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 19 September 2010

Nanaimo bird report, September 19, 2010


Yellow rumped Warbler: Ralph Hocken Photo

NANAIMO BIRD REPORT
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To report your sightings
phone the Store at 250-390-3669
e-mail us at thebackyard@shaw.ca

Also check the birdstore blog for the latest bird alerts and updates:
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

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

Birding in Central and South America:
www.wildbirdtours.ca

Identify backyard birds:
National Geographic Bird Identifier Site
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birding/backyard-bird-identifier/

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

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

Birdwatching contacts and information find a local birder to go birdwatching with: http://www.birdingpal.org/

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

Sunday September 19, 2010:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River Estuary. The morning was cloudy and cool with a breeze blowing off the water.
Five birders including a visiting birder from Nova Scotia saw and heard the following forty-one species of birds:
Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Surf Scoter, Common Loon, Great Blue Heron,
Bald Eagle, Barred Owl, Greater Yellowlegs, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Cassin's Vireo, Steller's Jay, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bushtits, Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, American Robin, European Starling, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hutton's Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Savannah Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, House Finch and Purple Finch.

Friday September 17:
"Rare Bird Alert"
A Juvenile Ruff was seen at Whiffen Spit in Sooke, on the west side of Vancouver Island.

Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal,
Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Common Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Merlin, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Cassin's Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Spotted Towhee, Cedar Waxwing, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch, House Finch and American Goldfinch were seen at the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River in Parksville.

Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Bonaparte's Gull, California Gull and a Thayer's Gull were seen along the gravel bar at Pebble Beach.

A Red-breasted Merganser, a Greater Yellowlegs three Cedar Waxwings and a Sharp-shinned Hawk were seen at French Creek.

A Steller's Jay was spotted along Country Hills Drive in Cinnabar Valley.

Thursday September 16:
Twenty-four Sandhill Cranes were seen flying down the Courtenay River towards Comox Harbour.

A Wandering Tattler and four Black Turnstones were seen today near the point at Neck Point Park in Nanaimo.

An Anna's Hummingbird and a Downy Woodpecker were seen on the Campus at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk was spotted on a birdbath in a backyard along Hamilton Avenue in Parksville.

Thirty Sandhill Cranes were seen, where the river meets the ocean south of Courtenay off Highway 19A.

A Rufous Hummingbird is visiting feeders along Aulds Road and Arbutus Road in Lantzville.

Tuesday September 14:
A Parasitic Jaeger was seen chasing four Common Terns on the Strait of Georgia off Marine Drive near the Englishman River Estuary, Plummer Road side in Parksville.

The Tuesday bird walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. The morning was sunny and comfortable with calm winds. We saw a Townsend's Warbler and a Yellow Warbler near the start of the walk. But the big highlight of the morning was the sighting of two Black-and-white Warblers in with a large mixed flock of Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black-throated Gray Warblers, Bushtits and Warbling Vireos as they moved along the river feeding in the bushes. We watched the flock for about a hour and we were able to compare the Black-and-white Warblers with the Black-throated Gray Warblers. Seeing the fall migrants moving through the bushes along the river made for an excellent morning of birding. We spotted a Pectoral Sandpiper on the edge of the mudflats, near the viewing platform. Harlequin Ducks, Surf Scoters, Common Loons, a Red-necked Grebe, a Double-crested Cormorant, a Pelagic Cormorant, a Pigeon Guillemot and two Marbled Murrelet were seen on the Strait of Georgia. We had great close looks at a male Anna's Hummingbird near the end of the walk.
Sixteen birders saw and heard the following fifty-seven species of birds:
Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Common Merganser, Ring-necked Pheasant, California Quail, Common Loon, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle,
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Merlin, Killdeer, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Mew Gull, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Anna's Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Warbling Vireo, Steller's Jay, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's Wren, American Robin, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warble, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler,
Black-and-white Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Brewer's Blackbird, Purple Finch, House Finch.

Monday September 13:
The Wandering Tattler was seen again at Sunset Beach, Neck Point in Nanaimo.

Sunday September 12:
A Pileated Woodpecker was seen on a utility pole in the 600 Block of Chestnut Street in Nanaimo.

Saturday September 11:
An Osprey, a Stellar Jay and a male Anna's hummingbird were seen from Sea Otter Place in Nanoose Bay.

Friday September 10:
An Albino Robin was seen in the 700 block of Northumberland Avenue 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 meeting.
October 14th at 7 pm
in the Library on Northwest Bay Road.
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The Arrowsmith Naturalists meeting
Guest speaker--Dr. John Gunton "Geohazards of the Georgia Basin".
Monday, September 27th at 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 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.
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The Tuesday Bird Walk on September 21, 2010. will be going to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville.
We will meet at the Parksville Beach Community Park, at the parking area in front of the Lions Playground at 9 A.M. or at the main parking area at Rathtrevor Park at about 9:10 A.M. Please note there is a parking fee for the park.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on September 26, 2010 will be going to the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.
We will meet at The Backyard Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or at the end of Raines Road at about 9:30 A.M.
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Good birding
Neil Robins

THE BACKYARD
Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250.390.3669
250.390.1633 fax
thebackyard@shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

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