February 27 - Nisqually NWR

It was another cool morning, and I went out to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge for the weekly walk.  Neither of the regular FWS Volunteers, Phil Kelley and Shep Thorp, was available, but a group of over two dozen participants assembled at the Visitors’ Center at 8 a.m.  The bird walk was ably led by Ken Brown from the Black Hills Audubon Chapter.  I kept the eBird checklist for the day, as we birders followed the usual path through the Heritage orchard, around the graveled service road to the boardwalk along the Visitors’ Center pond to the Twin Barns.  Several birders continued out onto the north dike, separating the estuary restoration area from the upland fields and freshwater marsh, and further out on the estuary boardwalk.  We returned to the Nisqually River overlook and back on the eastern boardwalk to the Visitors’ Center.

As we approached the orchard, we were treated to a backlit view of a male Varied Thrush.

This species is common enough in the Douglas fir timber and a few hundred feet in elevation higher than this sea-level Refuge.  But, we rarely see one on the Wednesday walks.  The recent snows and cold weather have pushed this handsome bird down slope to where the birders could get a view of him.

The orchard area is also a good place to sort through the wintering sparrow flock.

"Just" a Song Sparrow . . .

As we arrived at the Twin Barns loop boardwalk trail, other birds piqued the interest of the photographers in the group.

The Golden-crowned Sparrows have been grazing on the trail-side grasses

The boardwalk itself follows along the west bank of the Visitors’ Center pond, affording studies of the waterfowl.

Big ol' Honker . . .

Drake Shoveler

This drake Ring-necked Duck shows the faint brownish “ring” at the base of the neck that 19^th-Century ornithologists used to describe the species as “Ring-necked”, rather than the more obvious “Ring-billed” duck.

Ring-necked Drake

Birds aren’t the only draw for folks on the walk.

Black-tailed doe- Odocoileus hemionus columbianus

After “Elevenses” at the Twin Barns, some of the group calls it a morning, and the remainder head out onto the north dike.  We look for Marsh Wrens, Bitterns, and Virginia Rails, and get to study the plumages of the ubiquitous Great Blue Herons.

Adult herons showing their fine plumes

Birds from last year's hatch aren't quite as showy

At the west end of the dike, the majority of the Wednesday Walkers have turned about, and the hard-core birders that remain will continue out to the end of the 1-mile-long Estuary boardwalk to the observation deck on the east bank of McAllister Creek, for views of the salt-water species.  It is along here that we can practice (or hone) our gull identification skills.  The large, pink-legged gulls in this part of the Left Coast are progeny of birds in a “Hybrid Zone” between two gull species.  This gull could easily be identified as a Glaucous-winged Gull by some, but shows somewhat darker primary feathering than might a “pure” GWGU.

Glaucous-wing, or a Hybrid?

This bird is more easily identified as a hybrid between the Western and Glaucous-winged species, with more dark in the wingtips than a Glaucous-wing,

and having fairly ‘dirty’ head, which an adult Western Gull wouldn’t have this time of year.

There is no mistaking an adult Ring-billed Gull.

. . . 'cause it has a ring around the end of its bill

At this tide level, we get to see the Harbor Seals at their haul-out on one of the remaining salt marsh islands in the McAllister Creek estuary.

All winter, there have been small flocks of Least Sandpipers.  We sort through the flocks of Leasts for the odd Western Sandpiper, but none were seen today.

Least Sandpipers have yellow legs . . .

Greater Yellowlegs have been regular along the boardwalk all winter, and are beginning to molt into their Spring finery.

. . . as do Yellowlegs

On our return, we were happily surprised to see the Bittern that eluded us on our way out.

The Nisqually Refuge Volunteers lead a Bird Walk every Wednesday morning.  Meet at the Visitors’ Center at 8 a.m. and join us for a fun morning of birding.

Nisqually NWR eBird Checklist is Here

December 26 - Shut Down - But Not Shut Out

Every Wednesday at 8 a.m., Refuge Volunteers lead a bird walk at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.  I arrived at the Refuge a little before Eight, only to find the gate locked, and I thought that perhaps the notice that the NWR would remain open to the public was incorrect.

But, the gate is on a timer, set to open at “Sunrise”, which was 7:58 a.m. today at this latitude, and it swung open for us right on time. 

With Ol’ Orange-Hair throwing his tantrum and having shut down the 25% of the Government that was not yet funded, the staff at the Refuge were busy ‘mothballing’ the place, locking offices, securing equipment, and posting signage to inform the American Public who don’t deserve this Political Travesty.  What a bunch of ....

In all, 16 folks joined the walk this morning, all pretty happy to be birding, and we set off in a light rain to see what could be seen.

The rain kept a lot of the passerines under cover, which somewhat diminished our species list, but the rain let up a bit later in the morning.  Trying to see wet woodpeckers against wet tree trunks and limbs is always challenging

Wet Red-breasted Sapsucker

Wet Downy Woodpecker

But the waterfowl don’t mind a little rain.  We had a pair of Snow Geese fly in

 

All-white Adult Snow Goose - showing the dark "grin patch" on its pink bill

The immature Snow Goose has a lot of gray in its plumage

and a few dozen Canadas

Big Honkers

mixed in with the Cackling geese and dabbling ducks

Hen Northern Pintails 
Great Blue Herons seem likewise dismissive of precipitation

The wealth of wintering waterfowl, combined with the run of Winter Chum Salmon in the Nisqually River, draw a lot of Bald Eagles to the place.  We didn’t see quite as many as last week, but it’s still nice to stand in one spot and see over two dozen eagles!

Immature Bald Eagle

A 15.61-foot high tide at 8:52 a.m. was ebbing toward a +6.56-foot low water at 2:51 p.m., so the die-hards amongst us continued out on the Estuary Boardwalk during high water, but it was a mud flat when we came back.

The mid-high tide affords pretty good views of gulls and shorebirds,

This "Olympic Gull" is lunching on a piece of Starry Flounder

Western Sandpipers are fairly uncommon here in the Winter

But they often come in close to the boardwalk

The Least Sandpiper is the World's Smallest Shorebird - and has yellow legs

as areas to perch are limited at this water level.

Glaucous-winged Gull watching the River Run By . . .

On the way back to the Visitors’ Center, the skies opened yet again.  We ‘dipped’ on seeing the Great Horned Owl, as well as several other expected birds, like Fox Sparrows, etc., but the worst day birding is better than the best day working.  I hope to see you at the Refuge one of these Wednesdays.

Nisqually eBird Checklist is Here