Nanaimo bird report, November 20, 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-*q
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, November 20, 2016: 

This Sunday’s Bird Walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo.  The morning was cloudy with very strong winds off the Strait of Georgia.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Golden-crowned Kinglets were feeding on trees high above us. The bird of the morning was the sighting of a Rock Wren.  We watched the bird as it hopped on logs, off logs and underneath logs at the water’s edge.  We watched in fascination as three Hump- backed Whales swam down the Strait about 75% of the way to the horizon.  Four Trumpeter Swans were flying above whales, also heading down the Strait. A River Otter was seen on the rocks at the Point.  

Nineteen birders saw and heard the following forty-four species:

Trumpeter Swan 

Canada Geese

American Widgeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Harlequin Duck

White-wing Scoter

Black Scoter

Surf Scoter

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Bufflehead

Red-necked Grebe

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Brandt Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Marbled Murrelet

Common Murre

Belted Kingfisher

Black Oystercatcher

Bald Eagle

Mew Gull

California Gull

Thayer’s Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

European Starling

Rock Wren

Pacific Wren

Bewick's Wren

Brown Creeper

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

American Robin

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco 

A Mountain Bluebird and two Bald Eagles were seen at Pipers Lagoon by many of the birders after the walk.

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk

November 15, 2016:

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with calm winds.  A Hutton's Vireo, a Golden-crowned Kinglet and two Ruby-crowned Kinglets played hide and seek with us just off the trail. A Cooper’s Hawk flew over the river just above us giving us quick views. A first of the season Eurasian Widgeon was spotted feeding with a flock of American Widgeon at the shoreline.  A Hooded Merganser, a Greater Scaup and a Northern Shoveler were seen just off shore. We watched a Northern Shrike who was perched in the bushes along the edge of the estuary fly off several times only to return to his perch.

Twenty birders saw and heard the following fifty-four species:

Canada Geese

Brant

American Widgeon

Eurasian Widgeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Green-wing Teal

Northern Shoveler

Black Scoter

White-wing Scoter

Greater Scaup

Bufflehead

Barrow’s Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Merganser

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Pelagic Cormorant

Brandt’s Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Belted Kingfisher

Black Turnstone

Dunlin

Bald Eagle

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Coopers Hawk

Northern Shrike

Mew Gull

California Gull

Thayer's Gull

Herring Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Anna's Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Eurasian-collared Dove

American Robin

Hutton's Vireo

Bushtit

Brown Creeper

Pacific Wren

Bewick’s Wren

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

European Starling

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

  

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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 November 22, 2016 will be going to Rathtrevor  Beach Provincial Park in Parksville. Meet at the Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Club Kids Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the main parking lot at Rathtrevor Park at about 9:10 a.m.

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The Sunday bird walk on November 27, 2016 will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo. Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking lot at Buttertubs Marsh off Jingle Pot Road at about 9:15 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: http://thebirdstore.blogspot.ca/