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 here by 8am the day of the walk. Our first bird walks of the year are going out on Sunday February 4th and Tuesday February 6th. Locations will be posted to our next Bird Report.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, March 24, 2015

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was mostly sunny and the Strait of George was as smooth as glass.  A Rufous Hummingbird caught our attention at the start of the walk--the first of many Rufous Hummingbirds that we saw on the walk. A Pacific Wren was singing as we started walking the trail.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets were singing their melodious song and feeding along the trail for most of the morning. Two Tree Swallows were flying low overhead.  Many flocks of Brant were flying up the Strait.  Hundreds of Pacific Loons were on the water far off shore. A Brandt’s Cormorant and a Pelagic Cormorant were swimming together off shore to give us a good comparison.
                                                                                      
       
                                    Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Ralph Hocken Photo.                                                                           

                                                      
                                           Rufous Hummingbird: Ralph Hocken Photo.      

Eleven birders saw and heard the following fifty-seven species:
Canada Geese
Brant
American Wigeon
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Common Murre
Red-necked Grebe
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Brandt’s Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Black Oystercatcher
Killdeer
Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Bald Eagle
Mew Gull
California Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Steller’s Jay
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pacific Wren
Bewick’s Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Rufous Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Red-wing Blackbird
Dark-eyed Junco
House Finch
Pine Siskin  

The Tuesday bird walk on March 31, 2015 will be going to Columbia Beach. 

                                                                    Brandt's Cormorant: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Good birding
Neil Robins
Parksville.

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