Hi All;

I walked the complete loop at Nisqually today. The tide was extremely low
so I wasn't able to see much along the sound, but the extensive mudflats did
have some WHIMBREL. Highlights include:

WHIMBREL 10
WILSON'S PHALAROPE 1 (female) (pond in northwest corner)
SPOTTED SANDPIPER 2
SORA 3
VIRGINIA RAIL 3
BLUE-WINGED TEAL 9
CINNAMON TEAL 4
HOODED MERGANSER 4 (all females)
WOOD DUCK 1 female with 16 "mixed" ducklings (see below)
WILLOW FLYCATCHER 4 (my first for the season)
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER 1
PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER 1
WESTERN TANAGER 3
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK 1
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE 1

My most interesting observation was along the boardwalk near the observation
platform that overlooks the Nisqually River. Inside the dike, near this
location, my attention was drawn to a single duckling, all alone, calling
out. Nearby I could hear other peeps as the entire family tried to locate
each other. Soon a female WOOD DUCK swam out from the vegetation with 16
ducklings following close behind. 13 of these ducklings were the typical
golden yellow Wood Duck ducklings, but 3 of these ducklings were dark in
color, with some additional white plumage markings and had longer bills.
When I returned home I referred to my other field guides and found that
these 3 darker ducklings were in fact HOODED MERGANSER ducklings. Further
research also found that Hooded Mergansers will sometimes lay their eggs in
Wood Duck nests for the duck to raise. So my guess is that this Wood Duck
had an uninvited visitor to her nest and is now raising 3 Hooded Mergansers
along with her own young.

That's all for now
Good Birding!

Steve Nord
Olympia, WA
birdersteve at attbi.com