Nanaimo bird report, February 26, 2012

Rufous Hummingbird: 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 February 26: 2012:
The Sunday bird walk went to the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo. The morning was cloudy and cold with a strong biting wind. The highlight was seeing a Short-eared Owl mobbing a Common Raven.
Ten birders saw and heard the following twenty-one species of birds: Trumpeter swans, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Mergansers, American Wigeon, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Bald Eagle, Short-eared Owl, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Shrike, Northern Flicker, Common Raven, Northwestern Crow, Belted Kingfisher, American Robin, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco.

Saturday, February 25:
A Townsend’s Warbler has been visiting a suet feeder along Joanna Terrace in the Diver’s Lake area of Nanaimo.

Wednesday February 22:
A Northern Saw-whet Owl was heard and seen in the 13000 block of Doole Road in the Yellow Point area near Ladysmith.

Tuesday, February 21:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Harbour Quay and Somass Estuary in Port Alberni. The morning was cloudy with rain throughout the morning. The highlights at the Quay were three Red-throated Loons and a flock of Western Grebes. The big surprise of the morning was the sighting of a Yellow-rumped Warbler as we were walking along the water pipeline in the Somass Estuary.
We would like to say special a thanks to Sandy McRuer for inviting and guiding us to this great birding area. It turned out to be a marvelous morning of birding!
Twenty-three birders saw and heard the following forty-eight species.
Canada Goose, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Loon, Pacific Loon, Horned Grebe, Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, American Coot, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Rock Pigeon, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker,
Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bewick's Wren, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Purple Finch and Pine Siskin.

Sunday, February 19:
A Rufous Humming is visiting backyard feeders along Lynburn Crescent in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.

A Northern Shrike was spotted perched on the Hydro Lines along Haslam Road behind the Cassidy Airport south of Nanaimo.

Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, March 08, 7 pm in the Library on Northwest Bay Road.
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Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting,
Monday March 19, 7:30P.P.M. Springwood School, 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.
The Tuesday Birdwalk on February 28, 2012 will go to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.
We will meet at Parksville Bay at the Lion's Playground parking area in Parksville at 9:00 a.m. or at the corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive at about 9:10 a.m.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on March 04 will be going to Bowen Park in Nanaimo. We will meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or at the main parking area near the Lawn Bowling Green off Bowen Road 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.