Date: 8/6/26 9:36 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually.
Air Quality Index...., a Heat Advisory, recommendations to avoid the outdoors, those factors heard on car radios were on our minds at the start. Likely they contributed to a slightly smaller than usual group assembled on the deck in the smokey haze, though neither the crowd size nor the climate were as altered as expected. The hazy light had a slightly yellow-orange tint that cast a warmer aspect on fellow birders.
The pond held young Wood Ducks and Mallards. An Anna's Hummingbird zigged and zagged in the near brush before zipping away. Young Cedar Waxwings posed as Flycatchers in the Alder tree to the north. The remaining Cliff and Barn Swallow nests under the covered deck/walkway held young nestlings still.
Red Crossbills were heard overhead as we walked the parking lot, a Steller's Jay perched briefly in a bare tree, unusual for the Refuge proper, and Chickadees worked on the Alder cones. In the orchard were Northern Flicker, American Robin, Red-breasted Sapsucker, and a Band-tailed Pigeon sharing the leafless top of an apple tree with Starlings. Along the west side of the entrance road Cedar Waxwings flitted in the trees. Near the green-gated junction with the service road, Jon heard Hutton's Vireo song and with some searching found a shaggy looking juvenile.
Barn Swallows, fewer Tree Swallows, a couple Violet-green Swallows, and a single Bank Swallow swirled above the fields west of the service road, mixed with a half-dozen Vaux's Swifts. A few Red-winged Blackbirds were scattered in the remaining cattails.
From the boardwalk loop trail, there were juvenile Wood Ducks, Mallards, and a Pied-billed Grebe on the pond. An American Bittern flushed, flying Southwest and out of sight. Along the trail a young Swainson's Thrush sat still and nearly hidden on a branch on the ground. Waiting to be fed? Thinking itself invisible? Or both? Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroat were in the Willows, as were Western Wood-Pewees and Willow Flycatchers. A tree Swallow poked it's head from a hole high up in an Alder snag, claiming the former Sapsucker cavity for it's own. In the slough where the loop trail meets the side spur to the Twin Barns, a Virginia Rail was briefly spotted before it disappeared into the reeds and grass. A Hairy Woodpecker announced it's presence near the Maple grove.
We went out to the dike, skipping the Twin Barns platform, to catch whatever the incoming tide might push in. There wasn't much. A few Bald Eagles were perched in the distant tree line along the river. Gulls, mostly Ring-billed, were scattered sparingly on the exposed mud. Three Mourning Doves sat in an unusual location, just above the ground in a low bush on the saltwater side of the dike. A small flock of Canada Geese foraged along the border of the mud flat and the grass line. There were fewer shorebirds than we hoped for, a few Killdeer and Least Sandpipers along with Greater Yellowlegs as we neared the beginning of the McAllister Creek boardwalk.
The high tide being lower than is typical, there was still exposed mud and gravel along either side of the boardwalk. Another Killdeer and a few more Least Sandpipers were close by. Several Caspian Terns roosted in a larger flock of Ring-billed Gulls on the east side of the boardwalk. Nothing in the creek itself but a few Harbor Seals. Matt saw Spotted Sandpipers flying stiff-winged down the creek, we didn't locate them along the shore. The fledgling Eagle's have finally left their nest across the creek, they were nowhere to be seen. From the Gazebo at the end of the boardwalk, visibility was poor enough not to be able to see the narrows bridge, but good enough to see Brandt's Cormorants on the channel marker and Purple Martins at Luhr Beach. Looking north, in the water were Double-crested Cormorants, a couple dozen Great Blue Herons clustered between us and the waters edge. Closer in were several more Least Sandpipers and Yellowlegs. Across the mouth of the creek, a large flock of Band-tailed Pigeons were on the beach at the waters edge, apparently drinking from the brackish water. Jon suggested they might be taking in salt and other minerals in order to make "crop milk" for their young. As we returned south to the dike, a flock of "peeps" too distant to identify, flashed light and dark far to the east.
The Nisqually River overlook was bird free, as it was last week, with the exception of three "Olympic" type Gulls flying swiftly downstream. Turning south on the east side of the loop, we encountered a few Brown Creepers, more Cedar Waxwings and a large combined flock of Bushtits that just kept coming. Then back to the Visitor's Center for the final tally. The checklist follows:
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Aug 5, 2026 7:47 AM - 2:54 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.36 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Today’s Wednesday Walk; a walk through the Smokes of Hades. The walk began with moderately heavy smoke from fires in eastern Washington, on a calm and otherwise sunny 57º F morning, with the temperatures rising to 87º F with a 3-5 knot north breeze by the end of our walk at 2:30 p.m. A low +1.20-foot tide at 05:20 flooded to a +10.10 foot high water at 11:33 a.m., providing a bit of a ‘push’ for gulls and peeps from the mudflats. Other species seen included Columbian black-tailed deer, Eastern Cottontail, Pacific chorus frog, Townsend’s Chipmunk, Harbor Seal, lots of American Bullfrogs, Blue-eyed Darner, and Western Swallow-tailed Butterfly.
65 species (+7 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 17
Wood Duck 7
Mallard 14
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 12
Band-tailed Pigeon 45 Several in orchard and along the Nisqually River. Many flocks flying along the timber west of McAllister Creek and taking salt along the McAllister Cr. estuary.
Mourning Dove 3
Vaux's Swift 6
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Virginia Rail 2
Killdeer 4
Greater Yellowlegs 21
Least Sandpiper 45
peep sp. 65
shorebird sp. 1 Potential dowitcher; unclear observation
Ring-billed Gull 195
California Gull 8
Glaucous-winged Gull 1
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 13
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 21
Larus sp. 250
Caspian Tern 11
Pied-billed Grebe 1 Visitors' Center pond
Brandt's Cormorant 4 Nisqually Reach channel marker
Double-crested Cormorant 60
cormorant sp. 20
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 55
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Seen by Matt west of service road
Bald Eagle 7 McAllister Creek nest was empty; young presumed to have fledged
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 2
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-breasted Sapsucker (ruber) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 4
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) 2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1 Bruce photo of male with Red moustache and red crescent on nape.
Western Wood-Pewee 7
Willow Flycatcher 4
Hutton's Vireo 2
Western Warbling Vireo 1
Steller's Jay (Coastal) 2 One in the orchard; one vocalizing from timber west of McAllister Creek
American Crow 2
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Bank Swallow 1
Tree Swallow 18
Purple Martin 12 Most at nesting gourds at Luhr Beach
Barn Swallow 85
Cliff Swallow 8
Bushtit (Pacific) 30
Brown Creeper 5
Marsh Wren 2
Bewick's Wren 7
European Starling 1545
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 12
American Robin 35
Cedar Waxwing 25
House Finch 2
Purple Finch (Western) 3
Red Crossbill 6
American Goldfinch 25
Savannah Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 17
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 3
Red-winged Blackbird 24
Brown-headed Cowbird 2 A immature being fed by two Bewick's Wrens, and one being fed by a Song Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat 4
Northern Yellow Warbler 16
Wilson's Warbler 1
Western Tanager 2
Black-headed Grosbeak 2
