The 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

Also check the birdstore blog for the latest bird alerts and updates:
www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com

Post your sightings on this 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

Birdwatching contacts and information find a local birder to go birdwatching with:
http://www.birdingpal.org/

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

Sunday February 15, 2009.
The Sunday Bird Walk went to the Nanaimo River Estuary on a very windy but clear sunny morning. The highlights of the morning included the sighting of both a male and female Northern Harrier flying low over the field looking for prey. The female Northern Harrier flushed out two Western Meadowlarks, who land in a tree and perched to allow us to have some great looks through the spotting scopes. At the far end of the estuary we spotted a total of twenty-nine Great Blue Herons standing like fence posts in a field.
Thirteen birders found the following twenty-seven species of birds:
Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, American Wigeon, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, Glaucous-winged Gull, Northern Flicker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Steller's Jay, American Robin, Western Meadowlark, Bewick's Wren, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Saturday February 14:
"Rare bird alert--Northern Hawk Owl"
The Northern Hawk Owl was seen off Morden Road in south Nanaimo.

Friday February 13:Twelve House Finches were seen on the trees beside Cedar Road near Hill Road in Ladysmith.

Twenty-seven California Quail were visiting a back yard in the 2100 block of Wren Road in Nanaimo.

Two Western Gulls were seen on the High School playing fields in Duncan.

Thursday February 12:
Four Varied Thrush, twelve Dark-eyed Juncos, three Chestnut-backed Chickadees, one Hutton's Vireo, one Bewick's Wren, two Red-breasted Nuthatches, one Brown Creeper, two Northern Flicker, one Spotted Towhee, two House Finches, one Anna's Hummingbird and a Downy Woodpecker are visiting a backyard along Jade Avenue in Nanaimo.

A Silver Pheasant was spotted near Linley Valley in Nanaimo.

Wednesday February 11:
" Rare bird alert--Great Gray Owl"
A Great Gray Owl was seen on Quadra Island. This species of owl is usually seen in Northern Canada and rarely seen on Vancouver Island.

Tuesday February 10:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville. Twelve hardy birders saw and heard seventeen species of birds.
The winds were strong from the southeast and seas were rough with heavy pounding surf and the blustery rain and snow followed us all morning. It was an awesome scene seeing the sea in it's dark winter stormy mode.
The big surprise of the morning was the sighting of a flock of over two hundred Brant Geese flying near the shore. A large flock of Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers were feeding along the tide line and we spotted an American Golden Plover feeding in with the Black-bellied Plovers. A Common Loon and a Yellow-billed Loon were riding the surf offshore. Long lines of Surf Scoters and American Wigeon flew just above the water heading down the Strait of Georgia. We spotted a Brown Creeper feeding as it climbed a big Fir Tree. A fast flying Red-tailed Hawk flew over us heading south.
Twelve birders found the following seventeen species of birds:
Brant , American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Loon,
Yellow-billed Loon, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Black-bellied Plover,
American Golden-Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Dunlin, Mew Gull,
Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull and Brown Creeper.

Monday February 09:
Cooper's Hawk, an Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskins, a Pileated Woodpecker and Song Sparrows are visiting a backyard along Doehle Avenue in Parksville.

Sunday February 08:
Two American Dippers were spotted just downstream of the Englishman River bridge in Parksville.

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
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Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monday February 23, 2009 at 7:30 pm.
Guest Speaker Pamela Wesley will speak about the invasive plant situation on the Island.
Springwood School
Parksville
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The Nanoose Naturalists
Thursday March 12, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
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Everyone is welcome to join us for a 2-3 hour bird walk on the Sunday and
Tuesday 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 Beach
Community Park at 9 A.M. on Tuesdays and go to different areas in and around
the Oceanside area.
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The Tuesday Bird Walk on February 17, 2009 will be going to Deep Bay.
Meet at the Parksville Beach Community Park near the parking area at the Lion's
Playground at 9:00 A.M. Or meet at the parking area at the Deep Bay Marina at about 9:30 A.M.
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The Sunday Bird Walk on February 22, 2009, will be going to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville. Meet at the Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or meet at the corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive at about 9:30 A.M.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
Nanaimo







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