Double jaeger whammy

Jaegers on the big lakes of southern Manitoba are far from common; so I was ecstatic when Josiah Van Egmond called out “jaeger” as we were scoping the water at Victoria Beach on 2020-09-19. I was blown away (literally and figuratively) to see the super long-tail streamers that immediately identified the bird as Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus), accompanied by that “lighter” flight style that I came to know and love while atlassing in northern Manitoba (when we documented them as nesting in Manitoba, previously unconfirmed: https://www.birdatlas.mb.ca/accounts/speciesaccount.jsp?sp=LTJA&lang=en . I had not realised that it was possible for adult Long-tailed Jaegers to keep the tail streamers on the southbound migration, but I have since learned from Peter Pyle that this does happen and that their moult is highly variable. Peter Taylor tells me that, if the record was accepted, this would be the first record of a Long-tailed Jaeger in southern Manitoba in 118 years. Sadly, I did not manage any usable photos of the Long-tailed Jaeger, mostly because it flew back and away from us and by the time it landed on the water it was so far away I couldn’t find it in my camera lens so instead went back to studying it in the scope. Then, while my head was buried in the scope, Josiah called out “there’s a second jaeger coming in”. The two jaegers were visible together for a while but the Long-tailed disappeared around the west of Elk Island, whereas the second jaeger first flew north towards Sandy Bar and then back south and closer, landing on the water a few times, in between bouts of harassing a few gulls and terns. This allowed me to identify the second bird as an adult Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) and capture a few super distant record shots. I thought that getting more than one species of jaeger in Manitoba would only be possible in Churchill and the far north, but who knows what the wind can blow in…

 

 

Santa Marta Screech-Owl described to science

The Santa Marta Screech-Owl has finally been described as Megascops gilesi by Niels Krabbe. First "discovered" in 2007, I took the photo below in 2008. It took 10 years from discovery to description! See: https://www.hbw.com/new-species/santa-marta-screech-owl for a short write-up or read the full paper at: http://asociacioncolombianadeornitologia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/16eA08.pdf.

Citation 
Krabbe, N. 201. A new species of Megascops (Strigidae) from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, with notes on voices of New World screech-owls. Ornitología Colombiana 16: eA08-1.

Manitoba's Painted Redstart

Manitoba's first and Canada's third Painted Redstart (Myioborus pictus), also known as "Painted Whitestart", showed up in Pinawa 11 days ago. This species breeds from Arizona and New Mexico down through the mountains of western Mexico into Nicaragua. Although the southern populations are resident, the populations in the southern U.S.A migrate south. Sometimes, the phenomenon of "reverse migration" takes a bird in the wrong direction, presumably due to a miscue of the innate (genetic) aspect of migration. In this case, instead of heading south towards Mexico this Painted Redstart has flown north to Manitoba and found itself in Pinawa. Its behaviour over the past 11 days suggests it has set up a winter territory in a small residential area. Currently it has enough to eat and appears very healthy (flying well and foraging actively) but its prospects of escaping winter's inevitable grip are slim. For now though, the balmy November weather southern Manitoba is enjoying is keeping our rare visitor in fine form and a steady stream of birders have come to watch this rarity. Seeing this bird today along with northern species like Hoary Redpoll, felt a little surreal. The four photos below show the bird perched, feeding by gleaning invertebrate prey from bark, and calling. Most interesting for me was to observe how it foraged like a nuthatch (third photo) in an effort to glean food from bark crevices (and also dead insects presumably from gutters and the like).

 

Harlequin Duck, Delta Marsh IBA

This is short post to document the Harlequin Duck found by Matt Gasner on Sunday 28^th as part of the Delta Important Bird Area blitz (https://importantbirdareasmb.ca) and seen yesterday by Bonnie Chartier and Liis Veelma and then found by Jo Swartz and myself early this morning.  I have also added two photos of the lingering second-cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull at PR 227 dump (as earlier identified by Amar Ayyash from photos submitted by Donna Martin) and a photo of the Red Knot found by Colin Blyth and team on the Delta IBA blitz on August 28^th and photographed by me on August 29th. Another highlight of the blitz was a flock of at least 34 Buff-breasted Sandpipers. Can you see any of them them in the last photo below (I gave you help with 4 of them by pasting 4 cropped sections in the top row)?

 
  

Dickcissel

While scouting for our Important Bird Area (IBA) blitz in the Southwest Mixed-Grass Prairie Important Bird IBA, Tim Poole and I were driving east along road 12N, when I heard a Dickcissel. After breaking a little hard, we backed up and had fantastic looks at a male singing on the power line. Later that evening two males were heard singing in the area. Since we have not had many Dickcissels in Manitoba since the last irruption in 2012 (although there were a few in 2013), and since this is the first report this year that I am aware of I decided to post this photo.

Red-list Update

When a once abundant species like Hooded Vulture gets upgraded to Critically endangered (CR), there is clearly something very wrong! Birdlife International’s 2015 updates to the IUCN red list are now viewable at: http://www.birdlife.org/globally-threatened-bird-forums/2015/10/global-iucn-red-list-for-birds-2015-changes

Two Vitally Important PFRA Community Pastures in Manitoba (and Saskatchewan)

The Ellice-Archie and Spy-Hill-Ellice PFRA community pastures are two grassland gems of critical importance to grassland birds in Manitoba. This post is a very brief introduction to their importance for grassland birds and why they are such a key piece for our efforts to retain a grassland ecosystem with a full suite of species (when so many grasslands are under threat of being converted).

The two PFRA community pastures straddle the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border near the town of St-Lazare in Manitoba and Spy Hill in Saskatchewan. As you can see from the Google earth screen shot below, the pastures are large enough that they can be seen from a zoomed out aerial view (this is vitally important for area-sensitive species and also because most of our grasslands are only tiny remnants). You can compare their size with some other visible features such as Riding Mountain to understand their importance. No other grassland in Manitoba is so large.

This detailed image gives you a better sense of the extent of the pastures (a red asterisk is placed near the centre of each pasture). You will also note the white rectangle in Saskatchewan near the pastures which is a large potash mine and another cause for concern in this area:

This zoomed-in image shows how the landscape is structured here. The Assiniboine and Qu'apelle Rivers meet here and both carve deep river valleys. The lower shelf of the river valleys has large and tall riparian deciduous woodlands (also known as gallery forests), the steep slopes have more scrubby oak and aspen vegetation and then, as you climb out of the valleys you are greeted with the vast open prairie on top. This is a glimpse into the way it used to be across the northern prairies before they were ploughed and divvied up. The photo below that also gives a sense of how the river valley climbs to the grasslands on top.

If you'd like to have that feeling of standing in a sea of grass, then this is your place! These three photos give you a sense of the magnitude of the grasslands here.

Unfortunately, some parts of the pastures have been seeded to non-native grasses but there are still large sections of native grasses with high abundance of grassland birds. Some of the key species are introduced below:

These pastures are a key site for the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) in Manitoba. This species is highly threatened with red listings as follows:
International listing (IUCN): Near-threatened.
Canadian listing (SARA): Threatened.
Manitoba listing (ESEA): Endangered

In just two days, I counted over 200 Chestnut-collared Longspurs here this summer and that was in only a small section of the southern pasture. Here are three photos of a male, female and their nest with 6 eggs (click back). See also: http://birdatlas.mb.ca/speciesatrisk/species/ChestnutcollaredLongspur/species.htm

These pastures are also important for the Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii) in Manitoba. This species is highly threatened with red listings as follows:
International listing (IUCN): Vulnerable
Canadian listing (SARA): Threatened.
Manitoba listing (ESEA): Threatened

In just two days, I counted over 70 Sprague's Pipits in one section of the pasture and the neighbouring Nature Conservancy of Canada holdings. The density of this species, which is sensitive to edge effects, is unparallelled anywhere else in Manitoba and that is presumably due to the extensive size of the grasslands.

2015 has been a very strange years for grassland bird distribution in Manitoba. Interestingly, we are finding many more Baird's Sparrows (Ammodramus bairdii) than usual and in sites further east and north of their recent occurrence in this province. Finding 4 Baird’s Sparrows in these pastures, where they have not been recorded since the 1980s, was very special for me. One of these birds was very close to Nature Conservancy of Canada holdings in this important grassland area. This species is listed as Special Concern federally in Canada but in considered Endangered provincially under Manitoba’s Endangered Species and Ecosystems Act.

The above three species are the key grassland specialist species in this pasture; however, other Species At Risk occur here too such as this Short-eared Owl (Special Concern) photographed quartering over the pasture.

Other Species At Risk such as Burrowing Owl, Ferruginous Hawk and Loggerhead Shrike have been recorded here in the past and could occur again in future if these pastures are safeguarded.  Some other important grassland birds that are not (yet) considered Species At Risk such as Grasshopper Sparrow (photo below) are also found here in good numbers.

Of course, many other birds make their home here: raptors include Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson's Hawk and Northern Harrier (photo below)

Upland-breeding shorebirds that breed in this pasture or close to it  include the Marbled Godwit (two photos below of these large shorebirds defending their territory)

 

The Upland Sandpiper also breeds here in good numbers:

... as does the Willet (seen here perched on a pasture fence post).

This is also one of the very best places in the whole province of Manitoba to see Mountain Bluebirds.   Eastern Bluebirds are very common in Manitoba but Mountain Bluebirds are becoming increasingly rare and difficult to see (perhaps due in part to Eastern Bluebirds expanding westward with the placement of bluebird boxes). In this part of the world, the Mountain Bluebird is a prairie species to watch! 

Exploring the river bottom forest and the shrubby hillside of course will produce a much more comprehensive list of species; however this area is most significant for threatened grassland birds. We are watching to  ensure these pastures remain as pastures and continue to convey the great benefits to the prairie ecosystem that they have for so long! For more information, see: http://www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/cdc/pdf/stlazare.pdf

Identyfying the Golden Eagle in Manitoba

Early spring and late fall is the time to be on the look out for Golden Eagles, a very uncommon species in Manitoba. Of course, you always have to be careful to distinguish immature Bald Eagles from Goldens (probably at least 99 out of every 100 brown-headed eagles you see in Manitoba will be immature Bald Eagles) so I am sharing these four photos of a Golden Eagle (prob. 2nd cycle), two perched from front and back and two in flight showing underparts and upperparts. I photographed this bird on a Nature Conservancy of Canada property south of Riding Mountain National Park in early October (thanx Sandra for the nudge – better late than never, eh!)

Things to look for include in this series of images:

*    golden nape patch of GOEA shows in all plumages but can be hard to see on a soaring bird (always look for this feature)

*    small-headed appearance of GOEA, esp. in flight (BAEA head and bill more elongated and “stick out” more from body)

*    the tail pattern of GOEA is distinctive but be aware of the difference between immature that show a very distinctive white band and adults that show much less white in tail (subtle bands) and compare the extent of white in the various plumages of immature Bald Eagle

*    larger size of GOEA sometimes useful but difficult to judge in field and , as always with raptors, be aware of size difference between the sexes

*    typically darker colouration of GOEA than immature BAEA, although this can be tricky to judge under field conditions

Also worth noting:

*    size compared to Canada Geese in photo (they were passing by – eagle not chasing them)

*    regrowing primaries on this bird that give the wing an odd shape

*    for ageing of this bird, look for the limited white in the underwing and the partially translucent effect at the base of the primaries, along with a relatively limited amount of white in the tail (e.g. note how when viewed from underside no white visible but when fanned and viewed from above a white band is clearly present, even though not quite as extensive nor as defined nor as contrasting as a first year bird) and also more gold in the shoulder than a first year bird

*    the sheer awesomeness of this creature!

All the best to all the best!

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!