Tweets,
The day dawned cold (mid-30s), with biting winds and rain occasionally
at the Nisqually delta last Saturday (Jan 19). The group of us from
Seattle Audubon had a nonpareil view of an AMERICAN BITTERN, a bird that
was 15-20 feet from us, standing stock-still for the five or so minutes
we viewed it. One of us in the party had never seen a bittern before and
was hoping to add it to his list during this trip: he got his wish!

In addition, we had exceptional views of a PILIATED WOODPECKER hammering
chips out of the dead part of a tree, as well as enlarging a nesting or
roosting hole in another tree. Unexpected sightings included a
CANVASBACK seen on one of the ponds near Macallister (sp?) Creek as well
as a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER feeding on the Nisqually River. The sighting
of three EURASIAN WIGEONS in a small flock of their American relatives
was also unexpected, more for the number of them than for the sighting
of the species. We were hoping to, but didn't see, the Great Horned Owl
that's been seen regularly at the Refuge, nor did we see any Northern
Flickers or House Finches. We were lucky in finding a NORTHERN SHRIKE,
which posed on a shrub near the blind for a bit, but wasn't seen after
that.

The loop trail remains partly (mostly) closed at the west end until the
end of hunting season (Jan 28). Despite the closure, we saw 53 species
during the trip, with Killdeers and Rock Pigeons not counted in this
total (seen before the main group arrived). Most species were seen on
the trails north of and at the barns, with Greater White-fronted Goose,
Canvasback, and White-crowned Sparrow added on the trail to Macallister
Creek.

Birds seen include the following:
Greater White-fronted Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Kestrel
American Coot
Dunlin
Mew Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Shrike
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch

May all your birds be identified,

Denis DeSilvis
Seattle, WA
mailto:denis.j.desilvis at boeing.com