Churchill and Southern Manitoba: Jun 05—17, 2008

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Tour Leaders

Jeri Langham

Jeri M. Langham has a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Washington State University and has been a professor of biological sciences a...

Cal Cuthbert

Cal Cuthbert was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba and raised on the family farm beside Lake Manitoba's renowned Delta M...

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Ross's Gull — Photo: Barry Zimmer

This memorable birding experience at Canada's famous Arctic seaport on Hudson Bay at the edge of the tundra, preceded by a wide selection of nesting birds of Manitoba's taiga, boreal forests, and prairies, typically turns up 225 or more bird species.

Churchill has long been famous among naturalists as the site of the most easily accessible tundra on this continent. More recently it has become famous as simply the place to find Ross's Gull. This highly sought gull has been more elusive in recent years; however, most of our tours over the years have managed to record this specialty. If this is your target bird, do not postpone this tour. This small seaport is situated on the shores of Hudson Bay where the mouth of the Churchill River attracts Pacific and Red-throated loons, Arctic Tern, Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, and all three scoters. June in Churchill means melting pack ice breaking adrift, fitful with the promise of far-wandering Arctic birds, seals, and beluga whales. It also means nesting shorebirds in full plumage and spectacular display.

Both the tree line and the permafrost line run through Churchill, home to such birds as Willow Ptarmigan, American Golden-Plover, Hudsonian Godwit, Parasitic Jaeger, Little Gull, Smith's Longspur, and both species of redpolls. Between the tundra and the boreal forest lies the taiga, where several species live at the limit of their ranges: Spruce Grouse, Northern Hawk Owl, Boreal Chickadee, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Bohemian Waxwing, Northern Shrike, Harris's Sparrow, Pine Grosbeak, and White-winged Crossbill. The coastal areas of Hudson Bay host an assortment of migrants. A lingering Lapland Longspur and Snow Bunting are sometimes joined by a stray King Eider, Harlequin Duck, Red Phalarope, or Sabine's Gull.

But there is much more to see elsewhere in Manitoba on this tour. West of Winnipeg, marshes and shortgrass prairie have a wealth of breeding birds, especially Sharp-tailed Grouse, Sprague's Pipit, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Baird's, Le Conte's, and Nelson's Sharp-tailed sparrows. At Riding Mountain National Park, vast boreal forests provide specialties like Ruffed Grouse, Great Gray Owl, Black-backed and Three-toed woodpeckers, Philadelphia Vireo, and over 20 species of warblers including Connecticut and Mourning.

The Churchill tour also features a unique overnight train ride from Thompson to Churchill through taiga and tundra, past Willow Ptarmigans and, rarely, a caribou. We will see some 225 species of birds on this tour, which is one of the most popular in our North American repertoire.

Truly unique, memorable, and comfortable overnight train ride to Churchill; two flights by turboprop planes during tour; some early morning starts; birding both along roadsides and on relatively short hikes; usually pleasant weather in southern Manitoba, but Churchill typically cold and windy, and sometimes snowy; some biting insects at times.

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