Marsh Wren at Buttertubs Marsh: Ralph Hocken Photo.
To report your sightings
please phone the Store at 390-3669
or e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca
or call the Bird Alert at 390-3029
Please remember, when reporting a sighting, to leave your name and phone
number, along with the date and location of your sighting.
Sunday February 17:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Among the highlights were the sighting of a Lincoln's Sparrow along the trail ,in the bushes near the Viewing Tower, several flocks of Common Murres and two Brandt Geese flying by above the ocean.
Twenty-four birders found the following fifty-seven species:
Canada Goose, Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, Pacific Loon, Horned Grebe,
Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Brandt's Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk, Black Oystercatcher, Killdeer, Belted Kingfisher, Mew Gull, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Marbled Murrelet, Common Murre, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow,
Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bewick's Wren, Marsh Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Lincoln's Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill and Pine Siskin.
Saturday February 16:
A slate colored Fox Sparrow, an interior species (morph), was seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary.
Friday February 15:
A Golden Eagle was observed perching for several hours on a snag in Coombs.
Thursday February 14:
Three Killdeer were seen on the Beach at Transfer Beach in Ladysmith.
A Ring-necked Pheasant and a Wilson's Snipe were seen at the Nanoose Estuary.
A Northern Saw-whet Owl was seen at the Morrell Wildlife Sanctuary in Nanaimo.
Wednesday February 13:
The Wednesday Bird Walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Among the highlights was the sighting of an Eurasian Wigeon in with a flock of Green-wing Teal in the tall grasses. A Bewick’s Wren was singing as he perched in a high bush. A male Purple Finch was singing in a
nearby tree and a little further on a Song Sparrow was singing from a perch. Spring must be near! An Iceland Gull put in a quick appearance. We all had a good look at a Merlin who flew into the top of a Fir Tree.
Fourteen birders found fifty-two species.
Canada Goose, Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, California Quail, Common Loon, Horned Grebe,
Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Black-bellied Plover, Black Turnstone, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Iceland Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's
Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin and House Sparrow.
A Turkey Vulture (the first sighting of the year) was seen over the 2700 block of Barnes Road in Cedar.
A Bewick's Wren, eight Trumpeter Swans and American Widgeon were seen in fields adjacent to Cottonwood Meadows Golf course in Cassidy.
A Black-headed Grosbeak was seen along Graham Road in Yellow Point.
Tuesday February 12.
A Short-eared Owl was spotted at the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.
Sunday February 10:
A Townsend's Solitaire was feeding on pyracantha berries in a backyard and a pair of Trumpeter Swans were seen flying west quite low over the 2100 block of Wren Place in Nanaimo.
At least ten Bald Eagles were seen in the trees surrounding the compost plant near the Ferry Terminal at Duke Point.
Saturday February 09:
A Barred Owl was heard calling in the 800 block of Harewood Mines Road in Colliery Dam Park in Nanaimo.
A Great Horned Owl called from Nanaimo Lakes Road in Nanaimo.
Thursday February 07:
A Barred Owl was seen along Big Whale Lookout in Nanaimo.
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
Monthly Meeting
Thursday February 14, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
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Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monthly Meeting,
Monday February 18, 2008@ 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 Wednesday 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 Visitor Centre in Parksville at 9 A.M. Wednesdays and go to different areas in and around the Oceanside area.
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The Wednesday Bird Walk on February 20, 2008 will be going to Deep Bay.
We will meet at the Parksville Visitor Centre at Highway 19A and Northwest Bay Road, near Craig Bay in Parksville, at 9:00 A.M. or at the Deep Bay Marina at about 9:30 A.M.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on February 24, 2008 will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.
We will meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking lot off Bowen Road on Buttertubs Drive at about 9:20 a.m.
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Good Birding!
Neil Robins
Nanaimo
PELAGIC CORMORANT: RALPH HOCKEN PHOTO
