Nanaimo bird report, March 04, 2012

Common Goldeneye: 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 MARCH 04: 2012:
The Sunday bird walk went to Bowen Park in Nanaimo. The morning was cloudy with sunny periods and calm winds. The highlights included seeing a Sharp-shinned Hawk fly overhead. We watched a Downy Woodpecker feeding in a high Alder tree. At the end of the walk, an Anna’s Hummingbird put on a spectacular display of his courting dive.
Twenty-one birders saw and heard the following twenty-four species of birds:
Mallard, Common Merganser, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Glaucous-winged Gull, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Anna's Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, American Robin, Varied Thrush, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin and House Sparrow

Saturday, March 03:
Dark-eyed Juncos, House Finches, Pacific Wrens, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees were seen off White Eagle Terrace in Nanaimo.

A Common Loon, Bufflehead, Surf Scoters, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Mew Gulls, Thayer’s Gulls and Common Goldeneye were seen on the water at Departure Bay near the Ferry Terminal in Nanaimo.

Tuesday, February 28:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with a very cold strong wind coming from the snow capped mountains on the island. The highlight species of the morning included seeing many Golden-crowned Kinglets feeding just off the trail. Small flocks of Long-tailed Ducks, flying close to the water, headed down the Strait of Georgia. There was a Common Goldeneye and Barrow's Goldeneye bobbing on the water not far from shore and we had great looks at them and an opportunity to compare the two species. Several large flocks of Dunlin flew close to the shore.
Thirteen hardy and dedicated birders saw and heard the following fifty-one species:
Canada Goose, Brant, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser,
Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Black-bellied Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Western Gull, Gracious-winged Gull, Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Varied Thrush, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch.

Sunday, February 26:
A Bald Eagle, Great Blue Heron, ten Hooded Mergansers, Red- wing Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Ruby crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Common Mergansers, Purple Finches, Mallards, Greater Scaup and Bufflehead were seen at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.

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Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, March 08, 7 pm in the Library on Northwest Bay Road.
Guest Speaker-- Randy Hall will give a slide presentation and talk on “Nature Photography – how to get the best out of you camera”. Visitors and new members welcome. nanoosenaturalists.org
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Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting,
Monday March 26, 7:30P.P.M. Springwood School, Parksville.
Presenters will be "The Guardians of the Mid-Island Estuaries (Tim Clermont, Danielle Morrison, and John Cooper)
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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 March 06, 2012 will go to Rathtrevor Provincial Park 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 main parking lot at Rathtrevor Park at about 9:10 a.m.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on March 11 will be going to the Little Qualicum River Estuary north of Qualicum Beach. We will meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or at the viewing platform near Garrett Road and Highway 19a in Qualicum Beach at about 9:30 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.