Three Manitoba birds added to Species At Risk Act

There is a short piece in CBC online today regarding recent additions to the Species At Risk Act (SARA). It also acknowledges our good work in projects such as the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas (www.birdatlas.mb.ca), the Important Bird Area program (https://importantbirdareasmb.ca/) and even some shorebirds surveys we did in the north. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the huge role that the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS: https://ec.gc.ca/reom-mbs/default.asp?lang=En&n=416B57CA-1) plays in determining trend, a critical piece of any designation, and the significant role of Manitoba birders in the BBS. Here is a link to a CBC article on these recent additions:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-bird-species-added-to-endangered-list-1.3659784

The photo shows a Horned Grebe. I took this shot recently in Churchill, Manitoba. Thank you to everyone involved in all these important programs!

A family of Eastern Screech-Owls

I put together a small album of photos of a family of Eastern Screech-Owls (Megascops asio). I monitored several nests this season (as best I could with other commitments) but these photos are all of one family unit that had five fledglings. The sequence is as follows: two photos showing the adults on day roosts; two photos showing the adults hunting caterpillars; a photos of all five young huddled together during a storm, then a photo of the remaining four after the first left, then a photo showing three; three photos showing an adult feeding the young (a beetle and caterpillars); a photo showing a young one dispensing with the caterpillar just delivered by a parent; four photos of youngsters out on their own; and finally a shot of one of the parents flying off after feeding. Enjoy!

 

  

  

  

 

The Fine Art of Subtlety: Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)

With special thanks to Jody Allair of Bird Studies Canada, I recently enjoyed observing a pair of Acadian Flycatchers on their breeding grounds in the dark Carolinian Forest of southern Ontario. The bird in the first photo is perched in a hemlock, a feature of their habitat selection, at least in this portion of their range. You might be excused for thinking they look just like any other empid (Empidonax flycatcher) but they are quite distinct with their long bill with very pale lower mandible and even partly pale sides to upper mandible; long primary projection; rich green mantle; yellowish tones in eye-ring, underparts and wingbars (less so than Yellow-bellied); “gentle” facial expression (created by the pale lores and malar); and of course their famous “pizza” two-note song. Watching this bird throw their head back and sing was certainly one of the avian highlights of my recent visit to Ontario for various meetings.

Oak Hammock Summer Bird Census

Oak Hammock Marsh is looking for volunteers for the summer bird census, See:
https://importantbirdareasmb.ca/2016/05/27/oak-hammock-marsh-summer-bird-census/