Nanaimo bird report, May 06, 2012

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 May 06, 2012: The Sunday bird walk went to Legacy Marsh in Upper Lantzville. The morning was sunny and warm. We watched as a House Wren was building a nest in a tall snag. A Golden Eagle was soaring very high up in the sky with a Bald Eagle. A Warbling Vireo was singing from a perch near the trail giving us great looks. We spotted our first of the year Wilson’s Warbler just off the road. Twenty-eight birders saw and heard the following forty-one species: Canada Geese, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, California Quail, Rufous Hummingbird, Anna’s Hummingbird, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, Common Raven, Northwestern Crow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Band-tailed Pigeon, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Marsh Wren, House Wren, Pacific Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, European Starling, Warbling Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Black Throated-grey Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Wilson’s Warbler, Pacific-sloped Flycatcher, Spotted Towhee, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, and Dark-eyed Junco. Friday May 04: A large flock of Bohemian Waxwings were seen at Brookwood Marsh near the kid’s park in north Nanaimo. Thursday, May 03: An Orange-crowned Warbler was seen in the 500 block of Glenayr Crescent in Nanaimo. A large flock of Evening Grosbeaks are back at feeders in the Cinnabar Valley. “Rare Bird Alert- Northern Mockingbird “A Northern Mockingbird was seen at the end of Sunderland Avenue (off Townsite Road) near the Millstone River just at the edge of the trees. This is at the edge of Bowen Park in Nanaimo. Tuesday, May 01: The Tuesday bird walk went to Moorcroft Regional Park in Nanoose Bay. The morning was filled with a mix of clouds, sunshine, wind and rain--a typical spring morning! We were fascinated as we watched a female Downy Woodpecker excavating a nest hole in a snag and a little later as the male Downy took over the task while the female hunted for insects. We saw a Hutton's Vireo and a Hammond's Flycatcher and heard a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, a Warbling Vireo and a Cassin's Vireo singing as we walked the trails. We searched the big leaf Maple Trees and found Orange-crowned Warblers, Black-throated Gray Warblers and Townsend's Warblers feeding on insects high up the trees. Twenty-six birders saw and heard the following forty-eight species of birds:Wood Duck, Harlequin Duck, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Common Loon, Pelagic Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Black Oystercatcher, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Hammond's Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo, Hutton's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin and American Goldfinch. Anna’s Hummingbirds, Rufous Hummingbirds, White- crowned and Gold-crowned, Sparrows, House Sparrows and a pair of Savannah Sparrows. American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Brewers Blackbirds, California Quail, and a Wilson’s Warbler were seen in a yard along on Foxtail Avenue in Parksville. ********************************************************* Nanoose Naturalists Meeting.Thursday, May 10th at 7pm at the Nanoose Library Centre on NW Bay Road. The speaker is Hans Boerger who will give a presentation entitled "Blood, Phantoms and Ghosts" - all about pond critters. ********************************************************* Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting, Monday May 28, 7:30 p.m. Springwood School, Parksville. ********************************************************* 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 May 01, 2012 will be going to the Top Bridge Trail in Parksville. We will meet at Parksville Bay at the Lion's Playground parking area in Parksville at 9:00 a.m. or at parking lot along Industrial Way near Tuan Road at about 9:10.a.m. *************************************************** The Sunday Bird Walk on Sunday May 13, 2012 will be going to Bowen Park in Nanaimo. We will meet at the bird store at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking lot in front of the Bowling Green at Bowen Park at about 9:20 a.m. ********************************************************* Good birding Neil Robins THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE 6314 Metral Drive Nanaimo B.C. V9T-2L8 Phone: 250-390-3669 Fax: 250-390-1633 Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com