Wednesday bird walk, May 28, 2008

MacGillivray's Warbler: Ralph Hocken Photo.


The Wednesday Bird Walk went to the Top Bridge Trail in Parksville.
Thirteen birders saw and heard forty-two species of birds during the
morning. The highlights included seeing several flocks of Black and
Vaux Swifts hawking insects high up in the sky. We saw a pair of
Red-tailed Hawks going through their courting ritual. They were
soaring up and down in the sky together, dropping their legs down and
then soaring again. A while later we saw a Red-tailed Hawk flying
through the sky with a snake in it's talons. We had a great look at a
Red-breasted Sapsucker gleaning insects on a old snag tree and good
views of a Wilson's Warbler, Yellow Warbler and a Black-throated Gray
Warbler. The MacGillivray's Warbler remained elusive on the
Wednesday bird walk.

The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store's weekly bird walk in the

Parksville/Qualicum Beach area on Wednesday mornings will not be held
during the summer months. We will resume the Wednesday bird walks in
the fall.

The Sunday Bird Walks will continue over the summer months. The
Sunday Bird Walks leave from the Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store at
6314 Metral Drive in Nanaimo at 9:00 A.M. every Sunday Morning.
Everyone is welcome to bring their binoculars and join us for a
morning of birding. For the weekly location of the birdwalk, please
call Neil Robins at (250) 954-1928 or The Backyard Wildbird & Nature
Store at 1-888-249-4145.

Thirteen birders found the following forty-two species of birds:
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Band-tailed Pigeon
Black Swift
Vaux's Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Cassin's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch