Hello Tweets,

Today we birded from the Boeing Ponds to the Nisqually NWR with an overall nice day of birding. We began at 8:45am at the Boeing Ponds under cloudy skies,where we located the adult WHITE-FACED IBIS resting in a willow grove in the middle of the main pond. The secondary pond,where the bird was observed yesterday was nearly full of water so it was apparent the bird rested overnight in the willow trees within the main pond. We left the bird at 9am,as it rested in the trees which could be best seen from the trail between the secondary and main pond. Yesterday, photos on our part were obtained from the secondary pond as it actively foraged,which will be posted on our website soon. A great bird and thanks to Kraig Kemper for finding this quality King Co. birds! We felt fortunate to see the bird this morning since we read other birders did not see it later in the day! A single Northern Harrier was the only other bird of interest hunting over an area immediately northwest of the Boeing Ponds.

After enjoying great looks at the White-faced Ibis we ventured south to the Nisqually NWR,as weather conditions improved considerably. We birded this location between 10:15am-3pm by walking the entire "loop" trail beginning along the McAllister Creek Trail and working our way around to the Nisqually Delta and finishing along the Nisqually River side of the refuge. Birding conditions overall remained quite slow with many birds nesting,although we did locate a few good sightings for the day. We timed the outgoing tide at the Nisqually Delta fairly good,so we had a good assortment of species viewed with our spotting scope until the tide really pushed outward. Most significant sightings during our visit included 10 Whimbrel and 2 Bonaparte's Gulls from the Nisqually Delta,as well as a mother Common Merganser with 8 healthy chicks along the Nisqually River. It was interesting to watch nearly all the spotted chicks riding on the mother's back at times until the load became to heavy in the swift waters. A list of other species of note during our visit to the Nisqually NWR included the following:

1 Common Loon(Nisqually Reach)
9 Pied-billed Grebes(including 1 adult with 5 young)
4 Am.Bittern
13 Wood Ducks
1 Green-winged Teal
1 pair of Northern Pintail
7 Blue-winged Teal
15 Cinnamon Teal
6 Northern Shoveler
40+ Am.Wigeon(Nisqually Delta)
2 male Lesser Scaup(wetland areas inside the inner dike)
45+ Greater Scaup(Nisqually Reach)
16 Hooded Mergansers(including 1 female with 8 young)
3 Ruddy Ducks(2 male and 1 female continuing from the wetland areas inside the dike)
1 Sharp-shinned Hawk
1 Cooper's Hawk
1 Am.Kestrel
several Virginia Rails and Sora heard calling from several locations
45+ Caspian Terns(Nisqually Delta)
1 Western Wood Pewee
1 Pacific-slope"Western"Flycatcher
10+ Purple Martins
1 Western Scrub Jay(observed in willow trees just east of the entrance gate bordering I-5)
5 Wilson's Warblers
3 Golden-crowned Sparrows
4+ Purple Finches
2 Evening Grosbeaks



Good birding,

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