[Tweeters] Nisqually Wednesday in December

[Kenneth Brown via Tweeters]

The last Wednesday, the last day of 2025, started out cold and crisp.  The weather report earlier indicated fog for the first hours but it must have lifted before expected, as the pale blue sky was clear.  The covered path to the deck at the Visitors Center was a bit slick with frost and the entrance pond it spans had a a thin skin of ice.  The good weather or the calendar may have inspired birders, 30 or so attended the start. A few Mallards and Bufflehead occupied the pond, a Muskrat went about its business, its tail making a snake-like wake. A Marsh Wren and a couple Song Sparrows worked in the reeds just off the deck, a half dozen Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitted in the nearest bushes.   
 
Consulting a Tide Chart, we deviated from our default route to get out to the dike sooner.  A quick check of the south half of the fields west of the maintenance road produced a few Red-winged Blackbirds, Mallards, American Wigeon, Northern Shovelers. Northern Pintail, Canada and Cackling Geese, and an occasional American Coot.  From the boardwalk west of the pond we saw a pair of Pied-billed Grebes, a few Ring-necked Ducks, and Marsh Wrens in the swamp grass. The blackberry and Willow thicket on the other side of the walkway held Bewick's Wren, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Song and Fox sparrows.   The north half of the boardwalk still closed, we moved back on the maintenance road.  An adult Tundra Swan stood out against the line of willow on the far side of the field. The field's north half populated with the same species of waterfowl.as the south. 
 
The sky had turned gray and clouded over by the time we reached the dike. Bald Eagles were scattered along the distant trees that line the banks of the Nisqually River. Green-winged Teal and American Wigeon were the dominant ducks on the surge plain, fewer Pintail, Shovelers and Greater Yellowlegs among them.  A Northern Harrier hunted the grass closer in, a female American Kestrel perched in the top of a small Spruce tree.   A large flock of Dunlin flashed in a brief murmuration.  American Robins and Northern Flickers perched up in the small bare Alders, including a female Yellow-shafted Flicker. At the base of the willows on the south side, Golden-crowned Sparrows, a White-crowned and a Lincoln's Sparrow scratched and skittered in the leaf litter.  The clouds seemed to descend on us in the space of few minutes and visibility dropped rapidly.   We made out the form of a Cygnet (immature Swan), it's white body and gray neck and head barely contrasting with the fog that enveloped it and us.  
 
The fog lightened periodically as we walked the boardwalk along McAllister Creek.  We were able to see a few Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, Bufflehead and Wigeon on the water.  Gulls, mostly Ring-billed, roosted on the exposed mud.  A few Greater Yellowlegs patrolled the shore while Great Blue Herons stood guard. A bit south of the north end, a small flock of Least Sandpipers swooped  under the boardwalk and landed along side, giving us a close up opportunity for appreciation.  It was still too foggy from the gated terminus to see the channel markers, out on the reach, even the piling in front of Luhr Beach, but we did see a few Double-crested Cormorants, and a couple Horned Grebes closer to us in the creek proper. The fog thickened again as re returned to the dike.  At the foot of the boardwalk we argued about whether that raptor perched out in the thick fog was a Red-tailed hawk or a Northern Harrier, then it flew to the dike and was harassed by another bird, it was both raptors.
 
Walking the north part of the loop trail boardwalk we encountered a mixed flock of Brown Creeper, Chestnut-backed and Black-capped Chickadees, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, then were treated to both a Downy and Hairy Woodpecker.  At the Nisqually River overlook, the water was still murky, though less muddy than last week.  It was once again high, this time because it was near peak high tide, not so much from runoff.  No birds and no Sea Lion either.  The east side of the loop trail and the riparian side spur were quiet.  The play area and the orchard were similarly devoid of bird sightings but in the area around The Land Trust building the ground was hopping with Spotted Towhees, Robins, Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows and a Dark-eyed Junco.   A flock of Purple Finches flew into the tops of the bare fruit trees, joined by Chickadees and Kinglets.  On our way back to the Visitors Center for the final tally, we scanned the fields again  for something new, to no avail.  End of walk, end of 2025.
 
See the checklist below..
 
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Dec 31, 2025 7:55 AM - 3:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.38 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Wednesday Walk.  The walk began on a clear and calm, 28º F morning with skim ice on the puddles and marshes.  The fog settled in from the northwest by 10:00 a.m., significantly lowering the visibility, and the fog remained until the walk ended at 3:30, the temperature having risen to 39º F.  We had a +8.79-foot low tide at 8:29 a.m., flooding to a +14.46-foot high water at 1.29 p.m.  Mammals seen included eastern grey squirrel, Columbian black-tailed deer, a long-tailed weasel, and harbor seals in McAllister Creek.  Of all things, we had Himalayan blackberries in flower near the Environmental Education Center.
60 species (+5 other taxa)

Cackling Goose (minima)  555
Cackling Goose (Taverner's)  15
Canada Goose  28
Tundra Swan (Whistling)  2     Adult in flooded field west of the Visitors' Center, and an immature bird landed in the estuary restoration area north of the north dike.
Northern Shoveler  70
American Wigeon  650
Mallard  85
Northern Pintail  235
Green-winged Teal  435
Ring-necked Duck  5     Visitors' Center pond
Surf Scoter  26
White-winged Scoter  1     McAllister Creek
Bufflehead  48
Common Goldeneye  20
Hooded Merganser  2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  1     Entrance Gate
Mourning Dove  1
Virginia Rail  2     Vocalizing from cattail marsh
American Coot  16
Wilson's Snipe  1     Foraging on the saltwater side of the north dike.
Greater Yellowlegs  9
Dunlin  1000     One large flock
Least Sandpiper  11
Ring-billed Gull  18
Western Gull  1     Dark grey mantle, black primaries, no smudging on all white head
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid)  3
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull  14
Pied-billed Grebe  1     Visitors' Center Pond
Horned Grebe  2     McAllister Creek
Double-crested Cormorant  12
Great Blue Heron  8
Northern Harrier  1
Bald Eagle  12
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis)  3
Belted Kingfisher  3
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific)  2
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific)  1
Northern Flicker  1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)  1     * Continuing female, red nape, buffy face, yellow flight feathers
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)  3
American Kestrel  1     female
Peregrine Falcon  1
California Scrub-Jay  1     Entrance Gate
American Crow  3
Black-capped Chickadee  21
Chestnut-backed Chickadee  14
Bushtit  6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  19
Golden-crowned Kinglet  15
Brown Creeper  5
Pacific Wren  2
Marsh Wren  13
Bewick's Wren  6
European Starling  16
American Robin  15
Purple Finch (Western)  23
Fox Sparrow (Sooty)  5
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)  1     At Land Trust office
White-crowned Sparrow  1
Golden-crowned Sparrow  44
White-throated Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow (rufina Group)  24
Lincoln's Sparrow  1
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group)  9
Red-winged Blackbird  4

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S291653163
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