Manitoba Owls Trip Report (Feb 23 – 27, 2026)

Day 1 – February 23rd

We met with the group and went over the plan for the trip; we quickly got acquainted over dinner.

Day 2 – February 24th

We had a blustery start to our birding tour! From our hotel we headed south west of the city towards the town of Oak Bluff. We did a short drive around, checking hydro poles and drifts for resting Snowy Owls. Owls weren’t anywhere to be seen, but we did up seeing some Grey Partridge foraging on the roadside. After some pictures we took a quick bathroom and coffee stop, where we collectively decided pursuing Snowies on this day might be difficult due to the blowing snow and poor visibility. We headed towards Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park for lunch.

Snowy Owl © Josh Dewitt

Following a nice lunch in a heated picnic area, we headed over towards a pair of Great Horned Owls who were nesting nearby. While the female sat tight on the nest on top of the swaying tree, the male kept watch. They were both undisturbed by our presence, or that of a Pileated Woodpecker that was excavating a hole on a nearby tree. After we had our fill of these very cooperative birds, we headed off to hopefully fid some more owl species.

House Finch © Christy Sham

Great Horned Owl © Kishore Karamchandani

Our next stop was a location where an Eastern Screech- Owl on occasion can be seen. Our attempt was fruitless, but we were rewarded with some more great views of Pileated Woodpecker. Following this we tried another location where a Northern Hawk Owl has been seen regularly, however it wasn’t present on this day.

We made our way over to St. Vital and Harris Park, to look for another Eastern Screech-Owl and a Barred Owl, respectively. Sadly, the wind was a big factor in this, but it didn’t kill our determination!

We came back for a nice dinner at Chicago Joe’s and wrapped up the day with a presentation from Jim Duncan about his work with Great Grey Owls, while admiring his education bird, Oska.

Jim Duncan and Oska © Josh Dewitt

Oska © Kishore Karamchandani

Day 3 – February 25th

After breakfast, we had a mission to get some boreal birds and make up for the previous day’s quieter birding. We made our way towards Libau and were lucky enough to spot 17 Sharp-tailed Grouse feeding along the road, as well as about 30 Snow Buntings.

Our next turn was the most recent location where a Great Grey Owl had been spotted, an uncommon sighting this winter, as well as another Snowy Owl. While we didn’t spot these, we did manage to find another owl species – a Northern Hawk Owl! This bird seemed to be hunting around some smouldering brush piles, possibly catching rodents as they flushed out.

After we got some good looks, we made our way down Maple Creek Road. This area is well known locally for being a good spot for owls. Unsurprisingly then, we found our second hawk owl of the day, this time perching on a hydro pole close to the road. In typical hawk owl fashion, it remained completely undisturbed by our presence, despite our relatively close proximity, and even made a hunting attempt! Shortly after leaving the owl, we also were able to get looks at two Northern Shrikes.

Northern Hawk Owl © Josh Dewitt

Passing through Lac du Bonnet, we headed up a side road, and were rewarded with three more Northern Hawk Owls, all perched in close proximity to one another, in a coniferous forest which was recently burned.

We followed up this busy morning with a later lunch at Drifter’s in Lac du Bonnet.

With fully bellies and smiles, we made a stop by some feeders which had been productive in previous years. We got excellent views of Pine Grosbeaks, Blue Jays and Redpolls. Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches and Hairy Woodpeckers added to the show. Satisfied with these looks, we made one last stop in Pinawa, where we were greeted by some friendly White-tailed Deer, who came right up the van to say hello!

Blue Jay and Hairy Woodpecker © Kishore Karamchandani

White-tailed Deer © Kishore Karamchandani

We made our way back to Winnipeg and had dinner at Chop Steakhouse.

Day 4 – February 26th

Following our breakfast at the hotel, we decided to reattempt our Snowy Owl search. This time, we were rewarded almost immediately! A beautiful juvenile owl perched on a hydro tower gave us great views. After a quick pit stop, we were able to find 4 more Snowies in quick succession, most of them juveniles, with one adult female.

Following this, we made a quick stop by a dark morph Rough-legged Hawk that had been regularly frequenting an area in the south side of Winnipeg for a while. We were even lucky enough to witness it eating its catch! We then went to have some lunch ourselves.

After our picnic lunch in St Vital Park, we had a quick look at the local screech owl roost, but nobody was home. From here, we tried for our Barred Owl in Harris Park once more. Before we could even get to the spot, we were greeted by a Coyote making its way up the trail. After a brief look, we headed into the woods to search for the owl. This time around, we were aided by some very vocal American Crows, who were mobbing the owl in its daytime roost. The Barred Owl posed nicely for us and everyone was able to get magnificent views and excellent pictures. In the same park, we were able to also find three Red-bellied Woodpeckers! This species was once a vagrant but has been increasing in number.

We then headed over to FortWhyte Alive for a quick bathroom stop, and a look at their Bison herd. On the way in, we had spotted a Bald Eagle sitting next to a large nest. We sat and watched the female as she kept guard of the area, ignoring some Black-billed Magpies and a Northern Shrike that came to take a look. Soon, the male was back with some food, what seemed to be a piece of roadkill it had scavenged, and brought it to the female so they could share dinner. The pair gave us great looks as they posed in the golden light. What a wonderful way to end!