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Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, May 07, 2013

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was sunny and warm with calm winds and the ocean was as smooth as glass. A singing Chipping Sparrow greeted us at the start of the walk. We saw several male Rufous Hummingbird perched and then doing their courtship dives during the walk. We heard a Warbling Vireo singing near the river and then we had great views of him as he put in an appearance. Several Orange-crowned Warblers were spotted feeding near the trail. We caught a glimpse of a singing Yellow Warbler near the trail.  Over two hundred Brant were on the Strait of Georgia and fifty more flew in and landed near shore. Ten Pacific Loon, two Marbled Murrelet and one Pigeon Guillemot were on the Strait. Five Western Sandpipers, three Least Sandpipers, two Semipalmated Plovers, two Braid’s Sandpipers and one Greater Yellowlegs were feeding on the mud flats as the tide started to come in. 

Semipalmated Plover, Western and Least Sandpipers: John Purves Photo. 

Eleven birders saw and heard the following fifty two Species:
Canada Goose
Brant
Mallard
Bufflehead
American Widgeon
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Bald Eagle
Cooper’s Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Great Blue Heron
Killdeer
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Semipalmated Plover
Braid’s Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
California Gull
Bonaparte's Gull
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Band-tailed Pigeon
Marbled Murrelet
Pigeon Guillemot
Rufous Hummingbird
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Common Raven
Northwestern Crow
Violet-green Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick’s Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Warbling Vireo
Pacific-sloped Flycatcher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Purple Finch
Red Crossbills
House Finch
Pine Siskin  

The Tuesday bird walk on May 14 will be going to Lot Ten in Qualicum Beach. 

Baird’s Sandpiper: John Purves Photo.

Good birding
Neil Robins
Parksville

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