Thousands upon Thousands of Gulls at Parksville Bay in March, 2010: John Purves Photo.
NANAIMO BIRD ALERT
To report your sightings
phone the Store at 250-390-3669
e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca
call the Bird Alert at 250-390-3029
Also check the birdstore blog for the latest bird alerts and updates:
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com
Post your sightings on this site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcbirdingvanisland/messages
Birds of British Columbia:
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/SpeciesChecklists.html
International Birdwatching Guides
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com
Birdwatching contacts and information find a local birder to go birdwatching with:
http://www.birdingpal.org/
Please remember, when reporting a sighting, to leave your name and phone
Number, along with the date, name and location of your sighting.
Sunday March 14, 2010:
The Sunday bird walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo.
The morning was cloudy and the winds were bitterly cold.
Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets caught our attention when they were singing at different times during the morning. A raft of Buffhead, Barrow's Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and Common Merganser were in the protection of the bay at Sunset Beach. A Glaucous Gull and a pair of Pigeon Guillemots were not far from shore. Small rafts of Pacific Loon, Common Loon and Common Murre were further offshore.
Ten hardy birders found the following forty species of birds:
Canada Geese, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Brandt's Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Wood Duck, Buffhead, Barrow's Goldeneye, Harlequin Duck, Wood Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser, Bald Eagle, Mew Gulls, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous Gull, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Common Murre, Pigeon Guillemot, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow, European Starling, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Winter Wren, Bewick's Wren, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin and Dark-eyed Junco.
Saturday March 13:
Twelve Evening Grosbeaks are visiting feeders along Butler Road in Parksville.
Friday March 12:
A Glaucous Gull was again spotted among California Gulls, Thayer's Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls in the grassy area at the Community Park in Parksville.
A Turkey Vulture was spotted above Sunshine Ridge in Nanaimo.
Thursday March 11:
Two Cackling Geese, eighteen Northern Shovelers and a Snow Goose were seen in with over seven hundred Canada Geese at Quennell Lake in Cedar.
Wednesday March 10:
A Glaucous Gull was seen in with a large flock of California Gulls,Thayer's Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls along the grass area at the Community Park in Parksville.
Tuesday March 09:
The first reported male Rufous Hummingbird of the season was spotted at feeders in the 4100 block of Gulfview Drive in Nanaimo.
The Tuesday Bird Walk started in Rathtrevor Provincial Park but we were quickly convinced by the brisk winds to go to the more protected beach at Parksville Community Park. Before we left Rathtrevor we did spot twelve Trumpeter Swans.
The morning was cloudy with a strong southeast wind.
We were greeted at the Parksville Bay by an estimated one thousand Brant Geese and at least one hundred thousand gulls--Bonaparte's Gulls, Mew Gulls, California Gulls, Herring Gulls,Thayer's Gull, Western Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls. We had good close looks and were able to compare the yellow legs, black wingtips and short yellow bill of the Mew Gull with the deep yellow legs, black wingtips and bright yellow bill with a bright red and black marks of the larger California Gull who are in their clean crisp breeding plumage. Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser were seen further offshore. A flock of Black-bellied Plover and Dunlin left the gravel bar in a large cloud flew south down the Strait of Georgia. A Pigeon Guillemot, one Pacific Loon and one Common Loon were seen off the tip of the hovercraft landing pad at the north end of the Bay. We saw two male Yellow-rumped Warblers, one Song Sparrow and three White-crowned Sparrows on the bushes near the RV Park at the north end of the Bay.
Eleven birders saw and heard the following thirty-five species of birds:
Canada Goose, Brant, Trumpeter Swan, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Black-bellied Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Bonaparte's Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Herring Gull,
Thayer's Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Northwestern Crow, American Robin, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow and White-crowned Sparrow.
Monday March 08:
A Turkey Vulture was seen soaring over south 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
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Guest Speaker-Colin Bartlett, topic Birds and Bees in the Backyard.
Monday March 22, 2010 @ 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
**********************************
The Nanoose Naturalists
Thursday April 08, 2010 @ 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
**********************************
Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on the Sunday and Tuesday 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 Beach.Community Park at 9 A.M. on Tuesdays and go to different areas in and around
the Oceanside area.
**************************************************************
The Tuesday Bird Walk on March 09, 2010 will be going to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.
We meet the Parksville Beach Community Park at the parking area near the Lions
playground at 9 A.M. or at the end of Shelly Road (ocean side of highway 19a) at about 9:15 A.M.
*****************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on March 21, 2010, will be going to the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.
Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or at the end of Raines Road at about 9: 30 A.M.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
THE BACKYARD
Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250.390.3669
250.390.1633 fax
thebackyard@shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment