Least Bittern: Shoal Lakes IBA

Special thanks to Donna Martin for sharing her sightings of  Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) in the Shoal Lakes Important Bird Area. I decided to try to photograph them this morning and had enormous success photographing a male and an immature bird (probably hatch year male: note for example the black feathers with fine white tips coming through on the mantle). I was delighted to manage a series of behavioral observations: I loved the way they sneak around like mice and their fishing technique, especially how one wing would open during the back lurch (after the initial forward trust) as a balancing mechanism. I also enjoyed how they would shake their fish after catching them (presumably to kill them before swallowing) and the way they shook their whole body sideways when ingesting larger prey items (presumably to help gravity along!). They were also remarkably dexterous at manipulating prey items with the very tip of the bill. Most amazing of all to watch though, was the incredible flexibility in the legs and feet that enabled them to walk through the reeds clinging to vertical stems with ease! Here is a series of 21 photos that illustrate some of the above points:

Here is the male with his jet black back, fishing on a rock...

In this photo, you can see the bitterns' famous trick of looking forward "under" the bill...

 

 And here are two more poses of the male fishing...

These next photos are of a different bird with darker markings than the male, although there are black feathers mixed in with the otherwise brown back, which lead me to believe this might be a juvenile male... These first photos show how good at fishing was, catching several fish of different sizes while I watched:

I was impressed by the bittern's ability to handle tiny fry with the very tip of the bill as seen here...

The observations I most enjoyed was watching this Least Bitterns creep through the reeds, especially the amazing legs and huge feet that seemed capable of bending to extreme angles to grip whatever necessary. Watch as the bittern appears through the reeds, bending their body around the narrow gaps between them...

The feet are angled outward to grasp vertical reeds

here are a few photos of the bittern's stride wit hthe amazing reach of those large feet:

In this next shot the bittern had turned 90 degrees - note how the back leg is perpendicular to the body (impressive and graceful!)

A few poses to finish:

A long awaited photo opportunity of this elusive and Threatened (COSEWIC) species!

MISSISSIPPI KITE in Winnipeg!

An amazing finale to the 5^th and final field season for the Manitoba was confirmed breeding of Mississippi Kites in a riverside suburb of Winnipeg. You can see me talking about this incredible find on Breakfast Television Winnipeg at: http://www.btwinnipeg.ca/videos/3725151058001/

This species has been expanding northward and has been increasingly taking advantage of well treed suburbs so in some ways their appearance in Winnipeg makes sense; however, none of us foresaw them getting quite this far north quite so quickly. I got back from the field today and had my turn for a brief visit with the city’s illustrious guest and their downy nestling…

Here is the chick on August 6th - growing rapidly! More to follow...

WOLVERINE!

You can now "hear" this story on CBC Radio at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/close-encounter-with-wolverine-stuns-manitoba-biologist-1.2757107

Many of you will know how much I have poured my heart and soul into coordinating the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas over the past six years.  Some of you will also know how much emphasis I have placed on point counting (an extremely useful method of surveying birds where one stands still for a fixed period of time and counts all birds seen and heard), having completed approx 2800 for this project. After five years of summer point counts, on July 18, 2014, I prepared to do what I knew would be my last point counts for the atlas. I was feeling a little nostalgic as I headed out at 2:30 am for a 16 km hike across the dimly lit tundra to get into the last reachable square from the cabin we were staying in. I wasn’t quite expecting the grand finale that my last morning counting would turn out to be.  Early on, I got a brief look at a cream coloured wolf and then near the end of one point count I noticed some odd behaviour from a female Black Scoter – calling agitatedly and flying in a circle before disappearing behind a sedge meadow… then I noticed two little fuzz balls swimming quickly in the grassy edges towards the sound of her voice – this was the first confirmed breeding Black Scoter for the project!  As if that wasn’t enough, just seconds after I finished my final point count, put my notebook in my pocket, and reached down for my day pack, I noticed a movement ahead of me… incredibly, I was looking at my lifer WOLVERINE, a mammal I have dreamt of seeing for the better part of my life! I quickly and quietly took out my camera and the wolverine continued moving in my direction, busily searching the edges of the little ponds for food and scaring the phalaropes and other birds. I got a series of photos of the wolverine running and jumping across little water channels including the one below.  I still can’t quite believe it! Not a bird oddly enough but a truly magic moment (more tales and photos from the season to follow when the final field season completely wraps up for good in a few weeks). Here is a series of shots of this incredible animal:

My first view was something like this - light coloured fur moving through the low vegetation

It only took a second to realise I was looking at a Wolverine!

The wolverine was foraging, apparently looking for birds nests by digging and sniffing along the edge of the many pools and streams. Fortunately, the animal looked up and even showed me their tongue.

 Here is a series of the wolverine running and jumping across the streams and around the edge of the ponds and scaring the phalaropes

Eventually the animal kept on going (completely ignored me the whole time) and disappeared, leaving me shaking at the knees!

Nocturnal owl Surveying

It is Nocturnal Owl Survey season here in Canada and two nights ago I was treated to a few rewards before my survey got started – a pair of Barred Owls (Strix varia) duetting in the evening light (photo below shows the male, based on voice) and a Canada Lynx walking along the dirt road! Although common in some parts of their range, Barred Owls occur in low densities in Manitoba and are always a treat for us here.

The following night, I came across 4 Long-eared Owls (Asio otus) displaying in a clearing in a jack pine stand. The owls sometimes glided and sometimes zig-zagged over the clearing and would periodically clap their wings below them producing an audible “snap” noise (such aerial display also seen in other Asio species such as Short-eared Owl). Both sexes were involved as I heard both male and female voices, although I can’t be sure who was clapping. I took a little time in between survey routes to try to photograph this behaviour but was unsuccessful, although I got these shots of a calling bird (presumed male based on voice) at the edge of the clearing. I couldn’t stay long because I had to go on and do other surveys but it was sure hard to tear myself away from the performance.