Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, December 08, 2015

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Shelly Road side of the English River Estuary in Parksville. The morning started out with light rain and calm winds, but the rain showers stopped shortly after we began and it was quite warm, making for a great morning of birding. We heard and then saw a Ringed-neck Pheasant at the base of a short bush at the edge of the meadow. A Merlin, a Red-tailed Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a Cooper’s Hawk were seen in the same area along the meadow.  Six Western Meadowlarks were perched on a bush in the meadow. Four Gadwall were swimming in the flooded estuary. Twenty Trumpeter Swans were heading down the island high above us. Over forty Bald Eagle were circling overhead and  perched on the tall conifers all morning. 

 

                                                                Western Meadowlark: Ralph Hocken Photo.

Four enthusiastic  birders saw and heard the following sixty-one species:

Canada Geese

Trumpeter Swan

 American Widgeon

 Mallard

 Harlequin Duck

Gadwall

 Surf Scoter

White-wing Scoter

 Bufflehead

Barrow’s Goldeneye

 Common Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

 Common Merganser

 Common Loon

 Pacific Loon

Pelagic Cormorant

  Double-crested Cormorant

Brandt’s Cormorant

Common Murre

Marbled Murrelet

 Great Blue Heron

 Bald Eagle

Merlin

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Coopers Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

 Mew Gull

 California Gull

 Thayer's Gull

 Glaucous-winged Gull

 Anna's Hummingbird

 Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

  Northwestern Crow

 Common Raven

Steller’s Jay

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Ringed-neck Pheasant

 American Robin

Varied Thrush

 Chestnut-backed Chickadee

 Bewick's Wren

 Pacific Wren

 Bushtit

 Golden-crowned Kinglet

 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 European Starling

Western Meadowlark

 Spotted Towhee

Red-wing Blackbird

Brewers Blackbird

 Song Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

 Golden-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

Red Crossbill

American Goldfinch

 House Finch

Pine Siskin

 

                                                           Ring-necked Pheasant: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

The Tuesday bird walk on December 15, 2015 will be going to  Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park in Parksville. Meet at Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Kids Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the main parking lot at Rathtrevor Park at about  9:10 a.m. 

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville

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