Count feeder birds for science! Project FeederWatch begins November 1st. Join now.

Sunday, 9 November 2014

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, November 09, 2014:
        The Sunday bird walk went to the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo. The morning started with light rain but soon cleared up making for a pleasant morning of birding. The highlights included seeing two flocks of Trumpeter Swans, Northern Shrikes and two Snow Geese. We watched as a Short-eared Owl was joined by another Short-eared Owl.  They both flew overhead close enough to give us great views. We spotted a Peregrine Falcon perched in a tall conifer tree, then flew over head. Two Cooper’s Hawks flew above us circling and then flew south.  Fourteen Western Meadowlarks landed in a snag not far from us. 
Short-eared Owl: Ralph Hocken Photo.  
Thirteen birders saw and heard the following forty-four species:
Trumpeter Swan
Canada Geese
Snow Goose
Mallard
American Widgeon
Bufflehead
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Northern Pintail
Green-wing Teal
Common Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
  Bald Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
Short-eared Owl
Cooper’s Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Northern Shrike
Mew Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
  Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
  European Starling
Western Meadowlark
  American Robin
March Wren
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Red-wing Blackbird
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
 Purple Finch
House Finch.
 
Saturday, November 08:
A Varied Thrush was spotted along Honeysuckle Terminal in Nanaimo. 
Friday, November 07:
A Northern Pygmy Owl was seen and heard near Thunderbird Drive and Eagle Crescent in Nanaimo.  
Thursday, November 06:
A Northern Saw-whet Owl was seen in the Deerwood Estates in Nanaimo. 
Wednesday, November 05:
A Rufous Hummingbird is visiting feeders near Dogwood and First Avenue in Ladysmith.
Tuesday, November 04:
         The Tuesday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The morning was sunny with a light breeze off the Strait of Georgia making for a great morning of birding. The highlight of the morning was the sighting of a Rhinoceros Auklet on the Strait. Hundreds of Dunlin and a large number of Black-bellied Plovers were feeding long the tide line and on the tide pools. We spotted Common Murre, Marbled Murrelet, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and Western Grebes further offshore. A Ring-billed Gull was spotted in with the other gull species near the shore.
                     Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers in Flight: Ralph Hocken Photo. 
Eleven birders saw and heard the following thirty-four species:
Canada Goose
American Widgeon
Harlequin Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Surf Scoter
White-wing Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Horned Grebe
Red-neck Grebe
Western Grebe
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Rhinoceros Auklet
Common Murre
Marbled Murrelet
Dunlin
Black-bellied Plover
Ring-billed Gull
Mew Gull
California Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Northern Flicker
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Anna’s Hummingbird
Pacific Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
                                                    Common Goldeneye: Ralph Hocken Photo.
 
Saturday, November 01:
A Snow Bunting was seen near Williamson and Vistaview in Nanaimo 
 Sunday October 26:
   A Mountain Bluebird was seen at the Art Gallery in San Pariel on the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.
 
**********************************************************************************
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
****************************************************************************
The Tuesday bird walk on November 11, 2014
will be going to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.  Meet at the parking lot near the Lions Club Playground in Parksville Community Park at 9:00 a.m. or at the end of Shelly Road (ocean side) at about 9:10 a.m. 
*********************************************************************
The Sunday bird walk on November 16, 2014 will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 a.m. or at the corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive in Parksville at about 9:30 a.m.
 
*********************************************************************
British Columbia rare bird alert link--- http://www.bcbirdalert.blogspot.ca/
****************************************************************************
WildResearch link---
******************************************************************************
West coast environment link—http://coastaltarsands.ca/w1/videos/
 
*******************************************************************************
What's more important than the right to breathe fresh air, drink clean water and eat healthy food?"-- David Suzuki 
*****************************************************************************
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

No comments: