NORTHERN CANADA & GREENLAND 
Lapland Longspurs at the s. edge of the 
species’ breeding range in Tombstone Park, 
cen. Yukon included a female on Charcoal 
Ridge 7 Jun (CE) and 2 on Adney Mt. 27 Jun 
(CE). Tombstone Park, cen. Yukon is an excel- 
lent place to view Smith’s Longspurs on their 
nesting grounds; 3 were on territory at km 96 
along the Dempster Hwy. 9-12 Jun (HG; CE). 
Nunavut’s first Painted Bunting, a brilliant 
ad. male, was an unexpected and exciting find 
on Akimiski 1. 12 Jun (GE, ph. DM, AT). Sev- 
en Gray-crowned Rosy-Einches were seen on 
a hike along Charcoal Ridge in Tombstone 
Park, cen. Yukon 7 Jun (CE; ph. OH); one 
was seen near Margaret L., n. Yukon 18 Jul 
(HH, LyH). 
Prairie Provinces 
Rudolf F. Koes 
Peter Taylor 
T he jet stream bisected the region for 
most of the season, resulting in far-be- 
low-normal temperatures to the east 
and more moderate conditions to the west. 
Wintry weather persisted in the northeast 
well into June, with substantial snow cover 
remaining until mid-month. Upon arrival, 
many geese and other waterfowl found so lit- 
tle open ground in the Churchill, Manitoba 
area that they starved to death. Nest initiation 
for most birds was late there, and almost com- 
plete nesting failure followed, due to cold, 
storms, and predation. In the rest of Manito- 
ba and much of Saskatchewan, the cold ap- 
peared also to have a negative impact, as 
many warblers and other passerines were 
seen wandering outside their breeding ranges. 
Sparse foliage, scarcity of food, and cold 
nights combined to reduce breeding success 
for early nesters. Nevertheless, Breeding Bird 
Survey totals for most species in the southern 
boreal forest were near normal, as was the 
early part of the fall migration banding at 
Delta, Manitoba. 
Observers (subregional editors in boldface): 
Alexandre Anctil, Barbara Begg, Sarah Bogart, 
Pamela Brown, Canadian Wildlife Service, 
Rob Cannings, Syd Cannings (SyC), Steve 
Catto (StC), Ron Doctor, Eagle-eye Tours, 
Cameron Eckert, Darryl Edwards, Cathy Fin- 
lay-Brook, Gabriel Foley, Stacy Gan, Linda 
Gerrand, Mike Gill, Helmut Griinberg, Dawn 
Hansen, Tami Hamilton (TaH), Tiarella Han- 
na (TiH), Jannik Hansen QaH), Miriam Have- 
mann, Todd Heakes (ToH), Howard Heffler, 
Lyn Heffler (LyH), Olivia Hell, Lenze Hofstee 
(LeH), Jurg Hofer QuH), Niels Jacobsen, 
Hilde Johansen, Brian Johns, Sebastian Jones, 
Clare Kines, Paul Knaga (PKn), Richard 
Knapton, Piia Kukka (PKu), Meghan Larivee, 
Derek Mackenzie, Mark Mallory (MaM), 
Mike Matou (MiM), Beth McLarnon, Andree 
Messier, Lisa Moore, Murray Munn (MuM), 
Ashley Okrainec, Mark Petersheim, Don 
Reid, Jenn Redvers QRd), Jeroen Reneerkens 
0Rn),Jim Richards O^i), Kim Schlosser, Pam 
Sinclair (PSi), Nigel Sinclair-Eckert, Patricia 
Spencer (PSp), David Stirling, Robert Stitt, 
Douglas Tate (Northwest Territories), Austin 
Taverner, Devin Turner, Shyloh van Delft, 
Kara Ward, Gerry Whitley, Mary Whitley, Bill 
Wilson, Brian Zawadski. ^ 
Cameron D. Eckert, 1402 Elm Street 
Whitehorse, Yukon, Y1 A 4B6 
(cdeckert@northwestel.net) 
Precipitation ranged from above average in 
the southeast to below normal in the south- 
west. Parts of southern Alberta and 
Saskatchewan experienced the driest June in 
half a century, resulting in continued low lev- 
els in major water bodies, after winter snows 
had raised false hopes. Conversely, water lev- 
els remained exceptionally high at the Shoal 
Lakes in Manitoba’s Interlake region. The best 
of the few highlights to liven up the season 
were Saskatchewan’s first White-winged Dove 
and Blue Grosbeak and Manitoba’s second 
Painted Bunting. 
GEESE THROUGH CRANES 
Record numbers of Greater White-fronted 
Geese (flocks up to 40) lingered with untold 
thousands of other geese at Churchill in early 
Jun (C.G.C., m.ob.). A lone Greater White- 
fronted at Glenmore Res., Calgary 8 & 24 Jul 
may represent a first summer 
record for Alberta (m.ob.), while 
a Ross’s Goose near Ochre River 
25-27 Jun (PT) was a seasonal 
rarity for s. Manitoba. Among the 
hundreds of Ross’s Geese at 
Churchill 5 Jun were at least 2 
rare blue-morph birds (C.G.C., 
ph.); in addition, 7+ Snow Goose 
X Ross’s Goose hybrids were seen 
there early Jun (C.G.C.). Canada 
Geese are not normally persist- 
ent re-nesters, so 3 goslings less 
than a week old near Minnedosa, 
MB 16 Jul (CC) were exception- 
ally late. A slough near Shepard, 
AB held about 500 Gadwall 5 Jul 
(TK). A Cinnamon Teal at 
Whitewater L., MB 7 Jul was a good find (RP). 
Red-necked Grebe continues to expand as 
a breeding species throughout w. Manitoba, 
being seen in a number of wetlands this year 
for the first time and seeming to have re- 
placed Horned Grebe in some areas (CC). A 
Great Egret near Sundre, AB 14-21 Jun was 
rare (RKu). A Snowy Egret was noted at 
Whitewater L. on a number of occasions 
(m.ob.), and a Little Blue Heron was seen at 
nearby Boissevain 5 Jun (fide L’V). Cattle 
Egret tallies at Whitewater L. peaked in the 
mid-teens, a far cry from the hundreds a few 
years back, and White-faced Ibis also num- 
bered in the low double-digits at the same lo- 
cation (m.ob.). Ferruginous Hawks enjoyed a 
productive year in sw. Manitoba, with an av- 
erage of 3 -h young at 34 successful nests out 
of 35 total (KD). The species apparently did 
well in Saskatchewan too, as did Prairie Fal- 
The PR 227 landfill northwest of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba has produced 
some remarkable gull records over the years. On 5 June 2009, the landfill at- 
tracted this Lesser Black-backed Gull (with Ring-billed Gulls). Photograph by 
knnifer Green. 
616 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
