Hello Tweets,

This evening Jim Pruske and my mother and I enjoyed a rewarding evening shorebirding between 4pm-8pm along the McAllister Creek Trail at the Nisqually NWR. Due to the evening high tide and superb lighting conditions we were entertained with great looks at all the shorebirds that gathered inside the inner dike south of the photo blind boardwalk along the McAllister Creek Trail. We experienced far more shorebirds overall than earlier in the day so it seems high tide does help draw the shorebirds into the wetland areas. Our evening began by relocating the adult PECTORAL SANDPIPER near the same location we observed it earlier in the day along the McAllister Creek Trail. The bird was mainly observed feeding alone,as it crept at times along muddy margins with several nearby and much smaller Least Sandpipers,but also came fully into view in better lighting allowing some photos to be obtained. We slowly and casually worked north along the trail carefully scoping all available muddy areas for shorebirds until we arrived to a spot along the trail that offered distant views of the boardwalk to the photo blind. It is here we located our first of 2 juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS,as they foraging loosely with other "peeps and remained unvocal during all observations. During the remainder of the evening we observed the 2 Baird's Sandpipers off and on,as they remained close to other shorebirds further away from the trail. Our other shorebird highlight was a juvenile RED-NECKED PHALAROPE observed on two occasions foraging along more flooded areas close to the trail. Amongst the good numbers of "peeps" we were also able to locate 2 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS,which were most likely the same 2 individuals noted earlier in the day.

This was truly an exceptional evening,as well as calm and quiet with few people on the trails! We again noted that the best and most diverse shorebird areas along the McAllister Creek Trail were just south of the boardwalk to the photo blind extending to the main culver that flows into McAlister Creek. Other areas further south are much drier as far as flooded areas and will most likely dry up sooner. Away from shorebirds we were also entertained by 2 juvenile Green Herons as we stood quietly along the trail just south of the wooden boardwalk to the photo blind. These birds landed and called often from dead trees within the wetland areas before final taking off and moving to more concealed areas.
A list of other key highlights,as well as a complete list of shorebirds noted this evening at the Nisqually NWR include the following:

2 Am.Bitterns
2 Green Herons
5 juvenile Wood Ducks
15 Green-winged Teal
1 Northern Shoveler
3 Hooded Mergansers
3 Northern Harriers
15 Semipalmated Plovers
45+ Killdeer
22 Greater Yellowlegs
16 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 Spotted Sandpiper
2 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS
85+ Western Sandpipers
200+ Least Sandpipers
2 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS
1 PECTORAL SANDPIPER
27 Long-billed Dowitchers
8 Wilson's Snipe
1 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE
2 Mourning Dove
1 Pileated Woodpecker(heard calling along the forested hillside along the McAllister Creek Trail)
8+ Purple Martins
7 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
1 Yellow Warbler


Good shorebirding,

Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
Fircrest,WA
godwit513 at msn.com