'Best time of year’: Why now is a good time for Manitobans to go birdwatching
For those who are looking to get outside this weekend, it’s one of the best times of the year to go birdwatching.
According to Paula Grieef, resident naturalist at Oak Hammock Marsh, this weekend and next are traditionally the best weekends of the year to get out to and see as many different kinds of birds as possible.
She added you don’t have to go much further than your own backyard or a local park to see lots of birds.
“I love it this time of year [to go to] Assiniboine Park in the English Garden,” she said in an interview with CTV Morning Live on Friday.
“There are all kinds of sparrows and warblers and all kinds of birds moving through.”
Grieef said there are a number of reasons people enjoy looking at birds, whether it’s to see their colours or the joy of trying to identify them. She added that birds are also a good indicator of what’s going on in the environment.
“If birds are not doing well then our environment is not doing well, and there are a lot of concerns,” she said.
“So World Migratory Bird Day allows us to celebrate birds, make people aware of birds and how important they are to everyone.”
Grieef explained that migration begins in March for the raptors, eagles, and hawks.
Then at some point in April, the waterfowl start coming back. In May, Manitobans will start to see sparrows.
“[Thursday] was a fantastic day, so many things came back, because we had rain and north winds for so long that kind of held them up,” Grieef said.
“The start of the warblers are coming. It is just the best time of year.”
World Migratory Bird Day takes place on Saturday.
- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.