Date: 4/23/26 3:57 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually
Another wet Wednesday, and relatively small turnout.( total 17) The south end of the pond hosted Hooded Mergansers and a couple Mallards. Red-winged Blackbirds and Marsh Wrens serenaded us as we chatted and watched the rain dimple the pond, slow to get started. After consulting the Tide tables we realized that peak high tide would occur shortly after we started and then fall for the rest of the walk. If we wanted to see shorebirds closer in, we'd need to get out to the dike earlier than usual. We decided to skip the play area, orchard, and entrance road and take the west side of the loop trail, after checking the flooded field west of the service road.
Our reliable Anna's Hummingbird was once again on his territorial throne between the parking lot and the service road. The air above the field ponds was alive with Swallows, Tree, Violet-green, Barn, Cliff, and an occasional Rough-winged, all putting on a show, swooping and swerving just a few feet above the water. The usual species of ducks were attending but individual numbers are decreasing. A couple of Cinnamon Teal stood out.
Virginia Rail called from the reeds along the pond side of the boardwalk, a Muskrat made a brief appearance. A pied-billed Grebe lazed in the middle of the pond, several Wood Ducks swam in the north end. It was disappointing to discover that the Robin's nest we've been watching is gone, whether from high winds last weekend or a predator wasn't clear but the latter seems more likely. Excavation of the Red-breasted Sapsucker cavity we've been watching is proceeding nicely. Two black tail feathers protruded from the hole, wiggling back and forth, then yellow undertail coverts appeared as the bird shimmied it's backend out of the entrance hole and spewed wood chips, evidence of it's industry. We watched more than one cycle. (see Jon's short video embedded in the checklist) Both Rufous Hummingbird nests were again occupied by diligent females. Soon their chicks should hatch and we'll be watching feeding activity.
It seemed like Yellow-rumped Warblers were everywhere there was a tree. The bright yellow-throated Audubon's variety and white-throated Myrtle, were mixed together, today the numbers tilted in favor of Myrtle. American Goldfinch sang and called from the tops of the trees near the maple grove. Golden-crowned, and White-crowned Sparrows gleaned the leaflitter along with one White-throated Sparrow and a few Spotted Towhees. A couple of Eurasian Wigeons were among the other waterfowl seen from the platform at the twin barns as well as more low-flying Swallows. Common Ravens could be heard croaking to the east.
The white head of a Bald Eagle was barely discernable from the dike with a 60x scope, peering through the leaves obscuring the nest in the distant Cottonwood. Green-winged Teal were the predominant species out on the surge plain. Farther west were three Greater White-fronted Geese with some first of the year Caspian Terns, their black crowns matching the black heads of Bonaparte's Gulls mixed in with Short-billed Gulls. A flock of Western and Least Sandpipers were up and down, fairly close in on the saltwater side of the dike, as was a separate flock of Dunlin, most with the black bellies of their breeding plumage. Virginia Rails and Sora were frequently calling from the freshwater side.
Many of the remaining birders turned back at the start of the estuary boardwalk, as usual, but this time Janel called back some of those who continued on, to see an American Bittern we had missed earlier. An Eagle looked snug in it's nest in a fir tree west of McAllister Creek. Bufflehead shared the water with a few Wigeon and Common Goldeneye, their numbers noticeably down from previous weeks. A few Great Blue Herons and Greater Yellowlegs walked the shoreline, and small flocks of Least Sandpiper landed near the boardwalk, foraged briefly and moved again. Three Spotted Sandpipers flew in on the far shore. At the end of the boardwalk, we could see Purple Martins on the "gourd" houses in front of the Nature Center at Luhr Beach. Out on the reach, some Lesser Scaup were visible though distant. A flock of Brant geese were off to the east and a few Brandt's Cormorants on the channel marker.
Somewhere along the line it had stopped raining, the return to the dike was dry, warming, and uneventful. At the maple grove again, at least three Ravens were loud and talkative. They seemed to be sorting out their relationship. They accompanied us to the Nisqually River overlook which was otherwise quiet. South along the east half of the loop were more Yellow-rumped Warblers, brown Creeper, and a few Chickadees. Most of the final few toured the silent play area and orchard skipped in the morning and found a few ducks in the flooded field south of the service road to complete our walk.
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Apr 22, 2026 7:57 AM - 4:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.38 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk on a rainy 49ยบ F morning a 5 to 10-knot south breeze. A High 12.0-foot tide at 8:50 a.m. ebbed to a -1.9-foot low water at 4:21 p.m. Non-birds seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Townsend's Chipmunk, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, a muskrat near the Twin Barns, and numerous Harbor Seals hauled out in the estuary of McAllister Creek.
80 species (+8 other taxa)
Greater White-fronted Goose (Western) 3
Brant (Black) 44
Cackling Goose (minima) 235
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 3
Canada Goose 48
Domestic goose sp. x Canada Goose (hybrid) 1 Superficially resembled a Canada Goose, except for larger white facial patch, pink-yellowish bill, and orangish legs.
Wood Duck 12
Cinnamon Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 75
Gadwall 6
Eurasian Wigeon 2
American Wigeon 165
Mallard 50
Northern Pintail 75
Green-winged Teal 595
Ring-necked Duck 7
Lesser Scaup 16 Nisqually Reach
Bufflehead 45
Common Goldeneye 9
Hooded Merganser 9
Common Merganser 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3
Band-tailed Pigeon 10
Mourning Dove 2
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Rufous Hummingbird 5
Virginia Rail 5
Sora 6
American Coot 24
Spotted Sandpiper 3
Greater Yellowlegs 17
Dunlin 85
Least Sandpiper 145
Western Sandpiper 125
Bonaparte's Gull 40
Short-billed Gull 125
Ring-billed Gull 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 5
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 15
Caspian Tern 9
Pied-billed Grebe 5
Horned Grebe 1
Brandt's Cormorant 6
Double-crested Cormorant 3
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 14
Bald Eagle 26
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2
Belted Kingfisher 2
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 1 Vocalizing from timber west of McAllister Creek
Northern Flicker 4
Peregrine Falcon 1
Hutton's Vireo (Pacific) 1
American Crow 6
Common Raven 3
Black-capped Chickadee 9
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Tree Swallow 165
Violet-green Swallow 40
Purple Martin 12
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 8
Barn Swallow 55
Cliff Swallow 45
Bushtit (Pacific) 2
Brown Creeper 2
Marsh Wren 25
Bewick's Wren 9
European Starling 15
American Robin 20
Purple Finch (Western) 2
American Goldfinch 4
White-crowned Sparrow 4
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel's) 3
Golden-crowned Sparrow 22
White-throated Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 26
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4
Red-winged Blackbird 50
Brown-headed Cowbird 3
Orange-crowned Warbler 4
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 5
Common Yellowthroat 11
Yellow-rumped Warbler 115
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 23
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 13
