Parksville/Qualicum Beach, Tuesday bird walk, October 13, 2009

Peregrine Falcon: Ralph Hocken Photo.


The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy and the winds were calm however a shower finished off the morning. The highlights included seeing Varied Thrush just ahead of us on the trail and in the trees along the trail. We came across about one thousand American Robins in the forest and estuary throughout the morning. There was a Hermit Thrush in the brushes near the trail. A Northern Shrike landed on a bush not thirty feet front us giving us incredible looks. We saw a Peregrine Falcon preening itself in a tall fir tree on the west side of the forest. The Falcon left the perch twice and flew towards the Straight of Georgia only to return to the perch. When he returned for the second time he perched and looked down at us as if he was people watching. We saw a Merlin chasing a Northern Flicker. We spotted a Fox Sparrow gleaning insects from the leaves on a small bush.

Ten birders saw and heard the following forty species of birds:
Canada Goose
American Wigeon
Mallard
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
Common Merganser
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Wilson's Snipe
Bonaparte's Gull
Mew Gull
California Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Northern Shrike
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Varied Thrush
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Purple Finch House
Finch
Red Crossbill

Good birding
Neil Robins
Parksville
British Columbia