David's Photos

This trip was mostly for a family reunion on my mom's side, but we also included the wedding of a family friend, visiting my dad's side of the family, and I even got a few decent days of birding in, exploring some new territory to find some different birds for Manitoba!

July 27, 2008 - Sault Ste. Marie, ON to Thunder Bay, ON - 730 km

Most of today was spent driving, our first stop was at Agawa Bay to see the pictographs. We'd been here once before but when we were quite a bit younger. The scenery is nice in this area, and I added a few boreal birds to the list such as White-winged Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Purple Finch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, and Red-breasted Nuthatch. Merlin was a heard-only as we walked back to the car, and Magnolia, Black-throated Green, and Yellow-rumped Warblers were seen. We stopped at the Michipicoten River for lunch and to see the falls, amid quite a few mosquitoes and blackflies - little did we know worse was yet to come! Our other stop to stretch was at the Aguasabon Falls near Terrace Bay - nice falls. We stopped in Thunder Bay for the night, after eating a great steak (at least I did) and going for a walk around a local park. 28 species today.

July 28, 2008 - Thunder Bay, ON to Winnipeg, MB - 709 km

Another day of driving, and a definite lack of birds flying across the highway - not even a single Gray Jay or "Three-toed" Woodpecker, although I did manage to get a Northern Goshawk as it flew not 100 feet in front of the car. We stopped at the info centre just inside the Manitoba border, and my first new Manitoba bird was a flock of Evening Grosbeaks flying overhead. Some other birds as we got closer to the windy city were Broad-winged Hawk, Eastern Kingbird, and Purple Martin. We stayed at a casino-hotel for the night. 24 species today.

July 29, 2008 - Winnipeg - Gimli, MB + Bird's Hill, Kildonan, OHM - 216 km

I managed to convince my parents that a quick morning of birding a new area would be a good idea, so my dad decided to take me to Bird's Hill P.P. (well, I decided on the place...). I'd never been here before, and had no info on it, so we were just winging it and seeing what there was to see. We got there sometime around 6:30 am, and first cruised around to try and buy a permit, which you need to enter the park. After visiting all the places they suggested to buy one, and finding all of them closed, we gave up on that front and decided to go find a likely-looking spot. While driving around we saw Broad-winged Hawk, Red-eyed Vireo, and some other common birds. We stopped near some pine forest/meadow habitat, and took a walk down the 'trail' - more like a two-track - and found Vesper Sparrows, Pine Siskins, Chestnut-sided Warblers, and Purple Martins, but no Lark Sparrows as I was hoping. Then we headed toward the lake in the middle of the park, and in some wet grassy area near the parking lot picked up Sedge Wren and Le Conte's Sparrow. Around the lake we had Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, a nice Wilson's Snipe sitting not 10 feet away, several warblers including Yellow, Black-and-white, and Chestnut-sided, Tree, Barn, and Bank Swallows, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and both Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos. Further along in the park, we stopped at an obviously planted red pine stand, and found a juvie Cooper's Hawk sitting in a tree. It allowed good looks, but no photos among the many branches. By now it was getting about time to head back, so we left the park, stopping at a bridge over the Red River on the way back and adding Spotted Sandpiper to the list. After breakfast we drove into the downtown to buy the Finding Birds in Southern Manitoba - a great book, if you plan on visiting the southern part of MB. We then drove to Kildonan Park for a walk - nice place but fairly small with many people and not so many birds around, although I did find Wood Ducks and a Northern Cardinal (the cardinal isn't exactly common in MB). After the walk we headed to the famous Oak Hammock Marsh, and got there in the rain. While it rained, we ate lunch and then made a dash for the visitor centre to wait out the storm. It eventually stopped, and I did a scan from the roof of the centre, which found Black Terns, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Marsh Wrens, American White Pelicans, Cliff Swallows, and many Coots, Ruddy Ducks, and Blue-winged Teal. We decided to walk out to one of the mounds, where Pied-billed, Red-necked, Eared, and Western Grebes floated among Redhead, Green-winged Teal, both Scaups, Northern Pintail and Mallards, and we heard Sora and Common Yellowthroat calling. The only shorebirds we saw at Oak Hammock were Killdeer, but no worries as better was approaching in Whitewater Lake, I just knew it. We then continued on to Gimli, where we stayed at the Misty Lake Lodge - great place - during the reunion. Some birds around our cabin were both Eastern and Western Kingbird, Franklin's Gull, Chimney Swift, Baltimore Oriole, Forster's and Common Tern, Clay-colored Sparrow, Eastern Phoebe, and Least Flycatcher. 83 species for today, much better than the last few!

July 30, 2008 - Gimli and Hecla - 215 km

The day started bright and early (for me and my mom at least), and we headed off to Hecla Provincial Park in the twilight hours - about an hour north of Gimli. On the way out of the lodge grounds, I spotted an Otter sliding into the ditch. We only made one stop along the way, to look through a flock of close to 1000 gulls - mostly Franklin's, but with some Ring-billed and Californias mixed in. Along the way we added Lesser Yellowlegs, Ruddy Duck, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Tern, Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, Common Loon, and Black-billed Magpie. We headed right to the West Quarry Trail, as it sounded fairly likely to turn up some new birds. If you ignored the hordes of mosquitoes (see, I told you it got worse..), it was actually quite a nice place, with a little blind looking over a pond (Ring-necked Duck, American Wigeon, Pied-billed Grebe), mixedwood forest (Winter Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Cedar Waxwing), and a 'lagoon' (Belted Kingfisher). Back to the mosquitoes though, as they were a major part of our time here. It had been a pretty wet summer, so the mosquitoes were worse than usual. Everywhere around Gimli and Hecla there were millions of them, but once we got into the drier southwest, there were hardly any. Back to the park, we got a respite from the torture on a small rocky point of land that ran parallel to the shore. At the very tip, some American White Pelicans rested along with Greater Yellowlegs, Gadwall, and a mystery duck - I didn't bring the scope. As we were psyching ourselves up for the return journey, I noticed some movement in the bushes just across the water...warblers!!! I then spent the next 20 minutes or so sorting through the mixed flock, and picked out Yellow, Palm, Blackburnian, Canada, Nashville and Black-and-white Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, and American Redstart, along with Black-capped Chickadees, White-throated Sparrows, and Golden-crowned Kinglets. We then (quickly) headed back to the car, and drove up to North Point to meet up with the rest of the family. Near the point we came across 3 fox kits in the road. One of them was quite curious and allowed for decent photos, but the other two were more wary of us in the car. At the point, the others weren't there yet, so we wandered around the point for a while, then took a walk down the Sunset Beach Trail to the campground. At the point I added Boreal Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and Yellow-rumped and Blackpoll Warblers. Along the trail was a Bald Eagle perched in a tree right above us - no camera though... Closer to the campground were Black-throated Green Warblers and Red Crossbills. Back at the point, the rest of the family showed up, and I added a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. We then headed to the town of Hecla, where I added a Northern Shoveler while taking a tour around the old Icelandic village. On the way out of the park, I added LeConte's Sparrow and Sedge Wren, then we stopped at the wildlife viewing tower for lunch and added Swamp Sparrow. That was it for the birding part of the day, and we headed back to the lodge to swim and then headed for the first day of the reunion. I won't go into details, but I did add Great Crested Flycatcher and Ruby-throated Hummingbird while there...and ate a lot of food. 77 species today, plus Mink, Otter, and 3 foxes for 'special' mammals.

July 31 - Gimli - 51 km

I didn't do any birding today, but went golfing and swimming - usual vacation activities, along with the reunion activities and hanging out with cousins and the like. Bird highlights, however, were: Black-and-white Warbler, Purple Martin, Pine Siskin, Great Crested Flycatcher, Franklin's Gull, and both Eastern and Western Kingbird - often in the same tree! 19 species.

August 1 - Gimli - Winnipeg - 123 km

After saying goodbye to my grandparents, my brother and I spent the morning on the beach with the cousins, then we had to pack up and head back to Winnipeg to see my dad's sister and family. Only 11 species today, highlight being House Wren.

August 2 - Winnipeg - Farm (Deloraine) - ~340 km

I forgot to keep track of the mileage today and the next few days...so everything is approximated. From August 2-4 we drove 646 km. We went out for breakfast with my cousins, then went to a friend of the family's wedding at the north end of the city. After that it was time to head to the farm. We ate supper in Brandon, and continued on. Once we got closer to the farm, I started to see more of the southwestern specialties. Just outside Boissevain, a beauty of a Swainson's Hawk was sitting on a sign in the pre-sunset light. Western Kingbirds and Red-tailed Hawks were perched on telephone poles everywhere, and Franklin's Gulls flocked, going to the lake to roost for the night. On the 451, there was an Upland Sandpiper perched on a pole. I hadn't noticed many of the birds that were supposed to be here (Upland Sandpiper, Mountain Bluebird, Loggerhead Shrike, etc.) on previous visits, as I had no idea where to actually find them. Now that I had the guide I was set! On the gravel road to the farm, Sprague's Pipits and Vesper and Savannah Sparrows flew off the road, and a Loggerhead Shrike perched on a shrubby tree. 21 species today.

August 3 - Farm + Whitewater Lake + Coulter, MB

I decided to take a morning jaunt over to Whitewater Lake, shorebird capital of Manitoba. It didn't fail to impress. On the way there, I stopped to look for Orchard Orioles but with no luck...maybe next time. I did find Western Meadowlarks, Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, both Kingbirds, and many Barn, Bank, and Tree Swallows, some in flocks of up to 500+ birds! The first bird I saw at the lake was a Black-crowned Night-Heron, the first of many. On the flats (much more expansive than last year!) were a ton of shorebirds. It took me a while to sort through them all, but I did find 21 sp. (Semipalmated and American Golden-Plovers, Baird's, Semipalmated, Least, Spotted, Pectoral, and Solitary Sandpipers, Wilson's Phalarope, American Avocet, Willet, Ruddy Turnstone, Marbled Godwit, Sanderling, and both Long- and Short-billed Dowitchers). In total there were well over 2000 birds present, and that's just shorebirds! Ducks and grebes were also everywhere, with about 2000 or so Coots, and 5000+ of the other species combined. Most of the ducks and grebes for the trip were found here, check out the list at the end. The lake did hold some surprises, with a Snowy Egret not too far down the shore, a Snow Goose patrolling the flats, a Trumpeter Swan(!) loafing on a mudbar with about 200 Canada Geese, a California Gull in with the Ring-bills, and 4 Cattle Egrets hanging out with - what else? - a herd of cattle about 800m or so away. Some other birds hanging around the marsh were Yellow-headed Blackbird, Sora, Black and Forster's Terns, Marsh and Sedge Wrens, and many American White Pelicans. At this point I decided I had seen all the shorebirds and ducks that were near the entrance, so I decided to head out to the tower before I had to get back to the farm. On the way out, I flushed up an American Black Duck along with several hundred Coots and other ducks. The Black Duck was my only one of the trip, and if you check out the range maps it was quite a bit west of where it should be. I continued walking and heard a strange chipping sound. Ok, so tons of birds make chip noises but this one I'd never heard before. Sure enough, when I pished - out popped a Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow! It fluttered around me, trying to figure out what I was doing, and kept making its chip calls while I photo'd it. I then spotted another one - probably it's mate, and decided that I'd bothered it enough for one day, so kept walking. Perched on the tower was a juvenile Bald Eagle, watching over the multitude of birds below it. I decided to scope the flats on this side before I popped out there, as the birds were already starting to flush (that's the disadvantage of a raised walking area...). More godwits, sandpipers, plovers, dowitchers - wait - those godwits look smaller than the Marbled over there - Hudsonian!!!! I counted a total of 12 Hudsonians mixed in with the dowitchers and marbled's, all in winter plumage or a mix of winter and breeding. My only lifer of the trip, and one I wasn't expecting! After studying these for a while, I looked to the west - and saw a thunderstorm heading my way! @#^%$! I ran most of the way (1.5km) back to the car, and managed to get there just as the sky was starting to open up. By now I had to head back anyway, so no waiting out the storm for me... Back at the farm I had lunch (my cousins had by this time gotten out there), and showed my family the finds of the morning. It was then decided that we'd spend the afternoon exploring the Coulter area - hooray, new territory! I found Clay-colored Sparrow and Horned Lark around the farm before we piled into the car and my aunt's jeep, and headed off. I got to drive, so I didn't see a whole ton of birds on the way, but I did manage Swainson's Hawk, Upland Sandpiper, and Prairie Falcon among many Red-tailed Hawks and sparrows. Our first stop was in a field that was some sort of burial site a long time ago - now it housed Northern Flicker, American Goldfinch, and Cedar Waxwings along with a herd of cattle. Then it was on to Coulter Park proper, where the birding was more interesting. Not all of the birds mentioned in the book were around this summer, but I did find Sedge Wren, Hooded Merganser, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Yellow-throated Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch, Gray Catbird, Eastern Phoebe, Willow Flycatcher and Brown Thrasher. Then it was time to head back to the farm for supper. Back at the farm, I had Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, Sprague's Pipit, Purple Martin, Black-billed Magpie, and Yellow Warbler. After dark, I heard a Common Nighthawk making it's peenting noises as it flew around. Today was the highest single day of the trip, with 103 species.

August 4 - Farm + Whitewater Lake

After my successes yesterday, my aunt was interested in joining me for a morning of birding around the lake. We headed back, checking the same spots as I had the day previous, finding mostly the same birds, but the blackbird flocks had increased dramatically, with quite a few flocks of 5 000+ birds, some maybe as high as 10 000. At the flats, shorebird numbers at first seemed lower, but it turned out they had just moved around. Most species had greater numbers than yesterday, but some were lower, or missing altogether. Only 4 Hudsonian Godwits were still around, but one new bird turned up - in full breeding plumage still! All of the larger shorebirds, plus Baird's Sandpiper had more individuals, but most of the small shorebirds seemed to have left overnight. Only two new birds from yesterday - a White-faced Ibis flying away over the marsh, and a Bonaparte's Gull sitting with the Ring-bills. The Snowy Egret, swan, and Snow Goose were still around, along with a few Cattle Egrets. We came across a huge flock of ducks, mostly made up of Shovelers, Pintail, Teal, Mallards, and Wigeon, that was probably close to 1000 birds total. I showed her the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows, who were still around, and a Sedge Wren that was singing in the marsh. A Bald Eagle was again perched on the tower, and another one came and chased it off! We then drove around to the other side of the lake, as it had started to rain. Along the way, we found Swainson's Hawks, American Kestrels, and Upland Sandpipers. We stopped along the road to see an Upland up close, and I heard a weird song coming from the field - I had an idea of what it was but I looked in the book and found a description of the Sprague's Pipit song - sure enough, there it was! We listened to it sing for a while, then continued down the road, flushing up many more Upland Sandpipers along the way. The road we were supposed to take didn't look too good, so we chose an alternate route, and came across a flock of 1000+ swallows - mostly Bank but with some juvenile and adult Tree Swallows mixed in. Then we went to the west access point for the lake, which involved driving down a two-track with 3-foot high grasses and weeds growing in the middle of it, and the occasional mud patches from the rain. In a truck this would have been fine, but we were in a Toyota Camry. It was a bit tricky driving, but I managed it, and we got to the access point just fine. At the shore, it didn't look to far from anything so left the scope in the car. Bad idea, as not long after I spotted a white ploverish bird about 500m down the shore. I ran back to the car, grabbed the scope, and ran to the lake again. Piping Plover! In full winter plumage, but a great bird nonetheless. It did have a band or two, but I was too far away. There were a few flocks of Long-billed Dowitchers flying by, and some Sanderlings hanging out with the plover, but not much else here. Now the real fun began, as I drove out a different way than I came. It looked ok at first, but then turned into patches of mud that got larger and larger. I couldn't stop now, as I would get stuck, and couldn't turn around on the two-track anyway, so I kept going. Pretty soon, I got stuck. After about half an hour of messing around, we managed to get the car out...but it was now covered in mud. To avoid getting stuck again, I kept up a steady 50-60 km/h down the track, with one tire on the middle and one pretty much in the cornfield. It was pretty slippery going, and we got tossed around a bit, but I managed to get out. We then headed directly for Deloraine and a car wash. We managed to get most of the mud off the car, but my mom noticed something was up when we got back. She's weird like that - even if the dirt is unnoticeable to anybody else, she'll see it. At least we'd managed to get out and got the car pretty much clean... Back at the farm I found Purple Martin, Black-billed Magpie, and some others. 90 species today.

August 5 - Farm - Superior, WI - 811 km

We said goodbye to the farm, and headed for home. Along the highway were more Swainson's Hawks (including a dark morph!) and many Red-tails, but as soon as we got into North Dakota, the hawk numbers dropped off dramatically. The reason? No poles for them to sit on...In ND we drove by some roadside sloughs, finding Pelicans, many ducks, a few grebes and geese, blackbirds, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, Long-billed Dowitcher, Baird's Sandpiper, and Least Sandpiper. There wasn't a whole lot of interest along the ND roads, but I did add a few to my ND list. In Minnesota, it was more of the same, but fewer species. We stopped at an info centre/rest stop for a break, and took a walk down a trail, where I found Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Chimney Swift, Wood Duck, and a female Orchard Oriole. Sharp-shinned Hawk highlighted the rest of the way to Duluth, where my last bird in MN was a Peregrine Falcon flying around the buildings just as we crossed the bridge to WI. We went for a walk along the waterfront before bed, but didn't find anything too interesting. Somewhere around 70 sp. for the day.

August 6 - Superior, WI - Sault Ste. Marie, ON - 719 km

We had a fairly uneventful drive back home, all the birds were the common city/backyard birds of the UP. It was a pretty good trip, with a lot more species than on previous trips, although I did spend time in a number of different habitats and with better information. Below is the trip list, year birds in bold, new Canada birds with a *, and the lifer with ***. I also added 39 species to my Manitoba list, along with a few to my ND, MN, and WI lists.