Common Redpoll: Peter Coxon 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 February 12: 2012:
The Sunday bird walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. The morning was cloudy with misty rain and a strong biting wind off the Strait of Georgia. The strong winds pushed us into the forest area where we were rewarded with the sighting of a mixed flock of at least sixty Common and Hoary Redpolls. We watched in fascination for fifteen minutes as the Redpolls fed in the low growing Ocean Spray next to the trail. We were able to see at least five Hoary Redpolls in with the sixty odd Common Redpolls. They made it well worth braving the miserable morning!
Fifteen birders saw and heard the following thirty-two species of birds: Bufflehead, Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye, Red-necked Grebe, Horned Grebe, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Surf Scoter, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Black Oystercatcher, Spotted Sandpiper, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet, Bald Eagle, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pacific Wren, Bewick's Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Common Redpolls and Hoary Redpolls.
A female Ann’s Humming was spotted gathering nesting material near a feeder in the 11000 block of Pilon Road in Ladysmith .
Saturday, February 11:
Several Evening Grosbeaks, a Townsend’s Warbler and a Cooper’s Hawk are visiting a backyard near Ballenas Road and Cedar Road in the San Pariel area of Parksville.
Friday, February 10:
Forty Bald Eagles, ten Harlequin Ducks, five Long-tailed Ducks, a great number of Common Murre & Marbled Murrelets and hundreds of Sea Lions were seen off the point of Beachcomber Peninsula, looking towards Mistaken Island.
Wednesday, February 08:
A Townsend’s Warbler and a Red Breasted Sapsucker were visiting a backyard along Doehle Avenue in Parksville.
Tuesday, February 07:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Englishman River Estuary on the Shelly Road side. The morning was foggy with calm winds. The highlights included seeing a "white-tailed" Chestnut-backed Chickadee. We watched a Northern Harrier fly low in and out of the fog over the estuary. We spotted four Golden-crowned Kinglets feeding low in the bushes next to the trail.
Seventeen birders in the fog saw and heard the following thirty-three species:
Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser , Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Killdeer, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Anna's Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker , Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Varied Thrush, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch and Evening Grosbeak.
Five American Coots and one male Common Merganser were seen near the marina in Port Alberni.
A Rough-legged Hawk, a Red-tailed Hawk and a Northern Shrike were seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.
Sunday, February 06:
Ten Evening Grosbeaks were seen at the end of Doehle Avenue in Parksville.
A Cooper’s Hawk was seen visiting feeders behind the Parksville Fire Hall.
Saturday, February 05:
A Townsend’s Warbler was spotted in the San Pariel area of Parksville.
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Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting,
Monday February 20, 7:30P.P.M. Springwood School, Parksville.
Guest speaker will be Steve Mitchell of Bee Haven Farms in Duncan. Topic "Apiculture". Visitors welcome. More info at 250-752-7588
Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, March 08, 7 pm in the Library on Northwest Bay Road.
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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 February 14, 2011 will be going to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. 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 viewing platform off Highway 19a near Garrett Road at about 9:20 A.M.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on February 19 will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo. We will meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or at the parking area off Bowen Road at Buttertubs Marsh at about 9:20 A.M.
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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
Nanaimo Museum Presents: Our Feathered Friends
Why are feathers important to understanding birds? Why do some remain close to home year‐round and others migrate for thousands of kilometers? Answers to these questions are an integral part of Our Feathered Friends, a travelling exhibition from Ottawa’s Canadian Museum of Nature. The exhibition ‘takes flight’ at the Nanaimo Museum, from February 3 to May 21, 2012 and is suitable for all ages.
The exhibition’s display units and graphics provide an introduction to birds and birdwatching. “Visitors’ skill when identifying local birds will be enhanced via the exceptional photography of Ralph Hocken and study specimens loaned from VIU’s Museum of Natural History, “said curator David Hill‐Turner. “Novice birders will find the exhibition and programs very helpful in learning more about the hobby”.
Public Programs offered as part of the exhibition will appeal to various birding interests. They include: a photography contest, Urban Bird tours, birding and nature photography presentations and ecology programs for Elementary School students. (Visit our website for full details, www.nanaimomuseum.ca or contact Aimee Greenaway at 250.753.1821)
Come along to the workshops and demonstrations, try your hand at the oriental art of Origami and even learn to prepare a meal for your favourite backyard bird. Using photos, specimens and video, learn what makes birds special, how they soar and glide and how to identify them. More than 400 species of birds have been identified in BC, more than any other province in Canada.
Whether you are an indoor or outdoor birdwatcher you will find something of interest in this traveling exhibit, Our Feathered Friends at Nanaimo Museum. This exhibition is sponsored by THE BACKYARD Wildbird and Nature Store
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