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, March 09, 2014:
The Sunday bird walk went to Nanoose Bay. The morning was sunny and warm
with calm seas. We spotted two Mute swans on the estuary. There was a Northern
Shrike preening itself on a low bush. A Eurasian Widgeon was seen in with a
flock of American Widgeons. Four Turkey Vultures were seen catching a thermo
high above the trees.
Eleven birders saw and heard the following forty-three species:
Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Eurasian Widgeon, American Wigeon, Mallard,
Greater Scaup, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, White-winged
Scoter, Black Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Hooded
Merganser, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested
Cormorant, Belted Kingfisher, Great Blue Heron, Northwestern Crow, Common
Raven, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Turkey Vulture,
Northern Shrike, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Killdeer, Mew Gull, Thayer’s Gull,
California Gull, Herring Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, European Starling,
American Robin, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, House Finch, Red-winged Blackbird
and Brewer’s Blackbird.
Turkey Vulture: Ralph Hocken Photo
A Brant was spotted in with a flock of Canada Geese near Mission on the
mainland, a very unusual sighting.
Saturday, March 08:
A Northern Shrike was seen near the parking lot at the Nanaimo River
Estuary on south Nanaimo.
Friday, March 07:
“Rare Bird Alert --Baikal Teal”
A male Baikal Teal has been spotted in a flooded field with Green winged
Teal off Gordon Road at the Holden creek side of the Nanaimo River Estuary in
south Nanaimo.
The Baikal Teal breeds in eastern Russia and winters in East
Asia.
Tuesday, March 04:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River
Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with wet snow falling but the wind
was calm. We spotted two Pileated Woodpeckers moving up a tall snag. A pair of
Common Mergansers and one Bufflehead was swimming down the river. A Belted
Kingfisher flew noisily up the river. Several Brant, Surf Scoters, White-winged
Scoters and two Long-tailed Ducks were heading up the Strait of Georgia. We
spotted a first of the season-- four Band-tailed Pigeons perched in a high
tree.
Twelve birders saw and heard the following forty-five species:
Canada Geese, Brant, American Wigeon, Mallard, Gadwall, Northern Pintail,
Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Greater Scaup,
Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Common Merganser,
Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Red-necked Grebe, Horned
Grebe, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Mew Gull, California Gull,
Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Band-tailed Pigeon, Northern Flicker,
Pileated Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Varied Thrush, American
Robin, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick’s Wren, Belted
Kingfisher, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow,
Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird and Purple Finch.
A Greater White-fronted Goose was seen in with a flock of Canada Geese at
Maffeo Sutton Park in downtown Nanaimo.
Monday, March 03:
Twenty-one Violet-green Swallows and two Tree Swallows were seen at Brannen
Lake in north Nanaimo.
Saturday, March 01:
”Rare Bird Alert-King Eider”
A King Eider was seen in with a flock of Brant at Parksville Bay in
Parksville.
The King Eider breeds along Northern Hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast
Europe, North America and Asia.
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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. on 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 March 11, 2014 will be going to the Plummer 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 corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive in Parksville at about 9:10
am.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on March 16, 2014 will be going to Neck Point in
Nanaimo. Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 am or at the parking lot at Neck Point
off Hammond Bay Road at about 9:20 a.m.
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British Columbia rare bird alert link---
http://www.bcbirdalert.blogspot.ca/
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WildResearch link---
Spring Pelagic Seabird Trip Announced – May 11, 2014
WildResearch is pleased to announce that WildResearch's 2014 Spring Pelagic
Seabird Trip will run on Sunday May 11, 2014! Proceeds generated from the
pelagic trip fundraiser will go towards running WildResearch’s research
programs.
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West coast environment link--
http://coastaltarsands.ca/w1/videos/
*******************************************************************************
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
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