Hello, Tweets. Enjoyed a 2 hour walk this morning at Nisqually with Phil
Kelley, who had to get back to town to see a new grandbaby. Besides a
couple of little brown mystery birds, had several surprises. Just walked
to McAllister Creek and back. But at the "duck pond" saw an American
Bittern poking its head up out of the marsh grass. (Later on the walk
back saw it in flight.) A little further on caught a Downy Woodpecker
snitching insects from a scraggly bush, far from any decent tree. Lots
of Mallards with young. A bevy of Great Blue Herons in flight from
McAllister, but then one lone GBH still there, along with a coupla of
actively feeding Belted Kingfishers (at least the mail was really
fishing.)

Earlier Phil kept count of the punches (at the intersection where the
road from the Barn meets the Dike Road coming in) between a Crow and a
Sharp-shinned Hawk. Every few seconds he'd change the description from
the Crow chasing the hawk to the hawk chasing the Crow. I think Mike
lost. You'll have to ask Phil. Meanwhile I was looking at a "mystery
bird." All pale gray brown, with a juvenilish look about the plummage,
but with a large, crow-like beak. I assumed, oh, a little crowlet, but
when we started checking guides could find no pictures of immature
crows. Phil thinks the size is wrong for a crow -- too small. But boy
was that a crowish beak.

Willow Flycatchers, Yellowthroats, Song Sparrows (big and little, light
and dark), tons of Black-capped Chickadees (one of which made a strange
sound, which I must remember to research later), Savannah Sparrows, a
Cedar Waxwing, a youngish Swainson's Thrush, Yellow Warbs, the several
Swallows, Marsh Wrens, lots of juvenile American Robins. Oh, the
morning was a delight!

Anybody out there know anything a Chickadee chatter. Besides the husky
chick-a-dee-dee thing, a shrill rising two-tone number as well? (Sorry,
I'm a poor novice and don't know how to describe birdsong.)

Good birding all!

Bill Ward
Lacey WA
wward at mail.cco.net