NANAIMO BIRD REPORT

To report your sightings
phone the Store at 250-390-3669
e-mail us at thebackyard at shaw.ca
call the Bird Report 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 May 30, 2010:
The Sunday Bird Walk Legacy Marsh in upper Lantzville.
The morning was cloudy with light rain throughout the morning. A
Black-throated Gray Warbler was singing from a perch high up in a tall tree.
We watched several Western Tanagers gleaning insects low down on trees. A
Pacific-sloped Flycatcher sang from a low perch near the marsh. We had great
looks at a MacGillivray's Warbler singing from a high perch. Over twenty
Black Swifts were hawking insects high overhead.
Twenty-one birders, including a birder from England, saw and heard the
following forty-three species of birds:
Canada Goose Wood Duck, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle,
Red-tailed Hawk, Band-tailed Pigeon, California Quail, Rufous Hummingbird,
Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven,
Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black Swift, Chestnut-backed Chickadee,
Marsh Wren, Winter Wren, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Black-headed Grosbeak,
Swainson's Thrush, European Starling, American Robin, MacGillivray's
Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Black-throated Grey Warbler, Yellow
Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pacific-sloped Flycatcher, Western Tanager,
Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow,
Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Bushtit, American Goldfinch,
Purple Finch, Dark-eyed Junco, Red Crossbill and Pine Siskin.

Saturday May 29:
Two pairs of Wilson Warblers and Yellow Warblers were at a pond along
Pintail Drive in the Eaglecrest area of Qualicum Beach.

A Lazuli Bunting was seen singing in a small bush near the big Oak tree at
the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.

A Black-headed Grosbeak was seen in a backyard near Green Lake.

Friday May 28:
Sixteen Blue-winged Teal and one Cinnamon Teal were seen at the Holden Creek
side of the Nanaimo River Estuary in south Nanaimo.

A male Black-headed Grosbeak is visiting feeders in the 600 block of Turner
Road in Parksville.

Thursday May 27:
A female Bullock's Oriole was spotted at the Nanaimo River Estuary in south
Nanaimo.

Wednesday May 26:
A Lazuli Bunting seen again today in a backyard along Despard Avenue in
Parksville.

A Eurasian Collared Dove was seen in the 100 block of Bird Sanctuary Drive
in Nanaimo.

Tuesday May 25:
The Tuesday bird walk went to the Beaver Ponds in Nanoose Bay. The morning
started with light showers and calm wind but cleared up as the morning
progressed. We had great looks at a Hairy Woodpecker near the top of a
snag. We heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher, a Willow Flycatcher, several
Pacific-slope Flycatchers and a Cassin's Vireo singing throughout the
morning. We heard a Yellow Warbler, Townsend's Warbler and a Black-headed
Grosbeak singing from high up in the canopy. We managed close looks at
several Orange-crowned Warblers, several Yellow-rumped Warblers, a
Black-throated Gray Warbler and a Wilson's Warbler.
Seven birders saw and heard the following thirty-five species of birds;
Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Band-tailed Pigeon, Black Swift, Anna's
Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Olive-sided Flycatcher,
Willow Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Cassin's Vireo, Hutton's Vireo,
Common Raven, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee,
Bushtit, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brown Creeper, Swainson's Thrush, American
Robin, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow Warbler,
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler,
Wilson's Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco,
Black-headed Grosbeak, Purple Finch, Red Crossbill and Pine Siskin.

A Lazuli Bunting seen in a backyard along Despard Avenue in Parksville.

Monday May 24:
"Rare Bird Alert-Snowy Plover"
A Snowy Plover was seen at Long Beach in Pacific Rim Park.
The Snowy Plover is usually seen along the west coast of the United States.

Two Wandering Tattlers, three Whimbrel and a Pacific-golden Plover were seen
at Long Beach in Pacific Rim Park.

A Ringed Turtle Dove was seen in the 2000 block of Cedar Road in Cedar.

A Western Tanager is visiting a yard near Lost Lake in 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
**********************************
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Guest Speaker--Joe Crichton will lead us, via his wonderful photos, on a
bird-watching journey to the Tropics.
Monday May 31, 2010 at 7:30 pm.
Springwood School
Parksville
**********************************
The Nanoose Naturalists Meetings will resume in September, 2010
**********************************
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 01, 2010 will be going to the Top Bridge
Trail in Parksville.
We meet the Parksville Beach Community Park at the parking area near the
Lions
playground at 9 A.M. or at the parking area near Tuan Road and Industrial
Way in Parksville at about 9:20 A.M.
*****************************************************
The Sunday Bird Walk on June 06, 2010 will be going to McGregor Marsh in
Nanaimo.
We will meet at The Backyard Bird Store at 9:00 A.M. or just off Rutherford
Road across from the Quilted Duck at about 9:20 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