The Backyard's Weekly Bird Walk locations are found in the Backyard Bird Report at the very end of the most recent report. Any cancellations will be posted by 8am the day of the walk.

Sunday 6 April 2008

Mountain Bluebird: Ralph Hocken Photo.

To report your sightings
please phone the Store at 390-3669
or e-mail us at
thebackyard@shaw.ca
or call the Bird Alert at 390-3029

Check out the birdstore blog.
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Post your sightings on these site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcbirdingvanisland/messages

Birds of British Columbia:
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/SpeciesChecklists.html


International Birdwatching Guides
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com

Please remember, when reporting a sighting, to leave your name and phone
number, along with the date and location of your sighting.

Sunday April 06, 2008:
The Sunday bird walk went to Nanaimo River Estuary in Nanaimo. Among the
highlights of the morning were the sightings of a Short-eared Owl and seven Western Meadowlarks on the Estuary. On the way out of the Estuary several of us saw three Lesser Yellowlegs and a Yellow-rumped Warbler feeding on a gravel bar on the Nanaimo River. Four birders stopped at the south end of the Nanaimo Airport and found one female and three mal Mountain Bluebirds.

Thirteen birders found the following Forty species of birds:
Canada Goose, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Common Mergansers, Northern Pintail, Buffhead, Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Short-eared Owl,Turkey Vulture, Lesser Yellowlegs, Killdeer, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Western Meadowlark, Violet-green Swallows, Bushtits, Yellow-rumped Warbler, American Robin, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos, Red-winged Blackbird, Purple Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch and Pine Siskin.
A Three-toed Woodpecker was seen in a yard along Gulfview Drive in north Nanaimo.
A Yellow-rumped Warbler was seen at suet feeders along Lakeshore Drive in Cinnabar Valley in south
Nanaimo.

Saturday April 05:
Six Mountain Bluebirds were spotted at the south end of the Nanaimo Airport along the fence on Simpson Road.

Friday April 04:
Fifty Canada Geese in a "V" formation were seen leading a flock of thirty Trumpeter Swans also in a "V" formation, the flocks were low and spectacular.

Thursday April 03:
A male and female Mountain Bluebirds were seen along Simpson Road at the south end of the Nanaimo Airport.
Wednesday April 02:
The Wednesday Bird Walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Nine birders found forty-six species of birds. Among the highlights of the morning was the sighting of a three male Rufous Hummingbirds perched on a near by bush. Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Purple Finch, House Finch, White-crowned Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Spotted Towhees and California Quail serenaded us throughout the morning with courting songs--a true sign that spring is here! A female Red Crossbill landed on a hydro pole along the road and we watched as she ate insects from the hydro pole.
Nine birders found the following forty-six species:
Canada Goose, Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, California Quail, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe,
Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, European Starling, Spotted Towhee,
Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch, House Finch, Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin and House Sparrow.

Tuesday April 01:
A Townsend's Solitaire was seen in a backyard in the 300 block of Clarkson Place in Parksville.

Monday March 31:
A Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Red-breasted Sapsucker and a Rufous Hummingbird are visiting feeders in the 4700 block of Shell Beach Road in Ladysmith.

Friday March 28:
Silver Pheasants were seen in a backyard along Bayshore Drive and at the south end of Waldbank Road in Nanaimo.

For further information on these sightings or for help in identifying a
bird please call The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store
@ (250) 390-3669
Toll Free @ 1-888-249-4145
e-mail: thebackyard@shaw.ca
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The Nanoose Naturalists
Monthly Meeting
Thursday April 17, 2008 @ 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monthly Meeting,
Monday April 28, 2008@ 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
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Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on the Sunday and
Wednesday 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 Visitor Centre in Parksville at 9 A.M. Wednesdays and go to different areas in and around the Oceanside area.
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The Wednesday Bird Walk on April 09, 2008 will be going to Springwood Park in Parksville. We will meet at the Parksville Visitor Centre at Highway 19A and Northwest Bay Road, near Craig Bay in Parksville, at 9:00 A.M. or at the west end of Despard Road off Highway 4a in Parksville at about 9:15 A.M.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on April 13, 2008, will be going to McGregor Marsh in Nanaimo. Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or at the top of Rutherford Road across from the Quilted Duck at about 9:20 A. M.
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Good Birding!
Neil Robins
Nanaimo


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