Nanaimo bird report, May 24, 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, May 24, 2015:

The Sunday bird walk went to Morrell Wildlife Sanctuary in Nanaimo. The morning was cloudy and the winds were calm. The highlights included seeing a Barred Owl fly in and perch on a tall conifer giving us close views. We watched a family of Hairy Woodpeckers feed on a snag close to the trail. A Chestnut-backed Chickadee flew in and out of a nest in a short snag.  A Hooded Merganser and its cute fledgling were swimming on Morrell Lake.

Barred Owl: Ralph Hocken Photo.  

Fifteen birders including a visiting birder from Ottawa saw and heard the following twenty-nine species:

Canada Geese

 Mallard

Belted Kingfisher

 Hooded Merganser

Barred Owl

Hairy Woodpecker

  Rufous Hummingbird

 Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Hammond’s Flycatcher

 Warbling Vireo

Cassin’s Vireo

 Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Golden-crowned Kinglet

 Brown Creeper

 Red-breasted Nuthatch

 Pacific Wren

Bewick’s Wren

 Swainson's Thrush

 American Robin

Orange-crowned Warbler

 Black-throated Gray Warbler

 Wilson's Warbler

Townsend’s Warbler

Black-headed Grosbeak

Western Tanager

Spotted Towhee

  Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Pine Siskin  

Saturday, May 23:

A Whimbrel, Western and Baird’s Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and Black-bellied Plovers were seen on the mud flats on the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.  

Two Olive-sided Flycatchers were heard and seen in the woods above Colbourne Drive in Nanaimo.

A Pigeon Guillemot was seen off shore at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. 

Friday, May 22:

  Two Whimbrels were seen along the tide line on the Strait of Georgia off the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville. 

Wednesday, May 20: 

A Pigeon Guillemot was seen off shore at Piper’s Lagoon in Nanaimo. 

Tuesday, May 19:

The Tuesday bird walk went to Lot Ten in north Qualicum Beach. The morning was sunny and warm with calm winds. California Quail were seen at the start of the walk. A Spotted Sandpiper was preening on a Little Qualicum River gravel bar giving us great views. Pacific-slope Flycatchers and Hammond’s Flycatchers were singing high up in the tall trees. A Black-headed Grosbeak swooped in just above us singing his vibrant song that we heard for most of the morning. Several Red-breasted Sapsuckers flew near us as we walked on the trail. Yellow Warblers were singing and they stopped long enough to give us great views. Western Tanagers entertained us and we had several great views of them high in the conifers across the river. A Red-eyed Vireo was singing his long song high up in the tall trees next to the trail.  We heard the song but there were no views for us!

                                                                  

  Yellow Warbler: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Seventeen birders saw and heard the following thirty-nine species:

Canada Geese

Bald Eagle

Belted Kingfisher

Spotted Sandpiper

California Quail

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Hammond’s Flycatcher

Warbling Vireo

Cassin’s Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Violet-green Swallow

Black Swift

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Pacific Wren

Bewick’s Wren

Rufous Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

Swainson's Thrush

American Robin

Western Tanager

European Starling

MacGillivray’s Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Townsend’s Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Black-headed Grosbeak

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Goldfinch

Pine Siskin

 

                                                                         

   

 

                                             Red-breasted Sapsucker: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

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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 May 26, 2015 will be going to the Little Qualicum Fish Hatchery in Qualicum Beach.  We meet at the Parksville Community Park by the Lions Club playground parking lot at 9 a.m. or parking lot at the fish hatchery off Claymore Road in north Qualicum Beach at about 9:20 a.m.

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The Sunday bird walk on May 31, 2015 will be going to Linley Valley in Nanaimo.  Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the end of Burma Road off Lost Lake Road in Nanaimo 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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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