Nanaimo bird report, May 15, 2016

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 15, 2016:

The Sunday bird walk went to the Beaver Ponds in Nanoose Bay. The morning was cloudy with calm winds--a pleasant morning for birding.  We heard and then saw a MacGillivray’s Warbler close to the trail.  Swainson's Thrush serenaded us for most of the morning. We heard and saw a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, a Hammond’s Flycatcher and had a great look of a first of the season Willow Flycatcher near the trail.  A Western Tanager was singing from a tall conifer tree near the marsh.

Nine birders saw and heard the following thirty-seven species:

Pied-billed grebe

Turkey Vulture

Northern Flicker

Hairy Woodpecker

Rufous Hummingbird

Willow Flycatcher

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Hammond’s Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher

Common Raven

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Swainson's Thrush

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Orange-crowned Warbler

Black-throated Gray Warbler

Townsend’s Warbler

MacGillivray’s Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Warbling Vireo

Cassin’s Vireo

Western Tanager

Bushtit

Pacific Wren

Bewick’s Wren

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Purple Finch

American Goldfinch

Pine Siskin   

Friday, May 13:

A Swainson’s Thrush was seen at Nanoose Bay. 

A Western Tanager was seen in Lower Lantzville and one was also seen on Gabriola Island.  

Saturday, May 14: 

Blue-wing Teal, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs along with Long-billed and Short-billed Dowitchers were seen at Quennell Lake in Cedar. 

Four Whimbrel were seen at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo 

A Yellow-headed Blackbird is visiting feeders along Gomerich Road in Nanaimo. 

 

                                                       Yellow-headed Blackbird: Colin Henson Photo.

Tuesday, May 10: 

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was sunny and warm with calm winds. A Common Yellowthroat was singing from the top of a bush just across the river. A mixed flock of a Semipalmated Plover, a Pectoral Sandpiper,a Black-bellied Plover, a Dunlin and two Killdeer, several Western Sandpipers and a few Least Sandpipers greeted us along the mudflats and kept us entertained for a good part of the morning.  We heard a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Warblers, a Yellow Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler singing during the walk. Two immature Bald Eagles were seen chasing a Glaucous-winged Gull overhead before giving up the chase and flying away. 

Semi-palmated Plover: Ralph Hocken Photo.  

Twenty-one birders including visiting birders from England, Edmonton, Port Hardy and Gabriola Island saw and heard the following forty-four species:

Canada Geese

Mallard

Harlequin Duck

Double-crested Cormorant

Bald Eagle

Merlin

Turkey Vulture

Great Blue Heron

Semi-palmated Plover

Killdeer

Pectoral Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Black Oystercatcher

Black-bellied Plover

Dunlin

Mew Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Band-tailed Pigeon

Eurasian-collared Dove

Rufous Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Violet-green Swallow

Tree Swallow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

American Robin

European Starling

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Wilson's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Red-wing Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Purple Finch

American Goldfinch 

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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 17, 2016 will be going to Lot Ten in north Qualicum Beach. Meet at the Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Club Kids Playground at 9:00 a.m. or on the forest side of highway 19a on Kinkade Road in north Qualicum Beach at about 9:20 a.m.

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The Sunday bird walk on May 22, 2016 will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo. Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the Bowen Park entrance to Buttertubs Marsh at about 9:20 a.m. 

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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