Hello Tweets,

This early evening while checking the shorebird habitat along the McAllister Creek Trail at the Nisqually NWR an adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON was discovered. The bird was observed along the reedy edges of the large canal of water east of the photo blind,which was visible from the main trail as you walk north along McAllister Creek towards the Nisqually Delta. This bird remained in the open in good light for about 10 minutes before flying to another concealed location after a Peregrine Falcon made it's presence known in the immediate area. The Black-crowned Night Heron is a very noteworthy species for Thurston Co. and perhaps one of very few for the Nisqually NWR,if any.

The evening was fairly substantial for shorebirds along the McAllister Creek Trail with the help of an active Peregrine Falcon that hunted the immediate wetland area with no luck in actually getting any prey. Before the Peregrine Falcon arrived a nice gathering of mostly juvenile Western Sandpipers was noted along with smaller numbers of Least Sandpipers along with both species of yellowlegs scattered about the wetland area. When the Peregrine Falcon arrived it shot threw the area flushing up everything in it's path including Great Blue Herons,waterfowl and shorebirds. Most of the shorebirds flew around calling and forming small flocks,but within 10 minutes of flying around the area most of them flew straight towards the Nisqually Delta and never returned. A few of the shorebirds remained and drifted back from unknown locations in time despite the Peregrine Falcon remaining at the location perched in several different dead trees. Within an hour of waiting and scoping from the McAllister Creek Trail the Peregrine Falcon finally flew off and first circled fairly low over an open area east of the wetland area before finally flying towards the Nisqually River. This young bird appears to do nothing more than flush up the birds,but it must be eating something. The bird on one occasion even tried to go after a single Am.Bittern that flew up then finally dropped into thick reeds.

The wetland areas along the McAllister Creek Trail continue to dry up,but some areas of standing water still remain and offer further searches for shorebirds for the trained eye. A list of additional highlights noted during the 2 hour evening visit at the Nisqually NWR include the following:

5 juvenile Pied-billed Grebes
2 Am.Bitterns
3 Green Herons
12 juvenile Wood Ducks
10 Green-winged Teal
1 Am.Wigeon
5 Hooded Mergansers
1 Osprey
5 Bald Eagles
2 Northern Harriers
2 Semipalmated Plovers
15 Greater Yellowegs
9 Lesser Yellowlegs
1 SOLITARY SANDPIPER
220+ Western Sandpipers
75 Least Sandpipers
1 Baird's Sandpiper
3 Short-billed Dowitchers
22 Long-billed Dowitchers
4 Wilson's Snipe
2 Band-tailed Pigeons
1 Mourning Dove
1 Pileated Woodpecker(heard calling again along the forested hillside above McAllister Creek)
10+ Purple Martins
1 Common Raven
1 Yellow Warbler



Good birding,

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