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Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, December 11, 2012

               Downy Woodpecker: Ralph Hocken Photo.
 
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with a few sunny periods and wind off the Strait of Georgia. A male Anna’s hummingbird perched on a snag just off the trail giving us great looks at the colorful Hummer. The resident Northern Harrier put in a quick appearance as it flew over the estuary and disappeared behind some bushes. A Northern Shrike perched in a tall conifer over looking the estuary. Later the Shrike perched on a short bush just past the viewing platform not twenty feet from us. A flock of Common Murre flew just above the water heading down the Strait of Georgia. A flock of Evening Grosbeaks flew over the trail. We watched a male Downy Woodpecker feeding in a low bush with a Ruby-crowned Kinglet feeding on the bush just below him.
Ten birders saw and heard the following fifty-five Species:
Canada Goose
Brant
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
California Quail
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Belted Kingfisher
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Shrike
Mew Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Common Murre
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Steller’s Jay
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Eurasian Collared Dove
Anna’s Hummingbird
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
European Starling
Evening Grosbeak
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin

The Tuesday bird walk on December 18, 2012 will go to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The tide will be high--there is a monster tide of 17.3 feet predicted at 9:50 a.m.

Good birding
Neil Robins
Parksville
British Columbia

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