Collecting data on birds can be difficult work. You have to know where to find birds, you have to know what time of year and day to find birds, you have to be able to identify birds, and you need to have knowledge of which birds are significant to an area or threatened. Not to mention the early starts, the long hours, and often remote locations. Manitoba avian researchers and local birding volunteers do all this, and also travel many kilometers every year to collect data. Still, there is a significant gap in what they are able to report.

Nature Manitoba has a long history of protecting Manitoba's endangered prairie landscapes and the species that rely on these spaces. That's why we are proud to be supporting the 2019 Prairie Conservation & Endangered Species Conference through our Habitat Fund. NM board member, Christian Artuso, and NM bird program coordinator, Tim Poole, have also been hard at work serving on the committees putting this event on. 

The health of Lake Winnipeg and its surrounding ecosystem is an important issue for many Manitobans, and a relatively new project gives local people and schools the chance to make a difference. The Lake Winnipeg Community-Based Monitoring Network (LWCBMN) launched in 2016, and is getting valuable information into the hands of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation (LWF). To find out more about the program, we spoke with Chelsea Lobson, LWF's CBM Co-ordinator about what LWF has learned and how they want to see the program grow. 

A photo essay by Peter Taylor

We were sad to hear of the passing of former president of Nature Manitoba (Manitoba Naturalist Society at the time), Jennifer Shay in early May, 2018. We would like to share this article from our November, 1993 newsletter, which touches on Jennifer's contribution to our organization. We would like to offer our condolences to Jennifer's friends and family, and all our members who were inspired by her work. 

by Carla Church

Many species of amphibians are undergoing population decline, range reduction and extinction. Thirty percent of all amphibian species are considered threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), far exceeding declines in other vertebrate groups. Habitat loss and destruction are a major cause of these declines but other causes include disease, climate change, pollution, exploitation, and invasive species.

Read the review and enter for your chance to win a copy of the book below!

Book Review by Deanna Dodgson