Birds Hill Provincial Park
Birds Hill Provincial Park, situated north and slightly east of Winnipeg along old Highway 59 in the Rural Municipality of Springfield, is a much-loved provincial park and wonderful legacy of Canada’s 1967 centennial year. That was the year Manitoba welcomed “the world” and opened the park in conjunction with hosting the Pam American (Pan Am) Games.
As a child in 1967, I remember visiting the park to watch the cross-country horse races. As adults, my husband and I continue to enjoy the park as though it is our own back yard. We have cross-country skied through the park trail system for over 30 years. When our kids were young, we did the mandatory pile-on-the-sleigh-wagon-rides leaving from the park ranch; we roasted marsh mellows on nearby campfires; held large family picnics and hosted special events in the group use areas; we cycled, roller-bladed, swam, and played tennis there; and spent many an afternoon walking along the Chickadee or Blue Stem trails, or wandering out to the old Lime Kiln further to the east.
The park sits on high, sandy ground to the east of the Red River, and due its elevation, served as a natural refuge for surrounding areas during Red River flood years. The 35-square kilometer park is home to one of North America’s largest folk festivals, the Winnipeg Folk Festival. The park especially draws visitors and campers during the summer months, offers horseback riding and hiking year-round, and the beaches surrounding the interior lake, man-made, are packed with both city and country folk on hot, summer days.
I appreciate the park’s role as a natural reserve for wildlife, and I love its great hiking and cross-country ski trails. This past weekend, on an unusually warm and lovely December Day, my husband and I walked around the lake with our dog, Neala, and saw other folks enjoying the day in a similar fashion. People along the way had stopped to feed the birds, and watch a white-tailed deer lingering near the trail. Hardier types were cycling on fat-tired winter bikes, hiking across the meadows and along the lakeshore, or strolling as we were around the lake (appearing more like several small lakes) on interconnecting walkways.
It’s common to see our gorgeous white-tailed deer on almost any visit, particularly around dusk. Sometimes, one finds the remains of a deer, indicating that coyotes are hunting in the area. Occasionally, in fall, it’s not difficult to spot wild turkeys bobbing in the tall grasses, or see a grouse in the bush. Whether walking through aspen and bur oak forests, along the pine forest trail, or in the mixed boreal forest areas within the park, it’s easy in winter to see chickadees and nuthatches, blue jays, and woodpeckers, and sometimes to spot on owl.
The photographs shared in the Photo Gallery will give you a glimpse of the gorgeous hues of early winter colours. There is one shot in particular, featured at the top of this article, with grasses in the foreground and the lake behind, that is a quintessentially Canadian prairie image. There is only a light dusting of snow so far this season, making travel through the park on foot a simple matter for the time being. Later, when the heavy snows arrive, foot travel will be difficult, and the creatures who make their homes in the park will also have a tougher time navigating through Birds Hill.
If you have not visited here, I’m pleased to introduce you to my favourite home park. I hope you enjoy your Birds Hill “walkabout.”
Photos and text: copyright Nadine Kampen / cookiebuxton
Date and Location: December 2015, Birds Hill Park, Springfield, Manitoba
Photo Gallery
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