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Sunday, 8 May 2011

Nanaimo bird report, may 08, 2011


Red-necked Phalarope: 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

Sunday May 08: 2011:
The Sunday bird walk went to the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The weather was sunny with calm winds. We saw and heard Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Wilson’s Warblers, Townsend’s Warblers, Black-throated Gray Warblers and Common Yellowthroat throughout the morning.
Six birders saw and heard the following fifty species of birds: Canada Goose, Mallard, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Pheasant, Common Loon, Pacific Loon, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Band-tailed Pigeon, Anna’s Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Pileated Woodpecker,, Northern Flicker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Violet-green Swallow, Tree Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, American Robin, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler,
Black-throated Gray Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Spotted Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin.

A Black-headed Grosbeak was spotted flying across Highway 19, just past Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Nanaimo.

Saturday May 07:
Two California Quail were seen in a backyard along Pelican Way in Nanaimo.

American Goldfinch are visiting feeders along Cedar Road in Cedar.
A Townsend's Solitaire was perched on a fence at the top of Colbourne Drive in north Nanaimo.

A Yellow-headed Blackbird has been seen at the Little Qualicum River Estuary. The lone bird was seen moving about the yards of the houses along Surfside Drive in Qualicum Beach.

A Great Blue Heron was spotted on the roof of a house along Hamilton Avenue in Nanaimo.
Black-bellied Plovers were seen along the tide line at Pipers Lagoon.
Great Horned Owls with chicks were seen at Yellow Point Park in Cedar.

Friday May 06:
A Red-necked Phalarope, a Lincolns Sparrow, several yellow-rumped Warblers, Violet-green Swallows, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow and a Barn Swallow were seen at Morningstar ponds near the pump house off Lee Road in French Creek/Parksville.

Thursday May 05:
A Mountain Bluebird is still being seen at Piper’s Lagoon in Nanaimo.
American Goldfinch were seen visiting feeders along Vancouver Avenue in Nanaimo.

Tuesday May 03:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Top Bridge Trail in Parksville. It was a great morning for birding with sunny skies and calm winds. The highlights included seeing a Pacific-slope Flycatcher fly catching and gleaning insects. Several Chipping Sparrows perched on top of bushes along the trail entertaining us with their courting songs. A Hutton's Vireo showed up giving us looks. We spent most of the morning watching and hearing a large flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers that included both sub species of Myrtle and Audubon feeding on the ground and bushes along the trail at the top of the pond. We caught sight of a Lincoln's Sparrow perched on a short bush.

Eleven birders saw and heard the following forty-four species of birds:
Canada Geese, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle,
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Killdeer, Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Hutton's Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet , American Robin, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler , Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco , Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Finch , House Finch, Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch.

Monday May 02:
Three Wilson’s Snipe are frequenting a backyard along Dover Road in Nanaimo.
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Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, May 12, 7 pm in the Library on Northwest Bay Road.
A talk and slide presentation by Jay Rastogi: Sustainable Forest Stewardship at Wildwood Farm.
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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 May 10, 2011 will be going to the Englishman River Estuary, Shelly Road side 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 end of Shelly Road (off highway 19a on the Oceanside) at about 9:10 A.M.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on May 15 will be going to Morden Collery in Provincial Park in south Nanaimo. We will meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or at the parking area at the Morden Park at about 9:30 A.M. Turn east off the Trans-Canada Highway at Morden Road. Follow Morden Road through the four-way stop and then follow the Provincial Park sign to the left of Morden Road.

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Good birding
Neil Robins

5th Annual Bamfield Offshore Birding Excursion

Departing Bamfield Saturday, May 21, 2011 6:30 a.m.
Aboard the Juan de Fuca Express with Capt. Brian Gisborne
Cost: $115 per person for a full day on the water - limit 12 passengers

This trip is an off-shore pelagic trip targeting migrating seabirds and off-shore specialties such as albatrosses, shearwaters and storm-petrels.

For more info and details, please contact mark.maftei@gmail.com for details

Mark Maftei
Department of Biology,
Memorial University,
St, John's, Newfoundland
709 864 8141


THE BACKYARD Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250-390-3669
thebackyard@shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

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