Nanaimo bird report, October 09, 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, October 09, 2016 

The Sunday bird walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. The morning was clear with calm winds. A Red-necked Grebe was seen in the water next to the parking lot giving us close up view. A large number of Double-crested Cormorants and Pelagic Cormorants were seen flying up and down the Strait of Georgia. A Western Grebe was seen further offshore swimming and diving. We spotted a Pigeon Guillemot just offshore.

Eight birders saw and heard the following thirty-four species:

Mallard

  Harlequin Duck

  Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

  Common Merganser 

Red-necked Grebe

Western Grebe

Pigeon Guillemot

  Common Loon

  Pacific Loon

  Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

    Black Oystercatcher

  Bald Eagle

  Mew Gull

  California Gull

  Thayer’s Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

European Starling

  Anna’s Hummingbird

  Belted Kingfisher

Pacific Wren

Bewick's Wren

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  American Robin

Spotted Towhee

  White-crowned Sparrow

Song Sparrow

 Dark-eyed Junco

A first of the season Northern Shrike and an American Kestrel were seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.

Saturday, October 08, 2016:

“RARE BIRD ALERT”

A White-throated Sparrow was seen in a backyard for the last week along Kite Way in Nanaimo.

Friday, October 07:

Three Lapland Longspurs were seen at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo.

Wednesday October 05:

Nine Lapland Longspurs were seen at the Pipers Lagoon parking lot in Nanaimo.

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, October 04, 2016

The Tuesday bird walk went to Columbia Beach in French Creek The morning was cloudy with strong winds off the very choppy Strait of Georgia. There were a few light showers throughout the morning.  American Widgeon, Surf Scoters and White-wing Scoters were seen flying down the Strait.  Mew Gulls, a Western Gull, California Gulls, Thayer's Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls and a Herring Gull were resting on the gravel bar. Six Black Oystercatchers, several Black-bellied Plovers, thirty Black Turnstones and three Killdeer were  feeding along the gravel bar at the pond, near Pebble Beach.  Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, House Finch and Purple Finch were seen and heard along French Creek. 

Nineteen birders including visiting birders from Stratford, Ontario and St. Albert, Alberta saw and heard the following forty species:

American Widgeon

Surf Scoter

White-wing Scoter

Mallard

Bufflehead

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Red -neck Grebe

Horned Grebe

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Bald Eagle

Mew Gull

Western Gull

California Gull

Thayer's Gull

Herring Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Black Oystercatcher

Black-bellied Plover

Black Turnstone

Killdeer

Greater Yellowlegs

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Common Raven

Northwestern Crow

Anna’s Hummingbird

Bewick's Wren

American Robin

Cedar Waxwing

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Spotted Towhee

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

House Finch

Purple Finch

House Sparrow

Four Greater White-fronted Geese were seen behind the Nanaimo district Secondary school

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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 11, 2016 will be going to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville. Meet at the Parksville Community Park at the Lions Club Kids Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the end of Shelly Road on the Oceanside of highway 19a in Parksville at about 9:10 a.m.

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The Sunday bird walk on October 16, 2016 will be going to Nanoose Bay. Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking near the Church Camp off Highway 19 and Nanoose Station Road (across the road from Arlington Pub) 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/