Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, December 22, 2015

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville. The morning sun was shining when we started the walk, but it got cloudy and cool near the end. We spotted a young  Northern Shrike whose “mask” was not complete, perched on the top of a bush just across the river. Several flocks of Pine Siskin and Red Crossbills flew in and landed at the top of the tall trees during the morning giving us great views through the scopes. A Yellow-billed Loon, a Rhinoceros Auklet and a Common Murre were seen on the Strait of Georgia, along with two Long-tailed Ducks, a small flock of  Surf Scoters and one Black Scoter.

 

                                                              Northern Shrike: Ralph Hocken Photo.

Eight birders saw and heard the following fifty-five species:

Canada Geese

Brant

 American Widgeon

 Mallard

Greater Scaup

 Northern Pintail

 Green-winged Teal

 Harlequin Duck

Long-tailed Duck

 Surf Scoter

Black Scoter

 Bufflehead

 Common Goldeneye

 Common Merganser

 Red-breasted Merganser

 Pacific Loon

Common Loon

Yellow-billed Loon

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

 Double-crested Cormorant

 Brandt’s Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

 Bald Eagle

 Northern Shrike

Cooper’s Hawk

 California Quail

 Black Turnstone

Dunlin

Mew Gull

California Gull

 Thayer’s Gull

 Glaucous-winged Gull

 Common Murre

Rhinoceros Auklet

 Downy Woodpecker

 Northern Flicker

Steller’s Jay

 Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Anna’s Hummingbird

 Golden-crowned Kinglet

 American Robin

 European Starling

Brewer’s Blackbird

Red-wing Blackbird

 Spotted Towhee

 Golden-crowned Sparrow

 Song Sparrow

 Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin

House Finch  

                                              A Common Loon and a Yellow-billed Loon: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

The Tuesday bird walk on December 29 will be going to the Mills Street north side of the Englishman River in Parksville. Meet at the parking lot near the Lions Club Kids Playground at Parksville Community Park at 9:00 a.m. Or at the end of Mills Street north on the ocean side of highway 19A in Parksville. 

     Merry Christmas

 From all of us at the birdstore.....

Colin, Denise, Nichole, Carol, Ralph, Marilynne and Neil

 

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville 

 

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