Hello, tweets.

Netta Smith and I walked around Nisqually yesterday afternoon. A great
warm sunny day to be out in nature. No rare species but lots of birds.
We especially enjoyed the two human birds we encountered.

Most interesting were 3 Western Scrub-Jays that flew more or less
together all the way across the refuge from the Nisqually River to
McAllister Creek, at treetop level like we see Steller's Jays doing
every fall. Scrub-jays (young only?) appear to disperse in the same
way, with cross-country flights. Both are considered nonmigratory.

Cedar Waxwings were more abundant than I've ever seen them before.
Almost every crabapple on the dike had a small group, totaling hundreds
of birds (400 estimated). The great majority (80-90%) were juveniles,
still with streaks on the underparts although most molting out of that
plumage.

Purple Finches were also common on the dike, also feeding on
crabapples. Both of these species are dependable there in the fall, as
the crabapples ripen. Interestingly, although I looked closely at about
20 Purple Finches, not a single one of them was a mature pink male, and
I have only rarely seen them crabapple cruising.

Song Sparrows also flew up into the crabapples to feed on the fruits,
and some of the other species there (House Finches in particular) were
also partaking of this seasonally abundant resource.

The other interesting sighting was of 11 Turkey Vultures in a flock
gliding southward along I-5 just south of the Kent-Des Moines Road at
4:25 pm. They all had their wings set, and I didn't see any of them
flap as we drove by beneath them. Perhaps they commute up and down that
freeway every spring and fall. They were up about 200', not all that
high. Another bird was circling over the woods just a bit north of that.

Dennis

Dennis Paulson & Netta Smith
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382