Subject: [Tweeters] Fwd: eBird Report - Nisqually NWR, May 22, 2013
Date: May 22 20:15:57 2013
From: hannaslagle at comcast.net - hannaslagle at comcast.net





Hi Tweeters-

?

Seventeen of us started the walk today and about?half finished.? The cold, wet,?and?breezy weather kept the number of walkers low,?as well as the number of species. ?It felt more like a November or December day out on the dike.? Low tide was -0.3ft at 10:19am.? Following are some highlights of the walk and the ebird report submitted by Matt.

?

The most interesting observation on the walk was the large number of swallows (over 400)?foraging very close to the ground and water.? Swallows were everywhere on the refuge, even in the slough type?area?just off?the river side of the boardwalk.? The vast majority were Violet-green, with good numbers of Cliff, Barn and?Tree, and a single Northern Rough-winged.? We were able to get very good comparison looks of species as well as adults versus juveniles.? They were flying very low so we actually were able to look down on?them as they flew by.? Many were also perched together on tree or bush limbs offering further study.

?

Key sightings along the walk:

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Visitor Center Overlook :? Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal, Black-headed Grosbeak, Common Yellow-throat.

?

Pond off the south side of the entrance road :? This was pretty quiet today.? There were no Solitary Sandpipers that we have been seeing here recently.

?

Orchard :? Walking on the trail back towards the education center:? Rufous Hummingbird, American Goldfinch, and Yellow Warbler.

?

Access Road South of the Parking Lot :? Swainson's Thrush, Bewick's Wren and Downy Woodpecker.

?

Access Road and Ponds?to the West of the Parking Lot up to the gate to McAllister Creek :? Cinnamon Teal, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, American?Bittern (flushed and flew west towards McAllister Creek), Bald Eagle at?McAllister Creek?nest tree,?and?Spotted Sandpiper.

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Westside of Boardwalk Loop :??Cedar Waxwing, Wood Duck,?Swainson's Thrush, Wilson's Warbler (pair just past the first overlook/benches; we think there may be a nest in the immediate area), Yellow Warbler.

?

Barn?Overlook :? On the ponds off the south side, Long Billed Dowitcher, Cinnamon Teal, Blue-winged Teal, and both a Sora and Virginia Rail by ear.

?

Dike and Boardwalk :? Hooded Merganser,? Northern Shoveler, Cinnamon Teal, Savannah Sparrow, American Coot.??Of note is that we did not see any Green-winged Teal in the outer shallow water/muddy areas where they have been?in recent weeks.? Russ?ventured out on the boardwalk and his?key sightings included Bald Eagles and?Great Blue Herons which were concentrated at the mouth of McAllister Creek.

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River Side Boardwalk including River Overlook :? Cedar Waxwings, Hairy Woodpecker.

?

Total species for the day was 49.? Mammals included muskrat, beaver, otter and rabbit.

Until next week when we hope for Flycatchers.

?

Eric Slagle

Olympia

----- Original Message -----




Matt's ebird report follows.




Nisqually NWR, Thurston, US-WA
May 22, 2013 8:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 mile(s)
Comments: ? ? Temp. mid 40's with steady light rain
49 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) ?20
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) ?4
Gadwall (Anas strepera) ?8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ?40
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) ?8
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) ?14
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) ?8
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) ?1
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) ?1
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) ?10
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) ?1
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) ?1
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) ?1
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) ?50 ? ? All were concentrated near mouth of McAllister Creek
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) ?4
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) ?1
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) ?1 ? ? Heard only
Sora (Porzana carolina) ?1 ? ? Heard only
American Coot (Fulica americana) ?1
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) ?1
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) ?13
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) ?1
gull sp. (Larinae sp.) ?X
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) ?4
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) ?2
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus) ?1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) ?1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) ?20
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) ?1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) ?30
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) ?300
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) ?50
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) ?50
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) ?1
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) ?1
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) ?1
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus) ?4
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) ?3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) ?10
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) ?8
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) ?2
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) ?5
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) ?3
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) ?4
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) ?3
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) ?4
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) ?2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) ?15
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) ?5
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) ?30

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S14210057

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