Just a note to say that the freshwater shorebirding at Nisqually is over
until the rains come. They have drained the glorious freshwater marsh area
opposite McCallister Creek in order to provide the waterfowl with MORE
FOOD!? It was all I could do to keep my cool in front of the refuge
personnel. Granted this individual didn't seem to be a Nisqually biologist,
but I found his explanation of the draining to be inadequate at best. If
there is anybody out there who can explain the draining to me I'd love to
hear it. I told him that two weeks ago I had almost a hundred shorebirds in
a half-mile section of the trail and today I found 36 all found along the
creek rather than in the (what once was) marsh. He said that they rely on
the fall rains to replenish that section of the refuge and that the
shorebirds use the flats. The draining (according to this guy) was to
faciliitate the growing of more plants as food source for the nesting
waterfowl (which I take to mean the Mallards, Canada Geese, and one or two
pairs of Gadwall/Shovelers).

In my opinion that freshwater area was the best and ONLY accessible
shorebird spot in the entire county...I guess it's back to driving all the
way to Hoquiam for decent birds. Gone are my dreams of Baird's and Semipalm
in the county. Can you hear me weaping? The gnashing of teeth?

Birds I DID see included:
Wood Ducks (three juv. males getting red iris and vertical white stripe on
face going up towards the eye)
1 GREEN HERON (juv; along canal just after first ponds on trail to
McAllister)
1 Cooper's Hawk (juv.)
33 Killdeer
1 juv. Greater Yellowlegs (my first juv. yellowlegs of the fall, crisp
streaking on breast, gray base to bill extending halfway, clean patterning
on the coverts and upperparts in general)
5 Spotted Sandpiper (3 juv, 1 ad, 2 unknown-too far away)
1 Warbling Vireo (just included because I hadn't heard one for a while)

Yesterday on a BHAS field trip we had two B/H GROSBEAK males at Black Lake
Meadows in Thurston County (haven't seen one for about a month) so that was
nice. Also a flyby MOURNING DOVE there, which I'm not sure I've seen at the
meadows before.

Jason Paulios
JPaulios at earthlink.net
Olympia, WA

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