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Fri. 21 March 97 Location: Nisqually Delta Sky: Clear Temp. 50F/10C
Time: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm #Observers: 12 #Species 54
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highlights: river otter, weasel?, rookery, BAEA nest, Eurasian Wigeon,
Rufous Hummer, horned grebe (breeding plumage),
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Tweeters:
I enjoyed seeing the Red-Tailed Hawk. There were about 12 that we saw.
I also enjoyed seeing a Red-Tailed Hawk up close. A man from tweeters
brought his red-tailed hawk to the parking lot so we could get a closer
look, and he told us more about the hawk. It was really beautiful!
On the way back we saw a Raven pulling pieces of grass out of the ground and
burying some food it had! I really enjoyed the birding trip and hope to go
again. Do Red-Tailed Hawks eat mice? Will Red-Tailed Hawks eat anything
if they are starving?
-Monet Kittler

Dear Tweeters,
We saw a male Rufous Hummingbird. We knew it was a male because
it had red on the chin, not spotted like the female. When we saw the
hummingbird it sat there for us in the sunlight. I noticed that it
had jewel-like gorgets on the throat. Is it true that the throat
feathers on hummingbirds are called gorgets? We also saw two northern
harriers (female).

-Vafa Amirkia

Dear Tweeters:
When we got out of the car and started walking we saw a plethora of
Violet-grean swallow (VGSW) and Tree swallows (TRSW).
At first we thought it was just VGSWs until we got some on the
scope. Later on the trail we saw some yellow-rumped warblers (YRWA) and
watched them dart from branch to branch. Is this behavior the way YRWA's
forage, by bark glean or foliage glean.
-Josh


Dear Tweeters:
We were nearing the end of the Delta loop trail and were on the last
bit of river when we spotted something in the brush that looked like a brown
pigeon with a diamond shape tail. We identified it as a Mourning Dove
which was (amazingly) on this side of the mountains.

-Tyson


Dear Tweeters:
As we were walking along the trail the Nisqually River became completely
visable. I first saw the great speed of the river then we noticed a bird
on top of a deciduous tree. We then put the scope on it. When it was my
turn I took a glance and immediately saw the Malar stripe of the
Peregrine Falcon. It was an amazing sight. I had never seen a Peregrine
Falcon out in the wild before. I also didn't know how it looked
when it wasn't around high office buildings. We then figured out that it
was an Adult Female since it was quite big.

-Dema


Tweeters:
As we walked into the reserve the swallows were all about us. There
were two swallows that interested me most. One was the beautiful tree
swallow while the other was the lovely violet green swallow. I trhink that
both of the swallows are very beautiful and interesting. After the hike we
went to a deli called "Hawk's Pairie Deli." There we bought some Ice
Cream. The waitress served us giant scoops and their Ice Cream flavors
were first class.

-Dakota


Dear Tweeters,
As we walked along the long trail we saw a Great blue Heron (GBHE)
fly towards the outer trees of a forest. We soon discovered that there is
a GBHE rookery. We looked at it (the rookery) through the scope and I was
suprised to see there were 5 nests visible. Later on, Dean, our teacher
spotted a Bald Eagle (BAEA) fly out of its nest. We also were able to
locate the nest through the scope. Seeing these two nests, I wondered, if
the GBHE is bigger than the BAEA in size, would the GBHE have a bigger nest
than a BAEA? If the GBHE's nest is bigger than those of the BAEA, how
would so many fit in one tree?

-Sachiko


To Tweeters:
When we got to the Nisqually Delta we saw a Eurasian Wigeon and
it had an orange head and a pinkish breast. It was swimming in a pond
with some other ducks. The Eurasian Wigeon had grey on the body.

-dara

Dear Tweeters,
We were about halfway through the loop when we saw two painted
turtles, baby and adult. They were very interesting to look at because
they did not move at all. My mom and I had to go back early because I had
to get to a play. While we were walking back we saw a weasel or ferret start
to run up and down the path and then it ran into the forest. Do you think
it was a weasel or ferret?

-Bo

4th/5th grade Cluster #2
Ardmore Elementary
16616 N.E. 32nd
Bellevue, WA. 98008

Sightings: (also: review, typing and spelling practice)

Horned Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Greater White-fronted Goose?
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Common Goldeeye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Peregrine Falcon
American Coot
Dunlin
Herring Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Rufous Hummingbird
Downy woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
N Rough-winged Swallow
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow