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Dropped Off
On the south shore of White Bear Creek. Happy summertime everyone!
Things are all going well up here on the shore of Hudson Bay, we are both back at work, and the summer vibe is in the air. I sometimes feel, however, that I cannot differentiate between work and play! They can be almost as one - they can merge together. I have just been on a 12 day camping trip in Wapusk National Park as part of the Manitoba Breeding Bird Atlas program. We (Ken and I) started our days at 0230 and conducted point counts in as many grid squares as we could feasibly manage. During the 12 days, we counted 92 species of birds, which I've listed at the bottom of the page for all of our birder blog-followers. It was a great trip and we had 12 days of mainly sun, although we did have some rather large temperature shifts! From frosty, sub-zero mornings to highs of over 25°C! We even had a bit of time to explore and go hiking in the vast and harsh landscapes of this empty part of the country. Wapusk really is an amazing place, and like most of Manitoba, it is frozen for much of the year at
Drop 1 Campsite
500 metres south of White Bear Creek on the south east coast of Wapusk National Park. We had to weigh the tent down with logs and rocks to prevent it from blowing away in the 25 knot winds! severely cold temperatures, followed by floods then a drought, then it catches on fire! Super harsh!
As well as counting birds, we checked up on what was blooming and if there were any four-legged creatures on the prowl. We only saw two mammals - one red fox and one caribou! We also fought with mosquitos and played Yahtzee.
And yes! After 12 days of bush camping, we were indeed smelly!
Ode to Mosquitos
For a bit of fun, here is my epic poem that I wrote whilst entombed within the sweltering, fabric confines of the tent....
The mosquitos on the outside want inside
The mosquitos on the inside want outside
If the mosquitos on the outside get inside
They'll end up with their insides on the outside!
The mosquitos on the outside have their insides on the inside
The mosquitos on the inside have their insides on the outside.
Looking inside from the outside (with its insides on
Arrow-leafed Coltsfoot
Petasites sagitattus. An early bloomer. the inside)
The mosquito on the outside gets inside
Now he has his insides on the outside!
Bird list
Snow goose * Canada goose * Tundra swan * Trumpeter swan * American widgeon * American black duck * Mallard * Northern shoveller * Northern pintail * Green-winged teal * Greater scaup * Common eider * Black scoter * Surf scoter * White-winged scoter * Long-tailed duck * Common goldeneye * Common merganser * Red-breasted merganser * Willow ptarmigan * Red-throated loon * Common loon * Pacific loon * American bittern * Bald eagle * Golden Eagle * Northern harrier * Northern goshawk * American kestrel * Merlin * Yellow rail * Sora * Sandhill crane * American golden plover * Semipalmated plover * Black-bellied plover * Solitary sandpiper * Semipalmated sandpiper * Least sandpiper * Lesser yellowlegs * Whimbrel * Hudsonian godwit * Dunlin * Stilt sandpiper * Short-billed dowitcher * Wilson's snipe * Red-necked phalarope * Bonaparte's gull * Herring gull * Arctic tern * Parasitic jaeger * Short-eared owl * Alder flycatcher *
Trekking through swamps
We hiked about 18 - 20 km per day for the first few days. Mainly through swamp and flooded willow forest. Gray jay * Common raven * Tree swallow * Barn swallow * Boreal chickadee * Ruby-crowned kinglet * Gray-cheeked thrush * American robin * American pipit * Tennessee warbler * Yellow warbler * Yellow-rumped warbler * Palm warbler * Blackpoll warbler * Wilson's warbler * Northern waterthrush * Savannah sparrow * Nelson's sparrow * Fox sparrow * Lincoln sparrow * Swamp sparrow * White-throated sparrow * Harris's sparrow * White-crowned sparrow * Dark-eyed junco * Lapland longspur * Smith's longspur * Rusty blackbird * White-winged crossbill * Common redpoll * Snow bunting * American redstart * White-rumped sandpiper * Sanderling * Ruddy turnstone * Peregrin Falcon * Purple finch * Pied-billed grebe *
We also saw a hybrid duck! It looked like half pintail and half mallard or northern shoveler!
D (& T)
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taracloud
Tara Cloud
Antarctic to Hudson Bay
You have the coolest jobs in the world! Thanks for sharing these wonders!