Hello Tweets,

seven of us had a very enjoyable day at the Refuge with intermittent sun,
temperature in the high 30's-40's degrees Fahrenheit, and a low 7'4" tide
at 11:11 am.

Starting out at the Visitor Center Pond Overlook at 8am, we had great looks
at Evening Grosbeaks, Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-necked Duck, Bufflehead and
American Wigeon kleptoparasitizing American Coot. Hundreds of Cackling
Geese were observed flying around the fresh water fields.

In the orchard a pair of Varied Thrushes were picking fruit from an apple
tree while many Spotted Towhees were eating the apples on the ground. Song
and Fox Sparrow were seen and heard. In the flooded field across the
entrance road from the orchard we saw 5 Wilson's Snipe and observed our
first of many Green-winged Teal and Northern Shovelers. 50 plus Pine
Siskin were flushed from the adjacent alder stand by a Merlin.

In the flooded field south of the Access Road we had nice looks at minima
and taverner's Cackling Geese. In the flooded fields on either side of the
old McAllister Creek access road we observed several Red-tailed Hawk and
Northern Harrier. There were many Northern Shovelers foraging in the
pooled water.

On the west side of the Twin Barns Loop Trail we came across two mixed
flocks of Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Black-capped
Chickadee. In the cat tails and sedge of the pond we had nice looks of
Marsh Wren. At the Twin Barns cut-off, a Northern Shrike perched on an
elderberry bush across the slough. Many Bald Eagle were seen perched in
cottonwoods along the Nisqually River.

>From the Twin Barns Overlook Platform we scoped additional waterfowl,
including Northern Pintail.

On the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail, we were able to scope 1-2 Snowy
Owls on the marsh plain of Nisqually Reach beyond the old dike between
Nisqually River and Leschi Slough. We also had great looks of
Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Horned Grebe, Greater Yellowlegs,
Dunlin, Least Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Great Blue Heron and Belted
Kingfisher. Also seen were Ring-billed Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Olympic
Gull, Mew Gull, Double-crested Cormorant and Brandt's Cormorant.

On our return, we picked up Peregrine Falcon over the Twin Barns and Great
Horned Owl on the inside of the east branch of the Twin Barns loop trail.
There were thousands of Dunlin feeding on the mud flats of the surge plain.

Overall, a very nice day with good weather. We saw 57 species for the day.

Until next time, good birding!

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