Subject: Nisqually
Date: May 4 12:03:47 1995
From: David Hartley - hartleyd at elwha.evergreen.edu


On Wed, 3 May, from the observation tower at Nisqually NWR, I observered 31
Bald Eagles all perched on drift logs and the ground. There were 4 adults
and 27 immatures, mostly 1-3 year birds.

Other sightings of note:

A Merlin and a Sharp-shinned along the Nisqually River
2 Male Goldfinches (Has anyone seen females this year?)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (The majority was Audubon's race; but I did observe
a male of the Myrtle race)
Northern Shoveler with 12 young
Canada Goose with 6 young

I saw a Barn Swallow flying without a tail. I've been told that in cases
of extreme trauma a birds muscles will relax and the feathers can fall
out. I can see in the case of a salamander losing a tail where this
would be beneficial. Can similar reasoning be used for birds, or do
they lose feathers in fright for a different reason? Is it beneficial?


For those in the Olympia area, a great place to see Brandt's Cormorants
is at the far end of Perceival Landing. Park in the Genoas on
the Bay Restaurant lot. They perch on the tall wooden structure that has
a metal lattice-like structure on top of it (sorry for the horrible
description, I'm not sure what those things are called, besides
eyesores). Maybe it's a turn-around boundary. Anyway, they also perch on
the log boom behind this structure.
Don't be fooled by other Cormorants, I've seen Pelagic and Double-Crested
perched there too. If you can handle the likely chance of getting cancer
because of passing within 50 feet of a Superfund site, it's worth a looksee.
I have found the best time to view them is 1500 and later. I don't think
they show up before 1300. Bring a scope!

David Hartley
Olympia, WA
<hartleyd at elwha.evergreen.edu>