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 9 January 2011

NANAIMO BIRD REPORT JANUARY 09/2011


Northern Shrike: Ralph Hocken Photo.

NANAIMO BIRD REPORT
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 January 09, 2011:
The Sunday bird walk went to Nanoose Bay. The day was clear, sunny and
relatively warm given a couple of inches of fresh snow.
Four determined birders saw the following 27 species of birds:
Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail,
Green-winged Teal, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Barrow's
Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Double-crested Cormorant,
Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Killdeer, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull,
Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, American Robin, European Starling,
Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and
Red-winged Blackbird.
Thanks, Graham!

Saturday January 08:
A flock of Golden-crowned Kinglet were seen in a yard along Dickson Road in
Nanaimo.

Monday, January 24th
The Northern Mockingbird is still along Dumond Road near Eyelash Road in
Nanaimo.

A Barred Owl was seen at Morel Sanctuary in Nanaimo.

An Anna's Hummingbird is visiting feeders along Morrel Circle in Nanaimo.

Two Evening Grosbeak were seen visiting feeders along Meridian Way in
Parksville.

Friday January 07:
A Northern Shrike was spotted as it perched on a Cherry Tree in the 100
block of Meridian Way in Parksville.

Two Bald Eagle on and near Osprey nest near Highway 19 and Chase River.

A Barred Owl was calling in Colliery Dam Park and was heard from Harewood
Mines Road side in Nanaimo.

Two Peregrine Falcon were mobbing a Red-tailed Hawk over the Cottonwood
Golf Course in south Nanaimo.

Tuesday January 04:
The Tuesday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The
morning was cool, but not too windy and the rain held off until 11:30. The
highlights of the morning included seeing two Hermit Thrush along the
forest edge. We watched a large flock of Golden-crowned Kinglet and
Ruby-crowned Kinglet quickly moving and feeding through the forest.
We saw over three hundred Dunlin feeding along the shoreline and then
suddenly fly up in a cloud to find another spot along the shore.
It was a good morning of birding as eleven birders including two visitors
from Manitoba, saw and heard the following forty-one species of birds:
Canada Goose, Brant, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Surf Scoter,
Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser,
Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked
Grebe, Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald
Eagle, Black-bellied Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Dunlin,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
Hermit Thrush, American Robin, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song
Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Pine Siskin.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk was seen sitting on a fence in the 5400 block of
Altavista Drive in North Nanaimo. A Downy Woodpecker was keeping perfectly
still on the hidden side of a garden post while the Hawk sat on the fence.
When the Hawk moved to a different spot, the Woodpecker shifted over
slightly to maintain his hiding position.

Monday January 03:
A Virginia Rail was seen feeding and searching for food for over four
minutes, out in the open about seven feet away from two birders in the
Richardson Creek area of Cinnabar Valley in south 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
**********************************
Nanoose Field Naturalists Meeting.
Thursday, January 13th, 7 pm in the Library on Northwest Bay Road,
AGM & Members Night.
Keynote presentation by Don Lawseth and Kari Nelson: "Wildlife in Various
Biogeoclimatic Zones of Australia"
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists meeting
Monday January 24, 7.30 pm at Springwood School in Parksville.
January is Members' night with photos, stories and a raffle.
**********************************
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.
**************************************************************
The Tuesday Bird Walk on January 11, 2011 will be going to the Shelly Road
side of the Englishman River Estuary 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 end of Shelly Road on the Oceanside of
Highway 19A at about 9: 15 A.M.
*******************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on January 16, 2011 will be going to Neck Point Park.
We will meet at the Backyard Store at 9:00A.M. or the parking area at Neck
Point Park at 9:15 A.M.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins

THE BACKYARD
Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250.390.36621
250.390.1633 fax
thebackyard@shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

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