Manitoba

Great Gray Owl Strix nebulosa ©T D Rodda Website
Birding Manitoba

Manitoba is a province at the longitudinal centre of Canada. It is one of the three prairie provinces (with Alberta and Saskatchewan) and Canada’s fifth-most populous province with its estimated 1.3 million people. Manitoba covers 250,900 square miles with a widely varied landscape. The province is bordered by the provinces of Ontario to the east and Saskatchewan to the west, the territories of Nunavut to the north, and Northwest Territories to the northwest, and the US states of North Dakota and Minnesota to the south.Manitoba is comprised of a diversity of habitats. Prairie grasslands, boreal forest, parkland, large expanses of marshland, the Canadian Shield and Hudson Bay coastline make this region attractive to many bird species. This province’s central geographic location in the North American Continent means that it can offer the birder varied species from the North, South, East and West.

Manitoba is truly one of North America’s bird watching hotspots.

Top Sites
  • Assiniboine Park & Riparian Forest

    WebsiteSatellite View
    Assiniboine Park began an ongoing riverbank restoration project beginning in 2006 and continuing each summer. The Assiniboine Park Riparian Forest (the strip of forest along the Assiniboine River within Assiniboine Park, just east of the footbridge on the south side of Portage Avenue) is a well known and loved recreational area. Over many years, the forest has lost a lot of vegetation due to flooding, invasive plant species that replace native species, and trampling from recreational activities such as hiking and biking. Generations of heavy trail use has caused extensive trail networks, soil compaction, and large areas of bare ground. The Assiniboine Park Riparian Forest Project is striving to help the riparian forest bounce back from heavy use and enhance the recreational trail experience.
  • Oak Hammock Marsh

    WebsiteSatellite View
    Oak Hammock Marsh 36 km2 Wildlife Management Area features a restored prairie marsh, aspen-oak bluff, waterfowl lure crops, artesian springs, some of Manitoba's last remaining patches of tall-grass prairie and 30 kilometers of trails. It is home to 300 species of birds. During migration season, the number of waterfowl using the marsh during migration can exceed 400,000 daily…
  • PP Hecla/Grindstone

    InformationSatellite View
    Here on the prairie, there's a place where stories of sunken ships and magical islands are told, where the water and fishing is a way of life. It's a place where endless days of outdoor adventure await….
  • PP Pembina Valley

    WebpageSatellite View
    Sweeping vistas of vividly coloured fields unfurl to the horizon from vantage points along hiking trails. A haven for songbirds, Pembina Valley swells with a symphony created by warblers, vireos and chickadees. Soar over to Hawk Alley in the nearby Windygates area – a popular route for red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks and golden eagles….
  • PP Whiteshell

    WebsiteSatellite View
    This is Canada as you knew it could be. From the Precambrian Shield to the multitude of lakes and rivers, the Whiteshell Park is Canada at its best! Almost 2800 square kilometres of protected wilderness parkland characterizes this Provincial Park located in eastern Manitoba…
  • WMA Delta Marsh

    WebpageSatellite View
    Delta Marsh is one of the greatest freshwater marshes of the world. The 18,000-hectare marsh stretches around the southern edge of Lake Manitoba. Delta is a great spot for a family day out – there are beaches, interpretive trails and plenty of wildlife. Spring is a busy time to visit Delta – the marsh and beach ridges are alive with migrating birds in all shapes and sizes. Colourful warblers migrate through in waves of thousands. Delta Marsh Bird Observatory, the busiest bird banding station in Canada, bands thousands of songbirds every year.
Contributors
  • Ann Cook

    Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba | acook@birdsofmanitoba.com

Number of Species
  • Number of bird species: 397

    As at June 2018

    Provincial Bird - Great Gray Owl Strix nebulosa

Useful Reading

  • A Birder's Guide to Churchill, Manitoba

    | By B Chartier | American Birding Association | 1994 | Spiralbound | 132 pages, 15 maps, colour & b/w photos, tables | ISBN: 9781878788078 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • Manitoba Birds

    | By Andy Bezener & Ken de Smet | Lone Pine Publishing | 2000 | Paperback | 176 pages, colour illustrations, maps | ISBN: 9781551052557 Buy this book from NHBS.com
  • Quick Reference to Manitoba & Saskatchewan Birds

    | Lone Pine Press | 2013 | Paperback | 12 pages, colour illustrations | ISBN: 9781551058955 Buy this book from NHBS.com
Observatories
  • Delta Marsh Bird Observatory

    Observatory WebsiteSatellite View
    The Delta Marsh Bird Observatory & Banding Station (DMBO) was established in 1994. It is Manitoba's contribution to providing continued information on migratory songbirds. It is one of five working banding stations in Canada and part of the Canadian Wildlife Services Canadian Landbird Monitoring Strategy. DMBO is destined to become one of a network of 260 monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship stations across North America.
Museums & Universities
Organisations
  • Delta Waterfowl Foundation

    Facebook Page
    Delta Waterfowl Foundation is an independent, non-profit waterfowl organization. Deltas mission is to promote sustainable waterfowl populations for the enjoyment of future generations.
  • Hudson Bay Project

    Website
    The 1997 field season was the second year of support for the Hudson Bay Project under our current funding arrangements. Intensive studies were undertaken at our 2 primary research sites, La P
  • Manitoba Naturalists Society

    Website
    Bird Outings, Birding Identification & References, Rare Bird Sightings, etc. etc
  • Manitoba Wildlife

    Website
    Extensive conservation site
Reserves

Abbreviations Key

  • Manitoba Parks

    WebsiteSatellite View
    Annotated list of parks with info on each…
  • NP Riding Mountain

    InformationSatellite View
    Riding Mountain, covering 3000 square kilometres (1158 sq. miles) of rolling hills and valleys, stretches eastward from a dramatic rise of land known as Manitoba Escarpment. This park includes expanses of boreal (northern) forest, a strip of eastern deciduous forest along the foot of the escarpment, huge meadows of rough fescue grasslands in its west end, and significant tracts of marsh and river-bottom wetland. This area of wilderness surrounded by agriculture is home to wolves, moose, elk, black bear, hundreds of bird species, countless insects and a captive bison herd…
  • NWA Pope

    WebpageSatellite View
    Pope NWA serves as a salvage waterfowl production area during drought years. Marsh edge, water depth and poor interspersion of adjacent wetlands limit its waterfowl production potential. The Wildlife Area provides habitat for songbirds, shorebirds and small mammals…
  • Oak Hammock Marsh

    WebsiteSatellite View
    Oak Hammock Marsh 36 km2 Wildlife Management Area features a restored prairie marsh, aspen-oak bluff, waterfowl lure crops, artesian springs, some of Manitoba's last remaining patches of tall-grass prairie and 30 kilometers of trails. It is home to 25 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, numerous amphibians, reptiles, and fish, and countless invertebrates. During migration season, the number of waterfowl using the marsh during migration can exceed 400,000 daily!
  • WMA Rockwood

    WebpageSatellite View
    Rockwood National Wildlife Area serves as an oasis for wildlife because of intensive land use on adjacent lands…
Sightings, News & Forums
  • Birds & Birding in Manitoba

    Forum, news
    Discussion Group - Information on birds and birding in Manitoba, Canada.Manitoba birds is acceptable.
  • Manitoba Bird news

    News
    News
Guides & Tour Operators
  • Bird Treks

    Tour Operator
    Bird Treks has been providing small group and custom birding tours for over 20 years. Visit their website to see the incredible tours available, including nesting shorebirds and whales in Manitoba!
  • Bird Ventures

    Tour Operator
    Venture to North Dakota and Southern Manitoba
  • Churchill Nature Tours

    Website
    Manitoba Birdwatching Tours . . .Two tours available: 7 Day or 14 Day Packages . . .Since 1985, we have specialized in ornithology tours throughout Manitoba. This province is endowed with very diverse habitats and rich natural ecosystems. Manitoba is a vast wild province and remains a tourism frontier . . . offering quiet, quality encounters with nature. Birdwatching tours provide an excellent "window on the natural world" . . . by the design and destinations visited, we explore more landscapes and observe more wildlife than other types of tours.
  • Churchill Wilderness Encounter

    Tour Operator
    Discover the Birds of Churchill - With more than 200 bird species passing through each season, Churchill is one of the great destinations for the birding enthusiast. These tours are offered daily throughout the spring and summer. Areas visited will vary depending upon the current location of species sought by those on tour. Some of the unique species which may be seen include: Ross`s Gull, Smith`s Longspur, Parasitic Jaeger, Hoary Redpoll, Willow Ptarmigan and Pacific Loon…
  • Eagle-eye Tours

    Tour Operator
    Usually several trips a year…
Trip Reports
  • 2014 [06 June] - Cal Cuthbert

    PDF Report
    This was the ninth Birdquest tour to Manitoba and as has become standard course the birds and other wildlife, the habitats, the scenery and experiences all combined to make the tour a memorable one. There were no shortages of surprises following the coldest recorded winter in the province in 116 years with many species of birds arriving on time but with others “behind schedule”. Nevertheless the tour total of 227 species of birds (and 23 mammal species) can certainly be considered respectable.
  • 2017 [06 June] - Rosemary Royle

    PDF Report
    We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and were pleased that our planning worked out pretty well (even when we had to change it – see below!). We saw 28 species of waterfowl, 19 species of warbler and 17 species of sparrow, and we managed to get 25 lifers. We missed out (again) on Boreal Chickadee whilst Stilt Sandpiper and Smith’s Longspur eluded us, but we explored and enjoyed four truly contrasting areas of Canada all within one state.
  • 2018 [07 July] - Ray O'Reilly

    PDF Report
    Following my retirement at the end of 2017, Lyn and I wanted to take a long wildlife trip abroad and we chose Canada because I had been there on three previous occasions and enjoyed my time there immensely and also the fact that it is packed with wildlife and English is spoken as a first language in our chosen provinces. We flew to Winnipeg via Toronto with Air Canada from Heathrow and returned from Vancouver 53 days later with the same airline.
  • 2020 [03 March] - Rockjumper

    PDF Report
    ...even before arriving at our first location, Chris had spotted a Great Grey Owl at the side of the highway from the van!
  • 2022 [07 July] - John Carlson - Churchill Birds, Bears and Belugas

    PDF Report
    .... We observed our only reptile for the trip while in the canoe -a couple of Painted Turtles were lounging in the pondweed as we paddled by. American White Pelicans flew above us, and an Eastern Phoebe foraged along the shore along with a few Yellow Warblers. Both Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos were singing in the wooded areas around the center...
Other Links
  • Churchill Birdwatching

    Website
    Over 150 species of birds frequent the area. The great numbers of species, as well as the presence of these species in their colorful summer plumage attracts many avid birders, who arrive not only by rail but also by air. There is much excitement each day to see which new species have turned up overnight…
  • Manitoba bird watching

    Website
    Bird outings are held on a regular basis throughout the year, primarily in the spring/fall. They are a great way to share knowledge and meet other people interested in Manitoba birds. Information about upcoming outings can be found on the online bird outings page in the outdoor activities section, or in our newsletter, Nature Manitoba News.
Blogs
  • Craig Stewart - Birds of Manitoba

    BLOG
  • Dr Christian Artuso - Birds & Wildlife

    BLOG
    I am a conservationist, ornithologist, bird guide, wildlife photographer and birder. I currently live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with my wonderful wife. I have a Ph.D. in Environmental Science (thesis on the Eastern Screech-Owl) and work for Bird Studies Canada.

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