Piping Plovers are small, endangered shorebirds in Manitoba. Its call is described as a "plaintive peep-lo" which made it the perfect name for this blog as it too is a plaintive call, a Call to Action.

07 June 2011

World Birding Hotspot

Over the years, as I have traveled the Interlake from the West shore of Lake Winnipeg to the East shore of Lake Manitoba and back, I've often wondered how cool it would be to designate this area as a World Birding Hotspot or WBH. The diversity of birdlife I see in my travels never ceases to amaze me and it never gets old. Whether it's white pelicans gliding overhead, great egrets along the Shoal Lakes, ducks in the marshes or the myriad number of colourful songbirds, like the Baltimore oriole, eastern bluebird, goldfinch or red-headed woodpecker, it's a stunning spectacle.

I would love to see our provincial road map from the North perimeter highway, north to PTH 68, east to Lake Winnipeg and west to Lake Manitoba shaded in some colour to make it distinctive with World Birding Hotspot emblazoned in large bold type across the area. The designation would be strictly for promotion purposes, it would have no legal status. Those land owners lucky enough to live within its boundaries and know how special the area is would not have to worry about any type of government intervention or expropriation. It would simply be a way of telling the world what an incredible area the Interlake is for birdlife and there would be many more spillover benefits. These would include; increased economic tourism expenditures, improvements to existing infrastructure and the overall pride generated when one is part of something special.

In future, the Southwest corner of the province and the Churchill area could also be designated WBH's and appropriately shaded on the provincial road map. Let's face it, birding and its related industries is the single largest recreational activity in the world today and generates monetary benefits in the billions of dollars world-wide.

I'd be interested to know what you think of this idea. Does the idea have merit or have I been in the sun too long? Let me know.
KP