Tweets,

Today 35 of us enjoyed a great day at Nisqually! The weather was
pretty good, a bit overcast at the start, but it cleared later in the
day. We had a 12.1 high tide at 12:06 PM so we had mostly water from
the estuary boardwalk.

The day started with 4 pair of HOODED MERGANSERS at the visitor center
and proceeded to get better. In the orchard we had multiple
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS and multiple DOWNEY WOODPECKERS. Along the
access road we saw the first of several RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS. We saw a
female RUFOUS along the slough near the woodland stub.

On the down side the GREAT HORNED OWLS have abandoned the nest site
after almost 3 months on it. A bit disheartening but you never know.
We also dipped on the RED-SHOULDERED HAWK.

We also had a pair of WOOD DUCKS exploring the trees inside the
boardwalk near the start on the twin barns side. The female seemed to
be investigating a possible nest cavity and the male just showed off.

We saw a female RUDDY DUCK inside the new dike and from the end of the
estuary boardwalk we spotted BLACK BRANT, WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and
PIGEON GUILLEMOTS.

On the reptile side we saw a couple of balls of GARTER SNAKES on the
bank of the slough near the hummingbird sign along the Nisqually River
side. We also had 3 TURTLES on the pond at the visitor center as we
were leaving.

For the day I had 61 species and now have 87 for the year.

Mammals seen included BLACK-TAILED DEER and HARBOR SEALS.

Until next week.....

Phil Kelley
scrubjay323 at gmail.com
Lacey, WA