Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk

The Tuesday Birdwalk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with a light shower but calm winds. We watched a Greater Yellowlegs sleeping on the mudflats while Killdeer sang and ran about nearby.  A Northern Harrier flew over the estuary looking for prey.  A fast flying Merlin flew over head.  A Greater Scaup was spotted with a flock of Surf Scoters racing down the Strait of Georgia.  Common Loons, Red-necked Grebes, Horned Grebes, Common Merganser and Red-breasted Mergansers were on the strait sporting their new breeding plumage---a colorful sight!  A Common Murre, a Marbled Murrelet and Brandt’s Cormorant were also spotted on the strait.  A flock of Bonaparte's Gulls flew just over the water heading south.  Western Gulls, a Herring Gull and a Glaucous Gull were resting with a large number of gulls on a gravel bar.   

                                             Glaucous Gull: John Purves Photo. 

Twenty birders, including visiting birders from Saskatchewan and Edmonton, saw and heard the following sixty-seven species:

Canada Geese

Brant

American Wigeon

Mallard

Gadwall

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Harlequin Duck

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Bufflehead

Greater Scaup

Long-tailed Duck

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Pacific Loon

Common Loon

Red-necked Grebe

Horned Grebe

Common Murre

Marbled Murrelet

Brandt’s Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Greater Yellowlegs

Black Oystercatcher

Killdeer

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Cooper’s Hawk

Northern Harrier

Merlin

Bonaparte's Gull

Mew Gull

California Gull

Thayer's Gull

Western Gull

Herring Gull

Glaucous Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Collared Dove

California Quail

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

American Robin

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Bushtit

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Marsh Wren

Bewick’s Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Rufous Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

European Starling

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Brown-headed Cowbird

Fox Sparrow

Red-wing Blackbird

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin

 

                                           Northern Harrier: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

The Tuesday bird walk will be going to Springwood Park in Parksville. Meet at the parking lot near the Lions Club Kids playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the west end of Despard Avenue at about 9:10 a.m.  

Good birding

Neil Robins

thebirdstore.blogspot.com

 thebackyard@shaw.ca