Snakes on a plain: Manitoba’s Narciss e Snake Dens

IN THIS EMAIL:

- Learn about Manitoba's Narcisse Snake Dens, the world's largest gathering of snakes — and home of Canada’s strangest Mothers Day tradition

- Listen to our latest Here & There podcast episode about North America's New Icelanders and the annual Icelandic Festival that takes place in Gimli, Manitoba

- Discover how Canadian songbirds change their bodies to fly higher during migration

- Looking for your next adventure? Learn more about CMH Summer Adventures and their incredible trips to the remote Canadian wilderness

Snakes on a plain: Manitoba’s Narcisse Snake Dens

Each spring, a disquieting tangle of tens of thousands of gartersnakes emerges from their winter home, forming the world’s largest gathering of snakes

By Leslie Anthony with photography by Walter Potrebka

At 11 a.m. on a preternaturally warm day in May, the rock-strewn parking lot on the eastern edge of Manitoba’s Narcisse wildlife management area is filling up fast. Families unload strollers, coolers and other leisure paraphernalia as a convoy of vans from a Winnipeg seniors care facility pulls in, followed by a bus seeping the muted squeals of excited schoolchildren. Groups hurry down a short trail to stake out territory at a cluster of picnic sites, each featuring a table partially enclosed by an L-shaped windbreak of wood set perpendicular to a large slab of local limestone stood on end, Stonehenge-style.

HERE & THERE PODCAST
Into the Viking heart of North America’s New Iceland

Come along deep into the viking hearts of New Icelanders — from Gimli, Manitoba to Mountain, North Dakota. Two towns divided by a border, but inextricably linked by their surprising and storied Icelandic roots.

Foam swords slice through the air amidst fun carnage while villagers eat ice cream on the shores of Lake Winnipeg — this is Gimli, Manitoba’s annual Icelandic Festival. Complete with Viking battle reenactments, sandcastle contests, golf tournaments and more, this annual festival has been around since 1890, the second-oldest continuous ethnic festival in North America. And thanks to award-winning producer and storyteller Robert Reid, we have front-row seats.

Next, we head south to Gimli’s US sister community, Mountain, North Dakota, to learn more about these deep cross-border bonds. Through all this, acclaimed singer-songwriter Lindy gives us a lesson in the geography of music — how the culture and landscape of Canada’s New Iceland shaped him and his art.

Study reveals how Canadian songbirds change their bodies during migration

Researchers at Western University’s Advanced Facility for Avian Research explore how much songbirds’ bodies can change to fly higher when migrating

By Julia Zarankin with illustration by Dino Pulerà

Migratory birds are extraordinary endurance athletes. Not only is their migration one of the riskiest and most energetically demanding feats in all the wildlife kingdom, but in making this journey they outpace any mammal’s aerobic performance by far. The blackpoll warbler is one of the champions of North American migratory songbirds, managing average southbound flights of 2,540 kilometres over 62 non-stop hours, all while weighing just 12 to 14 grams — about the same as a triple-A battery. While the journey has always been perilous, today’s climate conditions — including scorching heat, smoke from wildfires, more violent storms and more intense droughts — make it even more challenging.

Canadian Geographic Adventures

Get inspired!

One heli of a hike

British Columbia’s remote Cariboo Mountains are one of the hardest-to-reach wilderness areas in Canada — unless, of course, you’re a keen hiker with access to a helicopter
By Doug O'Neill with photography by Javier Frutos