The usual Wednesday Walk at Nisqually was different this week. Missing was our leader, Shep Thorp, and the ever stalwart Jon Andersen, both having ventured off to bird in Alaska. Either their absence, or possibly the crappy February in May weather, resulted in an unusually small showing of Nisqually regulars. Only five of us set forth in the morning, and then it tapered off. To catch the tide we headed out to the dike, losing a couple to the brisk wind and sideways rain. The view from the Puget Sound viewing station was obscured by dense fog and steady rain. Without the eyes, ears and brains of so many good birders, we dipped on several usual species. The highlight of the day was seeing 2 Bullock Oriole, a male and female foraging together. The list follows.


50 Canada Geese
2 Wood Duck
4 N. Shoveler
3 Gadwall
16 Mallards + 1 mallard /domestic hybrid
4 Green-wing Teal
3 Ring-neck Ducks
13 Hooded Mergansers
4 Common Mergansers
50 Vaux's Swift
1 Anna's Hummingbird
18 Whimbrel
30 Ring-billed Gull
8 Western x Glaucous winged gull
50 Gull Species
90 Caspian Tern
8 Great Blue Heron
2 Northern Harrier
12 Bald Eagle
1 Red-breasted Sapsucker
2 Northern Flicker
2 Western Wood-Pewee
3 Willow Flycatcher
4 Warbling Vireo
1 Steller's Jay
15 American Crow
2 Black-capped Chickadee
5 Norther Rough-winged Swallow
1 Purple Martin
50 Tree Swallow
150 Violet-Green Swallow
2 Bank Swallow
100 Barn Swallow
50 Cliff Swallow
4 Marsh Wren
2 Bewick's Wren
20 European Starling
8 Swainson's Thrush
25 American Robin
12 Cedar Waxwing
1 Purple Finch
5 American Goldfinch
2 Savannah Sparrow
15 Song Sparrow
2 Bullock's Oriole
15 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Brown-headed Cowbird
1 Orange-crowned Warbler
12 Common Yellowthroat
20 Yellow Warbler
25 Yellow-rumped Warbler
1 Wilson's Warbler
2 Western Tanager
8 Black-headed Grosbeak