If you’ve spent any time in the Assiniboine Park or Assiniboine Forest before, you know that birds are some of the most prolific of park users. But it’s only when you begin to compile a list of all the types of birds that can be found in the park that you realize that you’ve stepped into a birding paradise. I love to see the seasonal migrations of songbirds including a dizzying array of warblers, watch the crows put up with the harassment by the blackbirds, hear the rat-tat-tat of the pileated woodpeckers, watch the burst of colour of the American goldfinch, the aerodynamic insect catching of the cliff swallows, and partake in the quiet companionship of the seemingly ever present flycatchers.
For a full list of the species that have been recorded seasonally or year round in the park since 1945, along with pictures and sound bites, please visit: http://www.assiniboinepark.ca/index.php/component/content/section/1?category=1. This list was compiled by three of Manitoba’s top birders and is a wonderful new resource for nature enthusiasts and teachers.
