Manning Park Bird Blitz 2026

Manning Bird Blitz June 19-21 2026

The Manning Park Bird Blitz was founded in 1983 by Environmental Endowment Commission Canadian Commissioner Gail Ross, is British Columbia's longest-running bird count. It is an annual citizen-science event held every June during the active bird.

Spectacular Scenery

June is a great time to visit, when forests are alive with a riot of birds exuberantly advertising for mates and defending territory. This, combined with the park’s extensive network of scenic trails, makes Manning a paradise for birders - experts and novices alike!

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Three-toed Woodpecker

 E.C. Manning Provincial Park boasts over 100 varieties of alpine and subalpine wildflowers, acting as a transition zone between coastal and dry interior climates. Highlights include the Pacific rhododendron (blooming mid-June), avalanche lilies (late spring), and vast meadows filled with mountain-heather and harsh paintbrush. We were too late for the avalanche lilies but several butterfly species were seen during the heat of the day when the birds were less active.  

Hoffmann's Checkerspot.

Hoffmann's Checkerspot ranges from California to British Columbia. 

In British Columbia it is only found at Manning Park. 

Hermit Thrush

Canada Jays are always on the lookout for a handout. Feeding wildlife is frowned upon.

A flock of six Pine Grosbeaks visited the campsite everyday.

Western White feeds on the nectar of the Saskatoon flower

After walking part of the Poland Lake trail to the top of the ski lift our group stopped for lunch. The break gave is a chance to take in spectacular views. Our gaze was interrupted when a Mountain Bluebird flew past us into a cavity in the ski lift apparatus, a nest site perhaps. Soon afterwards we spotted a Sooty Grouse, five chicks could seen following close behind. 

 

Sooty Grouse

 We may have been too close as one of the chick flew into a bush. We continued our walk.

Sooty Grouse chick 

Portions of Strawberry Flats were well shaded providing the moisture for numerous species of butterflies.

Western Meadow Fritillary

The annual Manning Park Bird Blitz is one of the best kept secrets in the birding community. If three days of birding in a region of natural beauty isn't enough, add great camaraderie, butterflying, wildflowers and wildlife sightings. Enough said. See you there next year,

A short video here

Manning Park Bird Blitz Video

"It's never too late to attend a Manning Park Bird Blitz"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Manning Bird Blitz/Speaking Engagement

I am very pleased to have been invited to speak and present "Birding in the Lower Mainland and Beyond" at the 2013 Manning Bird Blitz. I have already presented the show at a number of Fraser Valley Regional libraries so depending on my audience (more photographers than birders or visa versa) I may tweak it a little. I also hope to include some of my images from my first ever birding trip to the Okanagan Valley.
Although I have hiked Manning Park quite extensively I have only birded the area a few times and so far with very little success. That said I am eager to take advantage of the expert group leaders and enjoy the whole weekend to the fullest. I hope to see you there.

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis) Rocky Mountains

Two of three sub species of Gray jay (Pemberton)

Note: Being reasonably new to birding please correct me if I have got the above identifications completely wrong. I know the second bird was photographed near Pemberton and the other in the Canadian Rockies. Both shot on Kodachrome 64 ISO, the standard film speed back in the Eighties. Today, birders can with certain cameras shoot 1600-3200 ISO which has made bird photography, bird recording and identification much easier, less expensive and above all... more fun!.

Click the link for further information

Manning Bird Blitz/Speaking Engagement

Western Canada Road Trip Part 1 (Critters)

May 7th 2012.
I had no idea what to expect when I left Langley on a twenty-one day birding trip on May7, 2012. First stop was Manning Park where the only birds were a few robins, a black-capped chickadee and a yellow-rumped warbler.

Black bear/Manning Park

Snow was still clinging to the shaded areas of the campsite and the Similkameen River had risen a foot overnight.  Soon after leaving the campsite I came across a Black bear eating grass at a roadside salt lick. Soon a number of others stopped and asked me to take pictures with their cel phones. Eventually, fed up with all the attention the bear growled and we all ran for our vehicles. As I approached Princeton a herd of ten or more Mule deer took little notice of me or the passing cars.

Coyote/Christmas Pass B.C.

A Coyote posed for picture after picture at Christmas Pass.
My three week sojourn would eventually see me spend 10 days in the Okanagan, two days in Creston, five days in Saskatchewan which included a wicked snowstorm. On the way back, a night in the Elk Horn area of Cypress Hills, Alberta, a damp night in the Rockies at Lake Louise where a Raven stole my bread. The trip finished in Vernon and then back home.

There were special moments everyday. The highlights were the new sighting like the Yellow-breasted chat (a special thanks to Russell Cannings for all his advice on location) 

At Cypress Hills I was in search of songbirds but only found three Wild turkeys that woke me up at 4.45a.m. Some birder I am, I didn't even know there were Wild turkeys in Canada! It is said the Turkey call can be heard a mile away, these birds were just feet away so needless to say I didn't need my alarm clock!

Other highlights were a Burrowing owl that I happened to flush while walking through a farmers field. It settled on a fence post, posing briefly with an angry glare.
Finally, if that wasn't enough, I tracked down a Piping plover at Chaplin IBA Saskatchewan.

See more about the Piping plover at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piping_Plover
An endangered species with an estimated population of 5700 in North America. There are 50-200 at Chaplin which is on the Trans Canada just west of Moose Jaw, Sask. After much scanning the lake I managed to shoot this grainy record shot from the road (below) I now know where my next trip will based.

Piping plover, Chaplin Lake( IBA)

On the last day I photographed a Clay-colored sparrow (see separate post) near Vernon bringing the total of "lifers" for the trip to 35 with a further 70 species photographed. One bird I didn't manage to photograph was the Brown thrasher at Writing on Stone Provincial Park in Alberta. I did however join a very hospitable group of Alberta birders who were taking part in a May long weekend bird count. Being a typical Vancouverite I high-tailed out just before the snow was expected to fall only to spend the next six hours battling snow from Medicine Hat to Regina.

Please see Western Canada Road Trip Part 2 for more photography.