Hi all, to follow up on Phil Kelley's report on the weekly Wednesday walk at Nisqually Refuge, I was 'recruited' to keep the eBird list for the day, as I was among the group who made the "full walk" out to the end of the estuary overlook, etc.

Among many of the first-of-year species, one highlight was a female Yellow-headed Blackbird, seen along the dike west of the Twin Barns, where the dike crosses Leschi Slough.

Good Birding,
Jon. Anderson
OlyWA

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
May 10, 2017 8:12 AM - 3:42 PM
Protocol: Traveling
4.0 mile(s)
Comments: Weekly Wednesday walk, from visitors' center north on the Twin Barns Trail (half of it is closed due to tree damage from last Thursday's windstorm), to the barns, west along the dike to the estuary boardwalk and out to the overlook, then returning along the east side of the "twin barns" boardwalk trail & over to the Riparian overlook. The estuary walk was across a large mudflat; the high 12' 9" tide at 5:30 a.m. had ebbed to a -0.4-foot low at 12:26 p.m. Temperatures were 46-70?F, and it was mostly clear & sunny, with 3-8 knot winds from the north, northwest. Mammals seen included eastern cottontail, eastern Gray squirrel, an otter at the Twin Barns slough, and the dead Townsend's mole (see the crow report). Red-eared slider on visitors' center pond.
75 species (+10 other taxa)

Greater White-fronted Goose (Western) (Anser albifrons gambelli/frontalis) 3
Cackling Goose (minima) (Branta hutchinsii minima) 10
Canada Goose (moffitti/maxima) (Branta canadensis moffitti/maxima) 65 Several pair with goslings (~18+)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 2
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 12
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 6
Mallard (Northern) (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos/conboschas) 30
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) 1
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 8
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 6
Green-winged Teal (American) (Anas crecca carolinensis) 4
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 2 Pair
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) 11
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) 1
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 3
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 3
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) 1 Bright male with an electric-blue bill
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 12
cormorant sp. (Phalacrocoracidae sp.) 3 'Way out in Reach on channel marker; might be the Brandt's cormorants, but there was too much heat shimmer to be certain
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 16
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) 2 At cell tower nest on south side of I-5 Freeway
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) 1
Accipiter sp. (Accipiter sp.) 1
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 11
Red-tailed Hawk (calurus/alascensis) (Buteo jamaicensis calurus/alascensis) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 1
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) 8 Freshwater marsh south of dike
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) 1 Along McAllister Creek
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 14
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) 15
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus occidentalis/glaucescens) 6
gull sp. (Larinae sp.) 25
Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) 22
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 8 At entrance to Refuge
Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata) 13
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) 2 One adult and one downy young seen
Vaux's Swift (Chaetura vauxi) 2
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) 8 Female on nest
hummingbird sp. (Trochilidae sp.) 1
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) 2
Downy Woodpecker (Pacific) (Picoides pubescens gairdnerii/turati) 1
Hairy Woodpecker (Pacific) (Picoides villosus [harrisi Group]) 2 Near the staub of last year's nest
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1 Heard only
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 2
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) 2
Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni) 1 Vocalizing
Warbling Vireo (Western) (Vireo gilvus [swainsoni Group]) 2
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) 1 Vocalizing from west of McAllister Creek
Steller's Jay (Coastal) (Cyanocitta stelleri [stelleri Group]) 2
American/Northwestern Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos/caurinus) 10 One crow had found & was feeding on a freshly-dead Townsend's mole (Scapanus townsendii) - which is the largest North American mole species.
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 1 McAllister Creek
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 6
Purple Martin (Progne subis) 1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 50
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 11
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 36
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) 10
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 12
Bushtit (Pacific) (Psaltriparus minimus [minimus Group]) 5
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) 4
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 12
Bewick's Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) 5
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 24
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 32
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 12
Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata) 1
Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla) 1 Liam H had a good view
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) 18
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 40
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 7
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) (Setophaga coronata coronata) 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) (Setophaga coronata auduboni) 2
Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens) 1
Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) 14
White-crowned Sparrow (pugetensis) (Zonotrichia leucophrys pugetensis) 2 Vocalizing
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 4
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) 9
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 35
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 2
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) 3
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) 4
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 42
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) 1 Female seen where north dike crosses Leschi Slough; she was feeding on insects caught in spiders' webs.
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 25 Courtship displays
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 12

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S36717864

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (/content/nw)