Hi Tweeters,

Thirty six of is enjoyed another fun day at Nisqually. It was one of those days where the action was either really slow or really fast. Low tide was 0' 6" at 8:53am and high tide of 12'2" at 4:37pm. The route for the group did not include the estuary boardwalk. Highlights are below, followed by Nathanael's eBird posting.

There were a number of excellent sightings at the visitor center including BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER, WESTERN TANAGER, WARBLING VIREO AND GREEN HERON and a flyover of RED CROSSBILLS. The first part of the walk along the access road behind the parking lot and the riverside of the boardwalk loop, including the riparian overlook was pretty quiet. We did manage to pick up YELLOW WARBLER, SWAINSON'S THRUSH AND MacGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER.

The action picked up a lot at the beginning of the estuary dike trail. Sightings here included YELLOW WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, WILLOW FLYCATCHER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, and a flock of BUSHTIT. The fresh water side of the dike trail continues to be almost a sure spot for SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL. We also had CINNAMON TEAL, BLUE-WINGED TEAL, WILSON'S SNIPE, PURPLE MARTIN, NORTHERN PINTAIL, HOODED MERGANSER, and NORTHERN SHOVELER. We got great looks at a MERLIN trying to tangle with a PEREGRINE as both flew above us. It was an excellent opportunity for size comparison. The walk back was mostly slow with no new birds seen.

Species for the day: 64
Mammals: two beaver at the visitor center pond.

Until next week when Phil and Shep return.

Eric Slagle
Olympia
>
> Nisqually NWR, Thurston, US-WA
> Aug 20, 2014 7:05 AM - 12:37 PM
> Protocol: Traveling
> 3.0 mile(s)
> Comments: <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.7.4
> 64 species (+1 other taxa)
>
> Wood Duck 8
> Mallard 200
> Blue-winged Teal 1
> Cinnamon Teal 7
> Northern Shoveler 4
> Northern Pintail 25
> Hooded Merganser 4
> Pied-billed Grebe 6
> Great Blue Heron 10
> Green Heron 1
> Northern Harrier 2
> Bald Eagle 5
> Red-tailed Hawk 2
> Virginia Rail 3
> Sora 1
> American Coot 3
> Killdeer 1
> Greater Yellowlegs 3
> Least Sandpiper 3
> Western Sandpiper 17
> Wilson's Snipe 2
> Ring-billed Gull 15
> Glaucous-winged Gull 15
> Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 10
> Vaux's Swift 2
> Belted Kingfisher 3
> Downy Woodpecker 2
> Merlin 1
> Peregrine Falcon 1
> Western Wood-Pewee 3
> Willow Flycatcher 1
> Pacific-slope Flycatcher 1
> Warbling Vireo 2
> American/Northwestern Crow 75
> Common Raven 1
> Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
> Purple Martin 2
> Violet-green Swallow 1
> Barn Swallow 150
> Cliff Swallow 1
> Black-capped Chickadee 10
> Chestnut-backed Chickadee 2
> Bushtit (Pacific) 21
> Brown Creeper 8
> Marsh Wren 3
> Bewick's Wren 1
> Golden-crowned Kinglet 1
> Swainson's Thrush 2
> American Robin 4
> European Starling 250
> Cedar Waxwing 20
> MacGillivray's Warbler 1
> Common Yellowthroat 9
> Yellow Warbler 3
> Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
> Wilson's Warbler 1
> Spotted Towhee (Pacific) 1
> Savannah Sparrow 10
> Song Sparrow 5
> White-crowned Sparrow 3
> Western Tanager 3
> Red-winged Blackbird 1
> Brown-headed Cowbird 2
> Red Crossbill 14
> American Goldfinch 9
>
> View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19534005
>
> This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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