Nanaimo bird report, October 02

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, October 02, 2016:

The Sunday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with rain at the first of the morning, but soon turned sunny with calm winds. We were greeted with large flock of American Robins and Cedar Waxwings at the start of the walk.  A very large raft of Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, one Black Scoter and two Greater Scaup were seen off shore. Three Western Grebes, Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes were on the Strait of Georgia.  A large number of Savannah Sparrows were feeding on the shore line giving us pause for great views.

Savannah Sparrow: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Nine birders including a visiting birder from Stratford Ontario saw and heard the following forty-nine species:

Canada Geese

Mallard

American Wigeon

Harlequin Duck

Greater Scaup

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Black Scoter

Common Merganser

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Western Grebe

Pacific Loon

Common Loon

Pelagic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk

Bonaparte's Gull

Mew Gull

Thayer’s Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Brown Creeper

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Orange-crowned Warbler

Anna’s Hummingbird

American Robin

Cedar Waxwing

Bewick’s Wren

Pacific Wren

European Starling

Spotted Towhee

Golden-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

American Goldfinch 

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, September 27, 2016

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.  The morning was sunny with a strong wind off the Strait of Georgia. Two birders saw four Killer Whales at about 9:00 a.m. from Shorewood Drive close to the mud flats in San Pariel.  They spotted one large adult and three smaller whales about half way across the strait.   A Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrows, a Lincoln’s Sparrow, a White-crowned Sparrow, several House Finch and Purple Finch were seen at the start of the walk. A Black-bellied Plover, two Least Sandpipers, two Western Sandpipers and three Killdeer were feeding on the mud flats.  A flock of American Widgeons, Surf Scoters, Horned Grebe, one Red-necked Grebe, several Harlequin Duck, two Common Loons and three Pacific Loons were spotted on the strait.

Black-bellied Plover: Ralph Hocken Photo.

Eighteen birders saw and heard the following thirty-eight species:

Mallard

Green-winged Teal

Northern Pintail

American Wigeon

Surf Scoter

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Harlequin Duck

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Great-blue Heron

Mew Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Black-bellied Plover

Least Sandpiper

Western Sandpiper

Killdeer

Anna’s Hummingbird

Downy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Bushtit

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Bewick’s Wren

American Robin

Spotted Towhee

Dark-eyed Junco

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

House Finch

Purple Finch

Red-wing Blackbird

American Goldfinch

 

Monday, September 26,

A Northern Pygmy Owl was seen at the top of Little Mountain in Parksville.

 

 

Northern Pygmy Owl: John Purves Photo.

 

A flock of Sandhill Cranes were seen above highway 19a in Parksville near the Knox United Church.

 

Saturday, September 24, 2016

A Red-Tailed Hawk was soaring about Edgewood Estates above Departure Bay in Nanaimo. 

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Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on Sunday & Tuesday. We leave from the Store at 9 a.m. on Sunday Mornings and go to a different location in and around Nanaimo.  We leave from the Parksville Community Park at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday mornings and go to a different location in the Oceanside area.

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The Tuesday bird walk on October 04, 2016 will be going to Columbia Beach. Meet at the Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Club Kids Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking area on Admiral Tryon Bld. off Columbia Drive in French Creek at about 9:15 a.m.  

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The Sunday bird walk on October 09, 2016 will be going to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking lot off Hammond Bay Road Park at about 9:20 a.m.

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Trumpeter Swan Conference in Duncan

                              http://www.trumpeterswansociety.org/2016-conference.html

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Reporting Collared Canada Goose Sightings

Hello fellow birders:

As part of the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Bird Banding project, we banded and collared 200 Canada Geese around Nanaimo last June.  This banding effort is part of an undergraduate research project by VIU biology student Stew Pearce, with main objective to determine the abundance, distribution and movement of geese in the Nanaimo area.  The geese have white neck collars with black lettering that ranges from 000P to 199P.

We are conducting regular surveys to track geese, but we hope to increase the number of collared goose sightings by encouraging birders and members of the public to report their sightings through our project website - https://wordpress.viu.ca/gooseproject/.  There is a simple form to fill out to report sightings.  We are interested in any sightings of these geese, whether in the Nanaimo area or elsewhere, including the number of “uncollared” geese they may associated with.

We appreciate your help with this project.  Feel free to contact us off list to find out more about the project or results so far (stew.pearce@shaw.ca).

Eric Demers, Ph.D., R.P.Bio.
Biology Department
B.Sc. Degree Advisor
Vancouver Island University

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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: http://thebirdstore.blogspot.ca/