Nanaimo Weekly Bird Report December 6, 2019

The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store

Nanaimo Bird Report

December 6, 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.
*********************************************************



Saturday November 30, 2019:

3 – Short-eared Owls were seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary.

Friday December 7, 2019:

2 – Evening Grosbeaks were seen in the French Creek area.

Photo: Evening Grosbeak (J. Purves)

Sunday December 1, 2019:

The Sunday Bird Walk went to Neck Point Park. Weather was overcast, temperature 2 degrees with a light breeze. During the walk the weather changed a little with a cool wind starting to blow and showers that turned to slush. The woods were quiet with few calls and sightings but the water was calm with steady activity.

Eleven birders saw the following 36 species:

Harlequin Duck

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Bufflehead

Common Merganser

Black Oystercatcher

Spotted Sandpiper

Rhinoceros Auklet

Marbled Murrelet

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Pelagic Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Bald Eagle

Mew Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Belted Kingfisher

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Common Raven

Steller’s jay

Anna’s Hummingbird

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Pacific Wren

Bewick’s Wren

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

American Robin

European Starling

Brown Creeper

Spotted Towhee

Dark-eyed Junco

Pine Siskin

Fox Sparrow

Photo: Steller’s Jay (R. Hocken)

Tuesday December 3, 2019:

The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Rathtrevor Provincial Park. Weather started off with a little fog and no wind but the wind started to increase near the end of the walk with showers. A large flock of Surf Scoters with a few White-winged and Black Scoters mixed in were seen in the bay along with a few Bufflehead and 4 Brant flying by.

Fourteen birders heard and saw the following 38 species:

Brant

American Widgeon

Mallard

Harlequin Duck

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Black Scoter

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Common Merganser

Common Loon

Pacific Loon

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Marbled Murrelet

Common Murre

Pelagic Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Mew Gull

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Thayer’s Gull

Black Turnstone

Dunlin

Bald Eagle

Common Raven

Northern Flicker

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Anna’s Hummingbird

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Pacific Wren

Spotted Towhee

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Photo: Golden-crowned Kinglet (R. Hocken)

Backyard Feeder Notes:

With that blast of cold weather last week we received many inquiries of how to keep the hummingbird feeders from freezing, so here are a few ideas if your hummingbird feeders are freezing. First there is the Hummer Hearth hummingbird feeder heater that attaches to the bottom of your feeder. It works best on flat bottom feeders but will work on most hummingbird feeders. Or bring your feeder in after dark each night and hang back out about 6:45 am for the birds. If you have any incandescent Christmas lights you’re not using, ball them up and hang under or above your feeder to produce enough heat to help keep the feeder from freezing. For those hummingbird feeders with the bottles, try covering the bottle with a wool sock or some kind of insulation to prevent freezing. And if it gets to cold at night use a disposable hand warmer under the sock to help add some warmth.

Photo: Anna’s Hummingbird (M. Hamilton)

The Sunday Bird Walk December 8, 2019:

This week the Sunday bird walk will be going to the Nanaimo River Estuary.

Meet at The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store at 9:00am or meet at the parking at the end of Raines Road at 9:20am.

The Tuesday Bird Walk December 10, 2019:

This week the Tuesday Bird Walk will be going to the Little Qualicum River Estuary.

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 at the Brant viewing stand at the north end of Qualicum Beach at 9:15 or 9:30 at the parking area on Surfside Drive off of Kinkade Road.

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


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