Nanaimo bird report, January 11, 2015

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.
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Sunday, January 11, 2015: 

The Sunday bird walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. The morning was foggy with calm winds making the Strait of Georgia very peaceful.  Several Harlequin Ducks were seen just off shore.  A mixed flock of Surfbirds, Black Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin were roosting on the large rocks  just off shore.  We spotted a Rhinoceros Auklet and six Marbled Murrelet  swimming  further offshore. Two Common Ravens were nosily mobbing an Bald Eagle high up in a conifer tree next to the trail. Bald Eagle: Ralph Hocken Photo.                  Seventeen birders saw and heard the  following forty-eight  species:                                               Canada Geese                                                      Mallard                                               American Wigeon

                                                      Bufflehead

Long-tailed Duck

Surf Scoter

Common Goldeneye

Harlequin Duck

Horned Grebe

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Pacific Loon

Common Loon

Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Common Murre

Rhinoceros Auklet

Marbled Murrelet

Pigeon Guillemot

Spotted Sandpiper

Surfbird

Black Turnstone

Black-bellied Plover

Black Oystercatcher

Dunlin

Bald Eagle

California Gull

Mew Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Common Raven

Northwest Crow

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Anna's Hummingbird

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Brown Creeper

Bewick's Wren

Pacific Wren

Spotted Towhee

European Starling

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

Song Sparrow

Tuesday, January 06:

 The Tuesday bird walk went to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. The morning was warm and the Strait of Georgia was calm but foggy. Several Horned Grebes, Long-tailed Ducks along with Pacific Loons and Common Loons were seen off shore.  Black-bellied Plovers, Black Turnstones and several Black Oystercatchers were chatting loudly as they were feeding along the shoreline near the viewing platform. Four Brant Geese flew over heading down the Strait. Hundreds of White-winged Scoters and Black Scoters were singing just off shore.  One lone Trumpeter Swan along with several Great Blue Herons were seen on the estuary.  A mixed flock of hundreds of Mew Gulls, California Gulls, Thayer's Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls were resting on the large gravel bar near the mouth of the Little Qualicum River. The Gulls lifted in a huge cloud when the Bald Eagle flew close by.

Mew Gull: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Pacific Loons: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Fifteen birders saw and heard the following forty-six species:

Canada Geese

Brant
Trumpeter Swan
Mallard

Greater Scaup
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Black Turnstone

Black Oystercatcher

Killdeer
Mew Gull
California Gull
Western Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Common Murre
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow

Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Anna’s Hummingbird

European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Black Oystercatchers: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

A Northern Pygmy Owl was seen in a backyard in Deep Bay.

A white hummingbird has been seen in Qualicum Beach in the area of First and Hemlock across from the play field.

Monday, January 05:

Two Greater White-fronted Geese and a Snow Goose were seen at the Parksville Community Park in Parksville. 

Sunday January 04:

 Thirty California Gulls were seen feeding in a backyard in the 3000 block of Barrington Road in Nanaimo.

 

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Monday, January 26:

 Arrowsmith Naturalists meet at Knox United Church in Parksville at 7.30 pm.  Members Night when members share their photos.  All welcome.

Information at 752-7588. 

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18th Annual Tofino Shorebird Festival
May 1-3, 2015
For  information please contact----
http://raincoasteducation.org/events/tofino-shorebird-festival
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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 January 13, 2015 will be going to Columbia Beach.
Meet at the parking lot near the Lions Club Playground in Parksville
Community Park at 9:00 a.m. or at the off Admiral Tyron Bld. at about
9:20 a.m.
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The Sunday bird walk on January 18, 2015 will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River 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 9:25 a.m.
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British Columbia Rare Bird Alert link--- http://www.bcbirdalert.blogspot.ca/

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A must read for those of us who live along the Strait of Georgia.
THE SEA AMONG US
THE AMAZING STRAIT OF GEORGIA
RICHARD BEAMISH AND GORDON McFARLANE
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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

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