TN-Birders:  Just got back from my spring trip and so the following is a trip report for central Canada, including North Dakota and some of Montana with, among other things, miscellaneous information on how to do (or how I do) Total Ticks trips, Bob Odear, crossing the Canada border, driving and DVT, and Birdingâ??s Bataan Death March. Enjoy or delete.   Canada Trip, Spring 2010: MB & SK with trips to IA, MO, MT, ND  The main focus of my spring 2010 trip was central Canada, specifically Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but I was able to add Montana (central and eastern), North Dakota and limited trips to Iowa and Missouri. Because MB, SK and ND were essentially virgin areas for me (I had a limited number of birds in each on trips in the mid-â??70s from my parentâ??s home in New York to Oregon and Washington where I did some of my schooling), it may be of some value to talk about the logic involved in how one goes about putting together a "total ticks" trip. (Of course, by total ticks I mean the ABA game in which you add up all the birds you have identified in the 64 ABA area units in the U.S. and Canada--including all states, provinces, D.C., and the French islands of St.-Pierre & Miquelon, with the exception of Hawaii.)  At this point let me acknowledge the helpful advice I have received from other total tickers one of whom was Robin Carter. Several years before his untimely death, Robin, who ranked tenth on the Total Ticks list (2007), responded to an email question by Jack Hugus of Virginia concerning how to do total ticks birding, and I will make a few similar comments here (and I hope to put more suggestions on my university webpage). It is interesting to note that in the year after Carterâ??s advice, Hugus went on to have the best total ticking year ever (since the ABA began recording the list) with 2,578 birds. (Number two on this list is an active total ticker, Kenneth Ward of Vermont at 2,439 ticks in 2001.) My best year was 2005 with 912 ticks, and while I rank first in total ticking activity in the last five years, 912 does not even get me into the top 20 for number of birds in a year. Whether you use the proverbial tortoise or hare strategy, there is no question that total ticking requires determined birding over many years.  Before I begin let me also note the passing of another total ticker, Bob Odear. Bob died in April and while I expect to say more about him later it should be said here that he was a top 20 total ticker and as of 2008 was the second highest total ticker in Tennessee following David Chaffin. Bob also ranked 19th on the list of all time total ticking years with 1103 birds in 2001. Moreover, as of 2008 Bob was the Tennessee total ticker with the most experience in Canada. He was the only Tennessean on the Canada list (376 birdsâ??rank of 54), and the only Tennessean on any of the province lists with 247 birds and a strong rank of 9 for Manitoba (2008). Needless to say, Tennessee has lost an irreplaceable birder and Bob will be sorely missed.  When I consider going on a total ticks trip I first consult my wall map (of course, at this point it is seared into my brain) that indicates how many birds I have seen in every state and Canadian province, and I rank each area with regard to where I have seen the fewest birds. In total ticking you donâ??t go where the life birds are or where rare birds may be (unless you are Paul Lehman and have 17,000+ total ticks!), but where you have seen the fewest birds. Alaska may have many life birds but you are likely to identify three to five times more birds in several other states/provinces over the same amount of time. It terms of the time and money involved Alaska and the northern provinces (Northwest Territories, Nunavut & Yukon Territories) may be the least attractive for total ticking. They are places I certainly want to go eventually but I can put them off for now. When you become a serious total ticker you are often making a trade-off in favor of common or regular birds that you can see in many places compared to life birds. This is not always easy for birders to do, and perhaps it is the case that I would not be in this game if my ABA Area life list was not at a comfortable place to begin with (anemic at 639 compared to many birders but comfortable enough for me). Most total tickers back into the total ticking game after spending time looking for life birds.  So for me in spring 2010 the best places to bird were Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota because I had so few birds there. (Originally, this ambitious tripâ??with the potential of 1,100-1,200 birds--was planned to include Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho and western Montana but I had to cut these places at the last minute. One of my goals was to get into the top 20 total ticker years of all time but it was not to be. At the end of this report I will add some notes about what I feel are the best areas in Alberta.) But how do you know how many birds you might see on a trip? How can you determine if Manitoba will be more productive than Nunavut, Quebec or Nebraska? One quite useful way is to look at ABAâ??s table for "ABA Champion Top Ten Big Days (published in the "ABA Big Day & ABA List Report"). The table provides the top ten or so Big Day records for each state and province. For example, the Big Day record for Tennessee is held by Jeff Wilson and Mark Greene on May 10, 1997 with 174 birds. Nine other Big Day records for Tennessee are also indicated covering April 24-May 9 from 1981-2002. The table shows that the best Canadian provinces with regard to Big Days are Manitoba, followed in order by Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia. And with regard to states, only (again in order) TX, CA, WI, NJ, KS, OR and LA have more birds than Manitoba. Note again that this is not a list of the number of birds ever seen in a state/province (a large element of which is the amount of vagrants), but rather a quick rule for the number of birds that can be identified on a short trip. Now, I am not suggesting that a non-local birder can identify 260 birds in one day in Texas, the number one state on this list, but with expert local information and perhaps three to five days to spend between April 19-24 a competent birder should be able to get 90-95%+ or more depending on the vagaries of the weather. The table discussed above also provides the dates for the highest number of birds, and that is why the end of May/beginning of June is when you should be in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Unfortunately, the more states/provinces you add to your trip the greater the likelihood that you will be in some places when it is not optimal. You canâ??t have everything! Manitoba My first stop in Canada was to go through Customs. Things for birders and others to consider when crossing the border: 1. bring your passport: it is not technically required to get into Canada but required if you want to get back into the U.S., 2. give the driver all of the passports and IDs (drivers licenses) for the passengers in your vehicle, and roll down windows so that the border officials can easily talk to everyone, 3. have your car registration available if asked, 4. do not take weapons or ammunition into Canada including pepper/bear spray (you can get them in Canada). For more information see the Canada Border Services Agency: www.cbsa.gc.ca.  My first Manitoba bird for the trip was a crow. Not very exciting but one of the nicest thing about total ticking is that by going to new states and provinces you relive your first birding experiences again and again. There are no "trash birds" for total tickers: a starling in a state or province you have not visited is as important as a rarity. And the fact that you can see European Starlings in all 64 states and provinces (I assume they can been seen in Nunavut) means that it is potentially more important than the rare birds that can only be seen in a few areas.  Once beyond the border you are on Highway 10 (the road in the U.S. is 281 near Dunseith, ND) and your first stop should be the campgrounds of Adam Lake for migrant songbirds. (Note that for maps of Canada, 1 kilometer = .62 miles. Also, if you are watching the weather on Canadian TV, multiply the Celsius number by 1.8 and add 32, e.g., 10 Celsius = (10 x 1.8) + 32 = 50 Fahrenheit.) On the way to Adam Lake I found that my GPS was no longer working correctly. Apparently, as I discovered, GPS sold in the U.S. often does not have international maps. Once I got to Brandon I was able to get another GPS with the appropriate software. Needless to say GPS is very useful. Now, if only we had weather radar in automobiles!  Clearly Adam Lake is not a major birding place (Riding Mountain National Park, below, is by far the best for songbirds), but I have found that all things considered it is better to go to more places than less, and to consider less productive areas as a kind of insurance policy. Weather, automobile and other calamities might reduce you chances in the better places, and there is always the possibility of missing even the most common birds in the best places. I can tell you stories about spending too much time looking for birds like Turkey Vulture and House Finch! The other reason for getting out of the car frequently is medical. Driving for long periods of time is related to cardiovascular disease, including stroke, and mortality (about three times the normal risk). Blood clots, as in deep vein thrombosis, are the major concern especially for people over 40. Iâ??m an expert on blood clotsâ??an experiential expertâ??and I can tell you that it is a lot easier to deal with them before they become a problem. The rule of thumb I use is no more than 2 hours of driving time before getting out of the carâ??even if no birds are around! Aspirin reduces the formation of blood clots (it does not reduce or eliminate existing clots), and like many people over the age of 40 I take aspirin once a day (but talk to your physician before starting and ask about dosing and aspirin resistance: bleeding and other side effects can happen). Dehydration is one of the causes of blood clots and most people donâ??t know when they are becoming dehydrated, so you will want to drink water often and reduce the intake of caffeine.  The first great place in Manitoba is Whitewater Lake, just off Highway 10 near the town of Boissevain. Just before Boissevain take a left on Road 15 N, another left (now going south), and then a right at Road 14 N, which will take you into the area. The best area for shorebirds on the lake shore is at the "viewing mound," but a trip around the southern and western end of the lake may give you Peregrine Falcon, Ferruginous Hawk, Willet, Upland Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Gray Partridge, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Short-eared Owl, Sedge and Marsh Wren, and Le Conteâ??s and Nelsonâ??s Sparrow. The area has many birds and a large day list is not uncommon. Because Whitewater Lake is an important area consider two or more visits during your trip. If you have two opportunities to visit an important area it is helpful in migration to separate them by a day as consecutive visits reduce your chances. The general exception here is for consecutive days with different weather conditions. For more information on Whitewater Lake and a very good map on page 86, see Finding Birds in Southern Manitobahttp://birding (FBSM, discussed below).  Extreme southwestern (SW) Manitoba is the place to go if you want to round out your list with Manitoba birds typically seen in no other place in the province. Perhaps the best starting point is the section on extreme SW MB in FBSM, authored by a large number (17) of birders representing the Manitoba and Brandon Naturalists Societies and published in 2006. This is one of the best birding books I have seen, on par with the most recent books put out by the ABA. The book covers all of southern MB to Thompson in north-central MB. Importantly, the book includes a species list with bar graphs that indicate monthly abundance (very helpful), regional abundance (SW, SE & central) and the habitat and place locations of each species on the list. (Those interested in the science of tables/figures/maps, or what is generally known as quantitative depiction, will find an impressive six variables in the "Species List" section of the book, i.e., abundance, region, breeding status, month of the year, habitat and locationâ??it does not get better than that! While not strictly comparable, note that Minardâ??s vaunted 1861 map of Napoleonâ??s disastrous 1812-13 march into Russia contained six variables.) One thing often lacking in many birding books is detailed maps of important areas. For example, a detailed map of the birding areas of Riding Mountain would have been helpful. Examples of good birding maps are the Whitewater Lake map on pg. 86 of the FBSM book and, closer to home, Michael Bierlyâ??s Bird Finding in Tennessee (1980). (Do we need another edition or what!)  The FBSM book indicates that if you are birding at the height of migration (the end of May/beginning of June) 224 uncommon-to-abundant species (i.e., not including rare birds) are present in Manitoba. Since the total Manitoba list contains only 389 birds, 57.6% are therefore present during migration, meaning that achieving the 50% threshold is quite possible in one well planned trip. Only a very few states and provinces have this potential, making Manitoba one of the very best places for total ticking (for my annual report on Tennessee birding I will report the rankings of all the states and provinces on the number of birds available on one trip as a percentage of the bird list for each state/province. Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan rank 1, 3 and 7 on this list, respectively.)  The birds of extreme SW MB include: Cattle Egret, Upland Sandpiper, Wilsonâ??s Phalarope, Willow Flycatcher, Sayâ??s Phoebe, Loggerhead Shrike, Yellow-throated Vireo, Mountain Bluebird (look for the bird houses in several areas), Spragueâ??s Pipit, Grasshopper Sparrow, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Orchard Oriole. One bird to look for is Eurasian Collared-Dove which bred in Lyleton in 2005 and has been established since. Note that Burrowing Owl and Bairdâ??s Sparrow, commonly found in the extreme SW in the past are seriously declining and may soon be extirpated in MB. Note that four-wheel drive is necessary in many areas when the roads are wet.  Riding Mountain National Park was the highlight of the Manitoba leg of the trip, and it is the place where many Manitoba birders including Big Day folks look for migrants. According to the FBSM book, the park boasts 197 "uncommon-to-abundant" species during migration, including 23 warblers. Contacting local birders just prior to your visit may add rare birds (i.e., rare for here) such as Great Gray Owl, American Woodcock, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Scarlet Tanager. The mountainous nature of the park means that your shorebird list is likely to be lacking with only 14 non-rare species, about 50% of those present at this time in southern MB. For a much better shot at shorebirds you will want to go to Whitewater Lake (above). Other options for shorebirds are Oak Lake and Plum Lakes west of Brandon. I would recommend at least two visits to Riding Mountain.  For the route through the park that I followed, begin well before dawn for Barred, Great Horned, Northern Saw-whet, and perhaps Great Gray Owl (Great Horned and Northern Saw-whet are common), and Common Nighthawk off Highway 10 past Wasagaming. The next stop is to try for American Woodcock (rare) on Highway 19 (see pg. 105 of the FBSM book), but no luck for me. Next continue east on 19 and out of the park, and go north at Highway 5 and then west at Agassiz Ski Hill Rd. (Highway 361) for 6.2 miles taking you into the park again and at the top of the escarpment for the dawn chorus. After the escarpment carefully bird back down to Highway 5 for birds not often found in other places in southwestern Manitoba. Next go back down to Highway 19 and into the park again. Highway 19, including the exits, parking lots and adjacent trails, is one of the most productive and enjoyable routes I have ever experienced as a birder. (As with all such birding you should drive slowly and stop when you hear birds, especially numerous birds, and alarm calls, at different habitats and tree species, and at edges, clearings and water sources.)  It is said that Douglas Marsh, a short distance from Brandon, has perhaps the greatest concentrations of Yellow Rails in Canada, almost 12% of the total global population. In addition to Yellow Rail you will be looking (read listening) for Sora, Virginia Rail, American Bittern, Wilsonâ??s Snipe, Sedge and Marsh Wren, Nelsonâ??s and Le Conteâ??s Sparrow. Great Horned Owl may be the only owl you hear, which only goes to show that the night is not for owls only! (Note to young or inexperienced birders: birding for these night singers is a birding experience that should not be missed.) While you will find similar material in FBSM it is worth emphasizing the following for reasons of safety: you will need to park in Douglas (there is an area near the railroad crossing). Donâ??t park on Highway 340. When you walk along 340 south of Douglas be sure to use reflective clothing such as that used by bicyclers. If you have never been there I would strongly suggest you spend some reconnaissance time during the day. That worked well for me. Finally, note that Highway 340 can be a very busy road and if you want to drive it slowly you may need several trips down and back given the traffic. Stopping for even a small amount of time can be dangerous. The speed limit on this narrow two-lane road is equivalent to 55 mph and I am told there is police presence. Other areas in and near Brandon If you are staying in Brandon a good spot for more casual birding is the Assiniboine River Corridor. Along with Brandon Hills (below) Assiniboine may be one of the easiest places in southwest Manitoba for Wood Duck and Northern Rough-winged Swallow.  At least two pairs of Peregrine Falcons regularly nest in southwestern Manitoba. The most well known site is at the McKenzie Seeds building (30 9th St.) in Brandon. Migrating birds are generally seen at the end of April to mid-May at Whitewater Lake. To see the birds at McKenzie Seeds go to the top of the Town Centre free parking garage off 8th St. near Rossser Ave. Look north past Rosser Ave for the McKenzie Seeds building on the west side of 9th (you canâ??t miss the building and the large sign). Birders tell me that the Double Decker pub at the corner of Rosser Ave and 10th is excellent.One additional place I did not go was Brandon Sewage Lagooons. At times this can be good for California Gull. As with all birding trips make sure you have the number of the local rare bird alert and subscribe to the relevant state/province email discussion group.Just a few miles south of Brandon is Brandon Hills. It is a place to look for birds you have not yet found in other places, especially Veery, Scarlet Tanager and Indigo Bunting. Note that all three can often be found on the east side of Riding Mountain National Park (along Highway 361 to the top of the escarpment). Brandon Hills and the surrounding area is a wonderful traffic-free (at least when I was there) quick and easy trip for 60+ species. Wood Ducks can be seen in two different marsh areas. Saskatchewan On the way to Saskatoon just off the Yellowhead Highway #16, the Quill Lakes area, specifically Foam Lake and the Wadena Wildlife Wetlands, is a premiere place for shorebirds and waterfowl. Reportedly, the area has 300 species and annual counts of more than one million birds. For more information see: www.quill-lakes-bird-area.com.  For many years birders in Saskatoon have been systematically recording birds of the area and in 2002 published an excellent book, Birds of the Saskatoon Area by the Saskatchewan Natural History Society (eds., Anna Leighton, Jim Hay, Stuart Houston, Frank Roy & Stan Shadick). If you are in the Saskatoon area this book is a must. The book has a full species list with arrival and departure dates for many birds and includes attractive photographs, excellent maps and habitat descriptions. All told throughout the entire spring migration there are roughly 190 birds present in the Saskatoon area. Unfortunately, unlike Manitoba, Saskatchewan does not have a regional birding book, and birders have found that spending time northwest of Saskatoon in the area of Turtle Lake (see below), and in the southwest produces a larger list over a smaller amount of time. But my first stop in the Saskatoon area was the Blackstrap Coulee area south of Saskatoon, perhaps the best place to bird in the Saskatoon area with a reported 240 species. The other reason for Blackstrap is that it is the best place in the area for shorebirds with about 20-25 regularly seen during spring migration. For these reasons Blackstrap and Quill Lakes are a shorebird insurance policy for birds you might not see in the Turtle Lake-to-North Battleford area. After Blackstrap you will want to add to your list with nearby Brightwater Reservoir, Brightwater Marsh and the Bradwell Reservoir area.  The Turtle Lake area was the high point of the trip in Saskatchewan. In a half day of driving from Turtle Lake to North Battleford local experts have gotten close to 160 birds. As a non-local (with good local intel) if you spend two to three days there you are likely to approach that number or more. Turtle Lake (which apparently does not have any turtles) is at the edge of the boreal forest and as such has a high diversity of sought-after birds. For one thing, the area abounds with warblers, 18 of which are regular. Very good information is available online by Muriel Carlson (http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/maybank/Canada/SK-Turtle.htm), the main birder in the area for many years. One of the highlights of the Turtle Lake area are owls: Northern Saw-whet, Great Horned, Barred, Northen Hawk-Owl, Boreal and Great Gray are possible, with Northern Saw-whet and Great Horned being the most common. I had four species of owls including Boreal, a life bird for me.  My list for Saskatchewan was very good at this point but as a birder I am greedy and the possibility that I could get to the 50% threshold by birding extreme SW Saskatchewan was too much for me to say no. Unfortunately, the Saskatchewan threshold is 205 birds, somewhat more daunting than that for Manitoba. The three areas I visited in SW SK were the Big Stick Lake area, Maple Creek, and the western side of Cypress Hill Provincial Park (CHPP). On the way south look for Golden Eagle, Gray Partridge, Sayâ??s Phoebe, Spragueâ??s Pipit and Lark Bunting. At Big Stick find Ferruginous Hawk, Long-billed Curlew, Upland Sandpiper, Bairdâ??s & Grasshopper Sparrow, and McCownâ??s & Chestnut-sided Longspur. Maple Creek is a good location for Eurasian Collared-Dove, which is now established in southern SK. CHPP has a good checklist. Beyond Canada: Iowa Riverton Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and Waubonsie State Park is in extreme southwest Iowa. It was of interest to me because I had only 125 birds (about 30%) for Iowa, many of which were obtained on a day trip with another total ticker. Many birders think that the Riverton area & Waubonsie St Pk are the best birding areas in all of western IA and they are easily located near I-29. At Riverton WMA be sure to take the road indicated by the picnic sign which takes you into the extensive management area.                 Missouri  If you have a limited amount of time flying is the only way to go, but if flying is not necessary driving is always better for total tickers as it allows you to be in more states/provinces. At my age the limit of my driving is about 450 miles (gone are the days when I could drive from Nashville to the coast of Delaware to see a Whiskered Tern in one day!), which can get you to about Columbia, MO coming from the Nashville, TN area. I used to be a faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis (before "financial exigency" cut my entire department) so I should really have more than 158 birds for MO but that four letter word, work, often kept me grinding away. One problem area on my list, as it is for many total tickers, is shorebirds (this is especially the case for some non-coastal states in the East and Midwest). The Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area very close to Columbia is one of the better shorebird areas in Missouri and has a list of 262 birds.                    Montana  Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) near Malta is in north-central Montana. Bowdoin has about 112 breeding birds including Greater Sage-Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Swainsonâ??s Hawk, Prairie Falcon, Upland Sandpiper, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, California Gull (at about the eastern end of its breeding range), Short-eared Owl, Spragueâ??s Pipit (also at the end of its breeding range), Bairdâ??s Sparrow, McCownâ??s and Chestnut-collared Longspur.  Fort Peck Campground and Interpretive Center is a good stop if you are driving that way. Among breeding birds that may be seen are Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Least Flycatcher, Eastern and Western Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-breasted Chat, Spotted Towhee, Black-headed Grosbeak, Baltimore, Bullockâ??s and Orchard Oriole. Among other birds in the vicinity of Fort Peck look for Sharp-tailed Grouse and Upland Sandpiper in appropriate habitat.  Thought for some to be the migrant warbler capital of Montana, Westby on the Montana-North Dakota line is best in the last week of May, when eastern warblers not seen in other parts of Montana can be found (especially, Chestnut-sided, Magnolia and Canada). A list of 15+ warblers is not uncommon. The major areas are the city park in Westby and Round Lake (just north of the city) which may have many (20+) shorebirds. If you happen to be there after the migration window, as I was, keep an eye out for extreme northeastern MT breeding birds such as, Piping Plover, Ruby-throated Hummer, Purple Martin, Sedge Wren, Eastern Bluebird, Dickcissel, and Field, LeConteâ??s & Nelsonâ??s Sparrow. Like southwestern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, northeastern Montana is a must see for locals in the area and total tickers alike.  Medicine Lake NWR is a major birding place in eastern Montana. It and Lostwood NWR in North Dakota (below) are some of the best places to see breeding Bairdâ??s Sparrow, a life bird for me on this trip. Ordinarily, I am not a sparrow person but Bairdâ??s Sparrow, unlike many other sparrows, has a much more musical, even pleasing song at least to my ear. North Dakota Kellys Slough NWR in North Dakota is close to Grand Forks and well worth the time. Mainly known for ducks and shorebirds, the 1,900 acre refuge in the Red River valley is reported to have an annual population of 36,000 shorebirds and 29 species. Beyond the NWR look for shorebird areas on Road 5 between Roads 2 & 11. Along 22nd St. NE north of 11 find a good area for perching birds. An excellent map is on the net.  Off Highway 5 near Cavalier, ND, Gunlogson Nature Preserve within Icelandic State Park is a good bet for migrant songbirds. Take the trail north past the Gunlogson Homestead to the winding Tongue River where you are likely to have the best luck (take Shady Springs Trail to Wildwood Trail to Basswood Trail and to the part of Old Settlerâ??s Trail near the river). Another good area is at the end of the campground near Lake Renwick. Note that in addition to looking for common state migrants, the preserve regularly has birds that are unlikely in other places in ND: Ruffed Grouse, Whip-poor-will, Pileated Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Common Raven, Northern Parula, Cape May Warbler, Scarlet Tanager and Eastern Towhee.  Lostwood NWR has about 100 breeding birds in June and roughly the same bird list as Medicine Lake NWR in Montana. You begin at the Refuge Headquarters and you should take the Auto Tour Route. A hiking trail also follows about 40% of the Auto Tour and there are lots of opportunities to leave the car for extended walks. A more strenuous hike is a seven mile loop that takes you into the more western part of the refuge. I devoted most of the day to the refuge and surrounding area (including nearby lower Des Lacs NWR).  My non-birding friends were very interested in what I thought about Ken Burnsâ?? documentary on the U.S. National Parks (NP) and I had to tell them that while I had been to a fair number of national parks on family travels, most competitive birders usually go elsewhere, including National Wildlife Refuges. There are several exceptions, of course. One example is Big Bend NP in Texas, a great place for birding especially for those up for the rigors of serious hiking. On one such trip in the early â??70s, a group out of Austin, TX took birders on an excursion to the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend that for years was referred to as "Birdingâ??s Bataan Death March". The temperature was close to 100, almost no shade, the group ran out of food and water, there were minimal medical supplies, two people fainted from the heat, and several others had less serious leg and foot ailments. Of course, the birds were great, including Colima Warbler and a rare Gray Flycatcher seen by several people who, having endured too many hours in these conditions, still viewed birding as an enjoyable pastime. My teenage mind was not entirely convinced. My girlfriend had stopped talking to me several miles back and I was ahead of the exhausted group lying under a painfully sparse tree trying to rest. Suddenly, about 30 yards up the trail, one of the leaders (better not to use names here), began yelling for me to look up. As I opened my eyes I had only a glimpse of the retreating bird that would have been a lifer and a great addition to my Texas list. Of course, the moral of this story for competitive birders is to always keep your eyes open (and perhaps donâ??t leave it to others to be prepared). I say all that to suggest that Teddy Roosevelt NP and the immediate vicinity in western North Dakota are good areas to bird. While only about 75 breeding birds are possible (not including rare birds), several are not regularly found in eastern North Dakota, e.g., Prairie Falcon, Western Wood-Pewee, Violet-green Swallow, Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting.  Southeast of Bismark, Long Lake NWR has about 115 breeding birds in June. The small but productive marsh area at the southwest corner of the lake has, among other common birds, American Bittern, Virginia Rail, Sora and Sedge Wren.                 A Word on Alberta  Alberta was one of the places that I had hoped to visit but I had to truncate my plans leaving most of the western part of the trip to another time. If I had the time what I would have done is drive to the Cold Lake area for Cold Lake Provincial Park and various areas west of the park. After that I would have driven the long way south to the Hanna and Drumheller area stopping at Jessie Lake just south of Bonnyville, Kehewin Lake and Gooseberry Lake PP along the way. I would then have gone to the Banff area and Banff National Park, the westernmost part of southern Alberta in the mountains and adjacent to British Columbia . After Banff I would have finished up at the western portion of Cypress Hills PP and nearby prairie areas, including Pakowki Lake in extreme southeastern Alberta. In good weather this route should easily and comfortably get you to the 50% threshold or more in four to five days. Add at least a day for the mountains of British Columbia. Contact me if you are interested in more info.                    Summary  Not the very ambitious trip I had planned, and not finding western birds was a serious disappointment, but all told a wonderfully productive trip. And yet while 2010 ends up as my second best total ticker year it dawned on me that I have but a few large trips left. The fact of the matter is that in total ticking there comes a time when you hit the proverbial wall, when the birds donâ??t come as easily as they used to. I am close to that wall; I can see it coming. And yet I think in total ticking there may always be a frontier. If 300 is considered to be a good list in Tennessee (something I have yet to achieve), the comparison for total ticking is about 20,750 (roughly 75% of each state and province list). No total ticker has ever gone there and the birder with the highest amount (Paul Lehman) has 17,744 (as of the end of 2008) or only 85% of that 20,750 standard. (Did I say only? After all, we are talking about the equivalent of 300 in TN x 64). The second highest, Kenneth Ward, has but 74% of that standard, more than 2,000 birds fewer. So there is still much to do, especially for those like myself who are now at around 40-45%. And for me if I am able to go beyond 10,000, my total ticks life goal, then many of my favorite states, with lots of life birds become available. I look forward to once again birding in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon.  But of course I am getting well ahead of myself. The state/province highlight for the trip was clearly Manitoba where I was able to cross the 50% threshold. Reaching the 50% threshold in one trip is only possible in a very few states/provinces. Saskatchewan is also a 50% possibility but I fell a bit short. (I think a third day at the Turtle Lake area or a second day at the Blackstrop area would have put me past the threshold.) Montana got me over my personal 37% threshold (37% x all states/provinces roughly = 10,000). Iâ??m pretty sure my third trip to Montana will push me over the 50% threshold. North Dakota was more difficult and I had lots of misses especially among shorebirds and warblers.  This was also a trip in which I got more than a couple of life birds, the best year for me since 2007: Greater Sage-Grouse, Spruce Grouse, Boreal Owl and Bairdâ??s Sparrow. All are code 2 birds with the exception of Greater Sage-Grouse at code 1. The bird highlights of the trip were Spruce Grouse and Boreal Owl, birds I had tried for several times in the past without success. The location highlight was Riding Mountain National Park followed closely by the Turtle Lake area. The sheer number and variety of birds, as well as the gorgeous scenery, will make Riding Mountain in migration a favorite for most birders. The top of the escarpment on Agassiz Ski Hill Rd. (Highway 361) out of McCreary on the east side of the park and Highway 19 are special places. The Turtle Lake area has almost as many birds but unlike Riding Mountain is still relatively unknown by the throngs of recreation seekers who love Riding Mountain to death in the warm months, the "Radnorification" of the park well known by birders in the Nashville area. If migration was in summer and birds were most active in the middle of the day there would be no birders. Unfortunately, I saw nothing of western Montana so I will reserve comment on Montana until I get there. High ranking Tennessee total tickers, David Chaffin and John Henderson, with a recent trip to Montanaâ??s west, would have much more to offer. While not in the same category as the places mentioned above, Teddy Roosevelt National Park was the highlight in North Dakota for its unusual avifauna and natural beauty. And, admittedly, I love prairie dogs and their owl friends.  Should I talk about low lights? Rarely birding locations will be low lights for me (John Heinz NWR in urban Philadelphia with vintage garbage in numerous areas the time I visited, and birding areas near Lake Calumet south of Chicago, essentially toxic dumps, are two exceptions), while weather is often the cause of my least happy birding experiences. I am not one of those birders (if there really are any) who say they are only truly happy when they are physically uncomfortable. (Perhaps a vanity for those who have yet to experience serious physical discomfort or disability.) Overall, the weather on the trip was quite tolerable. And whatâ??s not to like? I have life, health (or some large proportion of it), and birdsâ??I canâ??t imagine having a better time. In sum, central Canada at the height of migration is a great place to bird, well worth the interest of Tennessee birders. For total tickers going to Manitoba and Saskatchewan (and Alberta!) may be the most productive single trip you ever take.  Email me if you have any questions. As you might imagine a great deal goes into a trip like this (they take months to plan) and it is not possible to put everything down in the time I have available. Note that this trip report and my previous long trip to the Northeast in 2008 will soon be on my university webpage at www.mtsu.edu/~kbreault.  Good birding and good totaling!  Kevin Breault Brentwood, TN   =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to SIGN YOUR MESSAGE with first and last name, CITY (TOWN) and state abbreviation. You are also required to list the COUNTY in which the birds you report were seen. The actual DATE OF OBSERVATION should appear in the first paragraph. _____________________________________________________________ To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx _____________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. ______________________________________________________________ TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------ Assistant Moderator Andy Jones Cleveland, OH ------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Dave Worley Rosedale, VA -------------------------------- Assistant Moderator Chris O'Bryan Clarksville, TN __________________________________________________________ Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ARCHIVES TN-Bird Net Archives at //www.freelists.org/archives/tn-bird/ MAP RESOURCES Tenn.Counties Map at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/states/tennessee3.gif Aerial photos to complement google maps http://local.live.com _____________________________________________________________