Tweets,

Today 22 of us walked and surveyed Nisqually in cold, breezy conditions.
It wasn't too bad in the woods but it was cold out on the dike. The wind
chill had to be in the low twenties. We had a 14'11" high tide at 10:33 so
the reclamation area was just about completely under water.

In spite of the wind we did manage to see a few good birds. We started
with a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS at the visitor center and the last bird I
saw was a PIED-BILLED GREBE, also at the visitor center.

In between we found a couple of small mixed flocks the included more
CHESTNUT-BACK CHICKADEE than I've ever seen on the refuge before. We also had
half a dozen BROWN CREEPERS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, both KINGLETS and
YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER.

There were lots of raptors about with BALD EAGLE and RED-TAILED HAWK being
the most common. We also had NORTHERN HARRIERS and a couple PEREGRINE
FALCONS, one that was being chased by a pair of BALD EAGLES. The PEREGRINE
eluded capture.

There were lots of waterfowl about but most of the exposed water was
deserted. The GEESE flew up the Nisqually Valley early and the ducks were
mostly on the leeward side of the ponds. Of special note we did pick up on
EURASIAN WIGEON out in the reclamation area.

We also saw about 1000 DUNLIN, a few GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and 3 WILSON'S
SNIPE that continue at the entrance pond across from the orchard.

I didn't make it all the way to the start of the estuary boardwalk and just
beat the rain back to the visitor center. For the day I saw 46 species
with nothing new for the year. No mammals were sighted today.

Until next week.......Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy your holidays.


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