Parksville/Qualicum beach Tuesday bird walk, November 01, 2016

The Tuesday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park in Parksville.  The morning started out partly cloudy with calm winds but the wind picked up from the Strait of Georgia as the morning went on.  Eight Snow Geese were seen at the Parksville Community Park.  Two thousand Surf Scoters and White-winged Scoters were seen offshore.  Two large flocks of Greater Scaup were seen flying down the Strait.  Long-tailed Ducks, Pacific Loons, Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes, Brandt's Cormorants and Doubled-crested Cormorants were seen on the water all morning.  A large number of  Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets and Ruby-crowned Kinglets were seen feeding along the edge of the forest.  A Hermit Thrush was spotted lowdown in the forest.  We spotted a Palm Warbler pumping its tail constantly and moving quickly at the top of an apple tree near the Nature house.

                                                      Hermit Thrush: Ralph Hocken Photo. 

Seventeen birders, including birders from Newfoundland and Gabriola Island, saw and heard the following fifty species:

Snow Geese

Canada Geese

American Wigeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Greater Scaup

Harlequin Duck

Surf Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

White-winged Scoter

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Pacific Loon

Common Loon

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Brandt's Cormorant

Doubled-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Bald Eagle

Thayer’s Gull

Mew Gull

California Gull

Herring Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Marbled Murrelet

Pigeon Guillemot
Black Turnstones
Dunlin
Black-bellied Plovers

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Palm Warbler

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Pacific Wren

Bewick's Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

American Robin

Hermit Thrush

European Starling

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

House Finch

                                                          Surf Scoter: Ralph Hocken Photo:

 

The Tuesday bird walk on November 08 will be going to Deep Bay. 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 lot at the Deep Bay Marina at about 9:30 a.m.

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville

 

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