Subject: Nisqually NWR
Date: May 31 11:30:31 2000
From: Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney - festuca at olywa.net


Hi folks,

I spent the morning out at Nisqually NWR with my daughter's First
Grade class as one of the 'parent helpers'. All I have to say is that
teachers have earned their way into heaven if they can keep their
sanity and humour after dealing with these kids all day every day.
For me, it was like trying to keep 1/2 dozen corks under water at the
same time, as I herded my small group around the 'short loop'....

Didn't see (or hear, of course...) a lot of species, but had several good
views for the kids of Swainson's thrush, Red-winged Blackbird, Robins
carrying worms to the nest, etc. Slugs eating road-killed slugs....
Click beetles. Spittlebugs. Other neat stuff (poison hemlock was a hit
with the boys in the group!).

In all, I saw (couldn't get views to all of the 7-year-olds....):

Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Canada Goose (B.c. moffitti & goslings)
Mallard (& ducklings)
Gadwall (& ducklings)
Pintail
Common Merganser
Killdeer
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
N Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle - saw these after the kids went back to school. There
was one chick seen in the nest (thanks, kelly, for the
use of your scope) with feathers showing thru the down..
Downy Woodpecker
Red-shafted Flicker
Belted Kingfisher
Rufous Hummingbird
Western Wood Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Western (pacific-slope) Flycatcher
Cedar Waxwing
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Crow
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
Black-capped Chickadee
Robin
Swainson's Thrush
Warbling Vireo
Yellow Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Black-throated Gray Warbler
American Goldfinch (all these kids knew it was the State bird...)
Pine Siskin
House Finch
Lazuli Bunting
Black-headed Grosbeak
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Starling

A fine day to skip work and spend time with a bunch of kids - who
were absolutely fascinated with the world happening around them.
And, the teachers did a great job of getting the kids ready for the
trip.... the kids knew that woodpeckers made the cavities that were
used by chickadees, violet-green swallows and starlings. I doubt that
I knew that much about birds when I was seven....

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net