Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, December 04, 2012

 

Anna's Hummingbird: Ralph Hocken Photo:

 

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Englishman River Estuary on the Shelly Road side in Parksville. The morning was mostly sunny but there were occasional clouds and a few light showers. The winds were calm. We spotted a Greater White-fronted Goose at the Community Park in Parksville to start the morning. As we started the walk a Varied Thrush put in a quick appearance and disappeared into the forest. We could hear Red Crossbills high in the conifer trees. There were plenty of immature and adult Bald Eagles perching high in the trees and flying throughout the morning. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew overhead near the Englishman River and a Peregrine Falcon was perched high a top a snag near the viewing platform. We watched a male Anna's Hummingbird hawking insects as we ended the walk.

Seventeen birders saw and heard the following fifty-one species:

Greater White-fronted Geese

Canada Geese

Trumpeter Swan
American Wigeon
Mallard

Greater Scaup

Harlequin Duck

Surf Scoter

Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon

Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk

Peregrine Falcon
Mew Gull
California Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Anna's Hummingbird
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Steller’s Jay
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Pacific Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Varied Thrush
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird

Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin

The Tuesday bird walk on December 11, 2012 will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.

 

Red Crossbill: Ralph Hocken Photo.

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville

British Columbia