Date: 8/13/26 9:06 pm From: Kenneth Brown via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: [Tweeters] Wednesday at Nisqually.
The morning started cool and overcast. The doldrums continue. Nothing was stirring, not the air, not the water in the pond, not many birds. Some young Goldfinch perched and fluttered in the reeds next to the deck, apparently waiting to be fed. A single nestling remained in the Cliff Swallow's mud gourd. A few Barn Swallows perched under the walkway cover, their cup nests mostly demolished, the hatchlings seen last week, were missing. Birders were slow to trickle in. A check of the tide chart showed the tide falling, the low to occur around noon. We decided to skip the orchard and head out to the dike earlier in hopes of finding shorebirds closer in, which proved to be a miscalculation.
A brief scan of the fields west of the service road revealed a small flock of European Starlings, a Savannah Sparrow, a scant population of Red-winged Blackbirds, and only a few Swallows mixed with Vaux's Swifts plying the air high above the grass.
Near the start of the west side of the boardwalk loop trail, an Anna's Hummingbird levitated in and around the brush next to the railing. The calls of Western Wood-Pewees and a Virginia Rail were heard by birders with that ability. A Purple Martin perched in the top of a tree across the pond. Downy Woodpecker, Norther Flicker, American Robin, Swainson's Thrush, Black-capped Chickadees, Spotted Towhees, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroat, Bewick's Wren were all encountered along the trail.
Once again we had under-estimated the group dawdle factor. By the time we made it onto the dike, the surge plain was mostly mud. The sun was beginning to break through and it was warming up. To the north a couple Bald Eagles perched on distant snags. A half dozen distant small Sandpipers foraged on the mud. Some heard the call of a Black-bellied Plover, but could not locate it. South of the dike, a Cooper's Hawk flew over the fresh water marsh landing in an Alder on the eastern edge, showing the streaked breast of a juvenile bird. On the edge of the remaining water near the dike, another juvenile, this one a young Virginia Rail poked in and out of the Cattails. Nearby in the water a Cinnamon Teal in non-breeding plumage shared space with a female Mallard. Small flocks of European Starlings decorated a couple of the skeletal snags, while a flock of female red-winged Blackbirds clung to the stalks of dried Cattails. A few Western Sandpipers could be seen along the slough upstream of the base of the McAllister Creek estuary boardwalk.
It was sunny and warm as we walked out the boardwalk. Already a minus tide and still falling, mud lined both sides of the slender creek and formed a broad plain to the east. Greater Yellowlegs worked along the waterline on either side of the creek, gulls dotted the mud, mostly Ring-billed but a few California's. Further north, a couple Least Sandpipers on the near shore gave us a good opportunity for close examination. A flock of 16 American White Pelicans flew directly over our heads, from east to west, then over the timbered ridge west of the creek, catching a thermal. We watched them spiral higher for several minutes, the black flight feathers on the trailing edge of long wings a sharp contrast to their otherwise white bodies and large yellow bills. A captivating sight before they soared off further west. Further out, Anders picked up four Spotted Sandpipers that flew downstream and landed on the far shore. A flock of Band-tailed Pigeons flew up the opposite bank. Canada Geese and Greater Yellowlegs collected in larger groups on the mud islands near the mouth of the creek, a Turkey Vulture soared above the ridge. From the Gazebo at the end of the boardwalk, we could see a few Purple Martins on their white gourd condo's at Luhr Beach. Double-crested Cormorants were in the water and on distant piling. Great Blue Herons were spread across the northerly view along the waters edge, a few more Bald Eagles sprinkled in. Returning south, as we neared the dike, a dozen Semipalmated Plovers foraged on the mud before taking flight.
The Nisqually River overlook was again bird-free, the water invitingly blue-green in the bright sunlight. Turning south along the east side of the loop trail, we came across Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Bushtits, Brown Creepers, and Bewick's Wren. At the junction with the riparian spur was a Hutton's Vireo in a Big Leaf Maple. We walked the orchard we had skipped in the morning and as expected, the late afternoon produced almost no birds, a few Cedar Waxwings in the trees along the entrance road the only exception. Then back to the Visitor's Center for the final tally. The complete checklist follows:
Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Aug 12, 2026 7:54 AM - 3:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
5.38 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Today’s Wednesday Walk began with overcast skies on a calm 63º F morning; the clouds burning off around 10:30 a.m., and temperatures rising to 78º F with a 3-5 knot northwest breeze by the end of our walk at 2:30 p.m. A high +10.86-foot tide at 04:53 a.m. ebbed to a -2.36-foot low water at 11:51 a.m. Other species seen included Columbian black-tailed deer, Eastern Cottontail, Pacific chorus frog, Townsend’s Chipmunk, Harbor Seal, lots of invasive American Bullfrogs, and green shore crabs.
61 species (+6 other taxa)
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) 98
Wood Duck 7
Cinnamon Teal 1
Mallard 30
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 4
Band-tailed Pigeon 14
Vaux's Swift 4
Anna's Hummingbird 3
Virginia Rail 3 One at Visitors' Center pond; two in cattail marsh
Sora 1 Vocalizing in Cattail marsh
Black-bellied Plover 1 Seen and heard vocalizing in estuary restoration area
Semipalmated Plover 12
Spotted Sandpiper 4 Four together (family group?) landed on west bank of McAllister Creek
Greater Yellowlegs 40
Least Sandpiper 6
Western Sandpiper 18
Ring-billed Gull 170
California Gull 14
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 4
Larus sp. 175 On mudflats north and east of estuary overlook; much heat shimmer
Caspian Tern 1
Double-crested Cormorant 17
cormorant sp. 40 Nisqually Reach north and east of estuary overlook; much heat shimmer
Great Blue Heron 54
American White Pelican 16 Flock of 16 flew over the estuary restoration area, and caught a thermal above ridge west of McAllister Creek, soaring off. Large white birds with black primary and secondary flight feathers, orange bills
Turkey Vulture 1
Cooper's Hawk 2
Sharp-shinned/Cooper's Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 12 Inexplicably flagged for high count at a site where dozens of birds may be encountered year-round. Counted 1x1
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) 1
Belted Kingfisher 3
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) 5
Northern Flicker 4
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 1
Western Wood-Pewee 8
Willow Flycatcher 1
Western Flycatcher (Pacific-slope) 1
Hutton's Vireo 1
American Crow 7
Black-capped Chickadee 28
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5
Bank Swallow 2
Tree Swallow 7
Violet-green Swallow 2
Purple Martin 7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 145
Cliff Swallow 2
Bushtit (Pacific) 13
Brown Creeper 6
Bewick's Wren 5
European Starling 450
Swainson's Thrush (Russet-backed) 2
American Robin 12
Cedar Waxwing 17
Purple Finch (Western) 1
American Goldfinch 30
Savannah Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow (rufina Group) 6
Spotted Towhee (oregonus Group) 2
Red-winged Blackbird 55
Brown-headed Cowbird 4 All juveniles
Common Yellowthroat 4
Northern Yellow Warbler 4
Wilson's Warbler 1
Black-headed Grosbeak 1
