Hello Tweets,

I was joined by Carol Ray and Carmen Almodovar on a bird walk at Nisqually NWR on Sunday morning.

The SNOWY OWL was easily seen on the west side of the new dike. It was perched on a stump for most of the morning until about 10:45 when two AMERICAN CROWS began mobbing it. After a few minutes the crows were joined by two NORTHERN HARRIERS and all four birds began mobbing the owl! A third harrier began to join the fray. On several dives the crows nearly hit the owl. I have never heard of crows being joined by other species in trying to discourage a potential predator. I would love to hear other peoples' experiences with this kind of two or more on one mobbing behavior. After a few minutes of this onslaught the Snowy flew about 20 feet to the ground between some low shrubs and a less vulnerable perch. This seemed to satisfy the crows which flew off and then one of the harriers took the stump perch previously claimed by the owl. I guess this stranger in town has really agitated the natives!

We had a good morning of birding in other ways as well. About 9:00 a.m behind the visitors center we spotted a WILSON'S SNIPE. A BROWN CREEPER was seen near the barns. Seven BALD EAGLES were present. Along the new dike a MARSH WREN was very accommodating for excellent views. Also along the dike a large mixed flock of GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and HOUSE FINCHES were very active and a SNOW GOOSE had joined a group of CACKLING GEESE. There was one GREAT EGRET and one GREATER YELLOWLEGS on the east side of the start of the new boardwalk. On the long way back to the visitor's center a pair of PILEATED WOODPECKERS was seen at close range actively
foraging on the north side of the Twin Barns Trail near the river. We saw a total of nine species of ducks and a total of 40 species of birds in 3.5 hours.

Andy McCormick
Bellevue, WA
andy underscore mcc at hotmail dot com