Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, September 08, 2015

The first Tuesday bird walk for the fall went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.  The morning started out cloudy but soon turned sunny with a light breeze.  The highlights included seeing a Parasitic Jaeger flying low over the water heading down the Strait of Georgia.  Not far from shore, a mixed flock of Common Terns and Arctic Terns were circling and playing in the wind as they flew down the Strait.  We saw a hawk lift numerous gulls from a gravel bar near the ocean. The Hawk landed near the gulls and we had a chance to study it with our scopes. We concluded that the Hawk, with the long tail of an accipiter, broad head and bulky body and a white “eyebrow” above the eye was a Northern Goshawk.  A pair of American Kestrels put on a show for us as they chased each other over the meadow.

 

                    

          Parasitic Jaeger: Ralph Hocken Photo.

 

Twenty-three birders including visiting birders from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, along with two birders from the United Kingdom and Ontario who have just moved to this area, saw and heard the following forty species.

Common Loon

Canada Goose

Mallard

American Wigeon

Common Merganser

Northern Pintail 

Turkey Vulture

Bald Eagle

Northern Goshawk

American Kestrel

Killdeer

Greater Yellowlegs

Black-bellied Plover

Parasitic Jaeger

California Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Mew Gull

Common Terns

Artic Terns

Black Swift

Anna’s Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Yellow Warbler

Steller’s Jay

Common Raven

Northwestern Crow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

American Robin

European Starling

 Cedar Waxwing

White-crowned Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Savannah’s Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Spotted Towhee

House Finch

American Goldfinch: 

                                                                      

Common Terns: Ralph Hocken Photo

 

The Tuesday bird walk on September 15 will be going to the Little Qualicum River Estuary in Qualicum Beach.

Meet at the Parksville Bay Community Park at the Lions Club Playground parking lot at 9:00 am. Or at the Brant Viewing Platform in north Qualicum Beach at about 9:20 am

 

Good birding

Neil Robins

Parksville

Nanaimo Bird Report - September 6 2015

NANAIMO BIRD REPORT

“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 and location of your sighting.

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The Tuesday bird walks will resume on September 08, 2015

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NANAIMO BIRD REPORT

September 06 2015

Brown Booby (Photo: Gary Shugart)

This week there was no Sunday bird walk due to the long weekend, but reports of rare sightings have been coming in along the coast after that large wind storm we had earlier in the week. For example a brown booby was found in Washington after a storm. They are naturally found in tropical waters off the Gulf of California, and are found rarely on both coasts of the United States (allaboutbirds.org).

 September 13 2015 the walk will be heading to Neck Point Park (meet at the store at 9:00am or in the Neck Point parking lot at approximately 9:10am)

The Tuesday bird walk on September 08, 2015 will be going to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Meet at Parksville Bay at the parking lot near the Lions Club Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the end of Shelly Road (on the ocean side of highway 19a) at about 9:10 a.m.

Happy birding!

August 31 2015

Stellar Jay visiting suet feeder

September 3 2015

Elegant Tern (Photo: D. Donnecke)

The following birds were spotted at the Englishman River Estuary (Plummer rd. side)

Parasitic Jaeger
five Common Terns
two Elegant Terns 
Arctic Tern

September 5 2015

 A western grebe was spotted at the Englishman River Estuary (Plummer rd.)

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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. on 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.

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The Tuesday bird walk on September 08, 2015 will be going to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Meet at Parksville Bay at the parking lot near the Lions Club Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the end of Shelly Road (on the ocean side of highway 19a) at about 9:10 a.m.

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The Sunday bird walk on September 13 2015 will be going to Neck Point Park. Meet at the store at 9:00am, or at the Neck Point Park parking lot at approximately 9:10am.

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British Columbia Rare Bird Alert link--- http://www.bcbirdalert.blogspot.ca/
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Good birding!


THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE
6314 Metral Drive
Nanaimo  B.C.
V9T-2L8
Phone: 250-390-3669
Fax: 250-390-1633
Email:  thebackyard@shaw.ca
Blog:  www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com   

Fall 2015 Newsletter

Here is a sample of what is included in the Fall 2015 newsletter:

If you wish to download the PDF document for further reading here is the link:
Fall 2015 Newsletter

We would love to hear from you about what you think about this edition of the newsletter.
Email us at : thebackyard@shaw.ca

Happy birding!
Nicole.

Summer 2015 Newsletter

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!

 We are still working around technical issues regarding the store's seasonal newsletter. Here is a quick glimpse of what is included in our previous newsletter, I'm sorry that it doesn't have the ability to scroll to the side. But we do  have a link below that will allow you to download the document for your enjoyment.

For everyone that is interested in reading the newsletter here is a link to a google doc of the pdf: Summer 2015 Newsletter

We would love you hear feedback on this newsletter and we have our fall newsletter coming out soon!

Happy birding!

Nicole.

Rare Bird Alert

The following birds were seen off the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River on the Strait of Georgia today September 03, 2015.

Parasitic Jaeger
five Common Terns
two Elegant Terns 
Arctic Tern

Elegant Tern (center)

Photo by: D. Donnecke