wire birds, including Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, and Vesper Sparrow. I was introduced to route 227, affectionately known as the Road from Hell, based on the horrible condition it was in during the wet summer of 93 (Rob will correct me on that if the year is wrong)! It was fine today; a lot nicer than SOME of the dirt roads I've been on this trip!

    At Delta Beach there's a little nature trail out to another observation platform; on the way in we had a great look at a Western Grebe. A Common Grackle came in (this was suburbia, Rob said, so they're more likely here), and as we walked out on the boardwalk to the first little viewing area we found many Canvasbacks, at least one Redhead, and a few Shovelers; some Forster's Terns also flew over. Rob had a Marsh Wren in the reeds, which I naturally missed!

    The Canada Geese were making a racket around the bend, so on we went, only to be greeted by a MOB of geese in a big pond! There were also some Mallards, plus a few Wood Ducks, one Green-winged Teal, and even a few Greater Yellowlegs and Semipalmated Plovers on the far shore! Some Canadas of a smaller race (that sounded incredibly like White-fronteds to me) kept circling and wanting to land, but Rob said that they were probably leery of us, unlike the breeding population here in the pond who were obviously used to people. Up on the observation platform we were able to add Eared Grebe, and Rob finally found me an American Wigeon that wasn't sleeping!

    We decided to head on back after that (since we were going out for dinner that night and we both wanted to freshen up), but it was a marvelous day out in the Canadian marshland!

    Bird List:

    69 SPECIES
    So Far: 366 Species

    Mary Beth Stowe
    San Diego, CA
    MiriamEagl@aol.com

  • RNHS Birding Fieldtrip - Sun, 28 Mar 1999

    The Bird Alert Hotline includes these updates:

    Regina Natural History Society Fieldtrip to Rte 99/Qu'appelle Valley/ Valeport Marsh of 27/03/99 as well as reports of Robert Kreba and Curtis Pollack later that same day.

    -28 species including:

    other reports included: Robins, Meadowlarks and a female Red-shafted Flicker

    Also please note Wasagaming/Riding Mountain National Park are in Manitoba

    a fellow birder,

    Ron Arvidson

  • Southeast Manitoba Report - March 21, 1999

    - RBA

    * Manitoba
    * Southeast
    * March 21, 1999
    * MBSE993.21

    Birds Mentioned:

    A bird visiting feeders at 147 Birch St. in St Claude, Manitoba since early November, 1998 was identified this week and confirmed yesterday as a CURVE BILLED THRASHER. About 30 birders had good looks this morning when it on schedule at 11:30. This is only the second specimen of this species to be conformed in Canada. The other one is overwintering in Alberta.

    Canada geese have been returning in increasing numbers at numerous locations over the last week.

    The hawk watch at Windygates produced fewer than a handful of raptors today despite sunny skies, light SW breezes and above normal temperatures. Bald eagles were sighted moving north today and over the last week in a number of locations. A Cooper's hawk flew over birders waiting for the Curve billed thrasher in St. Claude and two Rough-legged haws were sighted south of St. Claude today. An American kestrel was seen along Hwy 2 W. of Starbuck today.

    A number of snowy owls are still present. They were seen along Hwys. 2 and 3 today.

    American tree sparrows were seen at Oak Hammock Marsh yesterday.

    A flock of 2000+ snow buntings were W. of Starbuck along Hwy 2 today.

    Larry de March          ldemarch@escape.ca
467 Churchill Dr.       (204) 452-6338 H
Winnipeg, Manitoba      (204) 983-5182 W
Canada
R3L 1W3
  • MANITOBA CBC Counts - Thu, 07 Jan 1999

    Christmas bird count results for:
    Onanole, Wasagaming and Riding Mountain National Park (South)

    December 22nd, 1998

    Beginning temp: - 28
    High of the day: - 20

    Clear skies

    Wind NW at 6 (Beaufort scale)
    15 cm of snow

    Total kilometers by vehicle: 215
    Total kilometers by foot/ski/snowshoe: 73

    Hours of observation by vehicle: 23
    Hours of observation by foot etc: 34

    Birds seen:

    Observers included:

    Cheryl Penny, Madeleine Sarrasin, Sean Frey, Debi Forlanski, Geraldine David, Wybo Vanderschuit, Marcy Nylen-Nemetchek, Gabe Boros, Ray Whaley, Ken Kingdon, Rae Kingdon, Ang Bidinosti, Chris Bidinosti, Buzz Crowston, Devon Crowston, Dave McArthur, Jillian Maguet, Les Ellchuk, and Cheryl Ellchuk.

    Les Ellchuk

  • Re: Ross's Gull at Churchill - Tue, 7 Jul 1998

    About a week ago someone asked if Ross' Gull has been seen this year at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. I'm back from Churchill today and pleased to report that a pair of them has been seen almost everyday. Only one pair though this year! One of them is gloriously pink underneath.

    Gabriel (Gabi) Durocher
    Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
    guildw@mb.sympatico.ca

  • Hybrid cinnamon/blue-winged teal or?? - Sun, 21 Jun 1998

    I was at Oak Hammock Marsh about 20 mi. N. of Winnipeg this morning and found an odd duck. I viewed it under less than ideal conditions - heavy overcast and 20mph winds at about 800+ yards through a Questar at 58 and 93 power. The air had no heat haze.

    It was in the company of male blue-winged teal and shared their size and shape. It was coloured much like a cinnamon teal but had white patches at the back end of the flank the same size and location as the white patches on a blue-winged. The legs were bright medium orange, the bill may have had a hint of blue in it, though it was fairly dark. I could not make out the eye colour.

    Has anyone seen Cinnamon teal with such white patches or was it a hybrid?

    Questioningly yours,

    Larry

    Larry de March          ldemarch@escape.ca
467 Churchill Dr.       Home (204) 452-6338
Winnipeg, MB            Work (204) 983-5182
Canada
R3L 1W3

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