[Tweeters] Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR Wednesday Walk for 5/31/2023

[Shep Thorp]

Hi Tweets,

well it's good to be back and the birders, approximately 30 folks, gave me
a warm welcome home to the Refuge.  We had a beautiful day with partly
cloudy skies and cool temperatures between the 50's to 60's degrees
Fahrenheit.  There was a Low 1ft Tide at 10am so we did our usual walk with
plenty of mud to scan for any remaining shorebirds.  Highlights included
nice looks of the BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, and CINNAMON
TEAL; nesting BUSHTIT, YELLOW WARBLER, BALD EAGLE, and MARSH WREN;
displaying WILSON'S SNIPEs; and COMMON MERGANSER with chicks.

Starting out at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook we had nice
observation of HOODED MERGANSER and WOOD DUCK.  The large Maple Trees in
the southwest corner of the "island" on the other side of the pond were
where the Wood Ducks appear to be nesting.  Good numbers of SONG SPARROW
and COMMON YELLOWTHROAT surround the periphery of the pond.  BARN SWALLOWS
were nesting in the Visitor Center eves and bridges.  Several PURPLE FINCH
were singing around the Visitor Center and Parking Lots.

The Orchard was good for BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, CEDAR WAXWING,
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, MOURNING DOVE and BUSHTIT.  There was an active
Bushtit nest on the east side of the Maintenance Building Entrance Road
about 25 feet high in a Maple Tree.  As well an active YELLOW WARBLER nest
6 feet high in the second Elderberry bush to the right of the Green Gate
across the Entrance Road from the Maintenance Building Entrance Road.
Yellow Warbler, WARBLING VIREO, SWAINSON'S THRUSH were heard throughout the
Riparian area, as well as numerous Cedar Waxwings seen.  There were also
plenty of BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS.

The stand of trees between the Flag Pole and the Access Road was good for
calling PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER, WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE, and nesting DOWNY
WOODPECKER.  A RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was observed briefly flying out and
south across the fields toward the slough.  The flooded fields along the
Access Road were harder to scan as the water level has dropped and the
vegetation has grown.  With some work we had good looks of BLUE-WINGED
TEAL, CINNAMON TEAL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, AMERICAN WIGEON, MALLARD, WOOD DUCK,
and AMERICAN COOT.  Displaying WILSON SNIPE and Common Yellowthroat were
seen.  SORA was heard.  Picking through the swallows we could enjoy TREE
SWALLOW, ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW, BANK SWALLOW and additional Barn Swallow.
SAVANNAH SPARROW is regularly seen around the green gate restricting access
to the old McAllister Creek Access Road.

The west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Trail was good for Yellow Warbler,
Swainson's Thrush, Cedar Waxwing and BROWN CREEPER.  We had really nice
looks of BAND-TAILED PIGEON and WILLOW FLYCATCHER.  MARSH WREN was
regularly calling from the marshy edges.

The Twin Barns Overlook was not as productive as hoped.  The field of grass
has grown too high to observe any open water.  However nesting Tree
Swallows were using the nest boxes for nice views.

The Nisqually Estuary Trail or "new dike" was very active with good views
of the BALD EAGLE nest with young in the large Cottonwood Tree between the
west bank of the Nisqually River and Surge Plain.  A male AMERICAN KESTREL
was hunting the plain north of the dike from snags.  The freshwater marsh
on the inside of the dike had good amounts of water for observing
waterfowl, herons and songbirds.  The elevation of the dike provides good
line of sight.  GADWALL and NORTHERN SHOVELER were seen.  We had additional
sightings of species already seen including displaying Wilson's Snipe and
nest building Marsh Wren near the entrance to the boardwalk.  Multiple
VIRGINIA RAIL were heard.  We scanned the mud flats north of the dike
multiple times but could not locate any migrating shorebirds.

The Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail was good for CASPIAN TERN,
RING-BILLED GULL, CALIFORNIA GULL, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, WESTERN X
GLAUCOUS-WINGED HYBRID, and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT.  CLIFF SWALLOWS are
nesting in the Observation Tower, McAllister Creek Viewing Platform and
Puget Sound Viewing Platform.  A few VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS were observed
foraging the mud flats.  STELLER'S JAY, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, COMMON
RAVEN, and additional Black-headed Grosbeak and Purple Finch were heard
from the west bank of McAllister Creek.  A second Bald Eagle nest with
young was easily observable form the Puget Sound Observation Platform on
the west bank of McAllister Creek.  Many Eagles continue to forage the
Reach.  A few BRANDT'S CORMORANTS were seen on the Nisqually Channel
Marker.  Not unexpected, we did not see Spotted Sandpiper along McAllister
Creek, although Anders observed one in the Nisqually River.  On our return
on the boardwalk we were treated to a feeding frenzy in the tributaries
between Shannon Slough and McAllister Creek as the rising tide flooded the
channels.  Foraging Double-crested Cormorants (30), Caspian Terns (40), and
Great Blue Herons (20) feasted on small fish in the channels.  My
recollection is the first weeks of June, juvenile Salmon enter the tidal
estuary from the freshwater river and streams as they transition to salt
water prior to entering the Sound.  A late SURF SCOTER, was seen in the
confluence between McAllister Creek and Shannon Slough.

The RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD nest in the Alder Tree just north of the Nisqually
River Cut-off from the northeast corner of the Twin Barns Look Trail is
empty, hopefully the young fledged.  We continue to look for additional
RUHU nests.

The Nisqually River Overlook was great for observing a female COMMON
MERGANSER with 9 chicks.  These birds have been seen regularly for the past
week from this location, so they might be worth checking out if you visit
the Refuge.

We observed 74 species for the day, nothing new for the year with 141
species seen thus far.  Mammals seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit,
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel and Harbor Seal.  There
were plenty of Pacific Tree Frogs to enjoy, as well a Western Painted
Turtle nest near the north west corner of the west parking lot (fenced off
by Refuge biologist).

Until next week when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook, happy birding.

Shep
-- 
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
May 31, 2023 7:00 AM - 3:55 PM
Protocol: Traveling
6.865 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Wednesday Walk. Partly cloudy, temperatures in the
50’s to 60’s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low 1ft Tide at 10am. Mammals seen
Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray
Squirrel, and Harbor Seal.
74 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima)  75
Wood Duck  4
Blue-winged Teal  8     Possible nest cavity in large Maple Trees across
the water on the inside of the west entrance to the Twin Barns Loop Trail
Cinnamon Teal  3     Seen in flooded fields and freshwater marsh.
Northern Shoveler  4
Gadwall  3
American Wigeon  1
Mallard  100
Northern Pintail  2
Surf Scoter  1     Confluence of McAllister Creek and Shannon Slough
Hooded Merganser  3     Visitor Center Pond
Common Merganser  11     Nisqually River Overlook.
Pied-billed Grebe  1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  3
Band-tailed Pigeon  6
Eurasian Collared-Dove  1
Mourning Dove  3
Anna's Hummingbird  3
Rufous Hummingbird  5     Empty nest in Alder Tree just north of Nisqually
River Cut-off from Twin Barns Loop Trail on the inside of the trail.
Virginia Rail  2     Heard in the Freshwater marsh.
Sora  1     Heard in the Flooded Field south of the Twin Barns.
American Coot  6
Killdeer  1     Seen on the mud flats along the Entrance Road
Wilson's Snipe  3
Spotted Sandpiper  1     Seen along the Nisqually River.
Ring-billed Gull  40
California Gull  20
Glaucous-winged Gull  15
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  3
Caspian Tern  45
Brandt's Cormorant  4     Nisqually River Channel Marker
Double-crested Cormorant  40
Great Blue Heron  30
Osprey  1
Bald Eagle  15     Nest with young in the Large Cottonwood Tree west side
of the Nisqually River and east of the Surge Plain north of the Nisqually
Estuary Trail, and west bank of McAllister Creek across from the Puget
Sound Observation Platform.
Red-tailed Hawk  2
Red-breasted Sapsucker  1
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific)  5
Northern Flicker  1
American Kestrel  1     Surge Plain.
Olive-sided Flycatcher  1     Heard west bank of McAllister Creek.
Western Wood-Pewee  4
Willow Flycatcher  8
Pacific-slope Flycatcher  3
Warbling Vireo  8
Steller's Jay  2
American Crow  10
Common Raven  1
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  6
Tree Swallow  30     Nest boxes Twin Barns Observation Platform
Violet-green Swallow  2
Bank Swallow  4
Barn Swallow  35     Nesting in Visitor Center
Cliff Swallow  50     Nesting in Puget Sound Observation Platform
Bushtit  3     Occupied nest 25 feet high in Maple Tree east of entrance
road to Technician Building and used nest 4 feet high in Douglas Fir south
of path from Orchard to Technician Building.
Brown Creeper  3
Marsh Wren  8     Visible nest on the inside of the Nisqually Estuary Trail
just east of the entrance to the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail.
Bewick's Wren  3
European Starling  150
Swainson's Thrush  31
American Robin  20
Cedar Waxwing  30
Purple Finch  6
American Goldfinch  30
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis)  2
Savannah Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  21
Spotted Towhee  3
Red-winged Blackbird  50
Brown-headed Cowbird  30
Common Yellowthroat  14
Yellow Warbler  30     Visible occupied nest in Elder Berry 6 feet high
along the Entrance Road, the second Elder Berry to the right of the Green
Gate across from the Technician Building Entrance Road.
Black-headed Grosbeak  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S140068267
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