The Backyard's Weekly Bird Walk locations are found in the Backyard Bird Report at the very end of the most recent report. Any cancellations will be posted by 8am the day of the walk.

Monday 25 April 2011

Naniamo bird report, April 25, 2011


Western Sandpiper: Ralph Hocken Photo.

NANAIMO BIRD REPORT

"GO BIRDING—EXPLORE NATURE"

Please remember, when reporting a sighting to leave your name and phone number along with the date, the species and location of your sighting.

To report your sightings phone the Store at 250-390-3669 or e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca

Monday April 25, 2011:
Three Evening Grosbeaks, twelve American Goldfinch, six Dark-eyed Juncos, ten Band-tailed Pigeons, two Golden-crowned Sparrows and a White-crowned Sparrow are visiting feeders in the 100 block of Meridian Way in Parksville.

Sunday April 24:
”Rare bird alert-Canada Warbler” The Canada Warbler first reported on Thursday April 21 has not been relocated again.

A flock of Red Crossbills were seen feeding on fir cones on Little Mountain in Parksville. A pair of Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warblers, Varied Thrush, American Robin, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Orange-crowned Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cassin's Vireo and Purple Finch were heard and seen on Little Mountain.

A Barred Owl and two Townsend's Warblers were exchanging calls from the tall Fir Trees next to the Englishman River in Parksville. A Cassin's Vireo was calling near the observation tower, a couple of Cooper's Hawks were interacting over the flats and a flock of over twenty-five Band-tailed Pigeons were in the trees above the path near the pond at the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary.

A mixed flock of Dunlin, Least and Western Sandpipers was seen along the mud flats on the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary.

Saturday April 23:
Rufous Hummingbirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Common Yellowthroat and two Cassin's Vireos were seen at Legacy Marsh in upper Lantzville.

Friday April 22:
A flock of Greater White-fronted Geese was seen flying high over Glenayr Drive in Nanaimo.

Over fifty Greater White-fronted Geese were seen high over Madrona Point.

Four Black-bellied Plovers were seen along the incoming tide at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo.

Thursday April 21:
“Rare Bird Alert-Canada Warbler”-- A possible Canada Warbler was seen in the area of 9th Street and Douglas Avenue in south Nanaimo. The Warbler had hit a window and then rested on a stump to recover. The owners of the property were able to identify the bird by it’s white eye ring, bold black necklace and yellow front throat, breast and underbelly. The back of the warbler was dark with no markings. The bold necklace is unique to the Canada Warbler.


A Hermit Thrush was seen in a backyard along Monterey Drive in Nanaimo.

Violet-green, Tree, Northern Rough-winged, Cliff and Barn Swallows were seen flying low over Morningstar Ponds off Lee Road in Parksville.

A Townsend's Solitaire was seen eating berries from a Maple Tree in the small green space on Ermineskin Avenue at the junction with Lodgepole Avenue in Parksville.

Tuesday April 19:
The Tuesday bird walk went to Columbia Beach and French Creek. The morning was a perfect spring morning--sunny with a breeze off the Strait of Georgia. There were several flocks of Brant flying just above the water. Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Mergansers, a Common Murre, a Marbled Murrelet, a Horned Grebe and a Red-necked Grebe were on the Strait. We saw several Yellow-rumped Warblers high up in the Alder trees along French Creek. An Orange-crowned Warbler was perched and singing at the top of a bush giving us great views. We spotted two Savannah Sparrows fly into the grass near French Creek. The Sparrows both perched on a Blackberry branch for us to view.

Twenty birders saw and heard the following fifty-one species of birds:
Canada Geese, Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard,
Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser,
California Quail, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Black Oystercatcher, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Rock Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren,
Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped A Flock of Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco,
Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Finch, Pine Siskin,
House Sparrow.

Monday April 18:
An Osprey was seen flying above Cox Bay in Tofino.

A large flock of Greater White-fronted Geese were seen heading north above Cox Bay in Tofino.

Tuesday April 19:
A Mountain Bluebird was seen at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo. A Downy Woodpecker was seen in a front yard in the 5400 block of Oceanside Terrace in north Nanaimo.

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Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, May 12, 7 pm in the Library on Northwest Bay Road.
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Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting
Monday May 16, 7.30 pm at Springwood School in Parksville.
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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.
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The Tuesday Bird Walk on April 26, 2011 will be going to Springwood Park in Parksville. We will meet at the Parksville Beach Community Park at the parking area in front of the Lions Playground at 9 A.M. or at the west end of Despard Avenue at about 9:20 A.M.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on May 01, will be going to Legacy Marsh in upper Lantzville. We will met at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or under the hydro lines along Normarel Drive off Superior Road, (off highway 19 )
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Good birding
Neil Robins

THE BACKYARD
Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250.390.36621
250.390.1633 fax
thebackyard@...
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

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