The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.

The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.  

The morning was mostly sunny with calm winds.  We were greeted with the sighting of Rufous Hummingbirds at the start of the walk and they entertained us for most of the morning.  We heard a Red-breasted Sapsucker’s musical tapping on tree trunk from the forest.   A small flock of Baird’s Sandpipers were seen along the incoming tide.  A very large flock of Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers were running along the estuary giving us great views.  Red-neck Grebe, Surf Scoters, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loons and Common Loons were seen on the Strait of Georgia.                 

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday Bird Walk, April 30, 2019: 
Rufous Hummingbird: Ralph Hocken Photo:

Twenty-five birders including visiting birders from Australia, Ontario and Alberta saw the following fifty-eight species:

Canada Geese

Green-wing Teal

Mallard

Harlequin Duck

Red-neck Grebe

Bufflehead

American Wigeon

Surf Scoter

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Pacific loon

Common Loon

Pelagic Cormorant

Short-billed Dowitcher

Baird’s Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper

Black Oystercatcher

Black-bellied Plover

Dunlin

Killdeer

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk

California Gull

Mew Gull

Bonaparte Gull

Iceland(Thayer’s)Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Caspian Tern

Band-tailed Pigeon

Eurasian-collared Dove

Rufous Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Violet-green Swallow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Bushtit

Bewick’s Wren

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Hermit Thrush

Orange-crowned Warbler

Red-winged Blackbird

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

American Goldfinch

Dark-eyed Junco

House Finch

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin

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 May 05, 2019 will be going to Morrell Sanctuary in Nanaimo. Meet at the Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store (6314 Metral Drive in Nanaimo) at 9:00 am or the parking lot at Morrell Sanctuary ( Take Wakasiah Road to Nanaimo Lakes Road and look for the sign to Morrell Sanctuary just past the underpass for Highway 19) at about 9:15 am.

The Tuesday Bird Walk on May 07, 2019 will be going to Top Bridge Trail in Parksville.  Meet at the Parksville Community Park (near the Lions Club playground parking area) in Parksville at 9:00 am, or at the trail head on Industrial Way and Tuan Road in Parksville about 9:10 am. 

Good birding
Neil Robins

The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive V9T-2L8
Phone: 250-390-3669
Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca
Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com