[Tweeters] Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, Wednesday Walk for 4/12/2023

[Shep Thorp]

Hi Tweets,

Approximately 30 of us had a really nice Spring Day at the Refuge with
partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 30's to 50's degrees
Fahrenheit.  There was a High 11.7ft Tide at 9:25am, so we chased the tide
and did the Nisqually Estuary Trail and Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail
in the morning and saved the Orchard for the afternoon.  Highlights
included the arrival of several spring species including FOY COMMON
YELLOWTHROAT, CLIFF SWALLOW, CASPIAN TERN and OSPREY.  We had great looks
at numerous GREATER YELLOWLEGS, Myrtle variety of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER,
WILSON SNIPE and breeding plumage COMMON LOON.  We were able to see
EURASIAN WIGEON and BRANT GEESE, but the waterfowl numbers have decreased
from the last few weeks.  Some of our group relocated the SEMIPALMATED
PLOVER in the surge plain, and there was a snappy breeding plumage
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER on the mudflats west of Leschi Slough.

We had 83 species for the day with 115 species for the year.  eBird list
copied below.

Until next week, happy birding.

Shep

-- 
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Apr 12, 2023 7:05 AM - 5:04 PM
Protocol: Traveling
7.984 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Wednesday Walk. Cloudy in the morning, partly sunny
in the afternoon. Temperatures in the 30’s to 50’s degrees Fahrenheit. A
High 11.7ft Tide at 9:25am. Mammals seen Townsend’s Chipmunk, Eastern Gray
Squirrel, Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Coyote, Harbor Seal, and Columbian
Black-tailed Deer. Other sightings Pacific Chorus Frog, Red-eared Slider,
Red-legged Frog, Garter Snake, Bullfrog, other very dark frog, Starry
Flounder.
83 species (+7 other taxa)

Brant  46
Cackling Goose  100
Cackling Goose (minima)  750
Cackling Goose (Taverner's)  75
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima)  30
Wood Duck  8
Northern Shoveler  77
Gadwall  10
Eurasian Wigeon  1
American Wigeon  250
Eurasian x American Wigeon (hybrid)  1
Mallard  200
Northern Pintail  150
Green-winged Teal (American)  400
Ring-necked Duck  6
Surf Scoter  18
Bufflehead  200
Common Goldeneye  75     Counted. Likely more.  Seen along side Bufflehead,
Scoters and Mergansers in McAllister Creek, Nisqually Reach, and Nisqually
River.
Hooded Merganser  6
Common Merganser  4
Red-breasted Merganser  25
Pied-billed Grebe  3
Horned Grebe  6
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  6
Band-tailed Pigeon  3
Anna's Hummingbird  2
Rufous Hummingbird  9
American Coot  175
Black-bellied Plover  1
Semipalmated Plover  4     Seen by some of our group in south east corner
of surge plain. Small peep sized Plover with sing breast band.
Least Sandpiper  80
Wilson's Snipe  4
Spotted Sandpiper  2
Greater Yellowlegs  40
Short-billed Gull  200
Ring-billed Gull  50
California Gull  1
Glaucous-winged Gull  2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull  20
Caspian Tern  7
Common Loon  2
Brandt's Cormorant  1
Double-crested Cormorant  4
Great Blue Heron  12
Turkey Vulture  1
Osprey (carolinensis)  1
Northern Harrier  2
Sharp-shinned Hawk  1
Bald Eagle  40     Two nests. One West Bank of Nisqually River north of
dike, the other on the West Bank of McAllister Creek adjacent to Puget
Sound Observation Platform.
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis)  4
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-breasted Sapsucker  2
Downy Woodpecker  6
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)  2
Peregrine Falcon  1
Steller's Jay  1
California Scrub-Jay  2
American Crow  15
Black-capped Chickadee  20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  12
Tree Swallow  40
Violet-green Swallow  30
Barn Swallow  25
Cliff Swallow  4
Bushtit  5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  2
Red-breasted Nuthatch  1
Brown Creeper  8
Pacific Wren  2
Marsh Wren  10
Bewick's Wren  6
European Starling  25
American Robin  75
Purple Finch  6
American Goldfinch  10
Dark-eyed Junco  1
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis)  2
Golden-crowned Sparrow  10
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah)  4
Song Sparrow  27
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged)  40
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens)  5
Common Yellowthroat  6
Yellow-rumped Warbler  10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)  6

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S133568859
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