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.

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, February 04, 2014

e Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was very chilly with a cold wind blowing and the waters of the Strait of Georgia were rough. We were rewarded with the sighting of an Eurasian Teal feeding in the mudflats. The Eurasian Teal breeds in northern Asia and Europe and winters in southern Asia and Africa and is seldom seen in this area. The mud flats were covered with Northern Pintail, Green-wing Teal, American Widgeon, Bufflehead, Mallards feeding along side the one Eurasian Teal. A large flock of Red-breasted Mergansers, a Western Grebe, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Common Murre, Pacific Loons and Greater Scaup were seen on the Strait of Georgia. Several Flocks of Dunlin and Brant flew down the Strait.

                                      Eurasian(Common) Teal: John Purves Photo 

Fourteen birders saw and heard the following forty-six species:
Canada Geese
Brant
American Widgeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Eurasian Teal
Green-winged Teal
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Greater Scaup
Long-tailed Duck
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe
Western grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Brandt’s Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Dunlin
Black-bellied Plover
Black Oystercatcher
Black Turnstone
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Mew Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Common Murre
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Belted Kingfisher
Anna’s Hummingbird
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco

 
Eurasian Teal left-Green-winged Teal-right. Female Northern Pintail front.                               




 Range of the Eurasian Teal

 

The Tuesday bird walk on February 11, 2014 will be going to Columbia Beach. 

Good Birding
Neil Robins
Parksville

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