This program has been sponsored by Southern Health-Sante Sud Public Health, Healthy Living and Healthy Together Now funding.

This program has been sponsored by Southern Health-Sante Sud Public Health, Healthy Living and Healthy Together Now funding.

March 20th is the spring equinox, which officially means we can welcome back spring to the tall-grass prairie! It is on this date that in the Northern Hemisphere we have equal parts daylight and darkness, and going forward, daylight increases.

Community members are in a more cheerful mood as we move into longer days, which are also slowly getting warmer. We look forward to beginning all the spring chores, followed by summer vacations. If we consider the wildlife members of our community, this time of year poses many changes and challenges for them to overcome. Depending on how Mother Nature acts, spring can be a reprieve from winter or a final obstacle that is too hard to get through.

I don’t have any official numbers in front of me, but in my opinion this winter has been erratic. We have had weeks of -40 degrees Celsius followed by above 0 degrees Celsius. Warmer temperatures brought multiple days when we had winter rain! Rain in December and January is not something I remember much of as a kid. Compared to the last few years, we have also received a fair amount of snow as well.

This type of weather can negatively impact grazing animals, as rain or warm-weather melt can create a layer of ice that makes it very hard to get to food sources underneath. This is one of the reasons species like white-tailed deer switch from being grazers in the summer to browsers in the winter, focusing on the easier-to-reach woody browse such as buds, twigs, and bark. This woody forage is hard to digest and not as nutritious compared to what they would be focusing on in the summer, so they will slowly lose weight. Simply walking in this terrain can be exhausting as well; crunching through that ice layer while still having to punch through a deep layer of snow will burn calories that wouldn’t be an issue in better terrain.

On the other hand, a hard winter can benefit certain species. For example, the white-tailed deer, who are becoming weaker with each passing day, become an easier target for predators like coyotes or wolves. Winter-killed wildlife also means scavengers like ravens will have an easier time finding a meal. Nature has a way of balancing out, and different species have adapted to make the best of others’ misfortune.

Spring weather has a huge impact on how the rest of the year will shape up for many of our tall-grass prairie species. Warm, sunny weather will help with a quick “green up,” which will benefit a lot of the struggling herbivores; however, if we get a cold, snowy March, this could be the tipping point on whether certain animals make it or not. With spring migration, birthing season, and just a general increase in wildlife activity, I would urge everyone to give wildlife the space it needs to get through this time of the year so they can enjoy the beautiful tall-grass prairie summer ahead of us.

Adventures with Nature Norm
If you are looking to welcome back spring, please join me on the next Adventures with Nature Norm, March 28th, 10am-12pm at the Weston Family Tallgrass Prairie Interpretive Centre. We’ll be on the lookout for the first signs of spring and saying goodbye to the past winter. For more information, please contact info@sharedlegacymb.ca. I hope to see you there!

A recent lynx sighting in southeastern Manitoba is a reminder that wild cats continue to live quietly across the region, even if most residents never see them.

Nature interpreter Norm Gregoire with Shared Legacy says he recently encountered one of the elusive animals in Sandilands Provincial Forest, a rare experience despite decades spent outdoors studying wildlife.

“And I’ve only ever seen five lynx in my entire life,” he said.

Gregoire spotted the animal just days before speaking publicly about Manitoba’s wild cats, underscoring how uncommon sightings remain even for experienced naturalists.

Wild cats at home in Manitoba

Wild cats are often associated with distant wilderness or tropical environments, but Manitoba is home to several species, including lynx, bobcat and cougar. All three can be found within the province, and southeastern Manitoba sits in a unique overlap zone where multiple species may pass through the same landscapes.

“We don’t think about them in Manitoba so much because we just don’t see them, right? We don’t see the cats that we have here,” Gregoire said.

Across the tallgrass prairie and surrounding forests, suitable habitat exists wherever there are wooded areas, prey animals and limited human activity. While residents may rarely encounter the animals themselves, signs of their presence can sometimes be found by those who know what to look for.

Lynx most common but rarely seen

Gregoire says lynx are likely the most common wildcat in southeastern Manitoba, particularly in wooded areas connected to the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Even so, sightings remain rare.

Lynx prefer forested habitat where their primary prey, the snowshoe hare, is abundant. The two species are closely connected through population cycles that rise and fall together.

“For any sort of naturalist that looks up a little bit about lynx or even snowshoe hares in general, they’ll find that these two species are really connected,” he said.

He explains that lynx and snowshoe hare populations follow a boom-and-bust cycle lasting roughly seven to eleven years. When hare populations decline due to disease or environmental changes, lynx expand their hunting territory and may move into more open areas searching for food.

In some regions, snowshoe hares can make up more than 90 per cent of a lynx’s diet, though the animals will also hunt birds and smaller mammals when necessary.

Bobcats share the region

Bobcats also inhabit southeastern Manitoba but are harder to identify without a clear view. Gregoire says the species’ geographic range provides an important clue.

Generally, lynx are more common farther north in boreal forest regions, while bobcats are associated with areas closer to the Canada-U.S. border. Southeastern Manitoba lies within a transition zone where both species can occur.

Tracks can also create confusion. Lynx have large, snowshoe-like paws that leave prints similar in size to wolf tracks. Unlike wolves, however, cats retract their claws, meaning claw marks are usually absent in tracks left in snow or mud.

Understanding wildcat behaviour

Despite their presence, wildcats rarely interact with people and typically avoid human contact.

“When they see you, if they let you see them, they’re just going to go their own way,” Gregoire said.

Lynx and bobcats usually weigh between 30 and 40 pounds and are not considered a significant danger to humans.

Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, are much larger animals. Adult males can exceed 200 pounds, though attacks across North America remain extremely rare.

Gregoire says people who encounter a cougar should avoid running, stand their ground and make themselves appear larger while maintaining eye contact.

“These attacks… are few and far between,” he said.

Cougar sightings increasing

Reports of cougars in southeastern Manitoba appear to be increasing, something Gregoire attributes partly to the growing use of trail cameras by hunters and wildlife enthusiasts.

Currently, provincial officials do not recognize cougars as an established breeding species in Manitoba because there is no confirmed evidence of kittens being raised in the province.

So technically, the mountain lion’s range doesn’t exist in Manitoba, he said, noting confirmation of a breeding population may simply require more documented evidence.

Unlike lynx, cougars are highly adaptable and can survive in forests, grasslands, deserts and mountainous regions, allowing the species to expand into new territories over time.

Learning more about Manitoba’s wild cats

Gregoire will share more about lynx, bobcats and cougars during an upcoming Adventures with Nature Norm event this Saturday at the Weston Family Interpretive Centre in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve near Stuartburn. Participants will explore outdoor trails, conditions permitting, before moving indoors for a presentation about the wild cats that share the region’s landscape.

“We’ll try to spend some time out on the trail learning a little bit about the life cycles of these cats,” he said.

This program has been sponsored by Southern Health-Sante Sud Public Health, Healthy Living and Healthy Together Now funding.

This program has been sponsored by Southern Health-Sante Sud Public Health, Healthy Living and Healthy Together Now funding.

SPECIAL NOTE: This is also Vita & Area Winter Festival weekend, so plan to come out and spend the rest of your day in Vita enjoying dog sled races, curling, kids activities and so much more.

This program has been sponsored by Southern Health-Sante Sud Public Health, Healthy Living and Healthy Together Now funding.

Here it comes, winter in the tall-grass prairie! This is the time of year when nature starts to slow down, species go dormant or leave the frigid temperatures for warmer areas, and the outdoors gets quiet… mostly. Head outdoors, spend five minutes in a treed area, and more times than not you’ll be awarded with one of my favourite sounds: chick-a-dee-dee-dee! It’s during the long Manitoban winters that we can reconnect with the overwintering birds of the tall-grass prairie.

The easiest way to ensure that you stay connected with wildlife over the winter is to put up some bird feeders around your yard. Any standard bird feeder with a high-fat food source such as black oil sunflower seeds, nyger seeds, or peanuts works great for attracting black-capped chickadees, blue jays, pine or evening grosbeaks, and a host of other birds. Suet feeders work for a variety of woodpeckers and nuthatches.  

If you choose to feed birds during the winter, there are some general rules to follow. First off, use the above-listed high-fat foods and not things like bread. Bread is empty calories for birds and has the potential to do more harm than good. Secondly, it is important to clean your feeders regularly; this prevents the spread of disease and cleans up any potential mould growth when the weather jumps between freezing and thawing. A final and maybe most important recommendation for feeding birds in the winter is that if you are going to start feeding them, you must commit to feeding them right until spring! By providing a high-fat food source for these birds in a time when they need it most, they will begin to depend on it. If you take that food source away, especially during inclement weather, this could be devastating to the regular users of the feeder.

There are also birds that overwinter in the tall-grass prairie that don’t usually visit birdfeeders. One of my favourites, the common raven is often heard calling on the coldest days searching for carrion to fill up on.  A relative of the raven, the American crow mostly migrates south but can sometimes be seen during the winter, especially in urban areas. Ravens are larger with a wedge-shaped tail, whereas crows have a fan-shaped tail. Ravens have a “beard” when they call their typical deeper croaking call compared to a crow’s high-pitched caw. On the ground crows walk, whereas ravens hop.

I tend to see more owls in the winter compared to the summer. The most common that I see near the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve would be Manitoba’s provincial bird, the great grey owl. Also seen throughout the winter would be the northern hawk owl, the great horned owl, and maybe the most impressive winter bird, the snowy owl. The short-eared owl, a species at risk, mostly migrates but from time to time can be seen over the prairie during the winter.

If you are looking to stay connected with nature over the long Manitoban winter, I highly recommend getting into bird watching. The spring may be when the colours are flashier and there is a higher variety in species; however, these overwintering birds are hardy and adaptable, and just like us, they call this beautiful area home when it’s at its harshest.

Adventures with Nature Norm

If you are curious about winter bird watching, please join me on the next Adventures with Nature Norm on December 20th, 10am-12pm. A birdwatching walk will be followed by an indoor presentation at the Weston Family Tall Grass Prairie Interpretive Centre. For more information, please contact info@sharedlegacymb.ca. I hope to see you there!

Photo: Black-capped Chickadee by Sunrise Corner

Foxes are rarely seen in the Tall Grass Prairie, but they play an important role in keeping rodent populations in check across the Southeast.

That is the focus of the next Adventures with Nature Norm program, where naturalist Norm Gregoire says foxes are most visible when they are hunting in tall, grassy fields.

Hunting behaviour

“They are out in these tall grassy fields hunting. That is pretty much the only time I really ever see foxes is when they are out hunting and they have that unique characteristic of jumping up, zoning in on their prey and head down first into the grass or even sometimes in the snow if you are in the winter.”

Gregoire says the tall prairie grasses provide ideal cover for rodents, which means those same spaces are also ideal for foxes.

“They are going to be going for mostly things like rodents and those little, small critters. So that is the perfect habitat for them. They go where their prey is essentially.”

Tracks, double imprints and other clues

While foxes may be elusive, Gregoire explains their tracks can sometimes be identified by a behaviour that causes people to mistake them for domestic cats.

“They have quite small paws and they do something, especially in deeper snow, called a double imprint, meaning that they are sort of walking on their own tracks.”

Using the Earth’s magnetic field to hunt

Fox behaviour contains surprising complexities, including an ability that scientists are still studying. Red foxes appear to use the Earth’s magnetic field to improve the precision of their hunting pounce.

“Scientists believe that red foxes have a type of protein in their eyes that lets them sort of use the Earth’s magnetic field to their advantage. That allows them to zone in precisely, to the millimeter of where their prey is, making their pounce when they jump up and then go head down into the grass or snow really, really accurate.”

This means that when foxes jump to catch prey hidden beneath grass or snow, they are aligning their head with the magnetic field to gauge distance and direction, making their attack extremely precise.

Family structure and litter size

Fox family structure also stands out in the Southeast.

“Fox are one of the few mammals in our area that are actually monogamous. So they will stay with their partners for multiple seasons.”

Litter sizes vary widely across North America.

“We can have an average of anywhere from 5 to 10 kits and even some records being over 25 kits in one litter.”

Gregoire says foxes are essential predators in the tall grass prairie.

“They are for sure big pest rodent controllers.”

Observing foxes takes patience

For those hoping to see a fox, he says patience and time outdoors are key.

“With wildlife viewing in general, the more time that you spend out there observing nature, the more of a chance you get to see them.”

He encourages people to slow down and pay attention to the smaller details of the tall grass prairie.

“It is a matter of really taking your time and really noticing the small things that are in our area.”

Event details for Saturday

The next Adventures with Nature Norm program takes place Saturday, November 22 at the Weston Family Tallgrass Prairie Interpretive Centre. The event runs from 10am to 12pm and begins with an interpretive hike on the life cycle of foxes, followed by an indoor presentation.

Earlier this fall, I was walking on the Prairie Orchid Trail in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve, completely lost in my thoughts of an upcoming field trip that was due to arrive later that day. Out of the corner of my eye I caught movement in the open prairie, maybe fifty meters away. At first, I couldn’t tell what the cause of the swaying big bluestem grass was, but after a few seconds a furry red streak exploded from the grass, high into the air and then back down again. This happened again, and shortly after, a red fox sauntered by with a meal in its mouth. Wow, what an amazing thing to witness! These unexpected glimpses into nature are something I love about the tall-grass prairie. We have such a variety of wildlife that lives here; there is always something new to discover and learn. After that day I couldn’t help but do some more research into the fantastic fox of Manitoba.

Foxes are one of three canine species that live in the tall-grass prairie area, the others being coyotes and wolves. Red foxes are much smaller, weighing in at ten to fifteen pounds on average. But like coyotes and wolves, red foxes are great opportunistic predators. They are focusing on smaller prey like rodents but will also eat everything from insects to berries to frogs.

A typical yearly cycle for a red fox begins with the mating season from February to March. Red foxes are considered monogamous, meaning they mate with a partner for the entirety of a season. After a gestation period of fifty days, a litter of four to nine kits is born. Both parents help raise the young throughout the summer, where the main activities are teaching the young essential life lessons like hunting.  By fall and into winter the kits go their own way, looking to establish their own territory and start the cycle over again.

I’ve been lucky enough to have spent some time working in the far north of Manitoba, where red foxes and Manitoba’s other fox species, the Arctic fox, live alongside each other. The traditional range of the red fox does not extend to the far north, but in 2014 a photographer took the first known photo of a red fox. Since that time, they have become more numerous. The main theory is as the north warms; it becomes more hospitable for red foxes. This is not good news for the Arctic fox. The red fox is nearly double the size of the Arctic fox, and they generally are competing for the same resources. The red fox has even been known to predate on the Arctic fox. This is a real worry for the Arctic fox as they head into a warming future.

When we live in an area with such an array of wildlife, we can sometimes forget about the species we don’t see daily. Foxes are adaptable animals who are a welcome presence in the tall-grass prairie; I hope to enjoy many memorable sightings in the future.

Adventures with Nature Norm

If you are interested in learning more about the fox of Manitoba, join me on the next Adventures with Nature Norm, November 22, 10am-12pm at the Weston Family Tall Grass Prairie Interpretive Centre. We will enjoy a short walk on the preserve followed by an indoor presentation. All are welcome! For more information, contact info@sharedlegacymb.ca.

Photo credit: Nature Conservancy of Canada