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Sunday, 13 January 2013

Nanaimo bird report, January 13, 2013


NANAIMO BIRD REPORT -----” GO BIRDING--EXPLORE NATURE”

To report your sightings phone the Store at 250-390-3669 or e-mail us at
thebackyard@shaw.ca
Please remember, when reporting a sighting, to leave your name and phone number along with the date, the species and location of your sighting.

Sunday, January 13, 2013:
The Sunday bird walk went to Nanoose Bay. The morning was cloudy and quite cool. The highlights included seeing five Fox Sparrows near the parking area.  A large raft of Greater Scaup were seen on the opposite shore line near the wharf.  Four Trumpeter Swans were seen feeding near shore.
Six birders saw and heard the following thirty-nine species:
Trumpeter Swans, Canada Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard, Gadwall, Greater Scaup, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveller,  Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Common Loon, Pelagic Cormorant,  Doubled-crested Cormorant, Black Oystercatcher, Killdeer,  Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Killdeer, Mew Gull, Thayer’s Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Downey Woodpecker, Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird. 

Wednesday, January 09
“Rare Bird Alert- Citrine Wagtail”
The Citrine Wagtail is still being seen in Courtenay.
Directions to specific location: From Courtenay, cross the 17th St. Bridge (Courtenay River). Turn right onto Comox Road (Dyke Rd) until the Pumping Station on the right hand side of the road. There is a dirt road across the road with a For Sale sign on the left. Walk up the dirt road towards the steel chain blocking vehicle access. The Wagtail has been observed next to the dirt road, at the furthest brush pile.

A Red-throated Loon was spotted in with Common Loons, Common Murre’s and Mew Gulls at Pipers Lagoon Park in central Nanaimo. 

Tuesday, January 08: 
The Tuesday bird walk went to Columbia Beach. The morning was wet with rain all morning and the wind was picking up at the end of the walk. Great for the hardy to be outside birding along the Strait of Georgia! The highlight of the morning was the sighting of over ten flocks of Common Murre racing just above the water with Pacific Loons down the Strait . We saw an Eurasian Widgeon in with a flock of American Widgeon on the pond near the Pebble Beach Townhouses.
Nine wet birders saw and heard the following thirty-three species:
Mallard, American Widgeon, Eurasian Widgeon, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead,
Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser,
Red-breasted Merganser, Common Murre, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe,
Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Black-bellied Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Eurasian-collared Dove, Northern Shrike, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, European Starling, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco.
 

Four Evening Grosbeaks and five Black-headed Grosbeaks were seen in the eight hundred block of Douglas Avenue in Nanaimo. 

Monday, January 07:
A Black-headed Grosbeak was seen in Saltair.

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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.
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The Tuesday bird walk will be going to Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville on Tuesday, January 15, 2013. We will meet at Parksville Community Park at the Lion’s Playground at 9:00, p.m. or at the end of Shelly Road on the ocean side of Highway 19A. at about 9:10 a.m.

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The Sunday Bird Walk on January 20, 2013, will be going to Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo. We will meet at the bird store at 9:00 a.m. or at the end of Raines Road at about 9:30 a.m.

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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

 

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