When it came time to start planning my big spring 2025 birding trip the destination was quite obvious – it had to be Manitoba. That was my last state or province that I hadn’t birded extensively. To paraphrase the Star Trek intro – Manitoba, the final frontier. (Then again I haven’t yet birded Canada’s more distant and less accessible territories – Nunavut, Northwest, and Yukon.)
With an existing province list of just 61, there were lots
of potential new province birds waiting for me in MB. And if I flew into Grand Forks, ND, I could also
fill a few gaps in my MN and ND lists before or after the MB portion of the
trip.
I reached out to my good birding friends Bill and Anita
Hooker who went with me on my trip to FL back in January 2025, and they agreed
to come along on this trip as well. It
was all coming together.
One last big picture decision to make was whether to include
a trip to Churchill in our MB itinerary.
I’ve heard so much about Churchill over the decades, starting back in
the late 1900’s when Ross’s Gulls nested there.
I know Ross’s haven’t been seen there in a while, but birding continues
to be great there. So we talked
ourselves into making the extra round-trip flights from Winnipeg to Churchill,
though it made for a pricey add-on to the trip.
I spent several months planning the trip, including
searching for the best birding hotspots in MB to maximize our species total,
and looking for specific one-off targets near Grand Forks in MN and ND. I came up with a 13-day itinerary where I
could add at least 140 species in MB to break 200 for the province, add perhaps
only 4 in ND, and hopefully 2 in MN.
These next 3 blog posts summarize the MB portion of the trip,
with this post summarizing our birding efforts from May 29th through June
1st. The previous post summarized the MN
and ND legs of the trip.
5/29 – Southwest MB – Grasslands
The MB grasslands are located in the far southwestern corner
of the province. After a morning of
birding in eastern ND, and a 4-hour drive to reach MB, we knew we wouldn’t be
reaching the area until mid-afternoon on the 29th, which wouldn’t be the best
time to listen for singing prairie birds.
Instead, we would go to the best prairie spots early the next morning,
and look for a couple specific non-singing targets on the afternoon of the 29th
– Burrowing Owl and Ferruginous Hawk.
Burrowing Owls are exceptionally rare in MB, and their locations are a
well-kept secret. But most sightings in
previous years appeared to be in the Broomhill area so that would be our target
search area. On the other hand, our
other target, Ferruginous Hawk, has nested for several years at a well-known
location in the grasslands.
We arrived at the border at 2:30 PM, and as we were being interviewed
by a Canadian customs officer we were serenaded by a Least Flycatcher and a Western
Kingbird. That’s a nice initiation to
MB! We then started our drive to
Broomhill through farming country with patches of prairie and wetlands. With just 61 species on my province list, most
everything we saw was new. We picked up
a few dabbling ducks, Coot, Pied-billed Grebe and Black Tern in pothole ponds. And added Swainson’s Hawk, Western
Meadowlark, and Bobolink foraging in the fields. Plus some typical “road” birds like Mourning
Dove and Brewer’s Blackbirds. By the
time we reached the Broomhill WMA I had added 17 new province birds, bringing
the total to 78.
We drove around the roads in the WMA looking for overgrazed
fields with animal burrows where Burrowing Owls might be taking up
residence. We first found one overgrazed
cattle pasture in the distance but saw no holes or dirt mounds. Then after a bit more driving, we came upon
what looked like the perfect field – overgrazed with little vegetation, and a
colony of ground squirrels with quite a number of burrows. But despite extensive scanning we couldn’t
locate any little Owls. As of mid-June there
are still no sightings of Burrowing Owl in the province with the exception of one
in April far east of the grasslands.
But not all was lost as we searched for the Owls, as we
added 17 new species to my MB list while driving through the area. Key additions were birds of the prairie like
Upland Sandpiper, Willet, Horned Lark, and Vesper, Clay-colored, and
Grasshopper Sparrows. That brought my
list to 95.
Next we were on to the site of the Ferruginous Hawk nest, mentioned
in several eBird reports as located in a nearby cottonwood. There were only a couple cottonwoods at the
site, so it didn’t take long to locate the large stick nest. Here’s a distant shot of one of the adults on
the nest. The haze in the picture is
from thick smoke that was in the air due to the many forest fires ongoing
throughout MB.
As we situated ourselves to get a better look we flushed a Sharp-tailed Grouse that surprisingly landed high in the same cottonwood where the Ferruginous nest was located. And finally, a perched pair of dark-phased Red-tailed Hawks in the distance was a nice find. (MB #96-98)
With our birding done for the day, we headed into the little
town of Melita to check into our hotel. Our
two key targets in Melita were Eurasian Collared-Dove and Chimney Swift, both
near the edge of their ranges. As we
drove through town I noticed a bird perched on top of a telephone pole, which a
quick binocular view revealed to be the Dove.
A bit later we spotted Swifts flying around the town museum, which not
surprisingly has a large chimney. While
riding around town we added several others like Purple Martin, Starling, Downy
and Hairy Woodpeckers, and Ring-necked Pheasant. (MB #99-107)
While riding out of town we spotted this statue. We were told that summers in Melita are warmer
than anywhere else in MB. So warm in
fact, that you could grow bananas there.
At least that’s what we were told.
In our late afternoon of birding in MB we had 63 species, adding 46 species to my province list. And including our initial stops in ND, we had 112 species for the day.
5/30 – Second Day of Grasslands with Nearby Riparian
Areas
For our big day of grassland birding we headed to a roughly
4-mile by 2-mile area west of the small town of Lyleton. In the last few years this area has had the
greatest concentration of our target species, though there had just been 1 or 2
checklists so far this year. On the way to
the area, we spotted a couple Gray Partridges along the roadside – a very nice
start.
Soon we arrived at Road 4N, with excellent prairie habitat
on both sides. And after a short ride we
spotted the first of several Chestnut-collared Longspurs. Finally, 1 sat cooperatively on the fence
just a short distance away for photos.
As I admired this gorgeous bird I noticed something white moving in the
grass in the background. I changed my
focus and realized that the moving white objects were the tails of dancing
Sharp-tailed Grouse. We had just found a
large lek! Here’s a shot of the prairie
where the Grouse were displaying in the distance.
As we watched the Grouse dancing I picked up 2 singing Baird’s Sparrows on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any visuals of them. A bit further on we heard a Sprague’s Pipit calling high overhead. And with a bit of work I was able to spot a second silent bird hovering well above us. As we were leaving the area we lucked onto a Loggerhead Shrike perched on the fence, giving us a clean sweep of our prairie targets. Rounding out our additions for the morning were Brown Thrasher and Cedar Waxwing in small wooded islands, and a Wood Duck in a nearby pond. That gave me 8 new species, bringing the MB total to 115.
Next, we visited a number of riparian areas along the Souris
River that can form nice oases of trees surrounded by the prairie. By far the best stop was at Coulter
Park. The site has quite some history,
as reported by the Manitoba Historical Society Archives – “In November 1928,
pioneer Francis Coulter donated to the Arthur Pioneers Association this site
south of Melita where he had settled, in April 1882. It became known
as Coulter Park, or Sourisford Park, after the nearby crossing on the Souris
River.”
The heavily wooded site was quite birdy, starting with the Say’s Phoebe we saw right in the road as we arrived, along with calling Willow Flycatchers. This is one of the few places to find these species in the province. We also added Yellow-throated Vireo, Orchard Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Great Blue Heron and Rough-winged Swallow to my MB list. (MB #116-122)
On an evening walk in the heavily wooded Gerald W. Malaher
PWMA I didn’t add anything new for my list.
But I did have a calling Merlin, confirmed by Merlin. (I’ve always secretly wanted to have Merlin
identify a calling Merlin.)
Although we quit birding in the heat at lunchtime (remember that Melita Banana Belt story?), we still had 75 species for the day, and I added 15 to my province list, bringing the total to 122.
5/31 – Whitewater Lake, Oak Lake
This was our first of 2 key days on our trip for waterfowl,
shorebirds, and other wetland species.
While doing eBird research on Whitewater and Oak Lakes I reached out to local
birder Sandy Hominick for birding advice.
And she in turn connected me with Gillian Richards. Gillian is a regional reviewer and knows the
area like the back of her hand. But
better than just giving us advice, Gillian offered to bird with us around the
area – an offer that would prove to be invaluable to us. Gillian would bring Sandy and their friend
Jackie Dixon along as well, giving us lots of eyes to look for our targets.
Our birding started in the parking lot of our Melita hotel
with a calling Kingfisher (MB #123).
Then after a short drive, we arrived at our meeting place along the west
side of Whitewater Lake, with extensive mudflats that were loaded with shorebirds. This was just the first of many stops that
Gillian led us to around Whitewater Lake.
Here’s one of the best shorebird spots on the north side of Whitewater
Lake.
And a shot of the flats at Sexton’s Point that were also full of shorebirds.
By the time we were done birding in and around the wetlands on both the north and south sides of Whitewater Lake I had added 25 new species. Of our 18 species of waterfowl key additions included Eared and Horned Grebes, Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon, Ross’s and Snow Geese. And our 17 species of shorebirds featured these additions - Avocet, Sanderling, Dunlin, Red-necked Phalarope, Stilt Sand, Baird’s and Pectoral. Gulls and Terns were represented by Ring-billed, California, and Forster’s. And passerines included Nelson’s Sparrow and Lark Sparrow (MB #124-149)
Next, we were onto the Bethel Road woodlands where as
predicted we added breeding Red-headed Woodpecker. Here’s one of Anita’s pictures of the
Woodpecker.
Plus we heard, or should I say “felt”, a drumming Ruffed Grouse (MB #150-151)
Our last few stops of the day were around Oak Lake where I
added Western Grebe and White-faced Ibis to my province list (MB #152-153). And I couldn’t pass on pictures of this
distant but cooperative Red-necked Grebe, even if it wasn’t a new species.
We ended the day with 106 species, including 31 new birds for my MB list, now standing at 153. I can’t thank Gillian, Sandy, and Jackie enough for all their help! We would never have been able to find all those great birding spots, and great birds, on our own.
6/1 – Brandon, Riding Mountain NP
We were lucky enough to have Gillian and Sandy offer to show
us around the Brandon area the morning of the 1st. But before we could make it out of the hotel
parking lot I added a new bird - a singing House Finch (MB #154).
Our first stop was the Wesman Salvage hotspot where we
picked up a rare Red-breasted Merganser which had been spotted there recently (MB
#155).
Next, we headed to Douglas Marsh, home of the Yellow Rail. I couldn’t resist taking this picture of the Douglas
Marsh sign with the morning sun eerily shining through the heavy smoke from
nearby forest fires. We probably should
have worn masks.
It was a long shot, but we played some tape anyway hoping for a Yellow Rail to respond. We also tried Le Conte’s Sparrow but with no luck. Sure looks like a nice marsh though.
Our next stop was the Douglas quarry with its many manmade ponds and lakes. At one of our first stops we were lucky enough to have an American Bittern fly overhead (MB #156). Later we found a second one along a small stream. Plus we got nice looks at this Bank Swallow colony.
Our last stops of the morning were along the Glenboro bluebird box trail where we hoped for both Eastern and Mountain Bluebirds. But our first addition was a singing Eastern Wood-Pewee. Later we finally ran into our first Eastern Bluebirds, and eventually a nesting pair of Mountain Bluebirds. (MB #157-159) Here’s a distant shot of one of the Mountain Bluebirds in the smoky haze.
And a picture of a most cooperative Lark Sparrow – not a new one but still an attractive bird.
It was now time for us to leave the southern tier of MB and start heading north to Riding Mountain NP. We couldn’t thank Gillian and Sandy enough for all their help putting us on so many birds over the last day and a half! Here's a shot of the 3 of us - very happy birders!
We arrived at Riding Mountain in the mid-afternoon heat (though at least the smoke had abated). After a short break at the hotel rooms, we took a stroll around the property picking up Dark-eyed Junco and Common Nighthawk. (MB #160-161) Then a quick ride around town and the Wasagaming Campground yielded some nice warblers like Magnolia (MB #162) and multiple Tennessees and Blackburnians.
Next we were off to the trails around Ominnik Marsh, where
we picked up Virginia Rail (MB #163) but couldn’t find the recently reported nesting
Trumpeter Swans. Would we need a return
trip to find them?
And our last new species of the day was a pair of Common Mergansers swimming in the waves of Clear Lake in the distance (MB #164).
We finished the day with 90 species, adding 11 to my
province list, now standing at 164.
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