Subject: [Tweeters] Nanaimo bird alert
Date: Apr 13 16:18:59 2008
From: The Backyard - thebackyard at shaw.ca
To report your sightings
please phone the Store at 390-3669
or e-mail us at thebackyard at shaw.ca
or call the Bird Alert at 390-3029
Check out the birdstore blog.
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com
Post your sightings on these site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcbirdingvanisland/messages
Birds of British Columbia:
http://www.geog.ubc.ca/biodiversity/efauna/SpeciesChecklists.html
International Birdwatching Guides
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com
Please remember, when reporting a sighting, to leave your name and phone
number, along with the date and location of your sighting.
Sunday April 13, 2008:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to McGregor Marsh in Nanaimo. Among the highlights
of the morning were the sightings of a pair of Bushtits working on their
sock shaped nest and a pair of Brown Creepers building their nest under the
bark of a tree. We two Townsend's Warblers gleaning insects from Arbutus
Trees. We heard and saw several Orange-crowned Warblers singing from high
perches. Two male Downy Woodpeckers spent a long time trying to get the
attention of a female Downy Woodpecker. We got a quick glance of a Hermit
Thrush on the low bushes.
Twenty-seven birders found the following forty-six species of birds:
Turkey Vulture, Canada Goose, Mallard, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck,
Bufflehead, American Wigeon, Bald Eagle, Merlin, California Quail,
Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird, Anna's Hummingbird, Downy
Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hutton's Vireo, Northwestern
Crow, Violet-green
Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Brown Creeper, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush,
Varied Thrush, American Robin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped
Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Fox
Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, European Starling, Red-winged
Blackbird, Red Crossbill, Purple Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch,
American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin.
A Vesper Sparrow was spotted on the fence along the Simpson Road at the
south end of the Nanaimo Airport.
Saturday April 12:
A pair of Cinnamon Teal were seen at the mouth of French Creek.
A Wilson's Snipe was seen in a yard at Qualicum Beach.
Friday April 11:
Four male American Goldfinch were seen coming to feeders in the 200 block of
Dawkins Lane.
Two American Goldfinch were seen at feeders in the 100 block of Meridian Way
in Parksville.
Thursday April 10:
A pair of Cinnamon Teal were seen at the mouth of French Creek.
A male American Goldfinch was seen along Superior Road in Lantzville.
Wednesday April 09:
A Bullock's Oriole was seen in the 1700 block of Centenary Drive in Nanaimo.
A Common Yellowthroat was spotted at Somenos Marsh in Duncan.
Band-tailed Pigeons were seen along Westwood Ridge in Nanaimo.
The Wednesday Bird Walk went to the Springwood Park in Parksville. Fourteen
birders found twenty-eight species of birds during the morning. Included in
the highlights was the sighting of a Brown Creeper flying into it's nest
under the bark of an Alder Tree. It flew out after a few minutes and then
went back into the nest several times. It was definitely getting the nest
ready for eggs. We found a round hole in a snag and then noticed a female
Northern Flicker looking down at us! We also saw an Orange-crowned Warbler
and heard a Cassin's Vireo, California Quail and a Ring-necked Pheasant
during the walk. There was a continual course of songs through out the
morning.
Fourteen birders found the following twenty-eight species of birds:
Ring-necked Pheasant, California Quail, Bald Eagle, Rufous Hummingbird,
Northern Flicker, Cassin's Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet,
American Robin,
European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow,
White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Red Crossbill,
Purple Finch, House Finch and Pine Siskin.
Tuesday April 08:
Two Evening Grosbeaks were seen along Stillin Drive in Ladysmith.
A juvenile Anna's Hummingbird was visiting flowering currant bushes in the
1000 block of Dunsmuir Crescent in Ladysmith.
A Say's Phoebe was seen in a backyard in the 4200 block of Discovery Drive
in Campbell River.
Monday April 07:
A Wilson's Snipe, a Ring-necked Pheasant and a Peregrine Falcon were seen at
the Cottonwood Golf Course in south Nanaimo.
A female Mountain Bluebird and a Savannah Sparrow were seen at the Nanaimo
River Estuary in south Nanaimo.
Sunday April 06:
A Western Kingbird was seen flycatching at the end of Sebastion Road in
Lantzville.
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
***********************************
The Nanoose Naturalists
Monthly Meeting
Thursday April 17, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monthly Meeting,
Monday April 28, 2008 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
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Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on the Sunday and
Wednesday 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
Visitor Centre in Parksville at 9 A.M. Wednesdays and go to different areas
in and around the Oceanside area.
-----------------------------------------------
The Wednesday Bird Walk on April 16, 2008 will be going to the Shelley Road
side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. We will meet at the
Parksville Visitor Centre at Highway 19A and Northwest Bay Road, near Craig
Bay in Parksville, at 9:00 A.M. or at the Oceanside end of Shelley Road in
Parksville at about 9:15 A.M.
*****************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on April 20, 2008, will be going to Neck Point Park in
Nanaimo. Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or at the parking lot at Neck
Point off Hammond Bay Road at about 9:20 A. M.
**************************************
Good Birding!
Neil Robins
Nanaimo