Tweets,

The weatherman was wrong today and boy, am I glad! The forecast called for a
windy, rainy day this morning but it held off until the walk was just about
over.

Two of us walked Nisqually this morning under cloudy skies for the first two
hours. After a bit of rain the wind picked up, but we didn't get too wet. We
also didn't see too much as most species were hanging on tight under cover
because of the weather.

Highlights included lots of ducks, notably NORTHERN PINTAIL, MALLARDS,
AMERICAN WIGEON, and GREEN WINGED TEAL, all in good numbers. We also saw an
EURASIAN WIGEON, NORTHERN SHOVELERS, COOT, and RING-NECKED DUCK. The rain has
caused some of the wetlands to start filling and the ducks are back.

We also had an AMERICAN BITTERN fly across the trail on to McAllister Creek,
and saw a PEREGRINE FALCON in the trees behind the visitor center. BALD
EAGLES were present in the cottonwoods by the twin barns and in the trees along
the Nisqually River. There was a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK in the riparian area out at
McAllister Creek, and several NORTHERN HARRIERS cruised over the fields.

There were plenty of KINGLETS in the woods along the Nisqually River, as
well as both CHICKADEES. We had a PILEATED WOODPECKER in that area also. There
was also a good sized flock of AMERICAN GOLDFINCH in the same area.

The only mammal we saw was a BLACK-TAILED DEER on the trail out to
McAllister Creek. We had just started back toward the visitor center when we spotted
the deer watching us intently from about 200 yards. What the deer wasn't aware
of was the two men coming from the other way. The must have gotten within 10
yards of the deer before it realized they were there. It moved on rather
quickly then.

All told we had 37 species for the day, with nothing new for the year.

Until next week....

Phil Kelley
Lacey, WA
360-459-1499
scrubjay323 at aol.com

"We were few and they were many. Now we are many and they are few."
Confucius