Surf Scoters: Ralph Hocken Photo.
NANAIMO BIRD REPORT
” GO BIRDING--EXPLORE NATURE”
Please remember, when reporting a sighting to leave your name and phone number along with the date, the species and location of your sighting.
To report your sightings phone the Store at 250-390-3669 or e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca
Sunday April 01: 2012:
The Sunday bird walk went to Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo. The morning was sunny and quite warm in the sunshine. The highlights included seeing a large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers. We heard Marsh Wren sing all morning. There were large flocks of Violet-green Swallows flying over the marsh all morning. Spring has arrived!
Eighteen birders saw and heard the following forty-four species of birds:
Canada Geese, American Wigeon, Mallard, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Gadwall, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, Virginia Rail, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Anna's Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, Common Raven, Northwestern Crow, Brewer’s Blackbird, Violet-green Swallow, Tree Swallow, Eurasian-collared Dove, Bushtit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bewick’s Wren, Marsh Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Great Blue Heron, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch and House Sparrow.
A Great Horned Owl was seen in Yellowpoint Park in Cedar.
Saturday March 31:
A Mountain Bluebird was seen hawking insects at Sandwell Provincial Park on Gabriola Island.
A Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Townsend’s Warbler, a White-crowned Sparrow, a Varied Thrush and a Golden-crowned Kinglet were visiting feeders in a backyard along Granite Park Road in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.
Friday March 30:
A Yellow Warbler was seen at the top of Fifth Street and Highway 19 in Nanaimo.
Six Mute Swans were seen in the Ladysmith Harbour.
Evening Grosbeaks seen in a backyard at feeders at the end of Extension Road in south Nanaimo.
Thursday, March 29:
Western Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitcher and a Osprey were seen at Piper’s lagoon in Nanaimo.
Large rafts of Surf Scoters were seen on Hammond Bay in Nanaimo.
A Northern Shrike was seen at Buttertubs March in Nanaimo.
A Yellow Warbler was seen at the top of Vancouver Island University in a strand of conifers in Nanaimo.
Wednesday, March 28:
A Rufous Hummingbird was seen at feeders in Port Alberni.
Tuesday, March 27:
The Tuesday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The morning was cloudy with light rain showers and a strong biting wind off the Strait of Georgia. The highlight of the morning was the sighting of a flock of Bonaparte's Gulls flying low over the water down the Strait of Georgia. Hundreds of Brant Geese were flying in and landing near the shore all morning. Black-bellied Plovers, Black Oystercatchers and Dunlin were feeding along the shoreline. We saw several flocks of Golden-crowned Kinglets and Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the tall trees. To finish off a great morning of birding, a male Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) hawked insects from a nearby bush as we were doing the tally at the end of the walk.
Fifteen birders saw and heard the following forty-five species:
Brant, American Wigeon, Mallard, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Black-bellied Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Bonaparte's Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Common Murre, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Varied Thrush, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch.
Monday March 26:
A Yellow-rumped Warbler was seen at a suet feeder at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.
Sunday March 25:
A Rufous Hummingbird was spotted at feeders along Cross Road in Nanoose Bay.
A Tree Swallow was seen flying over Divers Lake in Nanaimo.
Twelve Trumpeter Swans were seen on Divers Lake in Nanaimo.
Three Mountain Bluebirds were seen at the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.
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Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, April 12th at 7pm at the Nanoose Library Centre on NW Bay Road for a talk and slide presentation by Wendy Huntbatch, “Parrots in the Wild & in Captivity”. Visitors and new members welcome. nanoosenaturalists.org
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Arrowsmith Naturalists Meeting,
Monday April 23, 7:30 p.m. Springwood School, Parksville.
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Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on the Sunday and Tuesday mornings. We leave from the Store at 9 A.M. Sunday Mornings and go to a different location in and around Nanaimo and from the Parksville Beach Community Park at 9 A.M. on Tuesdays and go to different areas in and around the Oceanside area.
************************************************************************************TThe Tuesday Birdwalk on April 03, 2012 will go to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach. We will meet at Parksville Bay at the Lion's Playground parking area in Parksville at 9:00 a.m. or at viewing platform off highway 19a and Garrett Road about 9:15.a.m
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There will be no Sunday Bird Walk on Easter Sunday April 08, 2012
The Sunday Bird Walks will resume on April 15, 2012. We will be going to The Nanaimo River Estuary on April 15.
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Good birding
Neil Robins
THE BACKYARD Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250-390-3669 thebackyard@shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com
