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 June 14, 2009:
A Barred Owl was spotted at the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.

The Sunday Bird Walk went to Springwood Park in Parksville.
The morning was sunny and warm. The highlights of the morning included a
Chipping Sparrow feeding a fledgling and several California Quail chicks
moving through the underbrush at their parent's command. We saw three sets
of Brown Creeper families moving up the trees. We saw Warbling Vireos high
up in the trees and although we didn't see him, a Red-eyed Vireo sang
non-stop.
Seventeen birders saw and heard the following forty-one species of birds.
Canada Geese, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Merlin, California Quail,
Killdeer, Ring-necked Pheasant, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous Hummingbird ,
Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cassin's
Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush,
American Robin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Black-throated
Grey Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Common Yellow-throat,
Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, White-crowned Sparrow,
Chipping Sparrow, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch and Pine Siskins.

Saturday June 13:
A Red Crossbill was seen at backyard feeders in the 5100 block of Laguna Way
in Nanaimo.

A Western Tanager and Evening Grosbeaks were seen along Hewstone Road in
Cedar.

Friday June 12:
Four American White Pelicans and fourteen Caspian Terns were seen along the
tideline at the Cowichan Estuary in Cowichan Bay.

Thursday June 11:
A pair of Blue-winged Teal were seen on the pond near the forestry museum in
Duncan.

Wednesday June 10:
An Olive-sided Flycatcher was seen and heard singing for about three hours
in a garden at the Little Qualicum River Village.

Tuesday June 09:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to Springwood Park in Parksville. The morning was
sunny and calm and was filled with bird songs. The highlight of the day was
hearing a Red-eyed Vireo singing non stop from high up in the forest canopy
for about twenty minutes. Warbling Vireos, Orange-crowned Warblers and a
Townsend's Warbler serenaded us as well for most of the morning. We watched
as two Brown Creepers took nesting material into a nest under the bark of a
big leaf maple tree. We saw Red-breasted Nuthatches gleaning insects high
up in a tree. There was a fledgling Pileated Woodpecker clinging to the
bark of a tree, not daring to move and a family of Bewick's Wrens low in the
bushes, next
to the trail, scurrying about.
Twenty birders saw and heard the following thirty species of birds.
Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Cooper's Hawk, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern
Flicker,
Pileated Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cassin's
Vireo,
Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
Bewick's Wren, Winter Wren, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush,
American Robin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Wilson's
Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Brown-headed
Cowbird and Purple Finch

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
Monday June 22, 2009 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
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The Nanoose Naturalists
Thursday September 10, 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.
**************************************************************
The Tuesday Bird Walk on June 16, 2009 will be going to Top Bridge Trail in
Parksville.
Meet at the Parksville Beach Community Park near the parking area at the
Lion's
Playground at 9:00 A.M. or at the parking area along Industrial Way near
Tuan Road at about 9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on June 14 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 at about
9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
Nanaimo