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 March 23:
A Rufous Hummingbird and a Golden-crowned Sparrow were seen along Morrell
Circle in Nanaimo.
A Rufous Hummingbird was seen visiting feeders in the 200 Block of Dawkins
Lane in Nanaimo.

Saturday March 22:
An Orange-crowned Warbler and a flock of Bushtits were seen at Transfer
Beach Park in Ladysmith.
Two Cackling Geese were seen along Doole Road in Yellow Point.
A Great-horned Owl was heard calling near Jack's Point in Cedar.
A Rufous Hummingbird was seen visiting feeders in the 7000 block of Aulds
Road in Nanaimo.
Two Turkey Vultures were seen flying above Linley Valley in Nanaimo.

Thursday March 20:
An Albino American Robin was seen with other American Robins on a lawn in
French Creek.

Wednesday March 19:
A Red-breasted Sapsucker was seen feeding on a Western Red Cedar at the top
of Summit Drive on Long Lake Heights in Nanaimo.

The Wednesday Bird Walk went to Columbia Beach near French Creek. Twelve
birders found forty-three species of birds. The highlights of the morning
included the sighting of two flocks of Trumpeter Swans flying up the Strait
of Georgia and one Pigeon Guillemot with a small flock of Common Murres
heading down the Strait. A large raft of Surf Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks,
Pacific Loons and Brandt?s, Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants were seen
in the choppy water not far from shore. We spotted several Western Gulls in
with the thousands of gulls on the gravel bars near shore.
Twelve birders found the following forty-three species.
Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Eurasian Wigeon, American Wigeon, Mallard,
Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common
Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser,
Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Western Grebe,
Brandt's Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Bald Eagle,
Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Bonaparte's Gull, Mew Gull, Ring-billed Gull,
California Gull, Thayer's Gull, Western Gull, Common Murre, Pigeon
Guillemot, Rock Pigeon, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, American Robin,
European Starling,
White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Purple Finch, House Finch,
Pine Siskin and House Sparrow.

Tuesday March 18:
A Brown Pelican was spotted at the Ladysmith Harbour flying west over the
Highway in Ladysmith.
A Rufous Hummingbird was seen along Fawcett Road in Cedar.
A Western Screech Owl was heard calling at McGregor Marsh in north Nanaimo.

Monday March 17:
A Yellow-rumped Warbler was seen along Ermineskin Avenue in Parksville.
A Rufous Hummingbird was visiting feeders in the 2800 block of Shady Mile
Way in Nanaimo.
An immature Glaucous Gull was spotted at Somenos Marsh in Duncan.

Sunday March 16:
A Townsend's Solitare was seen feeding on Mountain Ash berries at Fairwinds
in Nanoose Bay.
A low flying Turkey Vulture was seen over a home at Fairwinds in Nanoose
Bay.
Three Hooded Mergangers were seen 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
***********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monthly Meeting,
Monday March 31, 2008 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
**************************************
The Nanoose Naturalists
Monthly Meeting
Thursday April 17, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
**********************************
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 March 26, 2008 will be going to Rathtrevor
Provincial Park 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 main parking lot at Rathtrevor Park at about 9:10 A.M.
Please note there is a parking fee at Rathtrevor Provincial Park.
*****************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on March 30, 2008, will be going to Buttertubs Marsh in
Nanaimo. Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or at the parking lot off Bowen
Road at about 9:20 A. M.
**************************************
Good Birding!
Neil Robins
Nanaimo