Changes in Latitude. This year has certainly provided me with some contrasts in birding. In January, I spent nine days in the rainforests and marshes of Trinidad and Tobago finding our North American migrants wintering among the local birds. In June, I headed in the opposite direction and found many of the same migrants breeding in Manitoba.

Traveling with Bob Schutsky's Bird Treks, we spent five days in Churchill on the shore of Hudson Bay in northern Manitoba. At almost 60 degrees latitude, the sun didn't set until 10:30 PM. I was not awake when it was ever totally dark, so I'm not sure if or even when that occurred.

Flying into Churchill gave us a great view of what was in store for us. We were in the transition zone between the Boreal Forest and the Tundra. Aside from the handful of roads that radiated out from the cluster of buildings that comprised the town, there was little evidence of man. The town is only accessible by rail, plane or boat (when the bay was not frozen). The landscape consisted of patches of spruce amongst the expanse of tundra, glacial lakes, the Churchill River and the Bay. As we landed, a wall of fog stood at the edge of the bay where the cold air over the frozen bay hit the warmer air over the land. It was June 8, 2002 and many of the lakes, the river and the bay were still covered with ice. Patches of snow lay in the shadows and our winter coats went on as we de- boarded our plane.

There's always a great sense of anticipation when I first reach a new area and this day was no exception. The 3-mile drive from the airport to our motel took almost an hour as we had to stop at every unfrozen pond to check for waterfowl. The Long-tailed Ducks were beautiful in their breeding plumage as were the Pacific Loons. The first life bird for me in Churchill was the Hudsonian Godwit. The last day of the trip, we saw our last one of these handsome birds being carried in the mouth of a Red Fox returning to feed its mate and kits.

Of particular interest in this extreme environment was the fragility all around us. The town was constructed by the government as an alternative shipping facility for grain. Although construction occurred 30-40 years ago, the scars are still evident. Re-growth there is measured in decades rather than years.

The avian spectacle was tremendous. The birds in breeding plumage were displaying in ways never seen in our latitudes. Shorebirds such as Lesser Yellowlegs and Wilson's Snipe were commonly seen perched and singing atop Red Spruce. The Bonaparte's Gulls were nesting in the spruce. I was looking at an unidentified pair of shorebirds in rusty plumage riding an ice floe when someone informed me they were Sanderlings. Pairs of Willow Ptarmigan were commonly seen along the roads and Spruce Grouse were displaying in the late evening. The Granary ponds always provided treats such as Red- necked Phalaropes, Arctic Terns and Snow Buntings. Some of the other more notable birds seen while we were there were Smith's Longspur, Harris's Sparrow, Pine Grosbeak, Boreal Chickadee, Three-toed Woodpecker, Ross's Gull, Sabine Gull and Little Gull.

The day we were to leave Churchill, we awoke in the morning to find the ice on Churchill River had broken up. We spent a good part of the day at Cape Merry. Everyone's favorite birding spot at Churchill seems to be Cape Merry, the rocky promontory at the mouth of the Churchill River. From this scenic vantage point we could scan the river or gaze out over the endless reaches of Hudson Bay. The turbulent tides and co-mingling waters produced an ever-changing exhibition of birds and mammals. It is from this vantage point that the Polar Bears are best spotted but by June they were long gone. With the ice gone, a pod of 10 Beluga Whales finally surfaced. A Parasitic Jaeger flew over the river mouth and a Greater White-fronted Goose floated by on an ice floe. What a great way to end this leg of the trip.

We completed our tour of Manitoba in the southern range of the province. In Riding Mountain National Park we had our fill of Connecticut and Mourning Warblers. We spent that evening searching for and finding a Great Gray Owl. On our early morning outing the next day, we even spotted a Black Bear and two cubs foraging on dandelions. Later, in Douglas Marsh, we found Sedge Wrens, Le Conte's Sparrows, Nelson's Sharp- tailed Sparrows and the elusive Yellow Rail (we were knee deep in water at 11:00 at night for that one!) The aerial display of the Sprague's Pipit and its straight vertical dive back to the ground was particularly impressive.

In nine days, we assembled a trip list of 208 species. Who would have guessed the cold clime of Manitoba would produce a higher trip list than Trinidad and Tobago?