The Nanaimo Bird Alert
provided by
The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store
To report your sightings phone
The Bird Alert at: 390-3029 or
The Store at: 390-3669
e-mail: thebackyard at shaw.ca

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

Monday August 09, 2004
:RARE BIRD ALERT:
A WANDERING TATTLER first seen on the Sunday bird walk to Englishman River Estuary Plummer Road side was again seen today in the same area-- look from the boardwalk towards the gravel bars near the Art Gallery. The tattler was seen in with a flock of Black-bellied Plovers.

Sunday August 08:
The Sunday bird walk went to the Englishman River Estuary and found the following fifty-six species:
Pelagic Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Mallard
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
Common Merganser
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Black-bellied Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Wandering Tattler
Spotted Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Baird's Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
California Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
Pigeon Guillemot
Band-tailed Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Willow Flycatcher
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Barn Swallow
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

Wednesday August 04:
A CHIPPING SPARROW was seen feeding a BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD chick in the Eagle Quest area of Qualicum Beach.


Sunday August 01:
"RARE BIRD ALERT"
A WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER was seen at the Holden Creek side of the Nanaimo
River Estuary. The bird was observed from less than ten feet away for five
minutes. It was associating with about 80 WESTERN and 15 LEAST SANDPIPERS
and a single BAIRD'S SANDPIPER in the deep pool between the two flooded
fields. Two SEMIPALIMATED PLOVERS, two GREATER & LESSER YELLOWLEGS, three
BAIRDS SANDPIPERS, one SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, over 500 WESTERN SANDPIPERS
and over 250 LEAST SANDPIPERS were also seen in the same area.

An OSPREY was seen near Green Lake in north Nanaimo.

A PARASITIC JAEGER, two RHINOCEROS AUKLETS, and over 400 gulls including
BONAPARTS, CALIFORNIA and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS in a flock were seen off
shore at Qualicum Beach.

Five COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were spotted above Merdian way in Parksville.

Friday July 30:
A VESPER SPARROW was seen near the viewing tower on the Shelly Road side of
Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.

A GREEN HERON was seen flying down French Creek on the Columbia Beach side.

A SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER was seen on the mud flats at Englishman River
Estuary in Parksville.

Thursday July 29:
Twenty-three CALIFORNIA QUAIL was sighted at Dashwood north of Qualicum
Beach.

Friday July 16:
Two SILVER PHEASANTS were seen in the 5600 block of Hiquebran Road in
Nanaimo.

For further information on these sightings or for help in identifying a
bird please call:

The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store
at (250) 390-3669
Toll Free at 1-888-249-4145
e-mail: thebackyard at shaw.ca

This Sunday Bird walk on August 15, will be going to Legacy Marsh in upper Lantzville, meet at the store at 8:30 a.m. or at the power lines at the bottom of Normarel Road at about 8:45 a.m.

Good Birding!
Neil Robins
Nanaimo
British Columbia