Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I enjoyed another good day of birding,specifically in the Brady-Elma area along with an afternoon visit made at the Nisqually NWR on our way home. WE began along Brady Loop Rd.,where a subadult Golden Eagle was well observed in our spotting scope soaring and circling overhead along the western portion of Brady Loop Rd.,then eventually drifted off to the north over Hwy.12 to unknown locations. This was probably one of our best views we have had of this particular plumaged bird with good lighting,before conditions began to become more cloudy. Our main highlight of the day was the lingering Pink-footed Goose,which we observed at the other end of Brady Loop Rd. just west of Gillis Rd. amongst 2 Greater White-fronted Geese and relatively good numbers of Canada Geese including a few "Cackling"Canada Geese and 1 "Aleutian"Canada Goose. The injured Pink-footed Goose stayed very close to both of the Greater White-fronted Geese,as we watched the bird hopping and limping on the ground,as well as swimming in the pond area along with noticing how much the Pink-footed Goose has increased in size due to apparent weight gain. We observed the Pink-footed Goose at 11:30 and watched the bird until 12pm when the bird and a good portion of the other geese flock were flushed by two dogs that came too close. We watched the Pink-footed Goose and the two Greater White-fronted Geese fly west towards Foster Rd. along with the other Canada Geese,where we later relocated the bird. We enjoyed watching the Pink-footed Goose again,especially watching the bird interact with the other waterfowl,as it foraged in the pond making this our best observation of the bird at this location. Other highlights noted from the Brady Loop Rd. complex included the following:

13 Turkey Vultures
1 adult dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk
1 pair of Am.Kestrels observed along Foster Rd.(with a female on a nestbox,of which the pair may use for breeding)
6 Long-billed Dowitchers in the flooded area at the intersection of Brady Loop Rd. and Foster Rd.
2 Rufous Hummingbirds
2 Downy Woodpeckers
4 Western Scrub Jays
4 Savannah Sparrows

We also noted additional Turkey Vultures from other nearby locations including the following:

2 along Hwy.12 at Elma
1 at the Schouweiler Rd. wetland near Elma(along with a single adult Peregrine Falcon)
3 along Hwy.12 at Satsop

A single Rough-legged Hawk was observed hunting along Wakefield Rd. south of Elma along with 2 Western Scrub Jays along Hwy.12 at Elma.

On our way home we birded the Nisqually NWR from 2:30pm-3:30pm,specifically from the Twin Barns area followed by a short walk made along the McAllister Creek trail,as temperatures seemed 10-15 degrees cooler than in the Brady-Elma area. Our main highlight at this location was a pair of Sandhill Cranes that we observed flying over the McAllister Creek trail from the direction of Nisqually Cut-Off Rd.,then continuing north and eventually landing in a grassy field north of the McAllister Creek trail allowing several photographs to be obtained of the birds. Overall our visit to Nisqually NWR was quite slow especially for raptors,but we encountered a few additional highlights of note to mention including the following:

1 male Eurasian Wigeon
1 Merlin
7 Greater Yellowlegs
3 Downy Woodpeckers
3 Brown Creepers
1 adult Northern Shrike
1 Savannah Sparrow

On route to the Elma-Brady area this morning we stopped along Madrona Beach Rd.(accessed from Hwy.101 at Mud Bay,Thurston Co.)and observed a single Greater Yellowlegs and 1 Spotted Sandpiper,which began our day.


Good birding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Tacoma,WA
godwit at worldnet.att.net