In a park… A PARK? Yes, parks here in Manitoba have a whole different meaning than the parks we are used to in Europe. A park in Europe usually is no bigger than a few backyards together, a duck pond (sometimes) and a bit of grass for the kids to play on. Here in Manitoba, a park means lots of space, both for nature and man. Mostly for nature.

And that is how it should be. A park is there to show man what nature can look like without the need for long travels and uncertain results. St Vital Park is located within the city limits and is thus considered a city park.

When people think of Manitoba or even Canada in general, all they can think of is snow, ice, Santa Claus and a few more pretty frozen ideas. Cocktails with ice and ice-cool beer are not part of those thoughts. Birds are also on a very short list. However, Manitoba, being one of the central areas in North America inherits birds from all directions, with many species overlapping in this area.

That makes Manitoba a birder’s paradise. This post reflects a single lunch break, and even I have omitted pictures of birds that were not showable. It’s ok to show off that you can take pictures, not so ok to show that the birds were faster than the photographer .

Yes, Mid May has already passed. We are waiting for the green leaves to arrive. The trees seem ready to burst their leaves out for all to see and enjoy. And yet, we are waiting. Mother Nature has her own timetable, I guess.

Little creeks still show no signs of green, although we all know that it will be there soon.

It looks like we have to grab those days whenever they present themselves. Unlike winter days, spring days make themselves scarce. So when the last one finally showed itself, I thought I’d grab the camera, get out and see what was nice and warm to see.

First off to see a friend, hadn’t seen him in some time and a coffee imposed itself. He came up with the idea to shoot some Tundra Geese, a bird I had never seen before. A lifer, in other words.