Jim Ganley and I took Tom and Sue Richards of San Antonio to the Nisqually NWR
on Thurs. It was a cool, cloudy day, but no rain. It was extreme low tide and
the shoreline was so far away that it was difficult to ID birds even with a
scope. The loop path from the parking lot to the twin barns has the boardwalk
almost complete. The boardwalk and the new office buildings should be finished
by the end of March. The complete 5-1/2 mile outer loop is all open.

3/18/1999 at Nisqually NWR - 48 seen
Canada Goose
Brant ~200
Wood Duck - 2
Eurasian Wigeon - 1
American Wigeon - numerous
Gadwall
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Common Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser - 2
Red-breasted Merganser - 1 in Nisqually R.
Common Merganser - many
Great Blue Heron - About 30 in heronry at NW corner + 30-40 elsewhere
Bald Eagle - 4 imm. and 2 adult
Northern Harrier - 3
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon - 1
American Coot
Greater Yellowlegs - 4 at McAllister Creek
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Western Gull
Bonaparte's Gull - 2 on McAllister Creek
Belted Kingfisher - 1 heard
Downy Woodpecker - 1 pair
American Crow
American Robin
European Starling
Brown Creeper - 3
Marsh Wren
Bewick's Wren
Winter Wren
Tree Swallow - Numerous
Violet-green Swallow - Numerous
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Black-capped Chickadee
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Numerous
Fox Sparrow - 1
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Spotted Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird

Hugh Jennings
Bellevue, WA
hughbirder at aol.com