August 28 - Nisqually NWR Wednesday Walk

It’s been a while since I’ve been home mid-week, so decided to go out to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.  That said, this post was shamelessly plagiarized from Volunteer Shep Thorp's account to the Tweeters birding group.

Greeted by a Black-capped Chickadee

Volunteers lead a walk every Wednesday at 8 a.m. from the Refuge Visitors’ Center.  Today, about 28 of us enjoyed a beautiful summer’s day at the Refuge with temperatures in the 60s to 80s Fahrenheit.  One of our leaders, Phil Kelley began the walk with us, but peeled off to lead a student field trip visiting from Pacific Lutheran University. 

Starting out at the Visitors’ Center Pond Overlook, we were greeted by an immature Green Heron hunting in the pond.

You can tell it's an immature because it has streaks on the breast.

Swallows were scarce, as the numbers have significantly dropped with migration in full swing.  Only two Barn Swallows were seen at the start of the walk.  A Great Blue Heron perched high on a snag.

This and the Green Heron photo stolen from Shep Thorp

Refuge staff were busy mowing the high grass from the fields, to provide habitat for wintering waterfowl.  Water could be heard along the west side of the Visitor Center, as the pumps are turned on to begin flooding the dried up - and newly-mowed - fields.

The Heritage Orchard was good for American Goldfinch, Cedar Waxwing, Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Anna’s Hummingbird.  In the stand of trees opposite the entrance road and adjacent to the entrance to the Access Road Wilson’s Warbler, Bewick’s Wren and Steller’s Jays were observed.  A Hairy Woodpecker was heard calling in the tall stand between the parking lots and the Access Road.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Near the west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Boardwalk, we picked up Purple Finch, Oregon Junco,  and White-crowned Sparrow.

Keep away from the Bald-faced Hornet nest . . .

Along the boards we had nice looks of Common Yellowthroat, Orange-crowned Warbler, Brown Creeper and Warbling Vireo.  From the first observation platform, we saw Red-shafted Flicker and Columbian Black-tailed Deer.

The cut-off to the Twin Barns was really hopping with a family of four Willow Flycatchers busy foraging and very nice looks of Black-throated Gray Warbler and Common Yellowthroat.

Orange-crowned Warbler Leiothlypis celata lutescens

We usually stop for a mid-morning snack at the Twin Barns overlook, before going out onto the north dike.  There were distant Common Ravens calling across the surge plain, with Bald Eagle, Red-tailed and Cooper’s Hawks.  A male American Kestrel was observed hunting from one of the snags, then was observed chasing a Least Sandpiper.  When last seen, he was eating lunch.  The fresh water marsh on the inside of the dike was good for American Bittern, Mallard, Cinnamon Teal and Northern Shoveler.

Out on the Nisqually Estuary Trail, we were greeted with a low -1.89 foot tide at 10:35 p.m., which resulted in quite the mudflat for us to search.

This is covered by water on a high tide

The Refuge is working with the contractor to complete construction on the new bridge over a tributary off Shannon Slough.  Off-and-on, the boardwalk has been closed this year, due to the work.

This is the time of the year that young Cowbirds forage on the mud flats

Two Hooded Mergansers were seen near the photo blind, and several small groups of peeps, including Least and Western Sandpiper, were seen flying over the mudflats.  A large group of more than 20 Killdeer were foraging around the McAllister Creek Viewing Platform.

California Gulls in front, Ring-billed Gulls in back

With the low tide we had nice observation of Gulls and Eagles foraging on Pacific Sand Lance from the sandy bottom of the creek.  Ring-billed, California, Glaucous-winged, and Western Gulls were identified, along with the more-common hybrid “Olympic” Gulls.  We searched for and found two Spotted Sandpipers along the west bank of McAllister Creek, a Belted Kingfisher from the Puget Sound Observation Platform and Purple Martins near the nest boxes at the Luhr Beach.

Luhr Beach is a WDFW-owned facility

Double-crested and Brandt’s Cormorants were observed out on Nisqually Reach.  We saw about 10 Caspian Terns, but were not able to relocate the Franklin's Gull and Common Tern reported earlier in the last two weeks.  As the tide shifted many hundreds of waterfowl took flight and we were able to count hundreds of Northern Pintails, mixed with Mallards, and a few dozen American Wigeon.

From the Estuary Boardwalk, one can see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (right of Anderson Island)

On our return along the east side of the Twin Barns boardwalk loop, there were Western Wood Pewee, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, American Goldfinch, and more chickadees.  A single Golden-crowned Kinglet was observed at the Riparian Forest Overlook, soon after we watched a mink foraging for its lunch.

In all, we saw 66 bird species for the day, as well as some cool mammals, with 157 avian species for the year for the Wednesday Walk.  All and sundry are welcome to attend this walk.  I’d love to meet you out birding there.

Nisqually NWR eBird Checklist is Here  

 

Drake Wood Duck in "Eclipse" plumage

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