Hello Tweets,

Today my mother and I spent a few hours between 1:30pm-4pm at the Nisqually NWR with several highlights of note. We walked the McAllister Creek trail to the photo blind,then back to the main parking and walking to the Twin Barns. The weather was quite variable from calm conditions to a steady down pour at times along with scattered thunderstorms. Extensive flooded areas now persist along the McAllister Creek trail,(primarily north of the intersection with McAllister Creek),which are primarily designed as a safe haven for waterfowl during upcoming duck hunting season. Our main two highlights were a male Redhead and a male(rufous-morph)Eurasian Wigeon that were encountered in the large pond(accessed east of the main McAllister Creek trail at the photo blind). 2 female Buffleheads and 1 female Greater Scaup were also observed from this location. The best passerine migrants of the day began with a House Wren observed in large brushy patch north of the McAllister Creek trail followed by a single Hammond's Flycatcher observed amongst a small passerine flock upon a walk made to the Twin Barns along the tree-lined boardwalk. A single Warbling Vireo was also in this mixed flock along with a few other species. Other listed highlights during our visit included the following:

1 Pied-billed Grebe
1 Green Heron
7 Wood Ducks
13 Green-winged Teal
28 Northern Pintail
1 Blue-winged Teal
2 Cinnamon Teal
34 Northern Shovelers
15 Gadwall
78+ Am.Wigeon
2 Hooded Mergansers
4 Northern Harriers
2 Red-tailed Hawks(including the linger adult dark-morph bird observed north of the Twins Barns)
14 Am.Coots
1 Wilson's Snipe
1 Black Swift(observed flying fairly low along McAllister Creek before a heavy rain shower in a small mixed flock of Vaux's Swifts and Violet-green Swallows,then heading east onto the refuge)
80+ Vaux's Swifts(most numerous in pure flocks and with various swallow flocks before heavy rain showers)
3 Downy Woodpeckers
2 Willow Flycatchers
2 Purple Martins(heard,then seen flying above the forested hillside along McAllister Creek,then heading south)
25+ Violet-green Swallows
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
17 Bushtits
9 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
75+ Cedar Waxwings
2 Orange-crowned Warblers
5 Yellow Warblers
14 Lincoln's Sparrows
38+ Golden-crowned Sparrows
28 White-crowned Sparrows
22 Purple Finches

After departing the Nisqually NWR we decided to check conditions at Luhr Beach during incoming tide,which hosted a few noteworthy sightings during our visit between 4:15pm-4:50pm including the following:

13 Common Loons
1 Horned Grebe
1 Red-necked Grebe
1 Western Grebe
1 immature Brown Pelican(most likely the lingering individual observed by several birders in past weeks with the bird this afternoon being observed scoping to the northeast of Luhr Beach at the Nisqually Reach into Pierce Co.)
14 Greater Scaup
25 Surf Scoters
14 White-winged Scoters
1 Northern Harrier
1 Black-bellied Plover
4 Semipalmated Plovers(with 1 Least Sandpiper)
3 Whimbrel
80+ Western Sandpipers
18 Red-necked Phalaropes
12 Rhinoceros Auklets



Good birding,

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