Hey Tweets,
I birded Nisqually NWR this morning from 7:30-11:30 AM. A very
productive morning might I say.
First off on the trail heading towards McCalister Creek, there was a tree
by a large pond on the right side which had about 30 swallows perched in
it. roughly 15 each of Violet-green and Tree Swallows. The
Violet-greens were the first I had seen this year. I had seen several
tree swallows at American Lake 2 weeks ago. The next find was the
Glaucous Gull. I am not sure if it is 1st or 2nd winter, it was a lot
grayer and had less black on the tip of the bill than a bird I
photographed in Port Angeles 2/14/99, which was really white on its wings
and back and grayish on the belly to its throat. The Glaucous Gull was
on the north side of a small island in McCalister Creek (about 1/2 mile
before the mouth) It was bathing with a small mixed flock of other gulls.
I was only able to observe it for a few minutes and took my eye off of
it for a minute too have a Juvy Bald Eagle fly by and scare off all the
gulls. I did not see it again. And across from the island on the other
side of the river was a large flock of wigeon, which contained 1 male
Eurasian Wigeon.
The Kite I observed was an adult which showed me his/her "black
shoulders" real well. I was walking the ring dike trail when I saw a
bird in flight I thought was a falcon from a distance turn out to be the
kite. I tell you I was surprised to find one at Nisqually. It flew from
the fields behind the barns over the trees to the grassy area of the
Nisqually river.

Common Loon 1
Red-throated Loon 1
Horned Grebe 15
DC Cormorant ~10
Great Blue Heron ~15
Canada Goose 100's
Brant 100's
Mallard 100's
Gadwall ~25
Green-winged Teal ~50
American Wigeon 100+
Eurasian Wigeon 1
Shoveler ~20
Ruddy Duck 1
Canvasback 2, 1m, 1f
Black Scoter 1m
Surf Scoter 1m
Common Goldeneye 5
Bufflehead 50+
Common Merganser 10-Nisqually River
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Coot 50+
Dulin 3000++
Ring-billed Gull 20+
Mew Gull 10+
Glaucous Gull 1
Westerns, Glaucous-winged, hybrids & Unid. Gulls - 1000's
Bald Eagle 8, 7juv.
WT Kite 1 adult
Northern harrier 3f 1m
Red-tailed hawk 4
1 Unid. Buteo
Kingfisher 3
Tree Swallow 25+
Violet Green Swallow ~30 both swallows seen throughout the refuge
crow sp. 50+
BC Chickadee 10
Marsh Wren 15
Bewick's Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Kinglet Sp. 10
Robin 30+
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Spotted Towhee 6
Song Sparrow ~20
Golden-crowned Sparrow ~25
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Oregon Junco ~10

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