Birdwatching
Beaudry Provincial Heritage Park (Headingley)
Beaudry Provincial Heritage Park is dedicated to protect its remnants of tall-grass prairie, and to restore this endangered habitat. A dense riverbottom forest flourishes near the Assiniboine River. Its prominent wildlife includes a variety of songbirds, whitetail deer, raccoons and beaver. There are hiking and cross-country ski trails.
Big Grass Marsh (Gladstone)
Big Grass Marsh is an Important Bird Area of Canada. It is an important moulting and staging area for waterfowl including Mallards, Snow Geese and Canada Geese. The site also has globally significant numbers of nesting Franklin's Gulls. During fall migration, the number of Mallard Ducks in the area have exceed 10,000 birds. As many as 6,500 migrating Sandhill Cranes have been recorded in the northern portion of Big Grass Marsh, around the Jackfish Lake region.
More information about the significance of the Big Grass Marsh to migratory birds and other wildlife can be found at the Important Bird Areas of Canada (IBA) website. More specific information about the significance of Big Grass Marsh as an Important Bird Area of Canada can be found at the IBC Canada site summary for Lanruth.
Crescent Lake Community Walkway (Portage la Prairie)
Crescent Lake Community Walkway is a fully paved 5.2 km walkway, lit every evening year round.
Delta Marsh (Delta)
Delta Marsh is one of the largest and most famous freshwater marshes in the world. Large numbers and species of birds are found here, with hundreds of species of birds recorded in the marsh area. The Delta Marsh Bird Observatory is one of the busiest bird banding stations in Canada. During spring and fall migrations, Delta Marsh becomes a birder’s paradise. Large numbers of warblers, sparrows, and other songbirds, as well as tundra swans join migrating geese and ducks as they funnel into the field station area to rest on route; or stage for short periods of time.
A large portion of the lake front along the south shore of Lake Manitoba was established as a privately owned and operated station, known for its research and educational activities. There is a viewing tower, boardwalk and interpretive trail for the public at Delta Beach on PR 240.
Jackfish Lake (Plumas)
Jackfish Lake is an “area of significance” for sandhill cranes; of which thousands migrate through the area each year.
Lake Francis Wildlife Management Area (St. Ambroise)
Millennium Wayside Park (Cypress River)
MillenniumWayside Park features a wetlanddiscovery trail that guides users throughout the wetland and upland habitats. Boardwalks and floating docks are built over the wetland, adjoining a trail. Interpretive signs indicate the importance of wetlands on our landscapes, species found within the marsh and the importance of watersheds. Washrooms and picnic tables are available.
In the path of a migration corridor, and with an abundance of local marshes, sloughs and creeks to provide a refuge for waterfowl, it is not unusual to see hundreds of geese feeding in fields along roadsides during the fall. Deer, elk, coyotes, foxes and wolves can be found throughout the hills both to the north and south.
Pinkerton Lakes Wildlife Refuge (Treherne)
The Pinkerton Lakes Wildlife Refuge, located just a few miles south of Treherne on PTH 242, features a lookout tower.
Rossendale Area Wildlife Lands (Rossendale)
The Rossendale Area Wildlife Lands near the Assiniboine River on Highway #242 is an important wildlife habitat, and has a wealth of outstanding scenery.
St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park (St. Ambroise)
The St. Ambroise Beach Provincial Park’s fine sand beach is dotted with campgrounds and picnic areas. Viewing of migratory birds along the boardwalk is a bird-watcher’s dream, enroute to the lookout tower in the marshlands.