[Tweeters] Nisqually Wednesday.

[Kenneth Brown via Tweeters]

A dark-for-daylight sky and heavy rain greeted the smaller than usual collection of only semi-sane birders this morning.  The sky and gusting winds seemed to portend miserable weather for the day ahead.  The walk through the south parking lot, play area and orchard yielded little bird activity, though we did find a Sapsucker, a couple Flickers and few chickadees and Kinglets.  A single Mourning Dove streaked through the orchard, almost too quick to identify.  The rain slackened a bit.
 
On the entrance road, recent low tree limb removal afforded a peek-a-boo view of the small pond west of the road.  Shovelers and Wigeon held the pond, an unusual-sized flock (14) of Wilson's Snipe rose up briefly from the far shore, then settled back down. The larger pond south of the service road also held a variety of the usual waterfowl and on it's south shore a Northern Harrier was eating it's not-visible kill.  West of the service road a large flock of Cackling Geese hosted a single Black Brant, close in and very visible.  Mallards and a couple female Bufflehead showed on the pond alongside the west part of the loop trail, Black capped Chickadees, Kinglets and Bewick's Wren in the brush on the opposite side.
 
Out on the dike, the rain turned to only occasional showers but the wind kept up.  A full length rainbow served as a backdrop for 4 Trumpeter Swans that flew south overhead.   A Peregrine Falcon harrassed the Cacklers and flocks of Dunlin appeared and disappeared.  Mallards, Wigeon, Bufflehead and a few female/juvenile Surf Scoters shared McAllister Creek with the usual congregation of Harbor Seals.  Small flocks of Least Sandpipers and a Spotted Sandpiper showed again along with several Greater Yellowlegs.  From the gated end of the estuary boardwalk, the choppy water made distant birds difficult to see but we picked out some Red-breasted Mergansers along with more Scoters. Back on the dike Tom found our first of fall Eurasian Wigeon and while scoping it a flock off Western Meadowlarks entered our view.
 
The rain returned near the end of our walk but, all in all, a better day than expected.  The more complete checklist follows:
 
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Nov 13, 2024 8:00 AM - 2:49 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.639 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Wednesday Walk. Rain and south wind at 10-15 knots, with the rain slacking off from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; it was 52º all day.  There was a low +4.2-foot tide at 8:55 a.m., flooding to a +14.7-foot high water at 2:47 p.m. Mammals seen included eastern grey squirrel, Columbian black-tailed deer, Harbor Seals; also the Pacific Chorus Frogs were active & vocal.
59 species (+6 other taxa)

Snow Goose  6
Greater White-fronted Goose  5
Brant (Black)  1
Cackling Goose (minima)  1275
Cackling Goose (Taverner's)  8
Canada Goose  34
Trumpeter Swan  13
Northern Shoveler  175
Gadwall  25
Eurasian Wigeon  1
American Wigeon  1755
Mallard  195
Northern Pintail  1520
Green-winged Teal  1800
Ring-necked Duck  3
Surf Scoter  25
Bufflehead  75
Red-breasted Merganser  3
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  58
Mourning Dove  1
Virginia Rail  3
Wilson's Snipe  14
Spotted Sandpiper  1
Greater Yellowlegs  40
Dunlin  650
Least Sandpiper  95
Ring-billed Gull  35
Glaucous-winged Gull  1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  12
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull  7
Brandt's Cormorant  6
Pelagic Cormorant  2
Double-crested Cormorant  26
Great Blue Heron  14
Northern Harrier  3
Bald Eagle  6
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis)  1
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-breasted Sapsucker  2
Downy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)  2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted)  1
Peregrine Falcon  1
American Crow  45
Black-capped Chickadee  10
Bushtit (Pacific)  21
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  12
Golden-crowned Kinglet  18
Brown Creeper  4
Pacific Wren  1
Marsh Wren  4
Bewick's Wren  4
European Starling  9
American Robin  20
Cedar Waxwing  12
Pine Siskin  95
Golden-crowned Sparrow  16
Song Sparrow (rufina Group)  15
Lincoln's Sparrow  2
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group)  3
Western Meadowlark  11
Red-winged Blackbird  1
Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed)  1
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S202417903
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/tweeters/attachments/20241113/8a8cf1b1/attachment.html>