Busy Pond

A Sunday evening stroll to the pond turned into a checklist with nearly 30 species! After already recording four FOYs earlier in the day (Wood Duck, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and American Redstart), I was able to record 7 more at the pond! These seven species were Black Tern, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Spotted Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, and an American Pipit! Additionally, the Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, and American Pipit were all lifers!

This Least Sandpiper was quite obliging for some photos!

Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

The Wilson's Phalarope is an interesting species of bird. First, the females are more brightly colored than the males who adopt a more drab, brownish plumage. This is confusing to many birders and I often find myself calling certain individuals by the wrong pronoun. Also, their feeding technique is a spectacle to watch. These little birds spin around and around in the water, presumably stirring up food from the bottom and snatching the choice morsels out of the water. Watching a number of these in the water will keep you entertained for a long time. It also helps that they look stunning (at least the females do).

Female Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope Pair

Palm Warblers were abundant along the shoreline! Not a very common warbler to see, so I was happy to be able to get a couple pictures of some. Here is one:

Palm Warbler

Couldn't resist taking another photo of these Phalaropes!

Wilson's Phalarope pair

Savannah Sparrows are a common sight in my area, and they buzzy song is what really makes me feel like summer is back. The Meadowlark singing is my sign of spring, and the Savannah Sparrow is the sign of summer.

Savannah Sparrow

These Phalaropes... I think I'm addicted

Female Wilson's Phalarope

Wilson's Phalarope pair

The American Pipit was certainly the highlight of the day! I wasn't sure what it was until I went home and checked by photos with a field guide in front of me. Definitely glad I took some pictures of this otherwise drab looking bird.

American Pipit

And last but not least, a Brown-headed Cowbird stopping by for a drink. Some see these birds as nuisances but I quite enjoy their calls and watching the males interact while fighting for a female's attention.

Male Brown-headed Cowbird

Hope you enjoyed this post! Make sure to get outside and see what birds are in your area! May is the time to find birds that aren't normally seen in your area... make the most of it!

Fort Whyte Alive

Global Birding Big Day 2018. Here are some highlights from a trip I took to Fort Whyte Alive with my dad to see what there was to see. Big Day was on May 5 this year so most waterfowl species were back in numbers and songbird migration was gearing up. The day provided 50 species (21 FOYs and four lifers). Check out the eBird checklist here. My lifers were a Red-necked Grebe, Eared Grebe, Forster's Tern, and Ovenbird. Let's get into some pictures.

Canada Geese are quite approachable here as they are quite used to having people walking around them.

Canada Goose chilling on a nest.

I always love seeing Blue-winged Teals. Watching these birds fly is incredible. Some of our fastest flying ducks, Blue-winged Teals zip across the sky at around 80km/h twisting and turning as they go. They are spectacular ducks both in the water and in the air!

Blue-winged Teal pair with Canada Goose

Another Blue-winged Teal pair with a Yellow-rumped Warbler out of focus

Grebes are not very common to see and are pretty skittish making them pretty hard to photograph close-up (hence the blurriness due to heavy cropping). I got a decent picture of this Pied-billed grebe, but nothing good of the Red-necked Grebes, Eared Grebe, and Western Grebe that were also present.

Pied-billed Grebe

Here is a shot of a Horned Grebe that was cool enough to hang out pretty close to me. I rely on birds hanging close to me for the camera that I use does not have a great zoom capability nor high photo quality, so anything far away will be extremely cropped to be able to actually see the bird.

Horned Grebe

A bunch of American Coots could be found around the marsh as well!

American Coot

Another bird that, to me, means summer is upon us is the Tree Swallow. These birds require lots of open water above which they can fly around, acrobatically snatching insects out of the air on the wing.

Tree Swallow

The last photo I have for you today is this shot of a Yellow-rumped Warbler. These guys were all over the place. The peak of their migration occurs around this time, and there was no shortage of them. This little fellow posed perfectly for me above water and sat still long enough to let me get a good look at him.

Male Yellow-rumped Warbler

I was able to identify an Ovenbird by song, which was a cool lifer for me! Gulls were there in incredible numbers. I didn't even try to count the Franklin's Gulls, simply marking an "X" by them in the checklist. There were so many. 50 species in just under two hours of birding is a pretty good rate of seeing birds I'd say!

Fort Whyte Alive most certainly is one of the best places to bird inside the city limits here in Winnipeg. So many birds rely on this location as a rest stop during migration and a home throughout the breeding season. I would definitely recommend this as a top birding destination for anyone living in or passing through Winnipeg!

Joel G.