Tweets,

Today 11 of us walked the outer dike trail at Nisqually under cloudy skies
in cool temperatures. We finally got a bit of rain in the last quarter mile or
so, but all in all had a good day.

I felt we had a pretty slow day with some nice highlights but was surprised
to tally 51 species for the day.

Highlights included a VIRGINIA RAIL off the trail out to McAllister Creek, a
GREEN HERON inside the trail along Nisqually Reach, a flock of BONAPARTE'S
GULLS out over Nisqually reach, and 4 BLACK BELLIED PLOVERS on the mud flats
near the reach. We also had a small flock of WESTERN GREBES in the same area.

Waterfowl are clearly heading into the refuge with 3 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED
GEESE showing in a small flock of CANADA GEESE on the McAllister Creek side. We
also had an AMERICAN BITTERN at the ring dike.

The best raptor we saw was a PEREGRINE FALCON on the Nisqually River side
out past the ring dike that posed in a tree across the river before successfully
diving and catching a small shorebird for lunch. We never got a good look at
the prey as the falcon landed on the grassy old pier or bridge on the other
side of the river and hid the prey from view.

Lots of sparrows and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS around but not much else in the
passerines.

New for the year were the BONAPARTE'S GULLS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, and
WESTERN GREBE, giving us 137 species for the year.

Mammals were conspicuous by their absence.

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