Tweets,

Today 14 of us enjoyed a great morning at Nisqually! It started before I
got there with 3 AMERICAN BITTERN off the deck at the visitor center. There
was still one in view when I arrived. The day started out cool but soon
warmed up and the sun shone most of the day.

The earth moving equipment was mostly silent and the birds seemed to
appreciate the quiet. Fall migration is clearly underway with several mixed flocks
on migrants.

We managed to see 8 species of warblers today, mostly WILSON'S, YELLOWS and
BLACK-THROATED GRAYS, but we did add COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, MacGILLIVRAY'S,
ORANGE-CROWNED, TOWNSENDS, and a single NASHVILLE.

Most of the warblers were seen in the riparian area between the twin barns
and the Nisqually River side and along the river out to the ring dike area.
There were also BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and WARBLING VIREOS in the same area.

We saw several BALD EAGLES and RED-TAILED HAWKS and NORTHERN HARRIERS. We
saw an OSPREY and a PEREGRINE FALCON out over the refuge and had a couple of
TURKEY VULTURES near the twin barns.

The McAllister Creek trail is still closed so we walked out along the
Nisqually River past the burned out observation tower to get a look at the outer
flats. Here we saw DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, AMERICAN WIGEON, LEAST
SANDPIPERS, BALD EAGLES, MALLARDS, CASPIAN TERNS, and CANADA GEESE.

All told we saw 57 species for the day. MacGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER was the only
new bird for the day.

Mammals seen included EASTERN GRAY SQUIRREL, HARBOR SEAL, and COLOMBIAN
BLACK-TAILED DEER.

Until next week....

Phil Kelley
scrubjay323 at aol.com
Lacey, WA
360-459-1499




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