Subject: [Tweeters] Nisqually 05/25/11
Date: May 25 20:33:12 2011
From: hannaslagle at comcast.net - hannaslagle at comcast.net





Tweeters-



Fifteen of us enjoyed another?fun and?productive walk at the refuge.? It was overcast, but the rain held off until late morning.? The birds were very active through most of the morning.



Highlights included:



>? A small flock of Cedar Waxwings at the visitor center as we were gathering for the walk.? We saw several more later in the morning?near the twin barns and the river overlook.



>? Warblers were busy again this week.? Sightings included Common Yellow-Throat, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned and Wilson's.? A female Townsend's was a special treat as we were nearing the twin barns?junction.



>? An American Bittern was sighted in the pond on the inside of the boardwalk.? It froze behind a clump of grass, but we got great?looks at its head and neck.? We also saw a Nothern Harrier for the first time in?a number of weeks.



>? Not only was it a five swallow day (Barn, Cliff, Violet-green, Tree and Northern Rough-winged), but we also had several Vaux's Swifts.? And best of all Matt spotted a pair of Purple Martins on a snag just?off the new dike.? We got great looks at both the male and?female.? This was a real treat for all of us.



>? It appears that Europea n?Starlings have taken over the nest box on one of the twin barns that the American Kestrels had been actively using.? There was also a fly- over by a Common Raven at the twin barns overlook.



>? On the crossover from the barns to the river overlook we had two female Western Tanager, Swainson's Thrush, male Rufous Hummingbird, Willow Flycatcher and Western Wood-pewee.



>? Near the?river overlook we watched two female Hooded Mergansers flying through the trees, landing on branches and stumps and searching for a suitable nest cavity.? This was the first time most of us had seen this behavior.



>? We sighted four Yellow-headed Blackbirds just on the?south side of the large pond?inside?the dike.? There were two females, a mature male and what appeared to be a first year male.? Dave was surveying a portion of the refuge yesterday and reported observing a Yellow-headed Blackbird?nest under construction.?



>? Shorebirds for the day included Western Sandpiper, Killdeer?and Spotted Sandpiper.? Wilson's Phalarope were seen earlier in the morning, but our group missed this sighting.



>? We had a good number of duck species, but low numbers as in recent weeks.? Highlights included Blue-winged teal, Cinnamon Teal, Wood Duck, Gadwall and Northern Pintail.? A Pied-billed Grebe was also seen.



>? Other notable sightings for the day included Belted Kingfisher, Brown Creeper, Downy Woodpecker.





Total Species for the day:? 56



Mammals:? Deer, Muskrat, Rabbit





Phil Kelly will return to lead the walk next week.





Eric Slagle, Olympia

hannaslagle at comcast.net ?