The Backyard's Weekly Bird Walk locations are found in the Backyard Bird Report at the very end of the most recent report. Any cancellations will be posted by 8am the day of the walk.

Sunday 28 June 2009

Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, Bird alert, June 28, 2009




Cedar Waxwing: Ralph Hocken Photo.




The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store
Nanaimo Bird Alert

To report your sightings
phone the Store at 250-390-3669
e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca
call the Bird Alert at 250-390-3029

Also check the birdstore blog for the latest bird alerts and updates:
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Post your sightings on this site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcbirdingvanisland/messages

Birds of British Columbia:
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/SpeciesChecklists.html

International Birdwatching Guides
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com

Birdwatching contacts and information find a local birder to go birdwatching with:
http://www.birdingpal.org/

Please remember, when reporting a sighting, to leave your name and phone number, along with the date, name and location of your sighting.

Sunday June 28, 2009:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to McGregor Marsh in Nanaimo. The morning was sunny but cool.
The highlights included seeing two Belted Kingfishers at the first marsh at the start of the walk. We saw and heard Willow Flycatchers and a Black-headed Grosbeak singing. Cedar Waxwings were perched on snags above a marsh. A Merlin flew in above the marsh to end the walk.
Seventeen birders saw and heard the following thirty-six species of birds:
Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle, Merlin, California Quail, Band-tailed Pigeon, Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Belted Kingfisher, Warbling Vireo, Violet-green Swallow, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven ,Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Purple Finch, House Finch and American Goldfinch.

The male American Kestrel was seen again on the hydro lines overlooking the Ugly Dwarf Meadows at Nanoose Bay.

Evening Grosbeaks have been visiting feeders in the 100 block of Meridian Way in Parksville.

Saturday June 27:
An American Kestrel was seen on the hydro lines overlooking the Ugly Dwarf Meadows at Nanoose Bay.

Six Caspian Terns and two Osprey were seen on the flats at the Nanaimo River Estuary near the Living Forest Campground in south Nanaimo.

Thursday June 25:
A aberrant brown Pileated Woodpecker was seen in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.

Wednesday June 24:
Two Vesper Sparrows were seen along the fields at the Nanaimo Airport in south Nanaimo.

Tuesday June 23:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was pleasant with periods of sunshine and was filled with bird songs. The highlights of the morning was seeing and hearing Willow Flycatchers and a Yellow Warbler singing. We saw a family of five Belted Kingfishers perched on a snag just above the River giving us close views as the young were being fed.
Sixteen birders saw and heard the following thirty-two species of birds.
Canada Goose, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Glaucous-winged Gull, Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Winter Wren, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin,
European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch and House Finch.

An Evening Grosbeak was spotted near Dawkins Lane in Nanaimo.

Monday June 22:
A Great Horned Owl was seen perched by the north side trail about 150 meters east of the deep bay, at the western side of Neck Point Park in Nanaimo.

A Ring-necked Pheasant was seen in the Chase River area near Beck Creek in south Nanaimo.

Sunday June 21:
Over ten Cedar Waxwings were seen near the Beaver Ponds at Morrell Wildlife Sanctuary in Nanaimo.

Black-headed Grosbeaks are visiting feeders along Extension Road in south Nanaimo.

A male and female California Quail with fourteen puffball chicks were seen in a yard in Fairwinds in Nanoose Bay.

Saturday June 20:
An adult female Lark Bunting was seen in the parking lot at Botanical Beach near Port Renfrew.

Wednesday June 10:
An Eastern Kingbird was spotted perching and flycatching on Mittlenatch Island.

For further information on these sightings or for help in identifying a
bird please call The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store
@ (250) 390-3669
Toll Free @ 1-888-249-4145
e-mail: thebackyard@shaw.ca
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The Nanoose Naturalists
Thursday September 10, 2009 @ 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monday September 28, 2009 @ 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
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Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on the Sunday and
Tuesday mornings. We leave from the Store at 9 A.M. Sunday Mornings and go
to a different location in and around Nanaimo and from the Parksville Beach
Community Park at 9 A.M. on Tuesdays and go to different areas in and around
the Oceanside area.
**************************************************************
The Tuesday Bird Walk on June 30, 2009 will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.
Meet at the Parksville Beach Community Park near the parking area at the Lion's
Playground at 9:00 A.M. or at the corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive at about 9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on July 05 will be going to the Beaver Ponds in Nanoose Bay.
Meet at the Bird store at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking area about 100 yards past the fourway stop along Powerpoint Road at about 9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
Nanaimo
British Columbia

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