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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>*** Notice to all interested parties, our next "Wednesday Walk" will be on Thursday, January 2nd, beginning at 8:00 am.</em></strong></span>
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Maybe because it wasn't Wednesday, maybe because it was the day after Christmas, or it could have been the heavy driving rain and strong gusting winds in the morning that reduced attendance to seven stubborn birders to start this last of the year walk.
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The Visitors Center pond showed only a few Mallards, a couple female Bufflehead and a single Coot. Crows leaving their unseen roost trickled westerly overhead as we walked the south parking lot. The play area and orchard were quiet and mostly bird free, but on the ground near the Maintenance yard, a lone Varied Thrush seemed comfortable despite the rain. The flooded fields west of the service road were occupied by Canada and Cackling Geese, Mallards, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Northern Shovelers, Bufflehead, Green-winged Teal, a pair of Gadwall, and a couple of American Coots. A Bald Eagle surveyed the field from the south end while a Red-tailed hawk watched from a perch farther north.
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Along the west side of the loop trail were Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadees, Spotted Towhees, Brown Creepers, Bewick's, Pacific, and Marsh Wrens, and a few Song Sparrows. Several Long-billed Dowitchers were seen from the Twin Barns observation platform, mixed with the usual ducks. House Finches flitted in the bare trees and blackberry bramble north of the deck.
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Out on the dike, in the brush on the south side were a couple of Purple Finch, Bushtits, Chickadees, and several Golden-crowned Sparrows. Once clear of the wind shadow provided by that brush, the wind seemed to pick up, though the rain slackened. A pair of Western Meadowlarks sheltered in the grass on the freshwater side. We searched for but never found the Snow Geese that we have become accustomed to seeing, though we found a Greater White-fronted Goose with the Cacklers and Canada Geese. A few more Coots, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers were with a scattering of other expected ducks. An unseen Virginia rail called from the cat-tails. A couple of Northern Harriers patrolled both sides of the dike.
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The rain stopped and the tide was high, with no mud to be seen, as we started on the estuary boardwalk along McAllister Creek. The waterfowl were predominantly American Wigeon, most clustered against the far shore. Jon found a single Eurasian Wigeon drake among the flock. Surf Scoters, bufflehead, and Common Goldeneye were there in lower numbers. A single Spotted Sandpiper bobbed his butt on a small patch of gravel on the far shore. A camouflage painted flat boat with two camouflaged duck hunters, a large dog, and what looked like less than 6 inches of freeboard powered noisily up the creek. From the far end of the boardwalk, despite the choppy water, we were able to pick out Red-breasted Mergansers, more Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, bufflehead, and a Horned Grebe. A distant but identifiable flock of Bonaparte's Gulls may have been working a bait ball as they lifted into view then disappeared back into the chop. To the east near the mouth of the Nisqually, a swooping Peregrine Falcon stirred up a flock of Dunlin, while another sat perched in a distant snag. Double-crested and Brandt's Cormorants were on the channel marker and other scattered piling.
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Back on the dike, the sun was out and the tide had receded. Flocks of Dunlin and smaller flocks of Least Sandpipers flashed dark and light as they murmurated. (is that a word?) A pair of Merlin harassed the shorebirds, not apparently successful. A </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">White-crowned Sparrow stood out among 4-5 Golden-crowned Sparrows. Once again Jon found a Eurasian Wigeon among the ducks on the surge plain. A dozen or so Gadwall occupied the near portion of Leschi slough. A larger group of Greater White-fronted Geese had joined the other Geese. At the Nisqually River overlook were 6 Common Mergansers, a few Common Goldeneye and a couple Mallards. A Belted Kingfisher flew upstream low over the water, followed shortly by a DC Cormorant. We stopped along the eastern half of the loop trail and found a Great-Horned Owl, in the same location as last week, difficult to see even when you know it's there. Back at the deck to complete our tally, our final species of the walk was a solo female Ring-necked Duck. So ended our final 2024 "Wednesday" walk. </span>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US</span>
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Dec 26, 2024 8:00 AM - 3:20 PM
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Protocol: Traveling
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5.22 mile(s)
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Checklist Comments: “Wednesday” Walk: It was 47º F, raining and there was a 5-15-knot south wind at 8 a.m. when 7 birders assembled at the Visitors’ Center for the weekly birding walk (postponed a day due to the Christmas/Hanukkah Holiday). The rain slacked around 10:30 a.m. and the sun came out, but the wind increased to 10-25 knots for the rest of the day with a high temperature of 50º F. There was an +8.4-foot “low” tide at 8:17 a.m., flooding to a 13.0-foot high water at 1:21 p.m. Mammals seen included Columbian black-tailed deer, eastern grey squirrels, and Harbor Seals.
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64 species (+3 other taxa)
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Greater White-fronted Goose 29
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Cackling Goose (minima) 475 Many geese remained south of the freeway; no Taverner's cacklers seen.
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Canada Goose 38
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Northern Shoveler 80
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Gadwall 16
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Eurasian Wigeon 2 Both males
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American Wigeon 1075
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Mallard 70
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Northern Pintail 285
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Green-winged Teal 175
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Ring-necked Duck 1 Female at Visitors' Center pond
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Surf Scoter 60
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Bufflehead 155
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Common Goldeneye 35
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Hooded Merganser 3
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Common Merganser 6
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Red-breasted Merganser 9
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Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 51 At entrance gate upon leaving
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Virginia Rail 1 Vocalizing from cattail marsh
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American Coot 7
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Long-billed Dowitcher 42
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Spotted Sandpiper 1 West bank of McAllister Creek at high tide
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Greater Yellowlegs 35
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Dunlin 550
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Least Sandpiper 75
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Bonaparte's Gull 70 Nisqually Reach; mid-channel or north toward Anderson Island
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Short-billed Gull 110
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Ring-billed Gull 36
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Glaucous-winged Gull 1
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Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 15
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Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20
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Horned Grebe 1 East of Luhr Beach
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Brandt's Cormorant 10
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Double-crested Cormorant 14
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Great Blue Heron 15
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Northern Harrier 2
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Bald Eagle 15
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Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2
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Great Horned Owl 1 West of the "Beaver Deceiver" in an Oregon Ash tree
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Belted Kingfisher 1 Nisqually River overlook
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Northern Flicker 1
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Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2
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Merlin 2
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Peregrine Falcon 2
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Steller's Jay (Coastal) 1 Timber west of McAllister Creek.
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American Crow 50
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Common Raven 1
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Black-capped Chickadee 12
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Bushtit (Pacific) 12
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
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Golden-crowned Kinglet 30
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Brown Creeper 5
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Pacific Wren 1
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Marsh Wren 4
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Bewick's Wren 4
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European Starling 350
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Varied Thrush 1 Near the gate to the equipment yard
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American Robin 8
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House Finch 8
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Purple Finch (Western) 2
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Pine Siskin 50
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White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1
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Golden-crowned Sparrow 22
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Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 17
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Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3
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Western Meadowlark 2
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Red-winged Blackbird 9
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<br>View this checklist online at <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S206698004">https://ebird.org/checklist/S206698004</a>
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