Nanaimo bird report, June 17, 20

***************************************************************************************************************************** House Wren: 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 June 17, 2012: The Sunday bird walk went to Legacy Marsh in upper Lantzville.. The morning was cloudy but warm. The highlight of the morning was a House Wren that flew out of it’s nest and sang as it perched nearby. A Black-headed Grosbeak gave us great looks as it sang from a perch. Fourteen birders saw and heard the following forty-five species: Wood Duck, Mallard, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Cassin’s Vireo, California Quail, Common Raven, Black Swift, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bushtit, House Wren, Marsh Wren, Pacific Wren, European Starling, Swanson’s Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Spotted Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, Purple Finch and House Finch. ************************************************************************************************************** Saturday June 16: Three Green Herons chicks and one adult were seen and photographed off Jingle Pot Road and Yon Place not far from the Shaw Cable building in Nanaimo. A Chukar was seen at the Little Qualicum Village. A Sandhill Crane has been seen near the Baseball Diamond just off Northwest Bay Road on Power Point Road in Nanoose Bay. ************************************************************************************************************************** Friday June 15: A Cock and Hen Ring-Necked Pheasants were seen running along the verge of Meadowood Drive at the Little Qualicum River Estates. A Northern Shrike was seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo. Wednesday June 13: A Pileated Woodpecker is visiting a backyard feeder on Altavista Drive in Nanaimo. A flock of Common Nighthawks were seen over Morrell Circle and Nanaimo Lakes Road in Nanaimo. ************************************************************************************************************ Tuesday June 12: The Tuesday bird walk went to the Beaver Ponds at Nanoose Bay. The morning was cloudy with light rain and calm winds. We had great looks at a Townsend’s Warbler feeding and singing in a tall tree. We watched another Townsend’s Warbler feeding along the trail just ahead of us. A Hooded Merganser gave us an unusual sighting as it peered out of its tree cavity nest, high up in a snag just off the trail. We saw several Willow Flycatchers perched and singing and then fly catching. We heard and then saw an Orange-crowned Warbler and a McGillivray's Warbler in some Arbutus Trees. Overhead a flock of Black Swifts were hawking insects. Eight birders heard and saw the following thirty-four species: Hooded Merganser, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Black Swift , Anna’s Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Purple Martin, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch , Bushtit, Brown Creeper, Bewick’s Wren, Swainson's Thrush , American Robin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Townsend’s Warbler, McGillivray's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Brown-headed Cowbird, Black-headed Grosbeak, Purple Finch, House Finch, American Goldfinch. Sunday June 10: An Olive-Sided Flycatcher was head singing on the hillside above Colbourne Drive in Nanaimo. A Western Tanager was heard singing on the hillside above Brookwood Marsh in north Nanaimo. ******************************************************************************** Arrowsmith Naturalist Meeting, Monday June 25.7:30 P.M. Springwood Middle School, Parksville. Rob Adams and Lesley Fox who is from the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals will speak on their efforts in seeing the use of body gripping traps being banned. ********************************************************************************** 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 June19, 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 the parking area along Industrial Way near Tuan Road at about 9:10 a.m. *************************************************************************************The Sunday Bird Walk on Sunday June 24, 2012 will be going to Springwood Park in Parksville. We will meet at the bird store at 9:00 a.m. or at the west end of Despard Avenue (from highway 19 take exit 51 into Parksville and onto highway 4a. Turn left at Despard Avenue and go to the end of Despard ) at about 9:30 am. ********************************************************* 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