Hello all, I had about an hour to kill this morning before work so I walked
the trail to the Twin Barns and back (I take a long time when birding here)
to the parking lot. The willows near the interior pond had a singing
WARBLING VIREO. YELLOW WARBLERS were heard singing all along the woodlot
south of the main parking lot. Tons of LEAST SANDPIPERS, two WILSON'S SNIPE
and two LESSER YELLOWLEGS were the only shorebirds I could find amongst the
vegetation/ponds from the Twin Barns. I had lots of fun watching the antics
of three A. BITTERNS along the back edge of this pond (as viewed from the
Barns overlook). They were chasing each other on foot (all puffed up) and
on the wing (necks outstretched). I watched one doing his gulping and
pumping but couldn't hear the "song" over the highway noise...bummer. Heard
five WILSON'S WARBLERS calling to each other (seemingly, as the songs
followed closely behind one another) along the short stretch of shrubs along
the boardwalk by the barns. Also heard the song of a WESTERN TANAGER from
the Big Leaf Maples nearby, but couldn't locate the bird.

Keith Brady had a group of five SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS out on the Nisqually
Reach (this is a good time for them at Nisqually) and some WHIMBREL. He
also saw L/B DOWITCHER somewhere on the loop.

At the St. Martin's Campus trails in Lacey I heard and saw a male B/T GRAY
WARBLER in the same spot where I heard and saw a male Townsend's Warbler
yesterday...making for a great birding by ear training session (I was happy
to learn that my last post was correct and that B/T Grays do have a huskier,
more forceful song). Also got to see him get chased (very wildly) through
the shrubbery by the newly arrived very-territorial male WILSON'S WARBLER
from yesterday (same area, could be a different bird).

Jason Paulios
Jpaulios at earthlink.net
Olympia, WA