Nanaimo bird report, June 07, 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, June 07, 2015:

The Sunday bird walk went to Morden Colliery Provincial Park south of Nanaimo.  The morning was sunny and warm—we got a reprieve in the forest where it was cooler.  The highlights included seeing a family of Pileated Woodpeckers.  Just off the bridge in a tall snag, the heads of two fledglings were poking out of a nesting cavity waiting to be fed.  We spotted a Red-breasted Sapsucker also feeding fledglings in the same snag.  We compared how each species was being fed—the Pileated fledglings were  poking their heads out of the nest cavity to be fed and the Sapsuckers were staying down in the cavity waiting to be fed.  We heard and saw a Common Yellowthroat singing on a short bush below the bridge. Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Hammond’s Flycatchers and Warbling Vireos were singing through the morning.

Red-breasted Sapsucker:: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Sixteen birders including birders from Calgary and the United Kingdom saw and heard the following thirty-two species:

Turkey Vulture

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

 Pileated Woodpecker

   Red-breasted Sapsucker

  Rufous Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

   Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Hammond’s Flycatcher

  Warbling Vireo

Northwestern Crow

  Common Raven

 Violet-green Swallow

 Black Swift

Bushtit

   Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Brown Creeper

  Bewick's Wren

 Pacific Wren

    European Starling

 Swainson's Thrush

 American Robin

 Orange-crowned Warbler

  Black-throated Gray Warbler

  Wilson's Warbler

  Yellow Warbler

 Common Yellowthroat

 Western Tanager

 Black-headed Grosbeak

  Spotted Towhee

  Song Sparrow

 Dark-eyed Junco

 Purple Finch 

Tuesday, June 02:

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was overcast and the winds were calm. A flock of singing Red Crossbills flew into the top of a tall conifer tree at the parking area on Parksville Beach just before the start of the walk. We saw and heard a large number of Yellow Warblers singing from their perches in a tree just off the trail. The Willow Flycatchers have arrived on their migration--we saw ten of them singing from the top of short bushes along the trail.  A Savannah Sparrow was singing from his perch on the meadow. We spotted a male Ring-necked Pheasant flapping his wings and calling near the fence at the park boundary.  A Pacific-slope Flycatcher caught our eye as it sang from his perch along the trail. 

Ring-neck Pheasant: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

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

Canada Geese

Mallard 

Common Merganser

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Glaucous-winged Gull

Band-tailed Pigeon

Eurasian-collared Dove

California Quail

Ring-necked Pheasant

Rufous Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Willow Flycatcher

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Violet-green Swallow

Tree Swallow

Barn Swallow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Pacific Wren

Swainson’s Thrush

American Robin

Cedar Waxwing

European Starling

Red-eyed Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Spotted Towhee

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Brown-headed Cowbird

Dark-eyed Junco

House Finch

Red Crossbill

Purple Finch

American Goldfinch 

Savannah Sparrow: Ralph Hocken Photo.

 

 

Monday, June 01:

Two olive-sided Flycatchers, Townsend’s Warblers and Pacific-slope Flycatchers were seen and heard on Little Mountain near Parksville.

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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 June 09, 2015 will be going to the Beaver Ponds in Nanoose Bay.  We meet at the Parksville Community Park by the Lions Club playground parking lot at 9 a.m. or the parking area past the four way stop sign along Powerpoint Road in Nanoose Bay at about 9:20 a.m.

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The Sunday bird walk on June 14, 2015 will be going to Springwood Park in Parksville.  Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the west end of Despard Avenue off highway 4a 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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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