A Harris’s Sparrow pours out its song from a dead Black Spruce at Churchill. Photo: Michael O’Brien
Located at about 60 degrees N on the western shore of Hudson Bay, Churchill has long attracted birdwatchers, in part because it is one of the few communities above treeline accessible by rail but more significantly because its location in a transition zone between boreal forest, tundra and Hudson Bay offers an unusually diversified avifauna. Since 1930, when Churchill became an important grain port with the completion of the railroad from the south, many biological investigations have been conducted here including comprehensive studies on the breeding biology of shorebirds. As a result, the birdlife of northeastern Manitoba is probably better known than that of any other region at comparable latitude in North America. Breeding shorebirds are remarkably tame and they, along with the tundra wildflowers, mammals and striking landscapes, furnish an abundance of subjects for photographers. Our visit to Churchill will be preceded by several days of exciting birdwatching in southern Manitoba. We’ll visit deciduous and coniferous forests, prairies, marshes and lakes including two full days in Riding Mountain National Park, an impressive “island” of boreal forest and lakes set in the Manitoba plains. Each of these habitats contains its own particular birds and together they provide a pleasing contrast to the tundra and stunted spruce of Churchill.
Day 1: The trip begins at 6 p.m. in Winnipeg. Night in Winnipeg.
Day 2: En route west from Winnipeg to the prairies of southwestern Manitoba, we’ll stop first at Oak Hammock Marsh, a marvelous wetland with abundant breeding waterfowl and such species as American Bittern, Franklin’s Gull, Black Tern and Yellow-headed Blackbird. As we head west to our hotel in Brandon, we may encounter our first Swainson’s Hawk, Black-billed Magpie or Mountain Bluebird along the roadside. Near Brandon there is a lovely little marsh that we’ll visit in the evening to look for Sedge Wren, Le Conte’s and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows and, if present this year, Yellow Rail. Night in Brandon.
Day 3: We’ll head first to the deciduous woodland of Brandon Hills Wildlife Management Area where we may find such species as Ruffed Grouse, Black-billed Cuckoo and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. As we leave Brandon Hills, we’ll begin our search for prairie specialties such as Marbled Godwit and Chestnut-collared Longspur. We’ll visit Whitewater Lake where migrant and resident shorebirds such as American Avocet, White-rumped Sandpiper and Wilson’s Phalarope are often abundant. Night in Melita.
Day 4: We’ll spend a full day exploring the prairies near the Saskatchewan border. A more westerly element graces the avifauna here and we’ll look especially for Ferruginous Hawk, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Burrowing Owl, Sprague’s Pipit and Baird’s Sparrow. The prairies are beautiful this time of year, full of birdsong and floral displays, and our experience should be delightful. Night in Melita.
Days 5-6: After a final morning in Melita we’ll drive north across the pothole country with its numerous waterbirds, arriving at Riding Mountain National Park in the afternoon. During our two days here we’ll explore the boreal forests, lakes and bogs of Riding Mountain, an extensive 1500-foot escarpment that rises like an island from the Manitoba plains. Birds are abundant and very active at this season and we’ll hope for boreal species such as Spruce Grouse, Gray Jay, upward of 18 species of warblers including Connecticut and Mourning, Boreal Chickadee, Lincoln’s Sparrow and Evening Grosbeak. In some years, Great Gray Owl, Black-backed and Three-toed Woodpeckers and Red and White-winged Crossbills have enlivened our visits. Nearby lakes may provide close views of nesting Common Loon and Red-necked Grebe. A variety of mammals adds extra interest: Black Bear are frequently seen in the park as well as Moose, Elk, Beaver and Porcupine. Nights in Riding Mountain National Park.
“Churchill was a most successful trip. The two leaders, Michael O’Brien and Rich Hoyer, were fabulous and outstanding. They were not only extremely knowledgeable but caring and considerate. I would rate them both as A-plus. The group just happened to be affable and congenial. We all had a super time.”
Naomi Ulmer, Potomac, MD
Day 7: After a final full morning in Riding Mountain, we’ll drive back to Winnipeg, stopping at least briefly in the deciduous forest on the park’s east side to look for Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Golden-winged Warbler and Indigo Bunting. Night in Winnipeg.
Day 8: We’ll fly this morning north to Thompson, a city surrounded by vast boreal spruce forest, rivers, and lakes. These habitats harbor a slightly different mix of breeding birds than those in Riding Mountain or Churchill and, during our brief stay, we’ll look especially for Cape May, Bay-breasted and Tennessee Warblers. In the late afternoon we will board the Hudson Bay train for one of last great wilderness train rides in North America. During our overnight journey to Churchill the landscape will change from forests and muskeg to tundra, offering a chance to see Northern Hawk Owl (and who knows what else…) along the way. Night on the train.
Days 9-11: We’ll arrive in Churchill on the morning of day 9. We hope our visit to this celebrated locality will coincide with good movements of migrant waterfowl and shorebirds pushing through on their way to the arctic. Sabine’s Gull and Ross’s Goose occur at this time and the numbers of birds can be impressive perhaps including hundreds of Snow Geese, Arctic Terns and Ruddy Turnstones, and dozens of Red-throated and Pacific Loons, White-rumped Sandpipers, Snow Buntings and Lapland Longspurs.
Churchill’s breeding birds will be equally conspicuous as they defend their newly formed territories. We’re likely to see Rough-legged Hawk, Willow Ptarmigan, Parasitic Jaeger, Little Gull, Short-eared Owl, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, Hoary and Common Redpolls, Harris’s Sparrow and Smith’s Longspur. Churchill’s 15 species of breeding shorebirds are particularly visible at this season and each of our outings will be brightened by such sights as Whimbrels, Hudsonian Godwits or Stilt Sandpipers hovering and singing low overhead or Red-necked Phalaropes swimming just inches away. Since 1980 Ross’s Gull has been regular in early summer, and although more sporadic recently they are still seen annually.
As we explore Churchill’s fairly extensive road system, we’ll have ample time to look carefully at the region’s varied habitats and see, in addition to the breeding birds, a selection of mammals such as Arctic Hare, Arctic Fox and Caribou. As we scan the ice floes on Hudson Bay, we may see sun-bathing Bearded, Harbor and Ringed Seals and, in the Churchill River, Beluga Whales. Nights in Churchill.
Day 12: After a final morning around Churchill, we’ll take an afternoon flight back to Winnipeg. Night in Winnipeg.
Day 13: The trip concludes this morning in Winnipeg.
Updated: 18 October 2006