Subject: [Tweeters] Juvenile Northern Shrike continues at Nisqually refuge
Date: Thu Dec 3 16:46:15 PST 2020
From: Gary A Kelsberg - kelsberg at uw.edu

Sarah and I saw a juvenile Northern Shrike flying and perching in the higher branches of trees above the boardwalk between the Nisqually River overlook and the Twin Barns. I now see that Carol Stoner reported a juvenile Northern Shrike in the same area yesterday, so it is most likely the same bird. As a side note (the west side, to be precise), there was a Great Horned Owl perched on a low branch near the same area.

The tidal mudflats had large numbers of Green-winged Teal sluicing through the thin mud with a rapid sideways motion of their bills, making a pleasing splashing bubbling sound. There were also good numbers of Greater Yellowlegs, American Wigeons, Pintails, Northern Shovelers, and Ring-billed and Mew Gulls. A pair of Peregrine Falcons perched prominently in a snag overlooking the mudflats, which may explain why we saw no Dunlin.

The last 700 feet of the elevated boardwalk are closed due to duck hunting in the delta, but the same birds are visible from most of the open length of the boardwalk so it has little effect. It's about ten feet wide and almost everyone we encountered was wearing their masks.

Gary Kelsberg
Seattle
kelsberg at yew dot warshington dot ee-dew
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