Manitoba – The Final Frontier, Part 2 of 3, June 2025

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.

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.

This is the second of 3 blog posts summarizing the MB portion of the trip, covering June 2nd through the 5th. 

6/2 – Riding Mountain National Park

Earlier in our trip Brandon birder Gillian Richards connected us with local Riding Mountain birder Ken Kingdon to see if he could help us out in the park.  Better than that, Ken offered to show us around the morning of the 2nd, taking us to multiple stops north along Route 10.   

Our first stop was a short walk along Gray Owl dump road.  Here I added Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Purple Finch, and Cape May Warbler.  (MB #165-167)  However, I missed the Siskins that everyone else heard.  Maybe I was distracted by the buzz of the hordes of mosquitoes.  Hopefully that wouldn’t come back to haunt me.

Next, we continued north to Bead Lakes for a longer walk through excellent boreal habitat.  It proved to be a great spot, with finds like Evening Grosbeak right in the parking lot, Hermit Thrush, Canada Jay, Canada Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, a heard-only Boreal Chickadee, Black-throated Green Warbler, and a calling Three-toed Woodpecker.  (MB #168-174)  Unfortunately we dipped on Winter Wren and Trumpeter Swan at an adjacent wetlands.  Ken also pointed out this tree to us – a bear had not only removed the bark near the top of the picture, but it had also rubbed on the bark below leaving some dirt behind.

Our next stop was at the far north end of the park at Crawford Creek.   I hadn’t picked out this site for a possible stop when I was planning the trip so I wasn’t sure what the targets might be here.  As we got out of the cars Ken said that this location was a reliable spot for Golden-winged Warblers, and before we left the parking lot we were hearing one singing nearby (MB #175).  We took a short walk and soon reached this classic Golden-winged habitat – an area of young deciduous trees with open grassy and shrubby patches. 

Soon we got visuals on one male with 2 others singing a short distance away.  I had planned to search for this species at a site on the eastern escarpment of the park – I didn’t realize they were at this site as well.   

We turned around and started heading south, soon reaching our next stop at Moon Lake.  Here we added 2 birds - a breeding plumage Bonaparte’s flew by just as we arrived, and we finally found Trumpeters Swans in the distance.  (MB #176-177)  We also took a short hike especially focused on Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler but with no luck.

Next we were on to the Boreal Trail, a site that has had quite a number of nice checklists in recent years.  Although the gate was closed, we assumed it was OK to walk in and take a short hike.   And we’re glad we did.  Here I finally heard multiple Pine Siskins, then an Olive-sided Flycatcher singing softly in the distance.  Then we focused on the willows and alders lining this fast-flowing stream and added both Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler. 

Then Bill got a brief look at a very dark woodpecker – sure sounded like it could be a Black-backed but we needed better looks.  Eventually we all got great looks at not one but 3 Black-backed Woodpeckers.  Seems early in the year to be a family group.  Could it be a small breeding colony?  (MB #178-182)

Our last stop of the morning was at a marsh just south of the park where Ken had had LeConte’s Sparrows recently.  The marsh and adjacent meadows seemed drier than normal – perhaps too dry for LeConte’s.  We listened intently for a while, and played some tape, but with no luck.  It was actually quite windy now, so we decided to come back in the evening to try again when the winds would hopefully be calmer. 

We thanked Ken for all his help in getting us on some great birds that morning, hoping that we might cross paths again some day.

After a quick lunch we decided to head to the west of the park, first to check out a report of 2 Connecticut Warblers.  Ken said that COWAs were not likely in the park anymore, so we were a bit skeptical.  The checklist area had some good habitat, but we couldn’t scare up a Connecticut. 

Then we were on to the dam at the south end of Lake Audy.  The area was quite birdy, and our first addition was a flock of 25 or so American White Pelicans on the north shore of the lake very far in the distance.  Good thing Pelicans are so large because they could have been as much as 2 miles away!  Much closer were several flyby Forster’s Terns followed by 2 Common Terns.  Six Trumpeter Swans were a nice sighting as they swam by.  (If only a 7th bird had joined them, we’d have had “7 swans a swimming”.)  And minutes later an Osprey and Bald Eagle flew by. (MB #183-186)  Finally, not new for my list, but still a nice find, was this Red-necked Grebe on its floating nest.

And as we drove from Lake Audy we encountered this Bear walking down the road shoulder right past us.  At this distance it’s nice to see the bear from the safety of a car.

That evening we went back to the marsh for another try for LeConte’s Sparrow.  Even though winds had greatly reduced, we still couldn’t turn up a LeConte’s.  Maybe water levels were just too low this year.  Next we planned to head to the area east of Lake Katherine for Woodcocks.  We were a bit early when we arrived in the area, so we headed to Lake Katherine and had a spectacular nighthawk show over the lake.  That was the highlight of the evening because we had no luck with the Woodcocks. 

I ended the day with 22 new species for my province list, bringing my MB total to 186.  Closing in on 200…

6/3 – Riding Mountain NP

This day was focused on sites along Route 19 on the eastern side of Riding Mountain.  My first key stop was at a stream-lined with willows, hoping for looks at Lincoln’s Sparrow or Wilson’s Warbler.  Unfortunately, those targets remained elusive, but I did have a Red-breasted Nuthatch calling in the distance (MB #187).  Ken had told us that the lack of a cone crop in the Park this year meant that Red-breasted Nuthatches (along with Crossbills) were very scarce, so I was happy to get this one.

A bit further down the road I had a Pileated Woodpecker calling in the distance – the first for the trip but not new for my list.  And as I neared Whirlpool Lake I spotted the first of 3 Wild Turkeys ambling along the road shoulder (MB #188).

Soon afterwards I reached Whirlpool Lake and the woodlands near the parking lot were quite birdy, including 13 species of warblers.  Plus this “scruffy” Canada Jay.

And the lake itself was very pretty.

I doubled back to Lake Katherine and did some quick birding along the trails there.  The highlight of this stop was an Olive-sided Flycatcher characteristically perched on top of the tallest dead snag.

Our last stop of the day was along Clear Lake where we heard another Boreal Chickadee though couldn’t get any visuals.  We called it quits early that day, taking the late afternoon off.    

 I finished the day with 2 additional species, bringing my MB list to 188.

6/4 – Riding Mountain, Portage-la-Prairie

The plan for the morning was to bird the East Escarpment of Riding Mountain along Route 361 out of McCreary.  But first we had to take a picture of the formal east entrance to the park.

Our key target along the East Escarpment had been Golden-winged Warbler, but of course we already found this one at the north end of the park.  Our other 2 remaining targets were Indigo Bunting and Eastern Towhee, both near the northern edge of their ranges.  Gillian had suggested a trail to take to find both targets, along with the Golden-winged.  So that trail was our first stop, and almost immediately after getting out of the car at the trailhead we heard a singing Eastern Towhee.  And then seconds later a singing Indigo in this habitat.  That was easy… 

We took a short walk along the trail adding a flyby Ruby-throated Hummingbird (MB #189-191) and an additional Indigo.  We didn’t have any Golden-wings though – good thing we got them earlier.  Though I’m sure we would have birded more of the trail if we still needed this target.

Next we headed to the former ski slope at end of the road.  One of our first observations here was of a mid-sized mammal walking up one of the slopes – perhaps a mink? 

Notable birds here were a cooperative Blackburnian Warbler, and another flyby Hummingbird.  It was interesting to imagine this spot during its skiing hay day.  Our last stop in the area was a short hike on the Oak Ridge Trail, with a half dozen Least Flycatchers being most notable,

After 3 ½ days at Riding Mountain NP, we were off to the Portage-la-Prairie area.  Gillian had helped to connect us with Cal Cuthbert who was a local birding expert in that area.   Not only does he know the area extremely well, he has an amazing property with widely diverse habitats and great birds.  But first, Cal took us to the Portage-la-Prairie landfill which is well-known for its gull flock and the potential for rarities mixed in.  When we arrived, we drove right up on the landfill, and had just an estimated 60 Herrings, 40 Ring-bills, and 10 Franklin’s.  That didn’t seem like enough critical mass to have any rarities, but we quickly picked up at least 4 immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 adult Californias, and this stunning immature Glaucous photographed by Anita. (MB #192-194)  

Plus we had one bird that I thought was a Thayer’s but eBird reviewers said it was a Herring.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get on the Thayer’s that Cal spotted when we first arrived.

After a most successful time at the landfill, Cal took us to a private location where he had Saw-whet Owls nesting in a nest box.  

We were lucky enough that this juvenile bird was peering out of the box when we arrived (MB #195).

Next Cal took us to the Delta Beach area at the southern end of Lake Manitoba.  Here we witnessed a spectacular shorebird show thanks to Cal taking us to numerous secluded vantage points along the beach.  At each stop along the lake there were hundreds of shorebirds foraging in front of us, and an almost constant movement of birds heading west in waves along the shoreline.  We estimated at least 5,000 birds were included, mostly Semipalmated and White-rumped Sandpipers among the 14 species of shorebirds.  Here’s a typical shot with Semis, White-rumps, and a Sanderling in the foreground, and a pair of Caspian Terns in the background (one Tern is standing directly behind the other – can you see the 4 legs?).

By the end of the afternoon I had added 3 new MB species – 2 Red Knots (MB #196), 2 Caspian Terns (MB #197 – the old ABA reporting threshold for MB), and 32 Black-bellied Plovers (MB #198).  But nearly all were chased away by a Peregrine (MB #199) – at least now we don’t have to spend time trying for that one in downtown Winnipeg. 

We ended up with 101 species for the day, including 14 species added to my province list which now sits at 199.

6/5 – Portage-la-Prairie

We met up with Cal early that morning and he took us to a wet grassy field that had been good for LeConte’s Sparrow in the past. 

Unfortunately, the local drought meant the field was drier than normal, but with the help of some tape we eventually found LeConte’s - in fact we got great views. 

That brought my MB list to 200 – my original goal for the trip.  And we hadn’t even reached Churchill yet.

Then Cal took us to a large lot heavily wooded with mature oak trees at the Young Husband Lodge, in hopes of finding White-breasted Nuthatch.

We not only were successful in finally finding the Nuthatch, but also had views of, and heard, a Great Horned Owl.  And as we were leaving the lot 4 Sandhill Cranes flew overhead.  (MB #201-203)

We went back to Cal’s amazing yard where we walked several trails and ended the visit with some leisurely birding on the back deck.

We bid farewell to Cal, and couldn’t thank him enough for his help and allowing us to visit his amazing property.

The it was off to Winnipeg where I had 3 possible targets – Cooper’s Hawk, Cardinal, and Red-bellied Woodpecker.  All had been seen several times recently at multiple parks in the city, but local directions were limited for almost all of them.  I decided to try Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park as perhaps the best bet, and we headed there for a late afternoon visit.  Unfortunately, we dipped on all 3 targets, but we added an unexpected singing Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (MB #204).

I added 5 to my province list for the day, bringing my MB total to 204.