[Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually

[Kenneth Brown via Tweeters]

What a beautiful spring morning.  A bit cool to start, a cloudless blue sky, no wind to speak of, and the leaves of most trees beginning to open. In the Maple cluster at the entrance to the Visitor's Center, a Hairy Woodpecker continued to prepare it's nest cavity while a Brown Creeper inspected the trunks of the trees. 
 
As we walked through the southern parking lot to the Education Center and the children's play area we found Chestnut-backed and Black-capped Chickadees, Yellow-rumped Warblers and American Robins.  A male Rufous Hummingbird displayed his spring finest from a perch in an Alder at the Play Area entrance, Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows entertained us along the way.  A Purple Finch sang from a tree top and Pine Siskins were ubiquitous.  Mourning Dove and a Band-tailed Pigeon were in the orchard, as was a Brown-headed Cowbird and a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  (Tom, passing the orchard a hour or so later reported 5 Steller's Jays.)
 
Seen from the entrance road, a Kildeer and a Greater Yellowlegs shared the far shore of the Peek-a-boo Pond (Jon calls it the Forbidden Pond) with a male Mallard.  After turning onto the service road, some of the group heard a Hutton's Vireo, those of us further along the road missed it.  Mallards and a couple of American Wigeon occupied the pond south of the bend in the road.  A large flock of Cackling Geese flew north in "V" shaped squadrons towards the freshwater marsh further west. The flooded field west of the service road held a first of the year pair of Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal, American Coots, Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, and Mallards.  American Crows harassed a Cooper's Hawk while it tried to  imitate a Northern Harrier, hunting low over the marshy grass.  
 
At the start of the loop trail a Common Yellowthroat and an Orange-crowned Warbler played hide and seek in an Alder.  A pair of Virginia Rail played a similar game in the grass clumps on the west side of the center pond, near the Beaver lodge.  A couple Ring-necked Ducks were in the north end of the pond and a pair of Canada Geese shepherded their newly-hatched 6 goslings in the leaf litter under the Alders north of the pond. Bewick's Wren, At the turn toward the Twin Barns a pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallows checked out the hollow on east side of the Bigleaf Maple, where they have nested for the last couple of years.  Tree Swallows swooped around the Twin Barns and the overlook, from which we saw more Mallards, Pintail Shovelers and Wigeon.  Among the Swallows was at least one Violet-Green and one Cliff Swallow.  A pale and shaggy looking Opossum wandered haphazardly and flopped on it's side out in the sunlit grass in front of the overlook.  We suspected that it might be ill.  
 
In the Alders along the dike were Savannah and Song Sparrows, Golden -crowned  and a White-crowned Sparrow.  A south-bound Merlin crossed overhead.   Greater White-fronted Geese were in the shallow water on the freshwater side, along with Coots, Canada and Cackling Geese, Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Mallards, Gadwall, Northern Shovelers, and Northern Pintail.  Virginia Rails were heard calling from the Marsh.  Marsh Wrens sang and built nests in the cattails south of the dike.
 
The Tide was very low as we headed out along McAllister Creek.  Bufflehead, American Wigeon, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, and Red-breasted Mergansers were scattered along the creek.  The number of ducks has dropped significantly from their winter peak.  Several Greater Yellowlegs and a Spotted Sandpiper were spotted along the far shore while the near shore hosted small flocks of Least Sandpiper.  A solo Double-crested Cormorant swam in the creek.  Looking east from the boardwalk it was mud as far as we could see.  Gulls, mostly Short- billed and Ring-billed were seen in smallish clusters.  A California Gull and a few "Big Guys" (Glaucous-winged and Western Gull hybrids) added to the decoration.  Just east of Leschi Slough a single Long-billed Curlew stalked the mud in search of a meal.  No Bald Eagles were visible in the nest on the ridgetop seen from the viewing platform at the end of the boardwalk, perhaps because they were out finding food on the mud exposed by the minus tide.  At least 50 Eagles were seen from the platform.  A few presumed Brant's Cormorants perched on the Channel marker.  Heat shimmer obscured identification of any birds further out on the reach. 
 
Returning to the dike and then to the Nisqually River overlook we noted the absence of birds on the river.  Along the east side of the loop trail we found a couple Rufous Hummingbird nests, occupied by females.  Chickadees and Yellow-rumped Warblers made their presence known, pairs of Hooded Mergansers swam in the adjacent slough.  Back at the Visitor's Center deck for our tally we saw a male American Goldfinch to top of our walk.  See the following checklist for the complete list.
 
 
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Apr 16, 2025 8:00 AM - 4:52 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.54 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Wednesday Walk.  The Day was Sunny, 43-64 ° F, and calm in the morning with a north breeze at 5 knots by afternoon.   A High 11.9-foot tide at 7:24 a.m. ebbed to a -0.9-foot Low Water 2:32 p.m.  Non-birds seen included Townsend’s Chipmunk, Easter Bunny (E. Cotton-tailed Rabbit), Eastern Gray Squirrel, Long-tailed Weasel, Pacific Chorus Frog, Columbian black-tailed deer, Opossum, Red-eared Slider, NW Salamander egg masses, Mourning Cloak and Satyr Anglewing butterflies.
75 species (+6 other taxa)

Snow Goose  1     Adult associating with a pair of Canada Geese
Greater White-fronted Goose  26     25 in fresh-water marsh and 1 flying with Canada Goose pair
Cackling Goose (minima)  1350
Cackling Goose (Taverner's)  20
Canada Goose  48     6 goslings with parents in the woods at the north end of the Visitors' Center pond from the west boardwalk loop
Wood Duck  9
Cinnamon Teal  3
Northern Shoveler  65
Gadwall  8
American Wigeon  75
Mallard  45
Northern Pintail  20
Green-winged Teal  18
Ring-necked Duck  2
Bufflehead  190
Common Goldeneye  12
Hooded Merganser  8
Red-breasted Merganser  20
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  3
Band-tailed Pigeon  3
Mourning Dove  3
Anna's Hummingbird  1
Rufous Hummingbird  7
Virginia Rail  4     Two in Visitors' Center pond near the beaver lodge, two vocalizing in cattail marsh
American Coot  50
Killdeer  3
Long-billed Curlew  1     Large shorebird, long bill, no stripes on crown, warm plumage
Spotted Sandpiper  1     West bank of McAllister Creek
Greater Yellowlegs  42
Least Sandpiper  60
Short-billed Gull  55
Ring-billed Gull  35
California Gull  1     Immature seen from estuary boardwalk
Glaucous-winged Gull  1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  6
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull  12
gull sp.  40
Pied-billed Grebe  3
Brandt's Cormorant  4     Nisqually Reach channel marker
Double-crested Cormorant  1     McAllister Creek
Great Blue Heron  24
Cooper's Hawk  1     Adult actively hunting, and being harassed by crows and blackbirds, in flooded field west of Visitors' Center
Northern Harrier  2
Bald Eagle  60
Belted Kingfisher  3
Downy Woodpecker  8
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific)  1
Northern Flicker  4
Merlin  1
Hutton's Vireo  1
Steller's Jay  7     Five seen by Tom B in orchard at 10 a.m., two Vocalizing from west of McAllister Creek
American Crow  8
Common Raven  2
Black-capped Chickadee  9
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  5
Tree Swallow  50
Violet-green Swallow  1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  2     Entering the hole in the large maple east of the twin barns, where nested last 2 years
Barn Swallow  8
Cliff Swallow  1
Bushtit (Pacific)  1     Single male seen in orchard
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1
Brown Creeper  3
Marsh Wren  18
Bewick's Wren  7
European Starling  36
American Robin  45
Purple Finch (Western)  7
Pine Siskin  35
American Goldfinch  2
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis)  1
Golden-crowned Sparrow  16
Savannah Sparrow  4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group)  38
Red-winged Blackbird  35
Brown-headed Cowbird  3
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens)  2
Common Yellowthroat  9
Yellow-rumped Warbler  15
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)  5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S226217837
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