Southern Manitoba Jun 07—13, 2010
Posted by Jeri Langham
Jeri Langham
Jeri M. Langham has a Ph.D. in plant ecology from Washington State University, and after 38 years as a professor of biological sciences at California State University ...Related Trips
I have led this tour for 24 years, but never imagined the weather that would confront us this year. In early June, one expects to receive a thunderstorm once or twice during the tour and maybe even one full day of rain some years. Maybe "global warming," better called "climate change," played a role this year. Whatever the cause, it was colder this year than on any of the previous years, and we faced drizzle, rain, and/or fog on every day except the last one. It was good to see the sun once again. Amazingly, we still managed to see almost every target bird and really have fun in the different ecosystems that ranged from grasslands and marshes to boreal forest.
On every one of my tours, I write a journal covering the locations we visit and some of the highlights of each day, and then mail it to the participants after I return home and have a chance to do some editing. In order to interest you in joining me next year, I will include here one entire day from the journal and some highlights from other days.
Day 2, June 8: Winnipeg to Oak Hammock Marsh to PR227 Landfill to Delta Beach to Riding Mountain National Park. The weather was cool and completely overcast with sporadic showers as we climbed into our SUV. Kildonan Park was great to us, with Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo and more. The gravel road on the southeast side of Oak Hammock Marsh gave us Clay-colored and Vesper sparrows, Eastern Kingbird, Blue Jay, and more rain, but the great news was discovering a new blind constructed at the end of the road. A Provincial Park employee told us we were the first birders to use it. Here we saw numerous duck species, Eared Grebe, Sedge Wren, and then had incredible looks at a Le Conte's Sparrow that came up to the edge of the road, maybe 8–10 feet away from us. Anne was ecstatic, since this was the bird she most wanted on this tour. We then drove to the Interpretive Center and followed the loop to the right. Virginia Rail and Sora answered, but none emerged from cover for viewing. However, the Swamp Sparrow and Common Yellowthroat views could not have been better. We also added Richardson's ground squirrel. After returning to the Interpretive Center, we headed to lunch to beat the crowd…and did. On our long drive west, a short stop at the PR227 Landfill area produced Herring, California, Ring-billed, and Franklin's gulls. At Delta Beach, the Yellow Warbler capital of the world, we used the bathrooms, had drinks and snacks, and picked up Forster's Terns flying along the beach. We worked our way through the pothole country, picking up Red-necked and Horned grebes, and had a wonderful look at a thirteen-lined ground squirrel. Around 5:15 p.m., we arrived at Riding Mountain National Park and checked into McTavish's. Dinner at T.R. McCoy's restaurant was delicious. The "optional" after-dinner trip produced 16 new bird species and two black bears as we drove out to Whirlpool Lake on I-19. This brought our trip list for today to 92 species seen plus 10 heard only—what a beginning!
Day 3, June 9: Riding Mountain National Park. After our siesta, Linette and Molly met me at the SUV and we headed for Highway 10. On the way north, one stop produced our first Blue-headed Vireo. Just south of Moon Lake there is a great 1-km loop called Boreal Island Trail. As we pulled into the parking lot, several dozen Evening Grosbeaks were landing on a pile of "sand" that must have also had some salt. Linette got some great photos, but was not able to photograph the two Pine Siskins that joined them. The Mourning Warbler eluded us again just off the parking lot, but we would later get great views of one in the mixed flock that I called in with my owl calls. There were about 12 species that kept us hopping for about 20 minutes. It was a great walk that was made even better when I tried calling in Black-backed Woodpecker and Linette spotted the male that quietly flew in. Just before the end of the trail, we encountered a cooperative Red-breasted Nuthatch and also a Lincoln's Sparrow. On the drive back, we stopped at Beade Trail, but it was closed due to "a dangerous bear." At the next lake we added Osprey and Belted Kingfisher, and Linette was able get incredible photos of a pair of Common Loons that swam right up to her.
Day 4, June 10: Riding Mountain to Brandon. After eating breakfast and packing the SUV, I heard a Boreal Chickadee down the alley and we got a quick look before bidding Lorraine McTavish goodbye. I opted to drive out of the park via Highway 19. We drove slowly, listening for any songs, calls, or chip notes that might bring us a new trip bird. The weather was again disappointing, as it drizzled on us off and on all day. However, we hit pay dirt when I tried to find a male Spruce Grouse at my usual location. We had not even formed the line to scour the spruce forest when I spotted a male that flew up into a spruce. It was too good to be true. This beautiful male was very skittish, staying high in the spruces. I am guessing that he was harassed recently, since they are normally very tame and permit excellent close-up photos. We lucked out with Hermit Thrush, and Magnolia and Orange-crowned warblers before walking the trail at Whirlpool Lake. The Olive-sided Flycatcher was the best bird we found here. Continuing our drive toward the Escarpment, we stopped from time to time, picking up Purple Finch, but also fog in addition to drizzle. We did add Black-and-white Warbler on the way down the Escarpment, and then detoured north to the McCreary ski area where we located Indigo Bunting, Eastern Towhee, and a beautiful male Golden-winged Warbler. Only Molly and I saw the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher before it flew off.