Hi Tweets,

twenty of us had a wet but very nice day at the Refuge. There was a low
6'8" tide at 1:37pm. At the Visitor Center Pond Overlook we had good
observations of Pied-billed Grebe and American Coot. Other species seen
included Mallard and Hooded Merganser. Many large flocks (upwards of 1,500
plus) Cackling Geese flushed from the Refuge. A Pacific Wren was heard
calling in the surrounding bramble.

A pair of adult Bald Eagles were perched in the top of a large cottonwood
tree overlooking the flooded field across the entrance road from the
orchard. In this field we had nice looks at Greater Yellowlegs, Pectoral
Sandpiper, Wilson's Snipe and Northern Shoveler. Anna's Hummingbird,
Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned
Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco and Downy Woodpecker were seen around the orchard.

Along the Access Road we picked up Black-capped Chickadee, Brown Creeper,
Golden-crowned Kinglet and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. A small flock of 6 Common
Mergansers flew overhead. In the flooded fields on either side the old
McAllister Creek we located two Greater White-fronted Geese in a large
flock of Cackling Geese. Two Taverner's Cackling Geese were roosting on
the waters edge of the flooded field mixed in with the 200 plus Minima
Cacklers. American Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail and American Wigeon
were seen feeding and flying about in small flocks. Two Ring-necked Ducks
were observed by some of our birders flying out of the fields. A
Red-tailed Hawk was perched in the trees along the old McAllister Creek
Access Road. A Peregrine Falcon was scoped in one of the Y shaped snags in
the surge plain.

On the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail we added Bewick's Wren,
Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Marsh Wren, Pine Siskin, and
Cedar Waxwing to our list. We came across a large mixed flock of
approximately 30 plus birds including Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned
Kinglet and Black-capped Chickadee.

I anticipate the Twin Barns Observation Platform will improve in the coming
weeks for observing waterfowl as the surrounding fields have been mowed,
disced, and are now beginning to flood. We observed approximately 500
waterfowl in this area including Mallard, American Wigeon, Northern
Pintail, Northern Shoveler and Green-winged Teal. We had nice numbers of
sparrows flitting about including Spotted Towhee, Fox Sparrow - singing,
Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and Song Sparrow. We missed
on seeing any Lincoln's Sparrow and I think the Savannah sparrows have left
for the winter. I suspect we may have seen two Northern Shrikes, an
immature on a snag in the surge plain with brown tones and weakly
demarcated mask, and an adult that perched within 75 feet of the platform
in an Elderberry Bush with a more prominent black mask.

Out on the Nisqually Estuary Trail, new dike, we scoped the surge plain to
find Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Long-billed/Short-billed Dowitchers
and Dunlin in amongst hundreds of waterfowl. We probably saw at least 10
BBPL, 50 LBDO, and 200 DUNL. Interestingly, we did not see any peeps for
the day. My guess is that most of the Western Sandpipers have moved on and
that our winter resident Least Sandpipers were doing a good job of hiding.
We also picked up several Bufflehead. On our way we observed 4 Northern
Harriers including immature, female and male plumage's. 4 Peregrine
Falcon's were seen, 2 American types and 1 Peale's type. 1 American Bittern
and great looks at a Greater Yellowlegs near the entrance of the boardwalk.

On the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail we spotted the Great Egret, and
many Great Blue Herons. A single female Red-breasted Merganser was spotted
in the confluence of McAllister Creek and Shannon Slough from the
McAllister Creek Viewing Platform. We had nice opportunities to observe
gulls including Ring-billed Gull, Mew Gull, California Gull,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Glaucous-winged x Western Hybrid (Olympic) Gull, and
Bonaparte's Gull. We added Double-crested Cormorant, Horned Grebe and
Common Loon to our list and had additional observation of Bufflehead,
waterfowl, Bald Eagle and Peregrine Falcon. Evening Grosbeak, Red
Crossbill, Steller's Jay, and Varied Thrush were counted primarily by their
calls as fly overs or on the hillside on the west side of McAllister Creek.

On our return, we picked up Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Hairy Woodpecker
along the east and south side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail. Just south of
the entrance of the Riparian Forest Overlook a Hawthorn Tree was packed
with 20 American Robins feasting on berries.

For the day we saw 74 species with 178 species at the Refuge for the year.
Mammals seen included North American Beaver, Columbian Black-tailed Deer,
Eastern Gray Squirrel and Harbor Seal.

Until next week when we meet at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook at 8am,

Good birding,

Shep Thorp
sthorp at theaec.com
253-370-3742
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