Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, October 16, 2012

           Northern Shrike: Ralph Hocken Photo.

 

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. The morning started and ended sunny and warm with clouds and wind greeting us midmorning. The highlights included seeing six Western Grebe not far off shore. We saw several Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Pacific Loons and Common Loons on the open water. One lone Long-tailed Duck flew low over the water heading up the Strait of Georgia. We spotted a Northern Shrike perched on a post on the estuary.

Thirteen birders including a visiting birder from the United Kingdom saw and heard the following forty-six species.

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
American Widgeon
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Common Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe

Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron

Northern Shrike
Bald Eagle
Dunlin
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Black Oystercatcher
Black Turnstone
Bonaparte's Gull
Mew Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Western Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker

European Starling

American Robin
Northwestern Crow

Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Song Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird

House Finch

Purple Finch

The Tuesday bird walk will be going to Columbia Beach on October 23, 2012.

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville

British Columbia