The Backyard's Weekly Bird Walk locations are found in the Backyard Bird Report at the very end of the most recent report. Any cancellations will be posted by 8am the day of the walk.

Saturday 7 April 2012

Nanaimo bird report, April 07, 2012




















Northern Pintail: 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 April 08: 2012:
There will be no Sunday Bird Walk on Easter Sunday, April 08, 2012
The Sunday Bird Walks will resume on April 15, 2012. We will be going to The Nanaimo River Estuary on April 15.

Saturday April 07:
A White-throated Sparrow, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, a Varied Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Bewick’s Wren are visiting backyard feeders in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.

Friday April 06:
A Marbled Godwit was seen feeding along the shoreline off the end of Shorewood Drive. Follow Plummer Road in Parksville, along the Englishman River until it turns into Shorewood Drive, follow Shorewood Drive to the end and go to the Strait of Georgia look along the shore line for the Godwit.

A female American Kestrel was seen at Church Road and Coldwater Road in Parksville.

Tuesday, April 03:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Little Qualicum River Estuary. The morning was cloudy with sunny periods and a strong biting wind off the Strait of Georgia for most of the morning. Large rafts with thousands of Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Barrow's Goldeneye were seen off the mouth of the Englishman River. We saw a flock of over fifty Yellow-rumped Warblers moving along the wooded area towards the river that kept us entertained as we headed back to the parking area. A Mountain Bluebird made our morning complete as it perched on the goose pens off Surfside Drive. We watched for the better part of thirty minutes as it hawked insects and flew back to its perch.
Fourteen birders saw and hear the following sixty-four species:
Canada Goose, Brant, Trumpeter Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon,
Mallard, Northern Shoveler, 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, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Merlin, Killdeer, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Bonaparte's Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer's Gull, Western Gull,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Mountain Bluebird, American Robin, Varied Thrush, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler , Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, House Finch, Pine Siskin and House Sparrow.

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Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.Thursday, April 12th at 7pm at the Nanoose Library Centre on NW Bay Road for a talk and slide presentation by Wendy Huntbatch, “Parrots in the Wild & in Captivity”. Visitors and new members welcome. nanoosenaturalists.org
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Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting,
Monday April 23, 7:30 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.
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The Tuesday Birdwalk on April 10, 2012 will go to the Little Qualicum River Hatchery in Qualicum Beach. We will meet at Parksville Bay at the Lion's Playground parking area in Parksville at 9:00 a.m. or at viewing platform off highway 19a and Garrett Road about 9:15.a.m
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There will be NO Sunday Bird Walk on Easter Sunday April 08, 2012
The Sunday Bird Walks will resume on April 15, 2012. We will be going to The Nanaimo River Estuary on April 15. Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00a.m. or at the end of Raines Road at 9:30a.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

2 comments:

Joanne said...

We saw a bird tonight [in Cowichan Bay] we have not seen before. From the bird books, it seems to be either a Williamson's Sapsucker or a Yellow Bellied Sapsucker. Is that possible for these parts and this time? Very bright yellow/gold - almost like the colour of a goldfinch.

The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store said...

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are an uncommon sighting on the island but there have been a few sightings. Was the yellow on the belly of the bird or under the wings?