Hi Tweeters,

Marissa Benavente and I enjoyed a short excursion to Nisqually early this
morning. During our stroll to the Ring Dike trail and back we were
rewarded with some new Spring additions to the list of migrants, in
addition to excellent looks at the nesting Rufous-sided Hummingbirds and
other regulars.

The walk started out well with a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER pecking loudly on
the back of a reserved parking sign in the carpark while peering around the
edge of the sign - cute ;)

Highlights included:

- A single WESTERN TANAGER calling repeatedly (not singing) between 7:30am
and 8:30am high in the trees between the carpark and Twin Barns; was not
able to locate it visually.

- The nesting hummers are almost ready to fledge! They have matured
greatly since I last observed them a week ago, and there is very little of
the fluffy nestling plumage visible on their backs. In fact, Marissa noted
that both the chicks now have white in the tail, which in mature birds
would indicate that they are females. We wondered if the same applies to
juveniles though - does anyone know? Also, I would love to be present for
the nest-building process next year - as this tree has been used repeatedly
(perhaps 3 years in a row) I wondered if it is likely to be the same female
returning to this spot, or if it is perhaps her young - again another
question for knowledgable Tweeters? The young birds seemed very alert (in
between dozing) and quite keen to move around in the nest, occasionally
testing their new wings by buzzing them for a few moments while sitting
high up in the nest. The female came by to feed her young once during the
20-30 minutes we spent observing and then again as we passed the nest once
more on our return.

- We watched a pair of WOOD DUCKS perched high in a Bigleaf Maple by the
Twin Barns - what an unlikely-looking sight that is! And despite the
bright coloring of the male, they blended into the shadows and branch
shapes surprisingly well.

- In the same area, a distinct "fitzbew" twice rang out...the unique call
of the WILLOW FLYCATCHER...Or was it? Although the lighting was a bit
tricky, only bird we saw leaving the vicinity of the tree was a Starling,
so.... Either way, if it was the Starling, it was an amazingly accurate
rendition of the flycatcher's call and it did not supplement this with any
other sounds that would make the starling diagnosis more conclusive. Hmmm...

- A huge proportion of birding was done by ear, especially now the trees
and shrubs are leafing-out.
Some birds that revealed their presence primarily by call/song alone
included a HUTTON'S VIREO, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, BROWN CREEPER, BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRDS (males) and PINE SISKINS.

- Warblers included: YELLOW WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (ubiquitous!),
WILSON'S WARBLER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROATS.

- A pair of BEWICK'S WRENS were hopping around at the base of maples near
the Twin Barns, I would not be surprised if they were nesting in one of
those cozy nooks at the protected base of the trees.

- On the water; NORTHERN SHOVELERS, GADWALL, COMMON MERGANSERS, MALLARD
AND COMMON GOLDENEYES.

- CLIFF SWALLOWS are showing-off their nest-building skills under the
eaves of the barns and TREE SWALLOWS are numerous. Other species such as
Violet-green and Rough-winged are certainly apparent, although on this
ocassion we did not especially study the swallows.

- Sparrows: WHITE-CROWNED, GOLDEN-CROWNED, SONG AND SAVANNAH.

- Woodpeckers: DOWNY AND PILEATED.

- A pair of GREAT BLUE HERONS flying toward the area of last years (failed)
colony.

- We heard an American Robin with a very unusual "tone" to it's song! Very
harsh, more "lurching" in volume and tone and very noticeably different
from that of its cohorts. Marissa took a closer look at it in the scope
and commented that it had very little black streaking under the chin than
one usually sees on a mature robin - a unique individual, or a different
sub species migrating through? I've seen very pale-breasted male robins
which I was told were likely members of a migrating sub species, but this
individual bore a very rich red colour.

- Raptors: While studying what we concluded to be a pair of immature Common
Yellowthroats on a quiet corner of the Ring Dike Trail, a beautiful silvery
male NORTHERN HARRIER flew silently over the path a short very short
distance ahead of us :) Also, a very attractively colored RED-TAILED HAWK
caught our attention from the viewing platform by the Twin Barns - it's
head appeared to be a beautiful rich chestnut colour. Notable absence of
Bald Eagles this morning.

That's all for now (folks). If you're hoping to see the nesting hummers go
very, very soon!

Regards,

Michele Herzberg
Kent, WA
foxglove at jps.net
www.jps.net/eurogrfx/michele