Thanks to Dave Aldcroft and Derrick Marven for leading the March 13 birding trip to Parksville. They each took credit for the balmy morning sunshine while dodging the blame for the rapidly chilling afternoon. Still, it was a fine day overall for the 15 participants:
David Aldcroft, Stephen Aldcroft, Jenny Carter, Christina Cutbill, Daryl Johnson , Dorothy Marshall, Eric Marshall, Derrick Marven, Zosh Miller, Gail Mitchell, Sheila Sanders, Heather Wade, Ken Walker, Kurlene Wenberg, and Jim Wisnia.
Surf Scoters were the dominant species, with good flocks of Brant flying back and forth. Highlights were Northern Mockingbird, Marbled Murrelet, and Eurasian Wigeon. Many birds were well offshore, too far to identify. Though we were surprised to miss expected species like Red-breasted Mergansers, it was not bad for the birds, either, with 64 species:
Pacific Loon, Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Canada Goose, Brant, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Eurasian Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup, Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Black Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Bonaparte’s Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull, Thayer’s Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Belted Kingfisher, Anna’s Hummingbird, Northern Flicker, Hutton’s Vireo, Northwestern Crow, Common Raven, Violet-green Swallow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Bewick’s Wren, Pacific Wren, Varied Thrush, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, House Sparrow.
Jim Wis
nia