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 14, 2010:
The Sunday bird walk went to Neck Point Park in Nanaimo.
The morning started with rain but soon became sunny with calm winds and
seas.
Spring was in the air. We heard a Hutton's Vireo and Red Crossbills were
singing overhead all morning. We watched a male Anna's Hummingbird
displaying high up. Black-bellied Plovers, Black Turnstones, Dunlin and
Black Oystercatchers were on the rocks near the point. We spotted a Pigeon
Guillemot in the bay near the parking lot. Surf Scoters, Pelagic and
Doubled-crested Cormorants, Common and Pacific Loons were out further on the
Strait of Georgia.
Twelve birders found the following forty species of birds:
Canada Goose, Bufflehead, Harlequin Duck, Pacific Loon, Common Loon,
Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Surf Scoter, Common Merganser,
Red-breasted Merganser, Dunlin, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher,
Black-bellied Plover, Pigeon Guillemot, Bald Eagle, Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull,
California Gull, Glaucous Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Northern Flicker,
Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Anna's Hummingbird, Northwestern Crow,
European Starling, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Winter Wren, Bewick's Wren,
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hutton's Vireo, American
Robin, Spotted Towhee, House Finch, Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Red Crossbill
and Pine Siskins.

Friday February 12:
A Peregrine Falcon was spotted swooping over Brewer's Blackbirds in the
Country Club Mall parking lot. The Falcon made one fast pass and failed to
flush any blackbirds who took refuge under cars. The Peregrine Falcon
headed towards the forested area near Beban Park.

Tuesday February 09:
The Tuesday Bird Walk went to Rathtrevor Provincial Park in Parksville.
The morning was sunny at times and the winds over the Strait of Georgia were
calm.
A female Red Crossbill perched at the top of a Fir Tree just off the parking
lot giving us great views and a great start to the morning. We watched a
Ruby-crowned Kinglet feeding on a low bush near the trail. The Strait of
Georgia was alive with seabirds. A large flock of over five hundred Dunlin,
five Black Oystercatcher, Mew Gulls, Thayer's Gulls and Glaucous-winged
Gulls were on the sandbars just offshore. Eight Brant Geese flew in and
eventually landed offshore. Large flocks of Surf Scoters flew low over the
water heading down the Strait of Georgia. Rafts of Mallards, Northern
Pintail, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye,
Common Mergansers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Pacific Loons, Common Loons,
Horned Grebes, Red-necked Grebes and a Western Grebe were offshore all
morning. We spotted a Pigeon Guillemot near the horizon.
Sixteen birders was and heard the following forty-five species of birds:
Greater White-fronted Goose, Canada Goose, Brant, Mallard, Northern Pintail,
Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common
Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe,
Red-necked Grebe, Western Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant, Pelagic
Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Mew
Gull, Thayer's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Northern
Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Bewick's
Wren, Winter Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Robin, Varied Thrush,
European Starling,
Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, House Finch, Red Crossbill
and Pine Siskin.

February 08
A Rufous Hummingbird has been coming to feeders all winter between Walker
and Neville in Ladysmith.

February 07:
Fourteen Common Ravens were spotted, foraging and playing around the head
waters of Craig Creek outside 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
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Guest Speaker-Guy Monty
Monday February 15, 2010 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
**********************************
The Nanoose Naturalists
Thursday March 11, 2010 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 February 16, 2010 will be going to The Shelly Road
side of the Englishman River Estuary in Parksville.
We meet the Parksville Beach Community Park at the parking area near the
Lions playground at 9 A.M. or at the end of Shelly Road at about 9:15 A.M.
*****************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on February 21, 2010, will be going to Nanoose Bay.
Meet at the Birdstore at 9:00 A.M. or behind the Church Camp off Highway 19
and Arlington Road at about 9: 15 A.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