Subject: [Tweeters] Informal Wednesday Walk, Billy Frank Jr Nisqually NWR, 2/23/2022
Date: Thu Feb 24 10:14:33 PST 2022
From: Shep Thorp - shepthorp at gmail.com

Hi Tweets,

another really beautiful day at the Refuge with sunny skies and
temperatures in the 20's to 40's degree Fahrenheit. There was High 13.82
Ft tide at 9:38am. Highlights included FOY VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW mixed in
with some TREE SWALLOW, two RED-SHOULDERED HAWK both adult and immature,
high count DUNLIN - probable 4,000 plus birds with 10+ WESTERN SANDPIPER,
AMERICAN BITTERN, and a good candidate for Audubon's variety X Myrtle
variety YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER mixed in with both subspecies.

The RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS can bee seen from the access road, the Twin Barns
Overlook, and the new dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail - all looking at the
long row of trees that line the central access road between the Twin Barns
and the old McAllister Creek access road within the restricted access
sanctuary. The birds actively hunt along this road/dike in the sanctuary.

With the cold temperatures and extensive ice, the receding tide provided
exposed mudflats that the DUNLIN were actively foraging. There were
several flocks of 500-1000 birds, with good scoping opportunities from the
new dike and Nisqually Estuary Boardwalk Trail. We picked up many WESTERN
SANDPIPERS in the flocks that we have not recently seen, so my presumption
is that we are seeing new birds moving into the Refuge.

The AMERICAN BITTERN has been regularly relocated in the slough along the
Twin Barns Overlook.

Several places, the Orchard seemed best, had increasing numbers of both
subspecies of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. Our count on Myrtles was up, and we
had a nice lightly yellow throated individual with prominent supercilium
and demarcation up along the auricles that I believe was good for an
intergrade or hybrid.

Here is our list for the day. 66 species observed, 101 species for the
year. Have a great week!

Happy birding,
Shep

Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually NWR, Thurston, Washington, US
Feb 23, 2022 6:48 AM - 4:26 PM
Protocol: Traveling
9.095 mile(s)
Checklist Comments: Wednesday Walk. Sunny skies with temperatures in
the 20's to 40's degree Fahrenheit. A High 13.82 foot Tide at 9:38am.
Mammals seen Eastern Cotton-tailed Rabbit, Eastern Gray Squirrel, Coyote,
Harbor Seal, Colombian Black-tailed Deer.
66 species (+9 other taxa)

Brant 150
Cackling Goose (minima) 500
Cackling Goose (Taverner's) 40
Canada Goose 8
Northern Shoveler 150
Gadwall 70
Eurasian Wigeon 3
American Wigeon 700
Eurasian x American Wigeon (hybrid) 1
Mallard 250
Northern Pintail 100
Green-winged Teal 700
Ring-necked Duck 9
Surf Scoter 20
Bufflehead 100
Common Goldeneye 30
Hooded Merganser 6
Common Merganser 6
Red-breasted Merganser 16
Pied-billed Grebe 2
Horned Grebe 6
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 4
Anna's Hummingbird 1
Virginia Rail 1
American Coot 100
Killdeer 3
Dunlin 4000
Least Sandpiper 30
Western Sandpiper 10 Small peep sized sandpiper with black legs, white
throat and slightly decurved bill. Seen foraging on mud at 100 feet with
40x spotting scope along side Dunlin and Least Sandpiper. Smaller then
Dunlin, larger than Least Sandpiper. The only one with a white throat of
the three.
Wilson's Snipe 4
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Greater Yellowlegs 20
Short-billed Gull 60
Ring-billed Gull 62
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (hybrid) 2
Western/Glaucous-winged Gull 40
Larus sp. 150
Red-throated Loon 1
Brandt's Cormorant 4
Double-crested Cormorant 4
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 25
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 10
Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Previously reported. Adult seen in row of trees
along central access road in sanctuary, just southwest of Twin Barns.
Immature bird seen in trees along the old McAllister Creek access road.
Best observed from new dike or Nisqually Estuary Trail.
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Crow 40
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 20
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1
Tree Swallow 2
Violet-green Swallow 2
Tree/Violet-green Swallow 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet 20
Brown Creeper 6
Pacific Wren 1
Marsh Wren 3
Bewick's Wren 6
European Starling 30
Varied Thrush 2
American Robin 125
Fox Sparrow 2
Golden-crowned Sparrow 21
Song Sparrow 34
Spotted Towhee 4
Red-winged Blackbird 40
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 12
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle x Audubon's) 1 Features of both
Audubon's variety and Myrtle variety. Yellow color to throat with white
demarcation around auricles and white supercilium.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S103610708
--
Shep Thorp
Browns Point
253-370-3742