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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Atmospheric River or Pineapple Express? As predicted, it was steadily raining and windy as the day began. The birds were few and the birders even fewer. There were only 6 or 7 of us assembled on the Visitor’s Center deck when Glynnis came out of the office to say goodbye. Glynnis Nakai, the Refuge Manager for the last 12-13 years</span><em style="font-size: 12pt;">, (only the 4<sup style="line-height: 0;">th</sup> Manager in the 51-year history of the refuge I believe.) </em><span style="font-size: 12pt;">is retiring at the end of the week. Her beneficial management, like her consistently positive presence, cannot be overstated or adequately described in this report. She will be missed for a long time to come.</span>
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A pair of Pied-billed Grebes were in the Visitor’s Center pond, and and Tim heard a Belted Kingfisher. A couple late arrivals swelled our ranks to 9 by the time we started on the usual route, all decked out in rain gear. Gray sky, mist, and steady light rain seemed at first to keep the birds quiet and out of sight. Some of the paths in the play area were flooded. In the orchard, a few crows flew westerly overhead. From the entrance road, the forbidden pond to the west was full of water but unusually empty of waterfowl. To the east a couple American Robins and a few Golden-crowned Sparrows caught our attention and a Northern Flicker sat solo in the top of a barren Pear tree. The flooded field south of the bend in the service road held about 25 Canada Geese, a few Mallards, Green-winged Teal, and American Wigeon.
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A dark Red-tailed Hawk perched in the large Willow in the middle of the flooded fields west of the service road, the ponds were filled with Northern Shovelers, Mallards, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, and a few American Coots. In the brush along the east side of the road were Golden-Crowned and Song Sparrows and a Dark-eyed Junco. On the west side of the loop trail, the pond yielded only another Pied-billed Grebe and a Bufflehead female. The brush held Fox Sparrow, a few Golden-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadees, Bewick’s Wren, and a Downy Woodpecker.
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Out on the dike, the rain had slackened. The tide was high and the entire surge plain covered in greenish milky water made opaque by runoff from McAllister Creek and the Nisqually River. In the Willow thicket along the south side of the dike, were Golden-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a couple American Goldfinch, a pair of Purple Finch, and a gray-headed Orange-crowned Warbler found by Heather. Close in, on the north side of the dike were a couple Northern Flickers, including a Yellow-shafted individual. Further out on the flooded surge plain were lots of ducks, Green-winged Teal, Pintail, Shovelers, Gadwall, Mallards, and Wigeon, including one Eurasian Wigeon spotted by Jon. A Peregrine Falcon perched in a snag near the Nisqually River, and we watched a Merlin hunting unsuccessfully for small birds. Once we were out of the shelter of the Willows, the wind really picked up causing raingear to flap in the wind and tugging at tripods. The wind was “warm”, an unseasonable 58°F. Jon found a single Western Meadowlark south of the dike. A large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds moved around, possibly wary of the Falcons. A single Dunlin walked on the gravel dike surface perhaps wary of the falcons or just sheltering near the vegetation on the side to get out of the wind. When we reached the start of the McAllister Creek boardwalk, we flushed an American Bittern from the base of the dike that then disappeared into the Canary grass/ Cattail marsh, the bird’s plumage a close match for the dying reeds.
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Walking out the boardwalk, there was no mud to be seen, only a broad plain of greenish cloudy water surrounding us. The wind was kicking up some small whitecaps and the rain had stopped. There were a few Surf Scoters, and Common Goldeneye in the creek, some Greater Yellowlegs on the far shore. A less than usual number of Gulls were around, Short-billed, and Ring-billed being most common. Without islands, the Harbor Seals couldn’t congregate, but some heads appeared above the water. Out at the gated end, visibility was still limited. We couldn’t make out the Channel markers or most of the piling but did find a few Double-crested Cormorants, Goldeneye and a single, Red-breasted Merganser. To the east a flock of Dunlin swooped, occasionally settling down on narrow exposed grass humps only to pick up shortly after. When we returned to the beginning of the boardwalk, we again flushed a Bittern that again disappeared. The same bird? We couldn’t tell. We found a White-crowned Sparrow, and a White-throated Sparrow along the north side of dike.
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At the Nisqually River Overlook, the river was running very high, the water a latte-brown, not quite dark enough for chocolate. But there were chunks. We watched several logs and stumps drift swiftly down river some colliding at the bend and rolling in the current. Three Common Mergansers, 2 males and a female, flew upriver, perhaps searching for a calmer place to land. Walking south on the east side of the loop trail we found Brown Creepers, a Pacific Wren, and a Hairy Woodpecker. Back at the Visitor’s Center for the final tally we found three Ring-necked Ducks and the pair of Pied-billed Grebes. The full checklist follows:
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Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
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Dec 10, 2025 8:00 AM - 2:28 PM
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Protocol: Traveling
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5.319 mile(s)
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Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Moderate rain to begin with, slacking to light rain by mid-afternoon, with temperatures steady at 56-58º F throughout the day. Winds were 5-8 knots in the wooded areas, but were 15-30+ knots on the north dike and the estuary boardwalk. Unable to scope beyond the salt marsh to Nisqually Reach due to mist and wind waves. A -0.5-foot low tide at 3 a.m. flooded to a +14.9-foot high water at 10:30 before slowly ebbing toward a +6.3-foot low by 5:07 p.m. Mammals seen included Eastern Gray Squirrel, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Harbor Seal, and a Coyote.
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62 species (+4 other taxa)
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Cackling Goose (minima) 225
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Canada Goose 75
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Northern Shoveler 115
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Gadwall 45
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Eurasian Wigeon 1 Surge plain with American Wigeon, Pintails and Gadwalls
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American Wigeon 1475
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Mallard 170
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Northern Pintail 885
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Green-winged Teal 300
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Ring-necked Duck 3 Visitors' Center Pond
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Surf Scoter 30
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Bufflehead 50
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Common Goldeneye 11
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Hooded Merganser 4
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Common Merganser 3
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Red-breasted Merganser 1 McAllister Creek
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Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 16 Entrance gate light standards
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American Coot 9
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Greater Yellowlegs 65 Flocks of 28 in flooded field and 33 in the surge plain, with others along McAllister Creek
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Dunlin 650
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Least Sandpiper 4 Vocalizing
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Short-billed Gull 55
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Ring-billed Gull 35
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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 25
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Pied-billed Grebe 3 Visitors' Center Pond
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Double-crested Cormorant 9
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American Bittern 1 At least one bird. As we went out toward the estuary boardwalk, a bittern flushed from the base of the dike at the south base of the estuary boardwalk and flew south into the marsh. As we returned, a(nother?) bittern flushed about 50 meters east of the boardwalk and also flew about 100 meters into the cattail marsh.
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Great Blue Heron 18
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Northern Harrier 3
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Bald Eagle 14
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Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1 Dark adult near the Visitors' Center
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Belted Kingfisher 1
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Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 1
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Hairy Woodpecker 1
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Northern Flicker 2
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Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1 * Continuing female. Yellow flight feathers, buffy face and heavy red nape, seen in alders near the north dike just north of the Twin Barns
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Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
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Merlin 1
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Peregrine Falcon 1
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American Crow 25
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Common Raven 1
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Black-capped Chickadee 18
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Chestnut-backed Chickadee 6
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet 8
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Golden-crowned Kinglet 16
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Brown Creeper 3
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Pacific Wren (Pacific) 3
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Marsh Wren 1
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Bewick's Wren 2
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European Starling 35
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American Robin 11
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House Finch 1
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Purple Finch 3
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American Goldfinch 2
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Fox Sparrow (Sooty) 3
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Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1
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White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 1 Adult with Golden-crowned Sparrows near Leschi Slough tide gate
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Golden-crowned Sparrow 38
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White-throated Sparrow 2 Tan striped bird with Golden-crowned Sparrows near Leschi Slough tide gate, and white striped bird further to the east along the north dike
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Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 16
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Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 14
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Western Meadowlark 1
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Red-winged Blackbird 140
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Orange-crowned Warbler (Gray-headed) 1 Found by Heather in the willows along the north dike near the Leschi Slough tide gate
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<br>View this checklist online at <a href="https://ebird.org/checklist/S288089179">https://ebird.org/checklist/S288089179</a>
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