Parksville/Qualicum Beach Tuesday bird walk, September 30, 2014

The Tuesday bird walk went to Columbia Beach in French Creek.  The morning was sunny, but with a cool wind off the water.  We had our first sighting this fall of some Long-tailed Ducks.  A Red-necked Phalarope and Ancient Murrelet were also spotted.  Both Western Grebe and Clark's Grebe were seen not too far off shore.  7 species of gulls were seen at the Pebble Beach end of the walk.

Long-tailed Duck -  Ralph Hocken Photo

13 birders, including visitors from Port Coquitlam and Regina saw or heard the following 43 species:
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Long-tailed Duck
Red-necked Phalarope
American Wigeon
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Red-breasted Merganser
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Western Grebe
Clark's Grebe
Double-creasted Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Black Oystercatcher
Black Turnstone
Bonaparte's Gull
Mew Gull
California Gull
Heermann's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Thayer's Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Pigeon Guillemot
Ancient Murrelet
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Brown Creeper
Anna's Hummingbird

The Tuesday bird walk on October 7, 2014 will be going to the Shelley Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.  Meet at Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Club Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at parking lot at the end of Shelley Road at about 9:10 a.m.

Good birding,
Rhonda Fleming
Parksville