Date: 5/15/26 9:57 am From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually
A late spring day started out rainy and cool. To some of us "Homies", the change in weather was welcome after a few days of sunshine and unseasonable warmth. A smaller than usual crowd assembled on the deck, some regulars deterred by the rain, some absent having left early for the Washington Ornithological Society (WOS) Conference, held so far across the state that it's in Lewiston, Idaho this year. The surface of the pond was disturbed not only by the rain, but also by the movements of a pair each of Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, Wood Duck and Mallards. A couple Marsh Wrens chittered in the reeds.
High up in a snag near the entrance to the Visitors Center, a Northern Flicker was
spewing out wood chips, working to enlarge the entrance hole and cavity of it's new residence. The resident male Rufous Hummingbird was holding his territory at the entrance to the play area. Yellow Warblers sang in the trees and several (first of the year) Cedar Waxwings perched in the bare top of a pear tree in the orchard. A pair of Band-tailed Pigeons claimed the top of a neighboring tree, another pair flew over head, followed shortly by Mourning Doves. American Robins, Song Sparrows, and a couple Spotted Towhees hopped along the path and foraged in the leaf litter. More Cedar Waxwings were seen along the entrance road, but it was generally pretty quiet, the rain dampening more than just us birders.
Activity picked up once we passed the 90° turn in the service road. Atop a Willow between the parking lot and the road, a male Anna's Hummingbird again stood guard over his domain. The low clouds kept the insects and therefore the swallows down low, just a few feet over the water of the flooded fields. They all were there, Barn, Tree, Violet-green, Cliff, Bank, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows. It was difficult to follow them with binoculars as they swooped and swerved. The Bank Swallows in particular seemed to fly in tight formation in small groups, their bright white bellies a sharp contrast to their plain, dark uppers. Slightly above the swallows were Vaux's Swifts, another first of the year, also pushed down by the weather, their short, narrow tails and rapid wing flutter distinctive.
Alongside the boardwalk on the west side of the loop trail, a Virginia Rail played peek-a-boo with us, disappearing behind the near-side grass then emerging again as we tried to get everyone "on it." A Muskrat went about its business, the top of its head and its trailing wake, all that was visible. More Marsh Wrens called and flitted busily in the in the near-shore reeds. A couple of female Hooded Mergansers swam in the north end of the pond. Red-winged Blackbirds sang from both reeds and nearby trees. A previously found Robin's nest was again empty, possibly abandoned. We made a side trip back out to the service road to check the north end of the flooded field. Most of the ducks have left, only a pair of the recently numerous American Wigeon remain. A single Northern Shoveler slid between tufts of grass, a few more flew north over the far side. Mallards and a few Wood Ducks stuck around, joined by some Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teal that have come in as consolation. Our attention was drawn to violent splashing in the water nearby. A hostile Pied-billed grebe charged a female Hooded Merganser, apparently to drive her away from the Grebe's nest. The retreating Merganser was followed by some offspring of her own. As they emerged from the grass into more open water, their number kept growing to a dozen or more. Mallard ducklings started to mix with the young Mergansers but were quickly driven away by mother Merganser. Turning to return to the loop trail, Matt spotted a male California Quail, a rare sight on the Refuge, on the side of the road south of us.
Back on the trail, the Anna's Hummingbird we found last week was still on the nest. Farther along, a Rufous Hummingbird was also on it's nest. There was no outward sign of activity at the American Goldfinch nest in the same tree, nor at the nearby Red-breasted Sapsucker's cavity. Further north along the trail, the young have already fledged from another two Hummingbird nests we've been watching. Two of the fledglings were hanging out in the neighborhood.
We searched the field next to the Twin Barns, unsuccessfully, for the White-faced Ibis(s) that have been seen here for over two weeks. Maybe they're just out of sight. A Pied-billed Grebe shared the flooded field with a few Mallards and little else. More Swallows carved the air in pursuit of a meal. The rain had tapered off.
Scoping the Cottonwood near the Nisqually River, the Eagle's nest can still be picked out from the covering foliage, if you know its there. We waited for the wind to blow back the leaves, but still did not catch sight of the gray, fuzzy Eaglet we saw last week. Walking west, we heard the unique sound of Purple Martin. When we left the shelter of the Willows on the south side of the dike, we felt the, till then, unappreciated increase in the wind coming out of the south. Not really cold, but cool enough to chill. More Swallows and Swifts flew overhead. A solo American Coot, a few Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Mallards and Canada Geese occupied the freshwater marsh. Virginia Rail and Sora were calling from the Cattail swamp. Near the start of the Estuary boardwalk, a small flock of Hudsonian Whimbrel flushed, flying northerly.
The tide was low, a lot of exposed mud surrounded the boardwalk as we reached the Creek overlook covered platform. The center of the platform was splattered with mud, fallen from the Cliff Swallow nests being constructed under the roof. More Whimbrel were scattered around us. Two adult Eagles were in the nest to the south and across McAllister Creek. A large cluster of Double-crested Cormorants lined the east shore. A few Ring-billed gulls dotted the mud. A couple, of hominids, not part of our group, shared the platform with us. As they stepped out of the shelter to go north, a huge (probably female) Bald Eagle swooped in low from the north, it seemed just barely over their heads. As it flared it wings to land on the roof of the shelter, something (we decided it was mud from it's talons) fell, striking the cheek of the woman. She was startled, but cheerfully decided she'd been specially blessed by the Eagle.
Looking across the water to Luhr Beach from the viewing platform at the end of the boardwalk, the white gourds were populated by Purple Martins. A couple of Common Loons surfaced in Nisqually Reach. Brandt's Cormorant roosted on the Chanell marker between us and Ketron Island. White smudges of Gulls, too distant to identify, clustered along the shore near the mouth of the Nisqually River. Brown-headed Cowbirds lined the boardwalk railing and a Common Raven croaked and soared over the ridgeline west of the creek as we returned to the dike. The rain returned but lighter than before.
An American Kestrel perched in a snag across the surge plain. Yellow Warblers, Black-capped Chickadees and a Western Flycatcher caught our notice as we walked to the Nisqually River overlook. A Band-tailed Pigeon hung out in the top of a Cottonwood, a Belted Kingfisher perched on a broken trunk suspended over the river. We walked the east side of the loop back to the Visitors Center to complete our day. I've run out of words, see the following checklist.
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
May 13, 2026 8:00 AM - 4:04 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.38 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk began on a rainy 52º F morning with a 3-5 knot south breeze, the rain slacked off around noon with the wind increasing to 10-12 knots. The rain re-started at 3 p.m., and we ended the walk at 57º F. A High 13.4-foot tide at 3:05 a.m. ebbed to a +-1.2-foot low water at 10:05 a.m.; flooding toward a +10.8-foot high at 4:15 p.m. Non-birds seen included Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Columbian Black-tailed Deer, a couple of muskrats, and Harbor Seals in the estuary of McAllister Creek.
71 species (+7 other taxa)
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 1 Near the cattail marsh; believed to be the injured Tav that's continuing since the hunting season.
Canada Goose 65
Wood Duck 9
Blue-winged Teal 7
Cinnamon Teal 18
Northern Shoveler 5
Gadwall 3
American Wigeon 3
Mallard 45
Mallard (Domestic type) 1 Appeared to be a Mallard X Domestic drake in the flooded field.
Green-winged Teal (American) 2
Bufflehead 1 McAllister Creek
Hooded Merganser 18 Hen with 15 (!) 2-day-old ducklings
California Quail 1 Cock bird on service road west of the Visitors' Center
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3
Band-tailed Pigeon 20
Mourning Dove 6
Vaux's Swift 10
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Rufous Hummingbird 4
Virginia Rail 5
Sora 4
American Coot 1
Killdeer 2
Hudsonian Whimbrel 15
Ring-billed Gull 75
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 4
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 32
Larus sp. 85
Caspian Tern 12
Pied-billed Grebe 3
Common Loon 2 Nisqually Reach
Brandt's Cormorant 6 Nisqually Reach Channel Marker
Double-crested Cormorant 95
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 28
Accipitrine hawk sp. (former Accipiter sp.) 1
Bald Eagle 28
Belted Kingfisher 3
Red-breasted Sapsucker 2
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2
American Kestrel 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 5
Western Warbling Vireo 1
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 1 Timber west of McAllister Creek
American Crow 6
Common Raven 1 Timber west of McAllister Creek
Black-capped Chickadee 6
Bank Swallow 22 * Flagged for high count; filter does not appear to account for numbers regularly seen at Nisqually NWR
Tree Swallow 45
Violet-green Swallow 10
Purple Martin 19
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 6
Barn Swallow 60
Cliff Swallow 28
Bushtit (Pacific) 4
Brown Creeper 2
Marsh Wren 20
Bewick's Wren 4
European Starling 45
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 14
American Robin 36
Cedar Waxwing 45
Purple Finch 1
American Goldfinch 45
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1 Near Twin Barns
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 37
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 4
Red-winged Blackbird 45
Brown-headed Cowbird 38
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Orange-crowned Warbler (lutescens) 1
Common Yellowthroat 17
Northern Yellow Warbler 35
Wilson's Warbler 4
