January 9 - Nisqually Refuge again . . .

It was raining lightly at 40° when I went over to Nisqually for the Wednesday Refuge walk, which begins at 8 a.m.

The Twin Barns at Nisqually Refuge

Phil Kelley led the group of 16, not wearing his usual USFWS Volunteer garb,

because the Refuge Manager insisted that if the volunteers are there ‘representing’ the Service, they would have to be covered for insurance if they got hurt, and the FWS won’t cover them during the Trump Shutdown.  Wouldn’t be a problem if the U.S. had universal health care . . . just sayin’

Since there is an active contract for cleaning the ‘flushies’ at the Visitors’ Center, there are restroom facilities during the shutdown, but the port-a-potties out at the Twin Barns are on a different contract, and these S-Holes are really crappy.  So is the political situation in the Other Washington that keeps our Democracy from functioning.

Thank Goodness this was locked . . . since there's no maintenance

We saw our regular birds, but no owls except for this Creosote Owl along the Twin Barns boardwalk.

Among the ‘common’ birds we saw, were a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows that appeared to be behaving uncommonly, as they were eating grass!

Eating bluegrass like a champion Thoroughbred!

I knew that on the wintering grounds, this species eats vegetable matter almost exclusively, as they are among the first to come to my seed feeders in the morning, and having seen them feeding on forb and flower buds later in the season.  But grass?

So, I looked in the old A.C. Bent “Life Histories of North American Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings, Towhees, Finches, Sparrows, and Allies” to find that Junea W. Kelly had written the account for Golden-crowns.  She was a member and contributor to The Condor from 1919 until her death in 1969.  Quite an impressive lady. 

In any event, her account of the feeding habits of Golden-crowned Sparrows reiterated the vegetarian proclivities of the species, and included a paragraph:

“R.P. Parsons writes me in a letter from Carmel, Calif., ‘They have a most notable and special preference for newly-planted lawns.  They did not bother the seeds, but when it had sprouted and was 2 to 3 days above the surface, they descended on the new lawn in hordes.”

The birds here at Nisqually appeared to be feeding on bluegrass (Poa species), and ignoring the adjacent velvet grass Holcus lanatus and forbs.  My USDA NRCS agrostologist contact (wife Marty) tells me that young bluegrass should have pretty high protein content this time of year.

The rainwater remains in the fields, providing good habitat for the puddle ducks

 As usual for the season, we saw many waterfowl

Drake Hooded Mergansers are just so photogenic . . .

Cackler - Branta hutchinsii minima

And sorted through the gulls and shorebirds out on the estuary boardwalk

Adult Glaucous-winged Gull, showing a bit of 'dusky' in the primaries

The darker wingtips and dusky head suggest this is one of our Hybrid "Olympic" gulls

Ring-billed Gulls always seem to me to have "attitude"

This Greater Yellowlegs shows the webbing between its central and outer toes

The dainty plain-yellow bill identifies this Mew Gull

and, there were still a couple dozen Bald Eagles seen

Volunteer Shep Thorp couldn’t make it birding today, something about working until 4 a.m. at the Veterinary Clinic.  So, I maintained the eBird list for the day, and submitted the following eBird Report and sent it to Tweeters:

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Jan 9, 2019 8:05 AM - 2:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling 6.2 mile(s)
Comments:
Wednesday Weekly Walk. Overcast with rain showers, temperatures 38-47° F. A High 14.60-foot Tide at 8:20 a.m. was ebbing toward a 6.98-foot low water at 2:23 p.m. Mammals seen Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, and California Sea Lions were on the wrecked barge on Nisqually Reach, as well as at the River overlook. Also, a Pacific Jumping Mouse was found dead along the east boardwalk, looking as though it had been dropped by a predator. The Refuge is suffering from insufficient sani-can maintenance due to the Government Shutdown.
56 species (+7 other taxa)

Cackling Goose (minima) (Branta hutchinsii minima) 550
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) 16
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 48
Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 135
Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 38
Eurasian Wigeon (Mareca penelope) 2
American Wigeon (Mareca americana) 1221
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 340
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 565
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 875
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 7
Greater/Lesser Scaup (Aythya marila/affinis) 1 Freshwater cattail marsh
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 95
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 17
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 8
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 3 Nisqually River overlook
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator) 7
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 2
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) 1
American Coot (Fulica americana) 22
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) 520
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 25
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 15
Mew Gull (Larus canus) 4
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 36
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) (Larus occidentalis x glaucescens) 6
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus occidentalis/glaucescens) 6
Brandt's Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus) 5
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 15
cormorant sp. (Phalacrocoracidae sp.) 1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 20
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius) 2
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 27
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) (Buteo jamaicensis calurus/alascensis) 3
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 2 Along McAllister Creek. One Male beating a large sculpin into submission for his lunch
Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) (Dryobates pubescens gairdnerii/turati) 2
Hairy Woodpecker (Dryobates villosus) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]) 4
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 1
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni) 1
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 1
American/Northwestern Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos/caurinus) 200
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) 3
Bushtit (Pacific) (Psaltriparus minimus [minimus Group]) 24 Two flocks
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 6
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 16
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 6
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 4
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 40
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 12
Fox Sparrow (Sooty) (Passerella iliaca [unalaschcensis Group]) 3
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 18
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 16
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) (Pipilo maculatus [oregonus Group]) 5
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 2

It was another fun, although damp, day out on the Nisqually Delta.

Nisqually NWR eBird Checklist is Here

January 2 - Nisqually NWR

It was 35° and mostly cloudy this morning.  I made coffees, ate a piroshky breakfast, and drove out to Nisqually Refuge for the weekly Bird Walk.  On this Twelfth Day of the Trump Shutdown, the Refuge remains open, but because of Trump 's "Partial Government Shutdown", the staff aren’t working and the Port-A-Potties at the Twin Barns are not being serviced.  Thank Goodness the main “flushies” at the Visitors’ Center are serviced under contract with a Private Sector . . .  When will his madness end?

The weekly walk is led by Refuge Volunteers, who aren't supposed to "work" during the Shutdown.  At least, they aren't supposed to wear their hats identifying them as volunteers . . . .


There were about 30 participants in the walk this morning,

and we started out on the ‘usual route’ through the old orchard, where we had great views of a Red-breasted Sapsucker.  Of course I couldn’t get a photo of the sapsucker, but I did enjoy seeing a Brown Creeper on top of a tree branch!  Usually they’re hanging from the bottom of the limb

As we came around the entrance road across from the orchard, a flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows had been joined by a White-throated Sparrow.  White-throats are uncommon enough here on the West Coast that we really enjoy seeing them.

The White-throated Sparrow is on the right . . .

For some reason, the Golden-crowns will come out in the open for photos . . .

Finding a Hairy Woodpecker is a little harder than finding a Downy, although neither are rare in the area

Male Hairy Woodpecker

Along the service road, Ethan flushed a pair of Wilson’s Snipe, which dropped back into the wet grass field

Find the Snipe . . .

These birds are so camouflaged in their habitat that it takes a bit of effort to locate them on the ground.

There It Is!!

We had good views of Northern Shovelers.  These ducks will swim and spin to dislodge seeds and invertebrates from the bottom of the pond.  This causes a "vortex" which draws the food items to the surface so they can feed.

It's always easier when you have your partner to help

Nisqually Refuge was set up to be a waterfowl sanctuary, so there are lots of ducks to be seen

Bufflehead Hen

Drake Ring-necked Duck

As well as Herons . . . there are always herons . . .

Out on the Estuary Boardwalk,

The Boardwalk was built in 2008

There are always views of gulls

Ring-billed Gull doing a double-wing stretch

And shorebirds

Greater Yellowlegs

One patch of Salicornia had nearly 200 Least Sandpipers in it, once we looked closely.

A flock of wigeon had one drake that had much lighter plumage than the rest

Revealing a nice drake Eurasian Wigeon.

We will see a Eurasian Wigeon almost every day

On the way back in, we found another ‘aberrant’ wigeon drake in a flock.  It showed a lot of reddish in the head, but still had the rufous flank feathering, and we decided it was a Hybrid American X Eurasian Wigeon

Hybrid Eurasian X American Wigeon

I was intrigued in a patch of Oregon Grape that were already starting to 'bud out'.  It just seems wrong for these plants to begin to flower in early January . . . 

Tall Oregon Grape Mahonia aquifolium beginning to flower

We arrived back at the Visitors’ Center to tally up the day’s sightings, and we astounded by several hundred crows returning toward their roost – presumably on Fort Lewis.  A few took a short break in the Refuge’s trees before continuing.

Just a portion of the 800 Crows that flew over at the end of the day

 Another great day at Nisqually comes to an end

I ended the day with 64 species, bringing my Year List to 72 species.

Nisqually eBird Checklist is Here