Chimney Swifts are a unique bird that live nest in chimneys, clinging to the vertical walls with their long claws. Unfortunately, their populations are declining rapidly. The Manitoba Chimney Swift Initiative works to monitor swifts across the province and protect important swift habitat, including repairing old chimneys. We will talk about threats to Chimney Swifts, how to identify them, and the many ways you can contribute to swift conservation.
FLYCATCHERS for BEGINNERS (with two Nature Manitoba Birders) This workshop will cover the basics of identification of Manitoba’s flycatcher species. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the pitfalls of identification with this difficult group of birds. We hope that you will become more confident in the identification of the flycatchers you see in the field.
Wood tick, deer tick, dog tick, blacklegged tick: what's the difference and why do you need to know?
Back by popular demand, come learn all about ticks!
The program will cover common human/pet biting species in Manitoba, their life cycle, some pathogens they can transmit, how to protect yourself from tick bites, and what to do if you get a bite anyway.
Do you need to have exclusively native plants in your yard to make it valuable to wildlife? Certainly not - you can always have the best of both worlds by incorporating native plants into existing gardens. Most native plants are beneficial to pollinators. By choosing species that bloom at various times during the summer season and putting them in the right location, you can have a garden that is a delight to insects, birds and people (chipmunks, squirrels, deer, and rabbits notwithstanding).
“No garden, however small, should contain less than two acres of rough woodland”. Lord Rothschild.
Even if your garden is not up to his standards, it can still be a valued home for birds. Some will be resident and a surprising variety will use it on migration. A few may stay to breed and some hardy species may overwinter. This workshop will allow you to identify your visitors and provide advice on making your garden more welcoming.
The Natural and Unnatural History of Bison in Manitoba – Not the Same Old Story. What more could there be to know about bison in Manitoba? Did you know that as many as five species of bison have wandered across the province over the last 40,000 years, or that Manitobans were instrumental in saving the Plains bison from extinction?
There are several hundred species of bees and wasps in Manitoba. Many remain poorly known.
In 2023, a checklist of the bees of Manitoba was published, which expanded the number of species known by more than 100. Little work has been done documenting the wasp fauna of the province. Although social wasps consistently receive negative attention, wasps are ecologically diverse and most go unnoticed. Bee and wasp diversity will be highlighted with a focus on why we should be happy to have them in our backyards.
Donna will share practical mushroom safety, identification, medicinal and edibility attributes, foraging and growing, and how fungi coexist with trees, plants and we animals in our gardens and nature.
This workshop will focus on Manitoba's diurnal raptors, with a few foreign birds and owls added for variety. Besides looking at images, we will also discuss the best places to find these birds and mention hawk watch activities.
Photo of raptor on tree by Michael Loyd. Photo of raptor on hydro pole by Rudolf Koes.
Manitoba is a great place to look for wildflowers. The diversity of habitats throughout the province provides an opportunity to see many different flowering plants, some of them rare and unusual. But what is that wildflower you've just seen? Join weekend botanist Marilyn Latta, to learn some tips on how to tell wildflowers apart, good reference books for Manitoba, and interesting locations to find wildflowers. The presentation will end with a visual parade of Manitoba Wildflowers from A-Z , and yes there really is one for every letter of the alphabet!
The workshop will present an exploration of major beetle families and their ways of living. Many species have been described as living jewels (as if dipped in gold or silver), as colourful as butterflies and coral-reef fishes. Ranging in size from 2 mm to the size of one's fist, beetles are one of the world's most-successful groups of organisms, with an unknown number of species, but surely surpassing several million. Manitoba's beetle fauna is over 2500 species. As such, they play important roles in almost every ecosystem.
Join Ward and Marlene as they take a look at some of the harbingers of spring. Learn how to identify Manitoba's thrushes and separate them from their look-a-like cousins. We will cover the timings of migration and discuss when and where to look for them in Manitoba.
Stu and Debbie will review lessons learned in establishing and maintaining gardens in Albrin Park including plant selection, maintenance, and getting others involved. More recent projects will be discussed including a native tall grass prairie, naturalized tree & shrub areas, shade tree additions, and greater use of native plants in gardens. Experience in working with various City groups will also be discussed.
Yan’s presentation will be focused on interesting facts about the Monarch butterfly; how to become a monarch citizen scientist; and what she has learned over the past 8 years in growing milkweed plants and wildflowers.
You would think that will all of the satellites in orbit and telescopes on the ground, that the Sun would be a very well understood local star. Mysteries still remain, and one of the most confusing is how the Sun manages to generate temperatures of two million degrees in its atmosphere from a surface temperature of only 6000 degrees. The answer likely lies in events very close to the solar surface—a region best studied during a solar eclipse.
