Hello Tweeters,.
Partick and I took a short trip to Nisqualy to check the front pond's out
what ther filled with water,proable for giving the Ducks some place to go
from escaping from beeing shot at the refuge,which is halve cosed for Duck
hunting.There is a nice pond in front where there plowed the grass and
filled with water,sofat there beeing only one Long-billed Sandpiper present
there.Next to it is the big pond what is design for the Goose and Ducks.This
pond was full but nothing than Mallards and Canadas.As we was walking on the
path to McCalister creek,i could not avoid seeing many Dragonflies flying
around.Big Darners most of them.Patrick was looking for birds an i was
watching the Dragonflies.I been in Nisqualy before in the fall and i dont
remember seeing that amount of Dragonflies ever there.We walked back,and
took the other route this to the dike,and again there where Dragonflies
every where.We saw 4 pair mating what is late but Dragonflies mate to there
die of.Most of this Dragonflies we saw where of the PADDLE-TAILED
DARNER(Aeshna palmata) and few where (BUE-EYED DARNER (Aeshna
multicolor).You can tell this two species easy apart as there showing on the
Paddle -tailed that the thoracic are broad and straigth and yellow where
the Blue-eyed Darner have pale bluish diagonal stripes on sides of the
thorax,also there have all blue eye even the face is all blue where the
Paddle-tailed gotkid of yellow eye and the face is dark blue.Icould identify
this species when there perched together breedin.Usual i will net them for
thge ID but this species i am comfortable ID as such.We also had one
Striped Meadowhawk,what was always perched on the walkway railing where the
sun was bright,.To get an ID on this striking species,i threw my
handkerchief over this Dragonflie and catched it like this.Patrick could not
believe this that this was possible,but i think this O donates are on there
last leg and maybe kind of slow.I also notice when we first started out
around 11.00 Am the Dragonflies where not so fast and did all flyink low.By
the time we left in the end,this Darners went sky high and wild there would
be hard to catch.
We had lot's of Raptuers including a Taiga Merlin and a Am.Kestrel ,many
Northern Harrier including a bright male.Many Red-tailed Hawks,two Coopers
Hawk and one Sharp-tailed Hawk.We also had quite few passerine as 15
Chestnut-backed Chickadees feeding on the seeds of the big Maple trees.Also
Black-capped was many to see.

Golden-crwned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Varied Thrush(singing)1
Am Pipit 5
Cedar Waxwing 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 15
Common Yellowthroad1
Rufous-sided Towhee 6
Savannah Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 5
Dark-eyed Junco 15
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Golden-crowned Sparrow 20
Fox Sparrow 3
House Finches 4
Purple Finch 6
And manny many Starlings in large groups.We did not seeing any Swallows
today from the 120 seeing yesterday.


Ruth Sullivan
Tacoma