Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store
Nanaimo Bird Alert

To report your sightings
phone the Store at 250-390-3669
e-mail us at thebackyard at shaw.ca
call the Bird Alert at 250-390-3029
or www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Also check the birdstore blog for the latest bird alerts and updates:
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, name and location of your sighting.

Sunday,June 22, 2008:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to Hemer Provincial Park in Cedar. Among the
highlights were the sightings of a Barred Owl, several Brown Creepers and a
Black Swift. We also saw several Cliff Swallows, Barn Swallows and a
nesting pair of Vesper Sparrows at a barnyard along Quenelle Road in Cedar.
Thirty birders found the following thirty-three species of birds.
Wood Duck, Merlin, Barred Owl, Rufous Hummingbird, Downy
Woodpecker,Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Common Raven,
Violet-green Swallow, Tree Swallow, Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow,
Cliff Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown
Creeper, Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Marsh Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet,
Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-throated
Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Western Tanager,
Spotted Towhee,
Song Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird and
Purple Finch.

Saturday, June 21:
A Ring-billed Gull was seen in Shirley on the west coast of Vancouver
Island.

Friday, June 20:
RARE BIRD ALERT
A WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH was seen and heard along Grant Road near French
Road in Sooke. The White-Breasted Nuthatch is not normally found on
Vancouver Island. It is a resident of the interior of British Columbia and
east of the Rockies.
A Mourning Dove was spotted in Sooke.
A Virginia Rail was heard near the Beaver Ponds at Morrell Wildlife
Sanctuary in Nanaimo.
A House Wren was seen and heard in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.
A Common Nighthawk was seen over Dunsmuir Crescent in Ladysmith.

Thursday June 19:
Two fledglings and two adult Barn Owls left their nest today near Quenelle
Lake in Cedar.
Twenty-six Heermann's Gulls, a nesting pair of Chipping Sparrows, a singing
Willow Flycatcher, an American Goldfinch, Yellow, Yellow-rumped,
Orange-crowned and Wilson's Warblers, Common Yellow-throats, and a nesting
pair of Hairy Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers were seen at Jordan River.
A nesting pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers were seen at Shirley, on the west
coast of Vancouver Island.
A Great Horned Owl was seen in a backyard along Waldbank Road near Sealand
Park in Nanaimo. A word of caution--a Cougar has been sighted in this area.
A Peregrine Falcon and four Osprey were seen at Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo.
Pine Siskins and Western Tanagers are visiting feeders in a yard in
Lantzville.

Tuesday, June 17:
Barred Owls were in a yard overlooking Departure Bay Creek in Nanaimo.

Monday June 16:
An Osprey was spotted in downtown Nanaimo over Albert and Dunsmuir Streets.

Sunday June 15:
RARE BIRD ALERT
White-winged Crossbills were heard singing about twenty miles west of
Chemainus. White-winged Crossbills are not normally found on Vancouver
Island, however they are common in most other areas of Canada Peregrine
Falcon was seen at Duke Point near the Ferry Terminal in south Nanaimo.
Three Osprey were seen flying over the Townsite area near Mansfield Park in
Nanaimo.
Two Blue-winged Teal were seen on a wetland nest Crofton.

Thursday, June 12:
An American Dipper and a Red-breasted Sapsucker were seen near Witchcraft
Lake along Benson View Road in Nanaimo.
Three Osprey were spotted at Buttertubs Marsh 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
***********************************
The Nanoose Naturalists
Monthly Meeting
Thursday July 10, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monthly Meeting,
Monday July 28, 2008 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
**************************************

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 Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store's weekly bird walk in the
Parksville/Qualicum Beach area on Wednesday mornings will not be held
during the summer months. We will resume the Wednesday bird walks in
the fall.
*****************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on June 29, 2008, will be going to Linley Valley in
Nanaimo.
Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or at the end of Burma Road off Lost
Lake Road about 9:20 A.M.
**************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
Nanaimo
British Columbia