Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/561260
20 G O I N G P L A C E S | F A L L 2 0 1 5 oak hammock marsh, istock WE STRADDLE THREE MIGRATORY FLYWAYS. We're located in the centre of a continent, attracting airborne visitors from north, south, east and west. We boast grasslands, wetlands, boreal and subarctic landscapes. We're home to nearly 400 species. In short, Manitoba is a birder's paradise. So whether you're a diehard bird nerd or an energetic newbie, grab your field glasses (that's birder code for binoculars), life list and get ready to start making some check marks. 1 • BIGGEST NUMBERS OAK HAMMOCK MARSH (NEAR STONEWALL) It's a busy place – both for two-legged and winged species. is 60-square-kilometre chunk was restored in the late 1960s to include a series of dikes, basins and islands. Nearly 300 species have been spotted, including breeding Franklin's gulls, least bit- terns and the red-eyed black- crowned night herons sporting their telltale white head plumes that resemble ponytails. But it's the fall migration that steals the show with an estimated 400,000 geese and ducks moving from marsh to upland on an annual feeding stop. ere's nothing quite like a giant flying mass sil- houetted against a prairie sunset to make you stop and take note. e dikes make for easy strolling and spotting. e on-site Oak Hammock Marsh Interpretive Centre is home to a café and hosts events. www.oakhammockmarsh.ca 2 • EXOTIC LANDSCAPES CHURCHILL (NEAR HUDSON BAY) Remote, exotic and well worth the trip. e habitat mix of boreal, tundra, coastal and mud flats are home to 95 breeding species. Black scoter and Harlequin ducks – so named for their grey, copper, black and white markings reminiscent of a theatrical stage character – visit the Churchill area along with a host of shorebirds. But for serious birders, it's the promise of adding the elusive Ross's gull to their life lists that makes Churchill so appealing. It breeds in only two spots in Canada (the other is in Nunavut). Overhead, you'll see soaring peregrine falcons, while on the ground, willow ptarmigan blend with their surroundings. www.everythingchurchill.com by Shel Zolkewich TOP 5 Churchill's Harlequin ducks.