This prairie ecoregion is a narrow north-south ecoregion that starts in Manitoba just north of Dauphin, extending southeastward in a band skirting Riding Mountain National Park and crossing on Highway 1 at Sidney to the west and at Ste. Anne to the east. It includes Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie. In the US it occupies the entire eastern fringe of North Dakota, the western fringe of the northern half of Minnesota (including a bulge to the east), and finally a tiny northeastern corner of South Dakota.
Adjacent ecoregions include: i) Canadian Aspen Forests and Parklands (NA0802) which surrounds the ecoregion in almost all of Manitoba and in a small area south of the border in North Dakota; ii) Mid-Continental Canadian Forests (NA0608), the higher-altitude area of Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba; iii) Western Great Lakes Forests (NA0416) to the east in the northern half of the Minnesota part of the ecoregion; iv) Upper Midwest Forest-Savanna Transition (NA0415) to the east in most of the southern half of the Minnesota part of the ecoregion; and v) Northern Mixed Grasslands (NA0810) to the west in North and South Dakota (and to the south and south-east in Minnesota).
Description of the Ecoregion
A detailed description of the ecoregion can be found at WWF’s site (the map above is a screen shot from that Wildfinder site). There may also be additional information to be found in this ecoregion’s page at Wikipedia.
WWF notes that the ecoregion is the northernmost extension of the true tallgrass prairie in North America. It can be distinguished from the mixed grasslands to the west by the dominance of tallgrass species–a feature once relatively uniform across its range–and by the highest levels of rainfall (100 cm/yr). This ecoregion is one of the warmest and most humid regions in the Canadian prairies with an annual temperature of around 2.5°C.
The ecoregion is transitional between the aspen (Populus spp.) parkland to the north and northwest, mixed grass prairie to the west and prairie-forest transitional ecoregions to the east. The tallgrass prairie is most dominant on well-drained, drier sites and is often mixed with quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and oak (Quercus macrocarpa) groves, and rough fescue grasslands.
The ecoregion has been heavily converted with only about 5% of the original habitat remaining. Once dominant species in the ecoregion, bison and elk are now gone.
Birds of the Ecoregion
Although no bird species are endemic to this ecoregion, the ecoregion represents the northernmost extension into Canada of a host of typical tallgrass species. The area has significant waterfowl populations.
Resources for the Ecoregion Birder
I am not aware of any publications that focus on the birds of this ecoregion.
List of Characteristic Bird Species of the Ecoregion
The following list does not include very rare or accidental species (it excludes anything other than Category 1or 2 on the ABA list). Species are classed as summer breeders (s), resident (r), migrants (m), wintering (w), or peripheral (x) (that is, occurring in the ecoregion but only on its periphery and more characteristic of an adjacent ecoregion). For a fuller definition of characteristic species of an ecoregion, see the About tab.
- Greater White-fronted Goose m
- Snow Goose m
- Ross’s Goose m
- Cackling Goose m
- Canada Goose s
- Trumpeter Swan x
- Tundra Swan m
- Wood Duck s
- Gadwall s
- American Wigeon s
- Mallard s
- Blue-winged Teal s
- Cinnamon Teal m
- Northern Shoveler s
- Northern Pintail s
- Green-winged Teal s
- Canvasback s
- Redhead s
- Ring-necked Duck s
- Greater Scaup m
- Lesser Scaup s
- Surf Scoter x
- White-winged Scoter x
- Bufflehead s
- Common Goldeneye s
- Hooded Merganser s
- Common Merganser m
- Red-breasted Merganser m
- Ruddy Duck s
- Gray Partridge r
- Ring-necked Pheasant r
- Ruffed Grouse r
- Sharp-tailed Grouse r
- Greater Prairie-Chicken r
- Wild Turkey r
- Common Loon s
- Pied-billed Grebe s
- Horned Grebe m
- Red-necked Grebe s
- Eared Grebe s
- Western Grebe s
- Double-crested Cormorant s
- American White Pelican s
- American Bittern s
- Least Bittern s
- Great Blue Heron s
- Great Egret s
- Snowy Egret x
- Green Heron s
- Black-crowned Night-Heron s
- White-faced Ibis x
- Turkey Vulture s
- Osprey m
- Bald Eagle m
- Northern Harrier s
- Sharp-shinned Hawk s
- Cooper’s Hawk s
- Northern Goshawk w
- Broad-winged Hawk s
- Swainson’s Hawk s
- Red-tailed Hawk s
- Ferruginous Hawk x
- Rough-legged Hawk m
- Golden Eagle m
- Yellow Rail s
- Virginia Rail s
- Sora s
- American Coot s
- Sandhill Crane m
- Black-necked Stilt x
- American Avocet s
- Black-bellied Plover m
- American Golden-Plover m
- Semipalmated Plover m
- Piping Plover x
- Killdeer s
- Spotted Sandpiper s
- Solitary Sandpiper m
- Greater Yellowlegs m
- Willet s
- Lesser Yellowlegs m
- Upland Sandpiper s
- Hudsonian Godwit m
- Marbled Godwit s
- Ruddy Turnstone m
- Stilt Sandpiper m
- Sanderling m
- Dunlin m
- Baird’s Sandpiper m
- Least Sandpiper m
- White-rumped Sandpiper m
- Buff-breasted Sandpiper m
- Pectoral Sandpiper m
- Semipalmated Sandpiper m
- Short-billed Dowitcher m
- Long-billed Dowitcher m
- Wilson’s Snipe s
- American Woodcock s
- Wilson’s Phalarope s
- Red-necked Phalarope m
- Bonaparte’s Gull m
- Franklin’s Gull m
- Ring-billed Gull m
- California Gull x
- Herring Gull m
- Caspian Tern m
- Black Tern s
- Common Tern s
- Forster’s Tern s
- Rock Pigeon r
- Eurasian Collared-Dove r
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo x
- Black-billed Cuckoo s
- Eastern Screech-Owl r
- Great Horned Owl r
- Snowy Owl w
- Northern Hawk Owl w
- Barred Owl r
- Long-eared Owl s
- Short-eared Owl s
- Boreal Owl w
- Northern Saw-whet Owl m
- Common Nighthawk s
- Eastern Whip-poor-will s
- Chimney Swift s
- Ruby-throated Hummingbird s
- Belted Kingfisher s
- Red-headed Woodpecker s
- Red-bellied Woodpecker x
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker s
- Downy Woodpecker r
- Hairy Woodpecker r
- Black-backed Woodpecker r
- Northern Flicker s
- Pileated Woodpecker r
- American Kestrel s
- Merlin r
- Peregrine Falcon m
- Olive-sided Flycatcher m
- Eastern Wood-Pewee s
- Yellow-bellied Flycatcher m
- Alder Flycatcher s
- Willow Flycatcher s
- Least Flycatcher s
- Eastern Phoebe s
- Great Crested Flycatcher s
- Western Kingbird s
- Eastern Kingbird s
- Loggerhead Shrike x
- Northern Shrike w
- Yellow-throated Vireo s
- Blue-headed Vireo m
- Warbling Vireo s
- Philadelphia Vireo s
- Red-eyed Vireo s
- Blue Jay r
- American Crow s
- Common Raven r
- Horned Lark s
- Purple Martin s
- Tree Swallow s
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow s
- Bank Swallow s
- Cliff Swallow s
- Barn Swallow s
- Black-capped Chickadee r
- Boreal Chickadee x
- Red-breasted Nuthatch w
- White-breasted Nuthatch r
- Brown Creeper w
- House Wren s
- Winter Wren m
- Sedge Wren s
- Marsh Wren s
- Golden-crowned Kinglet w
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet m
- Eastern Bluebird s
- Veery s
- Gray-cheeked Thrush m
- Swainson’s Thrush m
- Hermit Thrush m
- American Robin s
- Gray Catbird s
- Brown Thrasher s
- European Starling r
- American Pipit m
- Bohemian Waxwing w
- Cedar Waxwing r
- Lapland Longspur m
- Chestnut-collared Longspur s
- Smith’s Longspur m
- Snow Bunting w
- Ovenbird s
- Northern Waterthrush s
- Golden-winged Warbler s
- Black-and-white Warbler s
- Tennessee Warbler m
- Orange-crowned Warbler m
- Nashville Warbler m
- Connecticut Warbler m
- Mourning Warbler s
- Common Yellowthroat s
- American Redstart s
- Cape May Warbler m
- Northern Parula m
- Magnolia Warbler m
- Bay-breasted Warbler m
- Blackburnian Warbler m
- Yellow Warbler s
- Chestnut-sided Warbler s
- Blackpoll Warbler m
- Palm Warbler m
- Yellow-rumped Warbler s
- Black-throated Green Warbler m
- Canada Warbler m
- Wilson’s Warbler m
- Eastern Towhee s
- American Tree Sparrow m
- Chipping Sparrow s
- Clay-colored Sparrow s
- Field Sparrow s
- Vesper Sparrow s
- Lark Sparrow s
- Savannah Sparrow s
- Grasshopper Sparrow s
- Le Conte’s Sparrow s
- Nelson’s Sparrow s
- Fox Sparrow m
- Song Sparrow s
- Lincoln’s Sparrow m
- Swamp Sparrow s
- White-throated Sparrow m
- Harris’s Sparrow m
- White-crowned Sparrow m
- Dark-eyed Junco w
- Scarlet Tanager s
- Northern Cardinal x
- Rose-breasted Grosbeak s
- Indigo Bunting s
- Dickcissel s
- Bobolink s
- Red-winged Blackbird s
- Western Meadowlark s
- Yellow-headed Blackbird s
- Rusty Blackbird m
- Brewer’s Blackbird s
- Common Grackle s
- Brown-headed Cowbird s
- Orchard Oriole s
- Baltimore Oriole s
- Pine Grosbeak w
- House Finch r
- Purple Finch s
- Red Crossbill w
- White-winged Crossbill w
- Common Redpoll w
- Hoary Redpoll w
- Pine Siskin r
- American Goldfinch s
- Evening Grosbeak w
- House Sparrow r
Summer breeders (s) 131
Resident breeders (r) 25
Migrants (m) 74
Wintering (w) 17
Peripheral (x) [not in Total] 14
TOTAL 247
63 spp. (August 1, 2014)