[Tweeters] Wednesday Walk for Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for April 30th, 2025

[Shep Thorp via Tweeters]

Hi Tweets,

Thirty of us enjoyed a fine Spring day at the Refuge with cool temperatures
in the 40's to 60's degrees Fahrenheit.  There as a High 13'7" Tide at
7:00am, so when we started our walk at 8am, we decided to skip the Orchard,
Access Roads and Twin Barns Overlook in the morning to chase the falling
tide on the Nisqually Estuary Trail and Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail.
Highlights included a pair of CINNAMON TEAL in the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook to greet us in the morning, First of Year YELLOW WARBLER at the
Twin Barns cut-off from the Twin Barns Loop Trail, continuing YELLOW-HEADED
BLACKBIRD x 3 in the freshwater marsh south of the Nisqually Estuary Trail,
and great looks of LEAST SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER, and continuing
WHIMBREL from the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail.  Other fun sightings
included WOOD DUCK visiting the nest box at the west entrance to the Twin
Barns Loop Trail, good looks of WILSON'S WARBLER and RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
in the Twin Barns Picnic Area, a cool fly over of a MERLIN hunting the
mudflats, a single SEMI-PALMATED PLOVER on the mudflats, continuing GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and single SNOW GOOSE in the freshwater marsh, a SORA
swimming around in the freshwater marsh near the big Willow Tree along the
dike, FOY pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL in the freshwater marsh, and two RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRD nests with chicks over the borrow slough between the Beaver
Deceiver and the NE corner of the Twin Barns Loop Trail.

For the day we observed 84 species.  With FOY VAUX'S SWIFT, YELLOW WARBLER,
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and BLUE-WINGED TEAL, we now
have observed 134 species so far this year.  See our eBird List pasted
below with additional details and photos.

Next week I'll be away leading a trip for Clearwater Audubon to Magee
Marsh, the week before the "Biggest Week in American Birding".  Ken, Pete,
Rob, Jim, Ed and a group of exceptional regulars will lead the way in my
absence.

Until next time, when we meet again at 8am at the Visitor Center Pond
Overlook, be well, and happy birding.

Shep

-- 
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Apr 30, 2025 6:09 AM - 5:02 PM
Protocol: Traveling
7.641 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Wednesday Walk. Sunny skies with temperatures in
the 40’s-60’s. There was a High 13’7” Tide at 7:00am and a Low -3’6” Tide
at 2:16pm. Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian
Black-tailed, Muskrat, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Townsend’s Vole, Harbor Seal,
Townsend’s Chipmunk. Others seen American Bullfrog, and Puget Sound Garter
Snake.
84 species (+8 other taxa)

Snow Goose  1     Seen on central access road with Canada Goose.
Greater White-fronted Goose (Western)  53
Cackling Goose (minima)  18
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima)  75
Wood Duck  15
Blue-winged Teal  2
Cinnamon Teal (Northern)  7
Northern Shoveler  100
Gadwall  4
American Wigeon  100
Mallard  75
Northern Pintail  25
Green-winged Teal (American)  600
Ring-necked Duck  6
Bufflehead  30
Common Goldeneye  5
Hooded Merganser  8
Red-breasted Merganser  1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  12
Band-tailed Pigeon (Northern)  1
Mourning Dove  2
Vaux's Swift  3
Anna's Hummingbird  1
Rufous Hummingbird  8     Two nests with young on the east side of the Twin
Barns Loop Trail in branches overhanging the borrow slough on the inside of
the trail. One nest 8 railing planks north of beaver deceiver.  The other
nest 50 feet south of NE corner of loop trail.
Virginia Rail  1     Heard in Visitor Center Pond.
Sora  2     One heard in flooded field south of Twin Barns. The other seen
swimming in fresh water marsh just south of Nisqually Estuary Trail closest
to largest Willow Tree growing out of dike.
American Coot (Red-shielded)  15
Killdeer  2     Flooded field along Entrance Road across from Orchard.
Semipalmated Plover  1     Spotted by Craig on mudflats north of  Nisqually
Estuary Trail west of Leschi Slough.
Whimbrel (Hudsonian)  2     Continuing. McAllister Creek Viewing Platform.
Wilson's Snipe  1     Flooded field south of Access Road.
Spotted Sandpiper  1     West Bank of McAllister Creek.
Lesser Yellowlegs  6     Vocalizing. Fly over and landing in freshwater
marsh.
Greater Yellowlegs  6
Least Sandpiper  200
Western Sandpiper  200
Short-billed Gull  50
Ring-billed Gull  6
Glaucous-winged Gull  1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  4
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull  15
gull sp.  200
Caspian Tern  4
Pied-billed Grebe  1     Heard only.
Double-crested Cormorant  5
Great Blue Heron (Great Blue)  15
Bald Eagle  30     Nest in Cottonwood Tree West Bank of  Nisqually River
north dike. Another nest West Bank of McAllister Creek across from Puget
Sound Viewing Platform.
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis)  1
Belted Kingfisher  3
Red-breasted Sapsucker  2     Twin Barns Picnic Area and east side of Twin
Barns Loop Trail.
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific)  2
Pileated Woodpecker  1     Heard only from Riparian Forest Overlook
Northern Flicker  2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)  2
Merlin  1     Hunting mudflats.
Hutton's Vireo  1     Heard only between Nisqually Estuary Trail and Twin
Barns Observation Platform.
American Crow  8
Common Raven  1
Black-capped Chickadee  10
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  3
Tree Swallow  100
Violet-green Swallow  2
Purple Martin  6
Barn Swallow (American)  40     Several nests in Visitor Center
Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group)  8     Mud hut over window at Visitor
Center.
Bushtit (Pacific)  4
Brown Creeper  4
Pacific Wren (pacificus Group)  1
Marsh Wren  20     Freshwater Marsh.
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group)  4
European Starling  50
American Robin (migratorius Group)  45     Visitor Center.
Purple Finch (Western)  5
Pine Siskin (Northern)  8
American Goldfinch  2
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's)  1
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis)  2
Golden-crowned Sparrow  12
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah)  8
Song Sparrow (rufina Group)  44
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group)  3
Yellow-headed Blackbird  3     Two males, one female.
Red-winged Blackbird  50
Brown-headed Cowbird  10
Orange-crowned Warbler  3
Common Yellowthroat  18
Yellow Warbler  3
Yellow-rumped Warbler  16
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  10
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's)  20
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle x Audubon's)  2     White and yellow throat,
more prominent supercilium than Audubon’s variety. More prominent facial
mark or smile line. One observed along the access road, the other seem
along the Twin Barns Loop Trail.
Wilson's Warbler  2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S231416087
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