Nanaimo Weekly Bird Report November 28, 2019

The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store

Nanaimo Bird Report

November 28, 2019

“EXPLORE NATURE”---GO BIRDING:

To report your sightings phone the Store at 250-390-3669 or e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca. Please remember, when reporting a sighting to leave your name and phone number along with the date the species was seen and location of your sighting.
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Photo: Marsh Wren (R. Hocken)

Sunday November 26, 2019:

The Sunday Bird Walk went to Buttertubs Marsh. The weather was sunny and the winds were calm. We watched as a Brown Creeper cling to the underside of a branch for several minutes without moving and a Steller’s Jay perch quietly and still in another tree, when suddenly a Sharp-shinned Hawk flew out chasing a Red-wing Blackbird. Two Virginia Rails called in the corner of the West Marsh near Oak Valley Estates.

Thirteen birders saw the following 44 species:

Canada Geese

Mallard

American Wigeon

Wood Duck

Green-winged Teal

Bufflehead

Pied-billed Grebe

Hooded Merganser

Ring-necked Duck

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Merlin

Virginia Rail

Glaucous-winged Gull

Rock Pigeon

Anna’s Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Downy Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

Steller’s Jay

Common Raven

Northwestern Crow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Bushtit

Brown Creeper

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Marsh Wren

Bewick’s Wren

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird

House Finch

Purple Finch

American Goldfinch

Pine Siskin

House Sparrow

  

Photo: Male Wood Duck in eclipse/ non-breeding plumage (Google)

Monday November 25, 2019:

Peregrine Falcon was seen perched atop a tree by the Life Style fitness club on Stephenson Point road in Nanaimo.



Glaucous Gull juvenile was seen again at the Nanaimo River Estuary by the parking lot feeding on salmon. The bird was also seen and reported on November 24.



Hooded Merganser, large flock was seen at the Morningstar Pond in French Creek.



Tuesday November 26, 2019:

The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Nanoose Bay Estuary. The weather was wet with rain and wet snow, temperatures around 0 and the wind was calm. Song birds were very quiet with only a few species of sparrows being seen and House Finch. There were a few Bald Eagles around the estuary that keep the ducks busy.

Eight birders heard and saw the following 32 species:

Mallard

Green-winged Teal

Northern Pintail

American Widgeon

Common Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Hooded Merganser

Bufflehead

Common Loon

Horned Grebe

White-winged Scoter

Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Killdeer

Mew Gull

Thayer’s Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Belted Kingfisher

Anna’s Hummingbird

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Steller’s Jay

Northern Shrike

Bewick’s Wren

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

House Finch

Photo: Anna’s Hummingbird (P. Beaton)

Backyard Feeder Notes:

By Nicole Renaud

At my bird feeders I have two Northern Flickers that visit my feeders between 8:00am and 8:30am, never together but only 5 minutes apart. Lately they have shown a greater interest in my medium chip sunflower, which they happily slurp up with their tongue while all the smaller birds wait their turn. My pair of Flickers are easy to tell apart, as I have a male and a female that visit, and the male is easily identifiable by his red cheek markings. With the colder weather my Bewick’s Wren has returned to my feeders to happily pick up the smaller pieces of sunflower seed, or feast on peanut butter suet. I had to switch to an upside-down styled suet feeder because European Starlings have been devouring my suet since September and I didn’t expect my wren to adapt so easily to feeding upside down. But now I get immense entertainment watching his single leg pull-ups each time he wants a mouthful of suet, or the casual way he switches to the opposite leg so he can continue eating.

 

Photo: Bewick’s Wren (R. Hocken)

The Sunday Bird Walk December 1, 2019:

This week the Sunday bird walk will be going to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. Meet at The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store at 9:00am or meet at the parking lot at Neck Point Park at 9:15 am.

The Tuesday Bird Walk December 3, 2019:

This week the Tuesday Bird Walk will be going to Rathtrevor Beach. NEW MEETING LOCATION – meet at the Parksville Tourist Information Center parking lot, located by Hwy 19A, Northwest Bay road and Franklin’s Gull road in Parksville, at 9:00 am or meet at Rathtrevor Provincial Park main parking lot by the beach entrance at 9:10.

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

Good birding!

Colin Bartlett

The Backyard

Wildbird and Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive V9T-2L8
Phone: 250-390-3669

Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca
Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Nanaimo weekly Bird Report November 20, 2019

The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store

Nanaimo Bird Report

November 20, 2019

“EXPLORE NATURE”---GO BIRDING:

To report your sightings phone the Store at 250-390-3669 or e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca. Please remember, when reporting a sighting to leave your name and phone number along with the date the species was seen and location of your sighting.
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Sunday November 17, 2019:

The Sunday Bird Walk went to the Englishman River Estuary on the Plummer road side in Parksville. The weather was cool, cloudy, light wind and the tide was high. The walk started off very quiet but was busier as we walked out to the estuary. A Northern Harrier provided some action and perched on a post for all to see. There were also lots of American Widgeon, Common and Red-breasted Mergansers.  

Photo: Common Goldeneye (Ralph Hocken)

Ten birders saw and heard the following 46 species 

Canada Goose

American Widgeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Harlequin Duck

Surf Scoter

Black Scoter

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Black Oystercatcher

Killdeer

Bonaparte’s Gull

Mew Gull

Thayer’s Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

California Gull

Anna’s Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Steller’s Jay

Bewick’s Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

American Robin

Spotted Towhee

Golden-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Brewer’s Blackbird

House Finch

Purple Finch

Sunday November 17,  2019:



A Short-eared Owl and Western Meadowlarks were seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary.



Tuesday November 19, 2019:



An unconfirmed report of a Tropical Kingbird was reported in Port Hardy.

 

Tuesday November 19, 2019:

The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the other side of the Englishman River Estuary at the end of Shelley road in Parksville. Weather was a mix of sun and cloud, cool temperature with light winds and the tide was high. Highlights for the walk were 2 American Pipits, Northern Harrier and a Northern Shrike. To end the walk a flock of Trumpeters Swans flew over the parking lot.

Fifteen birders heard and saw the following 51 species:

Canada Geese

Trumpeter Swan

American Widgeon

Eurasian Widgeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Merganser

Common Loon

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Cooper’s Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Mew Gull

Thayer’s Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Anna’s Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Northern Shrike

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Steller’s Jay

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Bushtit

Bewick’s Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

American Robin

Varied Thrush

European Starling

American Pipit

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Fox Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Brewer’s Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

House Finch

Pine Siskin

House Sparrow

Photo: Brown Creeper (Ralph Hocken)

Backyard Feeder Notes:

So an update on the backyard battles with the four legged friends. Moving the shepherd hook a little farther away from the railing has stopped the raccoons but squirrel can easily jump this distance. So to save some seed for the birds I changed my feeder to the squirrel buster and now I do not see squirrels in my feeder all the time. I just wish I was around to watch the first time the squirrel got on the feeder and see its reaction. All the birds have taken to the new feeder except for the towhee which has tried but is not sure of the feeder yet. So it is feeding under the  feeder and amongst the shrubs. As for the suet I changed to the hot pepper suet and that has stopped the squirrel as well and now the suet lasts about four days instead of two. As revenge the squirrel decided to destroy the wood suet feeder. Now when I watch the bird feeders all I enjoy is watching the birds, although the squirrels did provide some exercise for us a we chased them out of the feeder.

Finally saw a Varied Thrush in the backyard on Sunday. They are a beautiful bird and it’s great to hear them first thing in the morning especially when it is foggy. A couple of other birds to watch for at the suet feeder are Townsend’s Warbler and Bewick’s Wren. The Bewick’s Wren is a common backyard bird but does not bother with the seed feeders and the Townsend’s Warbler will winter here and when insects are tough to find they will feed on suet as an alternate food source.

Photo: Bewick’s Wren (Ralph Hocken)

 

The Sunday Bird Walk November 24, 2019:

This week the Sunday bird walk will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.

Meet at The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store at 9:00am or meet at the end of Buttertubs drive off Bowen road at 9:10 am.

  

The Tuesday Bird Walk November 26, 2019:

This week the Tuesday Bird Walk will be going to the Nanoose Bay estuary.

NEW MEETING LOCATION – meet at the Parksville Tourist Information Center parking lot, located by Hwy 19A, Northwest Bay road and Franklin’s Gull road in Parksville, at 9:00 am or meet at the end of Nanoose Beach road at 9:15.

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

Good birding!

Colin Bartlett

Nanaimo Weekly Bird Report November 13, 2019

The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store

Nanaimo Bird Report

November 13, 2019

“EXPLORE NATURE”---GO BIRDING:

To report your sightings phone the Store at 250-390-3669 or e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca. Please remember, when reporting a sighting to leave your name and phone number along with the date the species was seen and location of your sighting.
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Sunday November 10, 2019:

The Sunday Bird Walk was cancelled for Remembrance Day.

Photo: Song Sparrow (Ralph Hocken)

 

Tuesday November 12, 2019:

The Tuesday Bird Walk went to Little Qualicum River Estuary with a stop at the Brant Viewing platform at the end of Qualicum Beach. The weather started off with few showers and cleared as the walk progressed. Temperature was mild, the wind was calm as were the seas. There was plenty to see on the water, Pigeon Guillemot, Common Murre, Common Goldeneye, and American Widgeon. Also seen across the strait were 4 Humpback whales.

Seven birders heard and saw the following 52 species:

Canada Geese

American Widgeon

Mallard

Green-winged Teal

Harlequin Duck

Surf Scoter

White-wing Scoter

Black Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Bufflehead

Barrow’s Goldeneye

Common Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Merganser

Pacific Loon

Common Loon

Red-necked Grebe

Horned Grebe

Pelagic Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Bald Eagle

Copper’s Hawk

Merlin

Killdeer

Black Turnstone

Black Bellied Plover

Black Oystercatcher

Bonaparte’s Gull

Mew Gull

Thayer’s Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Pigeon Guillemot

Common Murre

Marbled Murrlets

Eurasian-collared Dove

Anna’s Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Northern Shrike

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Brewer’s Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

House Finch

Photo: Northern Shrike (John Morrison)

Backyard Feeder Notes:

Well the squirrels and raccoons won the last battle of the bird feeders so now it is time to bring out the big guns, figuratively. So something has been chewing through the string on my hanging feeder, squirrel, so I used wire the hang the feeder but something then pulled the feeder down and broke the wire, raccoon. It was easy for the raccoon to reach from the deck railing and hang on the feeder till it broke. An easy fix is to just move the shepherd hook a foot farther back from the railing and this should fix them. Squirrels are a little more agile so I have decided to go squirrel proof feeder to give the birds a chance at the seed. Also the squirrel has decided it really likes the suet so I have gone to the hot pepper suet instead of the tasty peanut butter to deter it. FYI, squirrels have taste buds but bird do not so they still get the high protein of the peanut butter suet but has a little kick for the squirrel. So if all goes well this next battle round should be mine.

Otherwise still plenty of the usual visitors, juncos, towhee, Song Sparrow, House Finch, chickadee, flicker but still no Varied Thrush. The Pileated Woodpecker and Bushtits have left me and that may be of the earlier cat situation but hopefully will be back soon.

Photo: internet

The Sunday Bird Walk November 17, 2019:

This week the Sunday bird walk will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.

Meet at The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store at 9:00am or meet at the trail entrance on Plummer Road at 9:20 am.

The Tuesday Bird Walk November 12, 2019:

This week the Tuesday Bird Walk will be going to the Shelley Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.

NEW MEETING LOCATION – meet at the Parksville Tourist Information Center parking lot, located by Hwy 19A, Northwest Bay road and Franklin’s Gull road in Parksville, at 9:00 am or meet at the Shelley Road entrance to the park at 9:10.

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

 

Good birding!

Colin Bartlett

The Backyard

Wildbird and Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive V9T-2L8
Phone: 250-390-3669

Email: thebackyard@shaw.ca
Blog: www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com