A funny old bird...

With a giant pouch for a bill and over eight feet of wings, the American White Pelican is pretty hard to miss when you're exploring around Hecla. The pelican is the largest bird found on and around the island. Actually, it's the largest bird in Manitoba. Its habit of flying in small groups with aerial precision rivalling that of the Snowbirds has resulted in them being affectionately dubbed the "Lake Winnipeg Air Force" or the "Icelandic Air Force", depending on who you talk to.

Most new visitors to the island are surprised to see pelicans bobbing along through the waves, believing them to be an ocean bird. However, white pelicans breed all throughout the prairies in shallow lakes and marshes. Lake Winnipeg alone is home to thousands of breeding pairs.


They congregate in colonies to breed on small rocky islands scattered around the lake. Each colony can house hundreds of birds. Nests are simply small scrapes on the ground, so being surrounded by water is good protection from terrestrial predators like foxes and raccoons.



The young are born naked and helpless and although they normally lay two eggs, usually only one survives the eleven or so weeks until fledging.


Breeding colonies are remote and difficult to access and should be left alone during the nesting season. Still, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the wonder that is the pelican. There really aren't many sights as elegant as a flock of pelicans in flight, skimming over the water's surface, flapping in sequence only to keep the momentum going.

These birds are equally impressive when on the water. Small groups will fish together, patrolling the waters until they find a school of fish. Then, they will form a circle, corralling their prey before in one synchronized movement, they plunge their beaks into the water to scoop up their quarry. During the commercial fishing season, pickings get easy and massive flocks of up to 100 birds can be seen tailing one fishing boat, waiting anxiously for leftovers.

So, come up to the island and take in the show before they head south for the winter in October.

Bobbing baby boys and girls...

This weekend saw the end of a long wait for our resident goose. Her eggs finally hatched out into 5 adorable little goslings. Although, he did not do any of the incubating, the proud papa wasn't very far and kept a watchful eye on his brood as they took their first swim around the pond.

Canada Geese are very attentive parents. Once the nest is built, the female will line it with down before laying her eggs, which she will produce one day at a time. After producing a full clutch, which is usually somewhere between 4 and 6 eggs, the goose will start incubating. The female does all the sitting around, spending around 23 hours a day on the eggs for 28 days.

Because she started incubating after laying the last egg, all the chicks hatch at once. It's a good thing too, because once they're out of the egg, the nest is no longer home base. Goslings, like all baby waterfowl are precocial, meaning they hatch covered in down, eyes open and raring to go. Once their feathers are dry, the little guys can walk, eat and swim all on their own.

This is where Dad plays a role. His job is to keep watch over his family once they're mobile. Goslings can be easy prey for things like foxes, mink and raccoons. The gander's job is to make sure these predators can get at them and they will defend their young viciously. I've actually seen male geese attack humans who had strayed too close to their young.

The new family spent the night after the hatch next to the pond, with the five little ones tucked under mom's wing before leaving for bigger water the next morning. They're likely in the lagoon nearby or on the lake itself, where it's much harder for predators to get at the young. They'll spend the summer there as the young grow up into full-fledged geese and the parents go through a molt of their flight feathers.

Next time you're up on the island, keep an eye out for all the goose families that make the area their home.

New Kid on the Block

One of Hecla's residents has been putting in a little more face time lately. As one comes through the park gate, heading deeper onto the island, there's a good chance that you might spot Morty.

Morty is a young bull moose who has been hanging around just north of the parking lot for the wildlife viewing tower for the last few weeks. Gauging from his size, it's likely that he's just left his mother. Calves usually stay with their mother for at least a year and are ready to reproduce by the age of two.

As moose get older, it gets easier to tell males from females without their antlers. Males are bulkier with larger necks and a more pronounced 'dewlap' of skin hanging below their throat. In the case of Morty, identification is easy. His new antlers can be seen just starting to break the surface. He will grow a new set of antlers every year, putting up to 25% of his resources into producing them. They won't grow very big this year, but as it gets older, they will grow in bigger and more elaborate with every new season.

Unlike most moose, Morty's not overly shy. When he's feeding on the new aquatic vegetation growing up in the ditches along the road, he will tolerate people watching from their car. However, never approach a moose, Morty or otherwise. Despite their somewhat ungainly appearance, moose can be very dangerous, even without antlers. With their long legs, they can easily outrun you and strike you to the ground. Even young moose weigh well over 500 lbs!

So, if you're lucky enough to spot our newest kid on the block during your visit to the island, slow down and get a good look, but give him a wide berth. We hope that by giving him the space and respect that he needs that we'll be able to enjoy his company on the island for some time to come.

Visit from a furry friend

Our resident fox, George, stopped by for a visit the other evening.

Foxes are amazingly adaptable critters and as such have the largest geographic range of any living carnivore. You can find foxes all over the northern hemisphere, and unfortunately for Aussie wildlife, have been introduced Down Under as well.

Foxes are carnivores, part of the dog family along with wolves and coyotes. However, unlike their canid cousins, foxes aren't social animals. They hunt singly instead of in packs, using their superior senses of smell and hearing to locate rodents rustling in the grass. Once found, they coil their bodies into tight springs and leap into the air before coming down on their prey. They are so precise in their jumps that they can actually adjust their landing by pumping the large fluffy tail in mid-air.

While small mammals make up the bulk of their diet, foxes won't pass up the opportunity of free food, scavenging garbage and looking for hand-outs from unwitting campers. That's how George got so tame. This isn't really a good thing. Foxes don't make good pets and while they're cute and fluffy and adept at giving you the 'soulful puppy dog eyes', they're still wild animals that need to be respected.

So, if you're up on the island and run into George, do say hi, but give him his space. He's much happier to be admired from a distance.

When I'm calling hoooooo!

It's my favourite time of year on the island - owl season! This is when the silent nights of early spring are broken by the haunting calls of some of our most elusive residents. It's a magical moment when through the stillness the echo of a Boreal Owl finds it way through the shadowy woods. It's like you've stepped into another world.

It's an experience that you can only get in March and April when the chill is slowly starting to leave the air, but the nights are still frosty. Owls call mainly during the breeding season and with most species being year-round residents of the boreal forest, they tend to get an early start. Great Horned Owls can be on the nest as early as February!

Owls use their voice to announce their territory, advertise for mates and to communicate between pairs that are already mated. With a bit of practice, you can learn to tell the difference between these types of calls. The important thing to remember is very few owls actually 'hoot' like our childhood books would have us believe. In fact, the nighttime forests can be filled with a variety of sounds ranging from the typical 'hoo' to whistles, shrieks, barks and blood-curdling screams. Check out the Owl Pages website to discover the diversity.

To experience the magic yourself, join me on the island every Friday and Saturday night now and into early April for an Owl Prowl. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve today by calling 204-279-2551.

Ice Dancing

With the Olympics in full swing and Canada still on its high from our Ice Dancing win, I thought now would be a good time to introduce you to another form of ice dancing... the kind that makes the earth move!

I'm talking about the constant shifting of giant masses of ice on Lake Winnipeg. The lake is still very much frozen at the moment, all 26,750 square kilometres encased in about a meter thick sheet of ice!

Still, the lake is very much in motion. Ice expands and contracts with changes in temperature and eventually it breaks, forming long cracks known as pressure ridges. The lake ends up divided into large sheets much like the tectonic plate of the earth.

These sheets slide along each other at the pressure ridges in a slow dance. Sometimes, when the ice expands suddenly, the sheets will run into each other with an enormous bang, sending vibrations all the way to the shore and pushing up the equivalent of icy mountain ranges along the pressure ridge.

Although they can be very beautiful, the ridges can also be dangerous. If the ice contracts, the ridges can pull apart, opening cracks in the otherwise solid lake.

So come out to the island and enjoy what's left of the winter. Take a walk with me over the ice and witness first-hand the power of the lake.

Welcome to the Island!

Hi all and welcome to Nature Notes from the Island! I'm Heather, the resident Naturalist for the Radisson Hecla Oasis Resort on Hecla Island, Manitoba, Canada


For those of you who don't know the area, Hecla is the second largest island in Lake Winnipeg, the 10th largest freshwater lake in the world. It's a fascinating place, with its combination of open water, sweeping marshes, jagged cliffs and dense forests that offer all sorts of opportunities for anyone interested in nature.


Through this blog, I will introduce you to the interesting and unusual facets of life on the island, keeping you up to date with the changes of the seasons, Hecla's inhabitants, both flora and fauna and let you know about the fun and engaging outdoor activities here at the resort.

So, I invite you to check back often to see what's new on the island and to help plan your trip to Hecla.