Nanaimo bird report, december 08, 2013

NANAIMO BIRD REPORT
" EXPLORE NATURE-GO BIRDING"

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, December 08, 2013:

The Sunday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The morning was mostly cloudy and cool with calm winds. We spotted two Varied Thrush feeding on Arbutus berries near the trail. One lone Least Sandpiper was feeding near the shore with several Killdeer, Black-bellied Plovers and Black Oystercatchers. We saw one Herring Gull close to shore, giving us great views.

Least Sandpiper:Ralph Hocken Photo.

 

Five birders saw and heard the following thirty-seven species:

Canada Geese, American Widgeon, Mallard, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Mew Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Killdeer,  Least Sandpiper, Black-bellied Plover, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher,  Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied Thrush, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pacific Wren, Bewick’s Wren, Brown Creeper, Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow and Song Sparrow.  

Friday, December 06: 

Forty Dark-eyed Juncos, twenty Bushtits, ten American Goldfinch, one Fox Sparrow, four Song Sparrows and two Bewick’s Wren were visiting a backyard in the 2100 block of Lancashire Avenue in Nanaimo.  

Tuesday, December 03:

 The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was bright and sunny but cool with a biting wind blowing in from the Strait of Georgia. Hundreds of Mallards, American Widgeon, Northern Pintail and Green-wing Teal were feeding on the mudflats at low tide. Four Hooded Mergansers and two Gadwall  were swimming on the River. Several large flocks, numbering over two hundred, Brant Geese flew in and landed on the Strait during the morning. We spotted a Western Grebe far off shore. A flock of twelve Long-tailed Ducks flew low over the Strait. Two small flocks of Black Turnstones flew past heading to the estuary.  It was an active morning for birding!

          

              Hooded Merganser: Ralph Hocken Photo.                          

 

Fourteen birders saw and heard the following fifty-three species.

Brant, Trumpeter Swan, American Widgeon, Mallard, Harlequin Duck, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Green-wing Teal, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, Pacific Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Western Grebe, California Quail, Dunlin, Black Turnstones, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Belted ingfisher, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Anna's Hummingbird, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, American Robin, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, House Finch and Purple Finch. 

Monday, December 02:

An American Kestrel and a Red-tailed Hawk were seen perched on fence posts at the Ugly Dwarf Meadows just off highway 19 in Nanoose Bay.  

Over two hundred Brant Geese were spotted on the Strait of Georgia from the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. 

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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 on December 10 will be going to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.  Meet at the Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Club playground at 9:00 am or at the end of Shelly Road on the ocean side of highway 19a at about 9:10 am.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on December 15 will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.  Meet at the birdstore at 9:00 am or at the main parking lot at Buttertubs Marsh off Bowen Road at about 9:15 am.
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“Christmas Bird Count”
Parksville/Qualicum Beach, December 15, 2013.

Contact Sandra Gray at 250-248-5565

 

“Christmas Bird Count”

Nanaimo, December 29, 2013

Contact the Birdstore at 250-390-3669

thebackyard@shaw.ca

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British Columbia rare bird alert link---
 http://www.bcbirdalert.blogspot.ca/  
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WildResearch link---
http://www.wildresearch.ca

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Link

http://coastaltarsands.ca/w1/videos/

 

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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
Email:  thebackyard@shaw.ca
Blog:  www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com