Hi Tweets,

Sorry for the late posting. On Saturday, September 18, Barbara and I spent
about fifteen minutes at Luhr Beach starting about 9:20 am then drove to
Nisqually NWR and walked the road to McAllister Creek, where we were joined
by Wes Blauvelt(?) from Ithaca, NY. We continued along the dike trail around
the refuge, and made stops at the west photo blind, the observation platform
on the north side of the refuge, the Twin Barns and the headquarters ponds.
The temperature was in the low- to mid-fifties, the weather overcast with
intermittent drizzle and rain. Highlights for us were Marbled Godwits, four
seen in flight from Luhr Beach and then five on the mudflats at the north
end of the refuge, excellent views of a Sora feeding at the edge of the
reeds near the west photo blind, two American Bitterns hunting about a
half-mile apart on the north part of the dike perimeter, and a single Black
Swift appeared briefly, foraging with Vaux's Swifts overhead. We left
Nisqually at about 3:45 pm. The Peregrine Falcon was seen on the west tower
next to the West Seattle Bridge. Total species seen: 58

Species seen:
Common Loon -- 1 seen from Luhr Beach
Western Grebe -- 1 near mouth of McAllister Creek
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
American Bittern -- 2 seen along perimeter trail
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
American Wigeon
Gadwall
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Surf Scoter -- 6 seen from Luhr Beach
Red-breasted Merganser -- 2 seen from Luhr Beach
Osprey -- 1 perched on driftwood outside north dike
Bald Eagle -- 1 seen near mouth of Nisqually River
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Peregrine Falcon -- on west tower by WS Bridge
Sora -- 1 studied well from west photo blind
Semipalmated Plover -- 2 on mudflats north of dike
Marbled Godwit -- 5 on mudflats on north of refuge
Least Sandpiper -- c 20 on mudflats north of dike
Ring-billed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern -- c 12 seen
Common Tern -- 2 resting with Caspian Terns
Rock Dove
Black Swift -- 1 overhead with other swifts along north dike
Vaux's Swift -- at least 24 seen
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker -- heard from refuge headquarters
Tree Swallow -- 4 perched near west photo blind
Violet-green Swallow -- at least 100
Barn Swallow -- at least 100
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Marsh Wren
American Robin
Bushtit
Black-capped Chickadee
Brown Creeper
Steller's Jay
American Crow
European Starling
Warbling Vireo -- 1 near Nisqually River
Orange-crowned Warbler -- 1 in alder near river
Black-thr. Gray Warbler -- 1 in alder near river
Common Yellowthroat -- 2 along dike trail
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch
House Finch

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net