Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, May 28, 2019

Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, May 28, 2019

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.  The morning was mostly sunny with calm winds.  An Olive-sided Flycatcher was perched at the top of a very tall snag giving us great views through spotting scopes. Turkey Vultures, Bald Eagles, a Cooper’s Hawk and a Red-tailed Hawk were seen overhead.  Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Hammond’s Flycatchers and Willow Flycatchers were heard and seen during the walk. We had several sightings of several Yellow Warblers throughout the morning.  A Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a rare bird for this area, was seen high up in the conifers next to the trail at the Shelly Road parking area by several of the birders. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is normally seen east of the Rockies, but rarely seen in this area.  For sure this was the top sighting of a good morning of birding!   

Seventeen birders including a visiting birder from Lasqueti Island saw and heard the following fifty-four species:

Canada Geese

Mallard

White-wing Scoter

Pacific Loon

Great Blue Heron

Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle

Cooper’s Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Barred Owl

Killdeer

Black Oystercatcher

Glaucous-winged Gull
Band-tailed Pigeon

Rufous Hummingbird

Anna’s Hummingbird
Pileated Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Hammond’s Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Violet-green Swallow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Bewick’s Wren

Pacific Wren

Swainson’s Thrush

American Robin

European Starling

Warbling Vireo

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Black-throated Grey Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

Western Tanager

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Black-headed Grosbeak

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Brown Creeper

American Goldfinch

Red-wing Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Dark-eyed Junco

Purple Finch

House 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 June 02, 2019 will be going to Linley Valley in Nanaimo. Meet at the Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store (6314 Metral Drive in Nanaimo) at 9:00 am or at the parking along Burma Road off Lost Lake Road off at about 9:20 am.

The Tuesday Bird Walk on June 04, 2019 will be going to the Little Qualicum Fish Hatchery in north Qualicum Beach.  Meet at the Parksville Community Park (near the Lions Club playground parking area) in Parksville at 9:00 am, or at the Fish Hatchery ( Follow Claymore Road to the entrance to the Little Qualicum River Fish Hatchery (2.4 Km from highway 19a to the entrance to the fish hatchery just after crossing the bridge over Whiskey Creek) at about 9:20 a.m. 

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