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 March 2017

Nanaimo bird report, March 19, 2017


Nanaimo bird report”

“Explore Nature--Go Birding”

To report your sightings call the birdstore at 250-390-3669 or e-mail thebirdstore@shaw.ca
Please remember when reporting a sighting please leave your name and phone number with the date and location of the sightings.

Sunday Bird Walk, March 19, 2017   
The Sunday bird walk went to Bowen Park in Nanaimo. The morning was sunny with calm winds.  A Yellow-rumped Warbler was heard and then seen at the start of the walk.  An Orange-crowned Warbler was heard singing.  We saw a Pileated Woodpecker working on his nest hole and two other Pileated Woodpeckers hammering a snag.  Seven Brown Creepers were seen throughout the morning climbing up the trunks of trees.  Bewick's Wrens and Pacific Wrens were seen several times and they entertained us all morning.  Two Downy Woodpeckers were pecking at a tree very close to the trail,  giving us a great show.
Yellow-rumped Warbler: Ralph Hocken Photo:

Sixteen birders saw and heard the following Twenty-seven species:
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Glaucous-winged Gull
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
 Red-breasted Nuthatch
 Anna's Hummingbird
Pileated Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
 Northern Flicker
 Red-breasted Sapsucker
California Quail
Rock Dove
Northwestern Crow
 Common Raven
 Yellow-rumped Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Bewick's Wren
 Pacific Wren
Bushtits         
                                           Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
 Brown Creeper
 American Robin
Varied Thrush
Spotted Towhee
 Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco

Saturday, March 18, 2017
Four Band-tailed Pigeons were seen along Meridian Way in Parksville.

Parksville/Qualicum Beach, Tuesday Bird Walk, March 14, 2017
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Brant Viewing Platform and the Little Qualicum River Estuary in north Qualicum Beach. The morning started out cloudy with light rain, but the sun came out, making for one of the first sunny walks in a long while!  Thousands of Surf Scoters, twenty Long-tail Ducks, several Lesser Scaup and hundreds of Greater Scaup were seen from the viewing platform.  Several Bald Eagles were seen resting on a log along the shore.  A Western Gull and thousand's of Mew Gulls, California Gulls, Thayer’s Gulls and Glaucous-winged Gulls were flying and resting on the shoreline and gravel bars all morning.  Hundreds of Common Goldeneye and Barrows Goldeneye were seen on the Strait just beyond the gravel bar at the estuary.  A large number of Common Mergansers’ were roosting on the River.  We spotted a Cooper’s Hawk perched on a tall Conifer Tree on the estuary giving us great views. There were an estimated three thousand singing Brant Geese not fifty feet from the shore----a great sight!

Brant Geese: Ralph Hocken Photo.

 Fourteen birders including two visiting birders from Ottawa saw and heard the following forty-three species;
Brant
Canada Geese
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
American Widgeon
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tail Duck
Lesser Scaup
Greater Scaup
Bufflehead
Northern Pintail
Barrows Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Horned Grebe
Common Merganser
Common Loon
Pacific loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
                                             Sanderling                                                           Killdeer
Black Oystercatcher
Western Gull
Mew Gull
California Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Northwestern Crow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
American Robin
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch
 House Sparrow
California Gull: Ralph Hocken Photo

Tuesday, March 14:
A first of the year a Turkey Vulture was seen above the Waterline trail off Nanaimo Lakes Road in Nanaimo. 

Two Violet-green Swallows were seen above Arrowsmith Road in French Creek.

Monday, March 13:
A Ring-necked Pheasant was seen in the Sherwood Forest area of Nanaimo.

Bird walks this week.

The Tuesday bird walk on March 21, 2015 will be going to Columbia Beach.  Meet at the Parksville Community Park at the parking lot near the Lions Club Kids Playground at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking area off Admiral Tryon Blvd. (Turn off highway 19a at Columbia Drive, turn right at Admiral Tryon Blvd. go about one hundred yards to the parking area)

The Sunday bird walk on March 26, 2017 will be going to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo. Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 a.m. or at the main parking lot at Neck Point (off Hammond Bay Road) at at about 9:15 a.m.

Revive the Nanaimo Naturalists’ Club
Monday April 3rd 2017 at 7 PM  Vancouver Island University,
Building 180 Room 134.
 All welcome
Enjoy a great presentation by John Neville and help to get a naturalists’ club going again in Nanaimo

Good birding
Neil Robins

THE BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE
314 Metral Drive
Nanaimo
  V9T-2L8
Phone: 250-390-3669
Fax: 250-390-1633

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