Lincoln’s Sparrow: 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 January 15, 2012:
The Sunday bird walk went to Nanoose Bay. The morning was sunny and calm but quite cool. The highlights included seeing four Red Crossbills perched on top of a bush close to us. A Red-tailed Hawk was perched on a tall tree giving us great looks. We spotted a Lincoln’s Sparrow near the trail.
Eleven birders saw and heard the following thirty-nine species:
Canada Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard, Gadwall, Greater Scaup, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Killdeer, Mew Gull, Thayer’s gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Red Crossbills, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch and Red-winged Blackbird.
Saturday January 14:
Two Townsend’s Warblers are visiting suet feeders in the Divers Lake area of Nanaimo.
Friday January 13:
A pair of Evening Grosbeaks are visiting feeders in the 2100 block of Boxwood Road in Nanaimo.
Tuesday January 10:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. The morning was clear and sunny with a strong wind off the Strait of Georgia. The surf was up and pounding into the shore. The highlights included seeing Black-bellied Plovers, Black Oystercatchers, Sanderling’s and a small flock of Dunlin near the shore at the viewing platform. Throughout the morning, further offshore, thousands of Common Murre were heading up the Strait. We counted one hundred and thirty Trumpeter Swans at the mouth of the Little Qualicum River. A large raft of Greater Scaup was not far from shore.
Twenty birders including two visiting birders from Australia saw and heard the following forty-five species of birds:
Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Mew Gull, Herring Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Glaucous Gull,
Common Murre, Belted Kingfisher, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Spotted Towhee, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird and House Finch.
“Rare bird alert –Summer Tanager “
A Summer Tanager is still being seen in the Columbia Beach area.
A Common Redpoll was spotted in with a flock of Pine Siskins and an American Goldfinch by the Oak Trees on the Dyke at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.
Monday January 09:
A Townsend’s Warbler is visiting feeders along Dawkins Lane in Nanaimo.
Thursday January 05:
A small flock of Ring-necked Ducks were seen on the marsh at the end of Harwood Road in Nanaimo.
Arrowsmith Naturalist Meeting
Monday, January 23, 2012 at,7:30 pm.
Members night.
Springwood Middle School, Parksville.
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Nanoose Naturalists Meeting
Thursday, February, 09, 2012 at 7:00 pm.
@ The Library Centre along Northwest Bay Road, Nanoose Bay
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Everyone is invited 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 will be going to Deep Bay on January 17.
We will meet at Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Playground at 9:00 A.M. or the Marine Harbour at Deep Bay at about 9:35 A.M.
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The Sunday bird walk on January 22 walk will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.
We will meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or the corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive 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
thebackyard@shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com
“VIU Science and Technology Spring Lecture Series”
As part of the VIU Science and Technology Spring Lecture Series, I have invited Derek Matthews of the Vancouver Avian Research Centre to present some of the interesting bird monitoring they’ve been conducting. The lecture will take place on Wednesday, February 1, 19:00. The details are available at the links below. These lectures are open to everyone.
Derek Matthews, February 1: http://web.viu.ca/simmsw/Lecture2012/4.Matthews/4.%20Matthews.pdf
Lecture series website: http://web.viu.ca/simmsw/ (includes whole schedule, directions and campus map)
Thanks ahead.
Cheers, Eric
Eric Demers, Ph.D., R.P.Bio.
Biology Department
Vancouver Island University
Building 359, Room 207
Phone: (250) 753-3245 local 2033
