Hello Tweets,

Today we again birded the Nisqually NWR in Thurston Co. between 9:30am-2:30pm by walking the entire "loop" trail as yesterday and checking thoroughly for shorebird from the wetland areas along the McAllister Creek Trail. We encountered 65 total species of birds,but overall had a much different assortment of species and diversity than the past 2 days. Conditions remained good with calm winds,but rather poor viewing conditions at the Nisqually Delta due to heat waves. The best shorebirding location continued by being from the southwest corner of the McAllister Creek Trail,which continued to produce some shorebirds,but overall numbers were way down from the past 2 days. This exact location is just before arriving to the McAllister Creek Overlook from the main parking lot and before arriving to the north-south trail that continues along McAllister Creek towards the Nisqually Delta. This area has the most ample feeding area,as far muddy margins with not too much water with more flooded areas further north of this exact location. It is here we easily located a single juvenile SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER foraging mainly by itself,but occasionally associating with a nearby Killdeer and a Least Sandpiper. This particular individual was immediately picked out from the very few "peeps" by showing a very pale and clean overall plumage with a brownish wash across the upper breast,as well as having a rather plain grayish scalloped mantle pattern and a noticeable white supercillium. The bill was noticeably stubby and fairly short too and the bird showed no hint of any rufous or dark brown in the plumage at all and was more or less the palest "peep" at the location. The bird favored feeding along the immediate shoreline along muddy margin,but occasionally ventured a short was into the shallow water,but then quickly returned to the shoreline. We watched the bird for 20 minutes in good lighting and obtained some "proof" photos before the bird and other shorebirds were flushed by a nearby adult Cooper's Hawk. This bird was NOT the same individual noted over the past 2 days,which was clearly an adult by showing a more heavier contrast between upper and underparts with very fine streaking on the upper breast and on the crown.

We have placed 3 distant photos of the Semipalmated Sandpiper onto our website,which can be accessed at the following link: http://www.pbase.com/godwit/recent_shorebirds/


As mentioned we noticed a strong decline in shorebird numbers during our visit at all the locations we checked at the Nisqually NWR,so apparently the large groups of Western Sandpipers noted over the past 2 days have moved on. There were actually more Least Sandpipers encountered today than Western Sandpipers,but Greater Yellowlegs and Long-billed Dowitchers remained in fairly good numbers. A list of additional highlights noted from the Nisqually NWR included the following:

5 Pied-billed Grebes(2 adults,4 juvenile birds)
5 juvenile Wood Ducks
1 Northern Pintail
5 Hooded Mergansers
300 Common Mergansers(Nisqually Delta)
1 adult Bald Eagle
2 female Northern Harriers
2 adult Cooper's Hawks
1 adult Peregrine Falcon
4 Virginia Rails(including our only bird seen of the day observed quickly running across the trail at the edge of the Nisqually Delta)
27 Greater Yellowlegs
4 Spotted Sandpipers(2 adults,2 juvenile birds)
58 Western Sandpipers
140 Least Sandpipers
42 Long-billed Dowitchers
48+ Caspian Terns
1 Mourning Dove
1 Olive-sided Flycatcher
2 Western Wood Pewees
18+ Willow Flycatchers
5 Pacific-slope"Western"Flycatchers
18 Purple Martins
12 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
2 Bushtits
3 Brown Creepers
6 Warbling Vireos
16 Yellow Warblers
3 Western Tanagers
6 Black-headed Grosbeaks
15 Purple Finches
1 EVENING GROSBEAK

On our return walk from the Nisqually Delta we encountered good numbers of Swainson's Thrushes many of which were briefly seen,but more or less just heard singing/calling. American Goldfinches were very abundant throughout the day,especially with good amounts of weed seeds available along or close to the trails. Starlings and Brown-headed Cowbirds were especially abundant,as were Cedar Waxwings and several species of swallows.



Good birding,

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