Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, March 17, 2015

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. The skies were cloudy and the water on the Strait of Georgia was calm.  The highlight was the sighting of two rafts of Surf Scoters, Long-tail Ducks, Lesser Scaup and Greater Scaup. The two rafts of seabirds stretched offshore from the viewing platform along highway 19a to the Little Qualicum River Estuary.   Over seventy Trumpeter Swans flew over and landed on the far side of the raft of seabirds. Bonaparte's Gulls, Herring Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls Mew Gulls, California Gulls, Thayer’s Gull and Glaucous-winged Gulls covered the gravel bars from the viewing platform and along the shore to the estuary. Three Eurasian Widgeon, a Herring Gull,a Ring-billed Gull, large numbers of Barrow’s Goldeneye and Common Goldeneye were seen from the estuary side offshore. Four Yellow-rumped Warblers were feeding near the parking area at the “A” frame house. We watched a Bewick’s Wren gathering nesting material close-by. 

                                                                                                  

                                                          Surf Scoter eating Mussels: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

 

                                                      Greater Scaup & Lesser Scaup: Ralph Hocken Photo.

Eleven birders saw and heard the following fifty–two species:

Trumpeter Swans

Brant

Canada Geese

Mallard

American Widgeon

Eurasian Widgeon

Harlequin Duck

Northern Shoveler

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Black Scoter

Long-tail Duck

Lesser Scaup

Greater Scaup

Bufflehead

Northern Pintail

Barrows Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Merganser

Common Loon

Pacific loon

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Killdeer

Black Oystercatcher

Bonaparte's Gull

Herring Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Mew Gull

California Gull

Thayer’s Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Eurasian-collared Dove

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Bewick’s Wren

American Robin

European Starling

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird

House Finch

Purple Finch 

The Tuesday bird walk on March 24, 2015 will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.

 

                                                                    Mew Gull: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville