Hi Tweets,

9 of us enjoyed an initially slow but fairly birdy day at the Refuge with
cloudy cool weather in the morning and sunny skies in the afternoon.
There was a High 12'1" Tide at 2:13pm and temperatures were in the
40's-60's degrees Fahrenheit.

Highlights included 2,000 CACKLING GEESE flying out of the Refuge before
8am, 2 PEREGRINE FALCON preening in a large cottonwood by the Nisqually
River Overlook, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK along the east side of the Twin Barns
Loop Trail, WESTERN MEADOWLARK/LINCOLN SPARROW/MERLIN and FOS NORTHERN
SHRIKE on the new dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail, and GREAT
EGRET/SEMIPALMATED PLOVER/HORNED GREBE/COMMON LOON, and late VIOLET-GREEN
SWALLOW, on the Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail.

We had beautiful looks of NORTHERN HARRIER hunting along the new dike. Out
on the boardwalk we enjoyed watching SAVANNAH SPARROW foraging in the
Grindelia and AMERICAN PIPIT eating insects on the Salicornia marsh. Not
to mention the autumnal recrudescence of the amatory urge in song from
GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW and SONG SPARROW.

66 species in all, see ebird list attached, distant looks at waterfowl and
shorebirds. Thank you to the wonderful birders who attended the walk.

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

Cackling Goose (minima) (Branta hutchinsii minima) 2000
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) (Branta hutchinsii taverneri) 1
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) (Branta canadensis moffitti/maxima) 50
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 1
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 100
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 250
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 3
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 10
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 100
Green-winged Teal (American) (Anas crecca carolinensis) 150
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 2
duck sp. (Anatinae sp.) 200
Common Loon (Gavia immer) 2
Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus) 6
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 10
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 50
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 1
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 3
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 2
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) 4
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 20
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 10
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 30
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) 1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 100
California Gull (Larus californicus) 1
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 6
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) (Larus occidentalis x glaucescens)
2
gull sp. (Larinae sp.) 100
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 4
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 1
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group]) 1
Merlin (Black) (Falco columbarius suckleyi) 1
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 1
Peregrine Falcon (North American) (Falco peregrinus anatum) 1
Peregrine Falcon (Peale's) (Falco peregrinus pealei) 2
Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor) 1
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 2
American/Northwestern Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos/caurinus) 10
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 14
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 6
Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens) 2
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 4
Pacific Wren (Troglodytes pacificus) 4
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 4
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 12
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula) 4
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 20
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 100
American Pipit (Anthus rubescens) 20
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) (Setophaga coronata coronata) 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) (Setophaga coronata auduboni) 2
Spotted Towhee (Pacific) (Pipilo maculatus [oregonus Group]) 2
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 15
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 15
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) 4
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 10
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) (Junco hyemalis [oreganus Group]) 1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 50
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 15
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 4
Evening Grosbeak (Coccothraustes vespertinus) 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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