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 October 18, 2009:
The Sunday Bird Walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River
Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy but calm. The highlights
included seeing a Sharp-shinned Hawk chasing a Northern Flicker and a
Northern Shrike perched on a short bush near the estuary. Black Turnstones
and Black-bellied Plovers flew past near the shoreline heading up the Strait
of Georgia. We watched a Peregrine Falcon fly from one perch to another.
He perched for a few seconds and then with powerful wind beats, he flew off
towards the mainland. We soon lost sight of him over the Strait of Georgia.
Nineteen birders heard and saw the following fifty-two species of birds:
Canada Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard,
Harlequin Duck, Bufflehead, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Surf
Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Merganser,
Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue
Heron, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Bonaparte's
Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull,
Black-bellied Plover, Black Turnstone, Killdeer, California Quail, Belted
Kingfisher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker,
Northern Flicker, Northern Shrike, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper,
Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Bushtit, Bewick's Wren,
American Robin, European Starling, Spotted Towhee, Brewer's Blackbird, Fox
Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, House
Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Red Crossbill and House Sparrow.

Tuesday October 13:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to the Shelly Road side of the Englishman River
Estuary in Parksville. The morning was cloudy and the winds were calm
however a shower finished off the morning. The highlights included seeing
Varied Thrush just ahead of us on the trail and in the trees along the
trail. We came across about one thousand American Robins in the forest and
estuary throughout the morning. There was a Hermit Thrush in the brushes
near the trail. A Northern Shrike landed on a bush not thirty feet front us
giving us incredible looks. We saw a Peregrine Falcon preening itself in a
tall fir tree on the west side of the forest. The Falcon left the perch
twice and flew towards the Straight of Georgia only to return to the perch.
When he returned for the second time he perched and looked down at us as if
he was people watching. We saw a Merlin chasing a Northern Flicker. We
spotted a Fox Sparrow gleaning insects from the leaves on a small bush.
Ten birders saw and heard the following forty species of birds:
Canada Goose, American Wigeon, Mallard, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Common
Merganser, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic
Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, Wilson's
Snipe,Bonaparte's Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull,
Belted Kingfisher, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Northern Shrike,
Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted
Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Varied Thrush,
European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow,
Golden-crowned Sparrow, Purple Finch, House Finch and Red Crossbill.

Sunday October 11:
One hundred and fourteen Pacific Loons were seen off Yellow Point in Cedar.

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
Guest speaker, Michele Deakin, local biologist, will give an update on
eelgrass beds.
Monday October 26, 2009 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
**********************************
The Nanoose Naturalists
Thursday November 12, 2009 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
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 October 20, 2009 will be going to Columbia Beach.
Meet at the Parksville Beach Community Park near the parking area at the
Lion's Playground at 9:00 A.M. or the parking area off Admiral Tyron
Boulevard
*****************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on October 25 will be going to the Nanaimo River
Estuary.
Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or the end of Raines Road at about
9:30A.M.
*******************************************************
Good birding
Neil Robins

THE BACKYARD
Wildbird & Nature Store
6314 Metral Drive, Nanaimo, BC V9T 2L8
250.390.3669
250.390.1633 fax
thebackyard at shaw.ca
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG---> www.thebirdstore.blogspot.com