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 7 October 2012

Nanaimo bird report, October 07, 2012

                                              Black Oystercatchers: 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, October 07, 2012:
The Sunday bird walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. The morning
was sunny with a hint of autumn in the air.  Among the highlights was forty-five Black Oystercatchers and twenty Black Turnstones resting on the large rocks just offshore until a Bald Eagle flew over.  The Oystercatchers left and headed down the Strait of Georgia.
Eighteen birders saw and heard the following fifty-five species:
Canada Geese, Mallard,  Harlequin Duck,  Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter,  Common Mergansers, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Western Grebe,  Common Loon,  Pacific Loon,  Double-crested Cormorant,  Pelagic Cormorant,  Great Blue Heron,  Spotted Sandpiper,  Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstones,  Bald Eagle,  Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk,  Mew Gull,  California Gull,  Thayer’s Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Western Gull,  Bonaparte's Gull,  Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Steller’s Jay, Northwestern Crow,  Common Raven, European Starling,  Anna’s Hummingbird,  Belted Kingfisher, Pacific Wren, Bewick's Wren,  Brown Creeper,  Chestnut-backed Chickadee,  Golden-crowned Kinglet,  American Robin, Varied Thrush,  Red-winged Blackbird, Spotted Towhee,  White-crowned Sparrow,  Song Sparrow,  House Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Purple Finch, Red Crossbill and Pine Siskin.
Saturday, October 06:
A Barred Owl was in the trees on the left hand side of the trail leading back from Sunset Beach to the Neck Point Park parking lot in Nanaimo ( where the first trail goes off to the left).
Two Cackling Geese were in with a flock of Canada Geese at the Morningstar ponds at French Creek.

Friday October 05:
A Snow Goose  and Yellow-Rumped Warblers were spotted at the Morningstar Ponds in French Creek.

Monday, October 01:
Canada Geese, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Common Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Western Grebe,
Clark's Grebe, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Belted Kingfisher  were seen offshore at the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.
A  Bald Eagle, Killdeer, two Pectoral Sandpipers were seen at Holden Creek in south Nanaimo.

Long-billed Dowitcher, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bewick's Wren, European Starling, Savannah Sparrow and Song Sparrow were seen along the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.

Tuesday, October 02:
 The Tuesday bird walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. The morning was sunny with a strong biting wind off the Strait of Georgia. The surf was up and fiercely pounding the shore. The highlights included seeing several Pacific Loons in the waves with Double-crested Cormorants and Pelagic Cormorants flying up the Strait. We spotted Golden-crowned Kinglets in with the Chestnut-backed Chickadees feeding in the high trees.
Ten birders saw and heard the following thirty-six species:
Canada Geese, Mallard, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Common Mergansers, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Bonaparte's Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer’s Gull,
Herring Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Anna’s Hummingbird, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
Bewick's Wren, Pacific Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, American Robin,
European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco,
House Finch.
 Two Redheads, a large flock of Ring-necked Ducks and two Gadwalls were seen at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.
Wednesday, October 03: Eighteen California Quail were spotted walking along the 2800 block of Skrimshire Road in Shawnigan Lake.
Thursday, October 04:
Steller's Jays were back late last week and the Varied Thrush arrived en masse along Colbourne Drive in Nanaimo
A report from the Biological Station along Hammond Bay Road in Nanaimo:
The twelve Eurasian Collared-Dove population continues to grow and Ruby-Crowned Kinglets have arrived and are calling and singing.  An  Anna's Hummingbird male goes into display dives any time a ray of sunshine hits his sentry perch next to the feeder that he jealously guards. ************************************************************************
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 October 09, 2012 will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. We will meet at Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Playground at 9:00 A.M. or at corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood  Drive  at about 9:10 am.
*************************************************************************************The Sunday Bird Walk on Sunday October 14, 2012 will be going to the Nanoose Bay. We will meet at the bird store at 9:00 a.m. or the parking area behind the Church Camp off highway 19 and Arlington Road at about 9:15 a.m.
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Good birding
Neil Robins
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
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