Signs of Spring

For those readers who don't live in Winnipeg, we are in the midst of a month-long fog-fest which is beginning to rival the February blahs we normally suffer. It is warmer than usual but because of the snow pack we have fog much of the time and it has been overcast for what it seems like all of 2010. But there are still small signs of spring here ... there is water in the backlanes and the squirrels are "getting busy". The latter is an obvious sign of Spring, but one that is worth the price of admission should you get the chance - think Cirque du Soleil meets WWF with the volume turned off. As for the former, running water in backlanes is usually viewed as real confirmation that the big thaw is underway, more so even than Mother Nature's tight-rope adventures in procreation. But don't tell the squirrels that.

Climate Change ?

Fog-frost again today but between the light wind and the some sunshine, I don't suspect that the frost sculpture we have so far been enjoying will last long. It's -6C as I'm typing this but the forecast is for a high of zero for today. Might not get there though as the snowpack on the ground is keeping us cooler than some of our more northern communities (its -7C in Churchill right now). This time last year we had had a projection of an additional 90 days of colder than usual temperatures (3 March 2009). Both years came in like lambs, but if the above zero temperatures that have been forecasted come true this week (weather forecasts are always sooo predictable at this time of the year), this year's lamb will be shucking it's shearling in days! The 14-day trend (so until about the weekend of the 21st) is for higher than normal temperatures, but only 2-3 degrees higher. Interestingly, it is easier to find flood forecast information right now for Winnipeg than weather forecasts. Okay, maybe that's not so surprising given that we live on a flood plain with a predilection to flood in the spring. Could it be that we know that the lamb will probably turn on us before the month is out, but flooding is always a lion so our question isn't is the lion coming this year, but rather how hungry is "kitty" ...

Lamb or lion, no sign of the peregrines yet in any of their usual locations and no reports yet from points south of migrating birds. Maybe they know when the lamb will turn better than us.

In Like a Lamb

The month when the peregrines return has finally arrived and it arrived quietly. This week the temperatures in Winnipeg are forecasted to get above zero and we have been having days of clear skies, fog and light winds. It has made for amazing frost artwork, busy backyard birdfeeders and ecstatic flights of snow buntings along country roads. And yes, as this is the month that the Manitoba peregrines typically return so we have already begun to check the downtown area with the spycam on the roof of the Radisson. And Project team members are taking the long way home so that we can check out favourite spots for migrating peregrines around the City, most particularly in the West Winnipeg territory. The nice weather this week will make it more enjoyable to hunt for returning peregrines, but probably won't influence the birds' return in the least. But we can hope!

Peregrine Migration

On Monday I received a report through the ManitobaBirds loop that a credible source had spotted a peregrine in the Riding Mountain National Park area - that's a little ways north of Brandon for those who don't know Manitoba well but do know where Zeus & Hurricane nested last year.

Upon hearing the news, I checked out the HawkCount migration website (which I will warn you is addictive) to see how the peregrine migration was progressing, but it looks like they haven't started to move off the wintering grounds yet. Veracruz, Mexico, is the most southerly HawkCount site and they haven't had any sightings of peregrines, or any other raptor species for that matter. So the peregrine sighted in western Manitoba could be a very early bird or a very late bird or a very confused bird, but definitely a very lonely bird. No identification on our traveller, so I'm afraid we will probably never know who they are or where (or if) they end up nesting some place. Exciting nonetheless.

There are a number of raptor migration count sites on the east coast of the USA that have had reports of birds in December, but those are probably birds overwintering in the area rather than late fall or very early spring migrants. Some of those could very well be birds we have been watching on eastern webcams that have been "on" all winter. When the raptors do start to move, its amazing to watch the reports on the HawkCount website. The numbers of individual birds that fly over one site can be astounding - for some species its hundreds or even thousands in say a four-hour period. Its also amazing how watching the numbers day by day can almost make you feel or hear the birds working their way north. Sort of a biological countdown timer to spring for the technological age!

FalconCam Forum Back Up

Our ISP and I have finally managed to solve one of the two technical problems that have been plaguing the Forum for the last few months. It never affected the functionning of the Forum but it was making maintenance much more time consuming than it should have been. Now that its fixed, all is working very well and its nice to have it sorted prior to the birds' return. Over the next couple of weeks we will be completing our maintenance on the Forum to make it easier for folks to follow their favourite peregrines and peregrine cams!

FalconCam Forum Down Temporarily

For some reason, during routine maintenance, the FalconCam Forum has experienced an error and it is down for the moment. I am working with the ISP to solve the problem and get us back up and running as quickly as possible. I hope that the problem will be solved within the next day.

Sorry for an inconvenience folks, but better to have a technical error now than when the birds come back!

An Early Spring?

If you are skeptical that spring will ever arrive, check out the countdown timer above. If for you spring is when the peregrines return (and so it should be) even if the eastern groundhogs are right and we have six more weeks of winter, that's about the time the peregrines start to return to Manitoba. Last year, both Princess and Trey returned together on March 23rd, that's only seven weeks (49 days) from today! Granted they bombed into town last year right before a huge winter storm hit the Canadian Prairies and the US Midwest, but they are almost always back at the Radisson by the end of March/beginning of April. Hopefully both Princess and Trey will be back safe and sound by the time the countdown timer runs "out". Typically, the Brandon birds arrive a week or so later, but Ivy and Jules are a bit unpredictable, so we will have to start watching for them a wee bit earlier this year.

World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day falls on 2 February every year, and every year it presents us with a welcome opportunity to join together in celebrating the benefits that we all receive from wetlands, as well as to raise the awareness of our fellow citizens about the importance of these vital ecosystems for our common future. Read more ...

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Ramsar Convention was negotiated through the 1960s by countries and non-governmental organizations that were concerned at the increasing loss and degradation of wetland habitat for migratory waterbirds, the treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. It is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem, and the Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet. The Convention's mission is "the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world".

In Manitoba we have two Ramsar designated wetlands:

Delta Marsh was designated as a Wetland of International Significance in 1982. It is a 23,000 ha complex of freshwater embayments and marshes connected with Lake Manitoba by sandy beach ridges. The shallow wetlands are subject to wind tides in the lake. Dominant vegetation are reedbeds with wet prairie at higher elevations. The area is internationally important for various species of staging waterbirds, especially Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans, etc.). A research station is active in waterbird research and wetland habitat management (the station was closed this winter by the University, it is suppose to reopen in May). Ramsar site 284. Delta Marsh has also been designated as a Provincial Heritage Marsh and an Important Bird Area.

Oak Hammock Marsh was designated as a wetland of International Significance in 1987. It is a 3,600 ha, restored wetland complex of freshwater marshland and marginal agricultural land under intensive management to encourage nesting and staging waterbirds. Regulated water levels provide optimum conditions for nesting ducks and "lure" crops promote flock retention and prevent damage to commercial crops. Numbers of migratory geese may reach 100,000 in both spring and fall, while spring concentrations of migratory shorebirds have reached 30,000 individuals. Being close to the urban area of Winnipeg, the site is important for conservation-based education and recreation. Ramsar site 366.

Ramsar Convention of Wetlands - World Wetlands Day 2010

Weather Prognostication Day

Happy Imbolc

Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to the Northern American Groundhog Day.
According to Katharine Brigg's An Encyclopedia of Fairies Imbolc is the day the Cailleach (the hag of Gaelic tradition) gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she intends to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people are generally relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.

Happy Groundhog Day

And for those of you who need a fuzzy critter for a pre-dawn celebration in early February, Manitoba Merv made his annual appearance today at Oak Hammock Marsh. Merv's eyes were a wee bit glassy in the dawn chill, neither he, nor his adoring public, could see his shadow so according to the folklore, that means an early spring for us here in Manitoba. Wiarton Willie (Ontario), Shubenacadie Sam (Nova Scotia) and Spanish Joe (Ontario) are forecasting six more weeks of winter out east, but Balzac Billy (Alberta) agrees with Manitoba Merv on an early spring for the west. If you would like to check out more famous groundhog prognostications for 2010, click here ....

January in Winnipeg

Downtown Winnipeg mid-morning blizzard traffic

Photo, thousand words, you get the picture. Winnipeg rarely closes downtown entirely during a blizzard, there are always hardy (or fool-hardy?) souls who brave the elements on foot or mechanically when everyone else is telling them to stay home and stay out of trouble. Have to admire them though, doesn't matter what this city throws at them, be it blizzards or biblical swarms of mosquitoes, nothing stops a Winnipegger when they really have to be somewhere else.