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Déjà vu. Another frosty, frozen morning, like last Wednesday. (and the days in between) The ducks were again concentrated in the unfrozen center of the large pond at the Visitor Center. American Wigeon mingled with Mallards, Ring-necked ducks, Bufflehead, and a lone American Coot. Most birds were absent or silent and unseen as we made our way through the south parking lot, then the play area and the orchard, except again a few Golden-crowned Sparrows on the ground next to the path and Crows in large numbers flying west, leaving their nightly roost. The frozen peek-a-boo pond west of the service road again had a solo bird on the far shore, this time a roosting Wilson's Snipe, it's bill tucked under fluffed out feathers. A rusty brown ball with only it's crown stripes and one eye as visible field marks. A single Killdeer patrolled the edge of the icy pond south of the bend in the service road and a few heads of Cackling Geese were visible over the lip of the dike road to the southwest. Like last Wednesday, a male American Kestrel, his plumage bright and crisp in the sunlight, sat high in a tall willow in the middle of the the frozen field west of the service road.
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The little birds showed up as we walked the west side of the loop trail. Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets, Brown Creepers, Black-capped Chickadees, Marsh and Bewick's Wrens put in appearances, as did Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, a Red-breasted Sapsucker and a couple Downy Woodpeckers. Our side trip to the flooded field south west of the Barnes yielded more Golden-crowned Sparrows along the road and in the partially open water at the north end were Northern Pintail, Northern Shovelers, Mallards, American Wigeon and one Eurasian Wigeon drake. A mated pair of Bald Eagles perched close together in the tall cottonwood nest tree next to the barns.
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Out on the dike near the intersection were more GC Sparrows and Song Sparrows, a Savannah Sparrow and a deep maroon male Purple Finch. The sun was out, as was the tide. Several more Eagles flew over the surge plain and perched on snags and in the nest tree near the Nisqually River. Another pulled desiccated flesh from the Sealion carcass. A Red-tailed Hawk observed from it's perch and Northern Harriers hunted both sides of the dike. Hundreds of Cackling Geese foraged or roosted on the freshwater side. Terri found the now expected Semipalmated Plovers, a half dozen Killdeer shared the mud a bit further west. A Yellow-rumped Warbler worked the cattails, and the resident small flock of Greater White-fronted Geese mowed the grass on both sides of the dike. A few distant flocks of shorebirds flashed out over the mud flats. A relative few Gulls, Ring-billed and Short-billed mostly, dotted the mud.
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In McAllister Creek were Bufflehead, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, three female Hooded Mergansers and a few Red-breasted Mergansers. Greater Yellowlegs foraged along the waters edge along with a Spotted Sandpiper. Small flocks of Least Sandpiper performed touch-and-go landings on muddy shores, some settling temporarily where we could see them closely. From the gated north end we saw more of the same ducks as were in the creek and a Common Loon. Several more Eagles were on piling and other perches. The channel marker held Brandt's Cormorants. Strangely absent were Double-crested Cormorants and any species of Grebe. Gulls were seen in low numbers. As we walked south back toward the dike a huge flock of Dunlin moved around, sometimes distant , sometimes closer, not quite close enough to search through for different sandpiper species. Back on the dike there were now 8 Eagles on or around the Sealion carcass, the ribcage of which is beginning to be prominent.
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At the River Overlook were Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, and Mallards in the river. A Great Blue Heron perched high in a tree, and more Eagles on low perches just above the water, Common Ravens croaked overhead. We once again found the Great Horned Owl in it's hidden perch along the east side of the loop trail, and a pair of Hooded Mergansers in the slough in the riparian side trail. Back at the Visitor Center deck a single Brown Bat swooped the front pond and a Yellow-rumped Warbler was flycatching from an Alder as we tallied the day's observations. See the checklist below:
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Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
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Jan 29, 2025 7:52 AM - 4:05 PM
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Protocol: Traveling
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5.02 mile(s)
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Checklist Comments: 1 Brown Bat over Visitor's center front pond. Gray Squirrels, Harbor Seals.
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61 species (+4 other taxa)
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Greater White-fronted Goose 26
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Cackling Goose 700
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Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 50
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Canada Goose 12
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Northern Shoveler 75
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Gadwall 24
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Eurasian Wigeon 2
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American Wigeon 600
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Mallard 120
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Northern Pintail 60
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Green-winged Teal 10
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Ring-necked Duck 8
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Surf Scoter 50
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Bufflehead 120
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Common Goldeneye 45
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Hooded Merganser 5
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Common Merganser 6
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Red-breasted Merganser 8
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Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 30
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American Coot 12
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Killdeer 6
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Semipalmated Plover 5 Continuing.
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Wilson's Snipe 1
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Spotted Sandpiper 2
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Greater Yellowlegs 20
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Dunlin 2000
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Least Sandpiper 45
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Short-billed Gull 12
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Ring-billed Gull 25
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Glaucous-winged Gull 1
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Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 6
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Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15
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Larus sp. 50
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Common Loon 1
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Brandt's Cormorant 4
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Great Blue Heron 10
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Northern Harrier 4
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Bald Eagle 40
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Red-tailed Hawk 2
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Great Horned Owl 1
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Belted Kingfisher 2
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Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
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Downy Woodpecker 2
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Hairy Woodpecker 1
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Northern Flicker 2
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American Kestrel 1
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Steller's Jay 2
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American Crow 150
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Common Raven 3
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Black-capped Chickadee 5
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet 9
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Golden-crowned Kinglet 12
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Brown Creeper 10
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Marsh Wren 6
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Bewick's Wren 3
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European Starling 12
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American Robin 20
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Purple Finch 1
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Golden-crowned Sparrow 36
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Savannah Sparrow 1
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Song Sparrow 20
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Spotted Towhee 4
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Western Meadowlark 1
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Red-winged Blackbird 12
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Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
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<br>View this checklist online at <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S211177382">https://ebird.org/checklist/S211177382</a>
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