Date: 9/18/25 9:57 am From: Shep Thorp via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday Walk at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR for 9/17/2025.
Dear Tweets,
Approximately 30 of us enjoyed our last official Wednesday Walk of Summer
with sunny skies and temperatures in the 50's to 70's Fahrenheit. There
was a Low -0'3" Tide at 8:51am and a High 13'3" Tide at 4:42pm. Highlights
included nice looks of RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in both the Orchard and Twin
Barns Picnic Area, continuing BLUE-WINGED TEAL at the twin bench overlook
just south of the Twin Barns cut-off, continued nice looks at SORA/VIRGINIA
RAIL/WILSON'S SNIPE/and AMERICAN BITTERN in the freshwater marsh, and great
looks of WESTERN SANDPIPER next to LEAST SANDPIPER on the Nisqually Estuary
Boardwalk Trail on the incoming high tide. We also had a nice raptor day
with two PEREGRINE FALCON, AMERICAN KESTREL, NORTHERN HARRIER, and COOPERS
HAWK.
For the day we observed 70 species, we have seen 168 species this year.
Check out our eBird list pasted below for further details.
Others seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend's Chipmunk,
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal, American
Bullfrog, Pacific Chorus Frog, Garter Snake, Eastern Red-eared Slider.
I'll be away next week on a Westport Seabirds Pelagic. Ken, Jim and all
will lead in my absence.
Happy birding,
Shep
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Sep 17, 2025 7:21 AM - 4:35 PM
Protocol: Traveling
3.18 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Sunny skies with temperatures in
the 50’s to 70’s degrees Fahrenheit. A Low -0’3” Tide at 8:51am and a High
13’3” Tide at 4:42pm. Others seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Townsend’s
Chipmunk, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Harbor Seal,
American Bullfrog, Pacific Chorus Frog, and Garter Snake.
70 species (+4 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 6
Wood Duck 8 Visitor Center Pond.
Blue-winged Teal 1 Double bench overlook south of Twin Barns cut-off.
Northern Shoveler 4
American Wigeon 6
Mallard 30
Northern Pintail 300
Green-winged Teal (American) 20
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 50
Band-tailed Pigeon 2
Mourning Dove 1 Orchard.
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Virginia Rail 2
Sora 2
Killdeer 11
Semipalmated Plover 6
Long-billed Dowitcher 5
Wilson's Snipe 1
Greater Yellowlegs 50
Least Sandpiper 40
Western Sandpiper 200
Ring-billed Gull 100
California Gull 3
Glaucous-winged Gull 5
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 10
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 20
Larus sp. 50
Caspian Tern 25
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Brandt's Cormorant 2 Nisqually River channel marker.
Double-crested Cormorant 50
American Bittern 1 Nisqually Estuary Trail south of green gate.
Great Blue Heron 50
Turkey Vulture 11
Cooper's Hawk 1
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 3
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2 Orchard and Picnic Area around Twin Barns.
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Northern Flicker 2
American Kestrel (Northern) 1
Peregrine Falcon 2
California Scrub-Jay 1
American Crow 110
Common Raven 11
Black-capped Chickadee 13
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 3
Tree/Violet-green Swallow 2
Barn Swallow (American) 20
Bushtit (Pacific) 20
Golden-crowned Kinglet 4
Brown Creeper 8
Marsh Wren 2
Bewick's Wren (spilurus Group) 6
European Starling 100
Swainson's Thrush 3
American Robin 24
Cedar Waxwing 12
Purple Finch (Western) 3
Pine Siskin (Northern) 20
American Goldfinch 15
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 3
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) 5
Golden-crowned Sparrow 2
Savannah Sparrow (Savannah) 10
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 25
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4
Red-winged Blackbird (Red-winged) 80
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 6
Yellow Warbler (Northern) 1
