Hello Tweets,

This morning we made a check of the shorebird habitat along the McAllister Creek Trail at the Nisqually NWR during outgoing tide between 8:30am-11am. Overall shorebird numbers were much different than yesterday from the same location with fewer Long-billed Dowitchers and "peeps" encountered. Our main searches were made as far north as the photo blind along the McAllister Creek Trail then walking back to the main parking lot. We noticed that much of the more flooded areas are showing far more mud with each visit and conditions should continue to be good for shorebirds through the fall. Our main highlight of the morning was 2 WILSON'S PHALAROPES that were visible in the shorebird habitat viewed from the large culvert under the trail that empties into McAllister Creek north of he McAllister Creek Overlook. These birds spent much of the time feeding with 2 Greater Yellowlegs,as well as a few "peeps" and represented a nice July record for the location. Our other shorebird highlight was a single LESSER YELLOWLEGS,which was our 2nd personal record for this location of the season. A list of additional highlights during our visit included the following:

5 juvenile Pied-billed Grebes
1 Green Heron
2 juvenile Wood Ducks
2 Green-winged Teal
3 Northern Pintail
5 Blue-winged Teal
4 Cinnamon Teal
7 Hooded Mergansers
1 Osprey
1 adult Bald Eagle(observed flying back and forth several times from the forested hillside along McAllister Creek over the refuge area to the Nisqually River)
1 Northern Harrier
17 Greater Yellowlegs
5 Spotted Sandpipers
43 Western Sandpipers
14 Least Sandpipers
40 Long-billed Dowitchers
3 Wilson's Snipe
1 Band-tailed Pigeon
2 Mourning Doves
1 Vaux's Swift
2 Olive-sided Flycatchers
8 Willow Flycatchers
7 Purple Martins
5 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
1 Yellow Warbler


Our mammal highlight of the morning were 3 playful River Otters along McAllister Creek observed downstream from the McAllister Creek Overlook.



Good birding,

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