The Backyard's Weekly Bird Walk locations are found in the Backyard Bird Report at the very end of the most recent report. Any cancellations will be posted by 8am the day of the walk.

Tuesday 12 March 2019


Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday Bird Walk, March 12, 2019, 
The Tuesday bird walk went to Columbia Beach in French Creek. The morning was sunny but cool with very strong winds off the Strait of Georgia.  The highlight of the morning was thousands upon thousands  of Gulls either on the Strait or flying, including Glaucous Gulls, Mew Gulls, California Gulls, Iceland(Thayer's) Gulls, Herring Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls. There was also vast numbers of Brant Geese on the Strait. One
Glaucous Gull was seen not five feet from the shore giving us great views.  Many flocks of Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters and Long-tailed Ducks heading up the Strait. A Cooper’s Hawk was perched in a tree not far from the trail checking us over for the longest time. The Herring Spawn has arrived!

Twenty-two birders including visiting birders from Ottawa and Washington State saw and heard the following fifty-seven species:
Canada Geese
Brant
American Wigeon
Eurasian Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
Common Murre
Marbled Murrelet
Brandt’s Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant 
Belted Kingfisher
Greater Yellowlegs
Black Turnstone
Black Oystercatcher
Killdeer
Black-bellied Plover
Dunlin
Bald Eagle
Cooper’s Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Glaucous Gull
Mew Gull
California Gull
Iceland(Thayer's) Gull
Herring Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Northern Flicker
Common Raven
Northwestern Crow
Anna’s Hummingbird
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
American Robin
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow
Glaucous Gull:   Ralph Hocken Photo:

Please Note:
Check this site (www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com) early Tuesday and Sunday on stormy mornings to see if the walks have been cancelled!

The Sunday Bird Walk on March 17, 2019 will be going to the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo. Meet at the Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store (6314 Metral Drive in Nanaimo) at 9:00am or at the end of Raines Road off Cedar Road at about 9:30am.

The Tuesday Bird Walk on March19, 2019 will be going to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in north Qualicum Beach. Meet at the Parksville Community Park (near the Lions Club playground parking lot) in Parksville at 9:00 am, or at the Brant viewing platform in north Qualicum Beach at about 9:25am.

Good birding
Neil Robins 

THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE
6314 Metral Drive
Nanaimo, B.C. V9T-2L8
Phone: 250-390-3669
Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com




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