IBA 81- Sagemace & Coleman Bay Islands which includes all the islands of the bays, is one of the 36 Manitoba sites originally designated as important Bird Areas (IBAs) by BirdLife International and now by Nature Manitoba. Some of the 50 species seen here include Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Ruddy Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintails, Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, Redhead, Lesser Scaup and Buffleheads, American Avocet, Semipalmated Plover, Killdeer, Willet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Marbled Godwit, Least Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher and Long-billed Dowitcher. Sagemace Bay is also a traditional molting and staging area for diving ducks, especially Redheads and to a lesser degree, Canvasbacks.