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 July 05, 2009:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to the Beaver Ponds at Nanoose Bay. The morning
was sunny, warm and the winds were calm. Among the highlights of the
morning were great views of a Willow Flycatcher perching and singing on
three occasions. We watched as a Merlin flew out from a perch several
times to catch Dragonflies. We saw two Pacific-slope Flycatcher chicks
moving about and calling in the tall trees. We heard a male Black-headed
Grosbeak sing and then we spotted him feeding a youngster as they moved
through the trees. Near the end of walk we heard a Barred Owl calling "who
cooks for you--who cooks for you"
Twenty birders saw and heard the following thirty-five species of birds:
Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Wood Duck, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk,
Merlin, Osprey, Barred Owl, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Pileated
Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo,
Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Cedar Waxwing, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Orange-crowned
Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Winter Wren,
Bewick's Wren, Bushtit, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow,
Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Red Crossbill,
American Goldfinch.

Friday July 04:
Seventy to eighty Common Nighthawks were seen above the 2500 block of
Glenayr Drive in Nanaimo. The Nighthawks continued their aerial display
while hawking insects for about thirty minutes. Another smaller flock came
in about fifteen minutes later but moved on very quickly

Friday July 03:
The Backyard Wildbird and Nature Store has received several reports of
Eurasian Collared-Doves from Ucluelet, Sooke, Nanaimo and Parksville lately.

Three Eurasian Collared-Doves, four Common Nighthawks, Violet-green
Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows, ten
Purple Martins, a Spotted Sandpiper, a Townsend's Warbler, a Northern
Flicker, White-crowned Sparrows and Chipping Sparrows were seen at the
Rivers Edge subdivision behind the Weigh Scales in Parksville.

Eight Marbled Murrelets and a Pigeon Guillemot were seen on the Strait of
Georgia, not far from the mud flats, at the Englishman River Estuary along
Marine Drive in Parksville.

Thursday July 02:
One Juvenile Glaucous Gull was seen perched on the rocks at French Creek,
not far from the Pub. On There was a flock of Glaucous-winged Gulls on the
point at the mouth of French Creek and three Killdeer moved nosily over the
creek.

Tuesday June 30:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Plummer Road side of the Englishman River
Estuary in Parksville. The morning was pleasant and the sun was shining.
The highlights of the morning included watching Willow Flycatchers low down
in the shrubs along the trail and hearing them and a Pacific-slope
Flycatcher singing. We watched as Violet-green Swallows flew low over the
mudflats--it was great to look down on them from the trail above. There
were several Rufous Hummingbirds and House Finches at the feeders along
Shorewood Drive.
Twenty birders saw and heard the following thirty-five species of birds
Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Killdeer,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Band-tailed Pigeon, Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous
Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher,
Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow,
Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin,
European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Song Sparrow,
White-crowned Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird,
Purple Finch, House Finch, Pine Siskin and House Sparrow.

Twenty-two California Quail were seen in the 2500 block of Maxi Road in
south Nanaimo and twenty-four California Quail were seen in the 6200 block
of Metral Drive in north Nanaimo.

Sunday June 28:
A male and female California Quail and about 12 chicks were seen in the 4100
block of Gulfview Drive in Nanaimo.

Saturday June 27:
A Pine Grosbeak was spotted along White Blossom Way in south 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
Thursday September 10, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Nanoose Library,
Nanoose Bay
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Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monday September 28, 2009 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. We
leave from the Store at 9 A.M. Sunday Mornings and go to a different
location in and around Nanaimo.
**************************************************************
The Backyard Wildbird & Nature Store's weekly bird walk in the
Parksville/Qualicum Beach area on Tuesday mornings will not be held during
the summer months. We will resume the Tuesday bird walks on September 01,
2009.
*******************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on July 12 will be going to the Legacy Marsh in upper
Lantzville.
Meet at the Bird store at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking area under the Hydro
lines along Normarel Drive at about 9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
Nanaimo
British Columbia