Diario de marykrieger

It took me a little time to remember to create the 2023 big year project - but here we are the sun is working away at the snow and the sap is rising so a perfect time to have another go at finding everything that is green.

Happy botanizing...

The snow has returned to give us one last chance at our winter activities but by mid week temperatures are predicted to be on the rise. Bird migration is definitely underway with eagles and other raptors as well as geese and a few other waterfowl leading the way. Horned larks join the snow buntings in the open fields and gravel roads. Near our southern border, some are already reporting seeing the hardiest of our returning warblers - the yellow rumped.

The City Nature Challenge is set for April 28 to May 1- four days to find wild things living near your in company with others all round the globe. If you join a project, your iNaturalist notifications will include the event journal posts. These often give you updates about event activities.

The Winnipeg Region project is here https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-winnipeg-region-mb-canada

If you will be somewhere else in Canada at the time of the challenge, check this list for a project near you...
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-canada-2023-defi-nature-urbaine

If you will be somewhere outside of Canada, check the big list here...
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023

Happy spring!

Our CNC group will be at the small parking lot on South Drive in Birds Hill Provincial Park at 2pm on Saturday if anyone wants to drop by and say hello. It is on the north side of the drive just before South Drive turns northward towards the east end of the Pine Ridge trail - See you there :)
Mary Krieger

Many places to the east of us are already gathering observations...Check out the global project to see the global activity https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023

I wish you all the most lovely discoveries during the next few days!

Thanks to our early morning crew - @seraphinpoudrier and @rrcalica we are off to a great start - 20 observations of 19 species.

Checking the Canada wide collections project this means we are tied for third place with the greater Ottawa area and Windsor Ontario at 7:30 am! Here's the link to the Canada wide collections project so you can see for yourself - if you look quick.

https://inaturalist.ca/projects/city-nature-challenge-canada-2023-defi-nature-urbaine

See you out there!

Our little group had a great day at Oak Hammock yesterday - lots of first of the year ducks as well as a Marbled Godwit and a Killdeer to top it off. Not everything we saw is uploaded yet - welcome my dears to the joys of back log. As our little group uses mainly cameras rather than phones - there is a little extra fiddling about before everything makes it up to iNaturalist - and while the event is still on, sleep and gathering more observations tend to get prioritized over uploading.

Today we will be mucking around in Birds Hill Park here and there. I will be waiting for any of you who would like to drop by and meet face to face at 2pm in the small parking lot at the east end of South Drive. Its on the north side of the road just before South Drive turns north towards its end at Festival Drive.

Friday overall for the challenge was a great start - nearly 400.000 observations of 27000+ species gathered worldwide by nearly 25,000 observers. Canada's share of this is atm nearly 15,000 observations of 2,100+ species by 1,300+ observers.

Here in Manitoba both the Winnipeg and Brandon project have found lots of interesting things - and yes that include those heralds of Manitoba spring - the red-winged blackbird and the Manitoba crocus.

Here's a link to the Brandon project if you would like to see how they are getting on...
https://inaturalist.ca/projects/brandon-city-nature-challenge-2023

Have a lovely Saturday!

When we got back to the house yesterday we found the backyard pond annual wood frog get-together in full swing. A lot of calling and some splashing shenanigans but relatively calm compared to last years knock down drag out brawl.

Our group saw some Mourning Cloaks - one of the local butterflies that overwinters as an adult. Keep an eye out in sunny sheltered spots for the other two as well - Compton Tortoiseshell and Milbert's Tortoiseshell.

Happy discoveries