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 28, 2009:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to McGregor Marsh in Nanaimo. The morning was
sunny but cool.
The highlights included seeing two Belted Kingfishers at the first marsh at
the start of the walk. We saw and heard Willow Flycatchers and a
Black-headed Grosbeak singing. Cedar Waxwings were perched on snags above a
marsh. A Merlin flew in above the marsh to end the walk.
Seventeen birders saw and heard the following thirty-six species of birds:
Turkey Vulture, Mallard, Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle, Merlin,
California Quail, Band-tailed Pigeon, Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous
Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Willow Flycatcher,
Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Belted Kingfisher, Warbling Vireo, Violet-green
Swallow, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven ,Chestnut-backed Chickadee,
Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick's Wren, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned
Kinglet, Swainson's Thrush, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned
Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow,
Purple Finch, House Finch and American Goldfinch.

The male American Kestrel was seen again on the hydro lines overlooking the
Ugly Dwarf Meadows at Nanoose Bay.

Evening Grosbeaks have been visiting feeders in the 100 block of Meridian
Way in Parksville.

Saturday June 27:
An American Kestrel was seen on the hydro lines overlooking the Ugly Dwarf
Meadows at Nanoose Bay.

Six Caspian Terns and two Osprey were seen on the flats at the Nanaimo River
Estuary near the Living Forest Campground in south Nanaimo.

Thursday June 25:
A aberrant brown Pileated Woodpecker was seen in the Departure Bay area of
Nanaimo.

Wednesday June 24:
Two Vesper Sparrows were seen along the fields at the Nanaimo Airport in
south Nanaimo.

Tuesday June 23:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River
Estuary in Parksville. The morning was pleasant with periods of sunshine and
was filled with bird songs. The highlights of the morning was seeing and
hearing Willow Flycatchers and a Yellow Warbler singing. We saw a family of
five Belted Kingfishers perched on a snag just above the River giving us
close views as the young were being fed.
Sixteen birders saw and heard the following thirty-two species of birds.
Canada Goose, Common Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald
Eagle, Glaucous-winged Gull, Rock Pigeon, Band-tailed Pigeon, Rufous
Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Willow Flycatcher,
Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Tree Swallow,
Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Winter Wren, Swainson's
Thrush, American Robin,
European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler,
Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird,
Purple Finch and House Finch.

An Evening Grosbeak was spotted near Dawkins Lane in Nanaimo.

Monday June 22:
A Great Horned Owl was seen perched by the north side trail about 150 meters
east of the deep bay, at the western side of Neck Point Park in Nanaimo.

A Ring-necked Pheasant was seen in the Chase River area near Beck Creek in
south Nanaimo.

Sunday June 21:
Over ten Cedar Waxwings were seen near the Beaver Ponds at Morrell Wildlife
Sanctuary in Nanaimo.

Black-headed Grosbeaks are visiting feeders along Extension Road in south
Nanaimo.

A male and female California Quail with fourteen puffball chicks were seen
in a yard in Fairwinds in Nanoose Bay.

Saturday June 20:
An adult female Lark Bunting was seen in the parking lot at Botanical Beach
near Port Renfrew.

Wednesday June 10:
An Eastern Kingbird was spotted perching and flycatching on Mittlenatch
Island.

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
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Monday September 28, 2009 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
********************************
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 30, 2009 will be going to the Plummer Road
side of the Englishman River Estuary 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 corner of Plummer Road and Shorewood Drive
at about 9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on July 05 will be going to the Beaver Ponds in Nanoose
Bay.
Meet at the Bird store at 9:00 a.m. or at the parking area about 100 yards
past the fourway stop along Powerpoint Road at about 9:20 a.m.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins
Nanaimo
British Columbia