June 10
Good Evening
I have started my Manitoba birding trip. I arrived in Winnipeg on Thursday afternoon and have been birding around the city for the last three days. There are lots of good birding spots with in an hour of Winnipeg. I started on Thursday afternoon at Assinaboine Park along the river in the city. It was windy and overcast with light rain. The highlight was hearing a Great Crested Flycatcher. They are uncommon in Alberta with only a few found each year. I heard them frequently over the last few days.
I then went 30 minutes not 4th to the Oak Hammock Marsh. It is a very well developed park and I believe Ducks Unlimited has its national headquarters there. It was still quite windy so hard to find too much. Surprisingly few shorebirds and waterfowl. They must all go north. I di find a river otter which was surprise to find in the middle of the. Prairies.
When I checked into the hotel that night, I discovered that I had picked up a few visitors as I walked through the woods along the river and through the grass at the marsh. I had about 8 ticks with me. Yikes! A quick google search instructed that I should tuck my pants into my sicks, spray insect repellant on my legs and stay on maintained trails.
I started early the next morning at the marsh again. There was a little more activity and I stayed on the boardwalk. I then headed off to Birds Hill Provincial Park A recent bird report from there looked good. I arrived at the trailhead, executed the google instructions and headed off. Nashville and Chestnut-sided warblers were in abundance and soon I heard a Scarlet Tanager. Wandering through the Cyrpress bog , I came across a Blackburnian Warbler.
I had lunch and headed south and east to location known for Golden-winged Warblers. This is a warbler that doesn’t come over to Alberta and was one of my target birds for the trip. I arrived in the afternoon and was dismayed to discover the trails were not well maintained and were sometimes overgrown. But I persevered. It was very quite as it was afternoon so not too many birds were calling. I did find anitehr Scarlet Tanager.
I checked into the hotel. They didn’t know I had fourteen companions with me. That was the end of my birding outside the car.
I went back to the same area in the morning and listened for the warbler. My Merlin app said it could hear it but I could’t find it. But I did find an Indigo bunting and Red-headed Woodpecker. I worked that area until around2 pm when I returned to my hotel for lunch and a nap.I headed out in the evening in search of an eastern-whippoor-will. They only come out at night so I knew I would have to wait until dark. It took until 10 pm before I hear the first one, I then drove around and heard another. Unfortunately they were in the tress endnote visible on the road. This was the only lifer bird for me so far on the trip. I got back to my hotel at 11 :30 and slept quickly so I could get up at 5:30 and again to look for the golden-winged warbler.
It took about an hour for Merlin to pick-up a Golden-winged Warbler call. I stopped the car and this time I was successful in finding the bird. I worked this area and then relocated about 30 minutes later to a new location. The area east of Winnipeg is boreal forest spilling over from Ontario and loaded with warblers and other boreal birds. It reminds me of the are about an hour north of Edmonton.
I am now in Winnipeg getting ready to go to Churchill for five days of birding, The birds up there will be many of the birds that migrated north through Alberta to breed in the Arctic. I am looking forward to spending some time in Churchill to see how the people up there live and to see the land. Hopefully we will get to see some beluga whales and maybe a polar bear form a great distance. Hopefully no ticks up there !!!
Enjoy the photos. More to come once I get home.
Stay Well !
Click on photos to see full size
