An out-of-town bird watching friend is coming to visit. Where will you take them? This past Saturday, I answered that question by choosing the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. It’s the perfect place to connect with our Thurston County seasonal bird residents, and each other.
I’ve been taking my son Aaron there since before he could walk and at the beginning of every one of our refuge walks, we try to predict the number of bird species we’ll see. Today, I predicted 30 species (all the while thinking if Aaron were here, he likely would choose 31). But on Saturday, my visitor declined to participate in the silliness.
We got a late start and, disappointingly, the birds in the woodlands were quiet. Most of the calls we heard came from a few chorus frogs exercising their vocal cords in the shady brightness of midday. There was one exception – the loud raucous alarm call of a Pileated Woodpecker as it flew around, likely establishing the perimeter of its new breeding territory.
Otherwise, I hardly added any birds to my daily list until we left the woods and started west along the dike toward the McAllister boardwalk, which goes out across the tideland. There were three bald eagles perched near the Nisqually River, and a few marsh wrens singing. But then, as we reached the point where the trail overlooks an open grassy wetland, my list started to expand.
Feeding and resting in the marsh were mallards, pintails, shovelers, wigeons and coots, and a few geese in the distance. It was a treat to see all these ducks parading in their new breeding plumage. They will likely remain here another month or more, waiting for their wetland breeding territories in the interior of North America to thaw.
We continued along the dike but were disappointed that the exposed mudflats on the north side were deserted. The tide was going out. We reached the boardwalk which heads across the mudflats toward the open water of South Puget Sound. But before we turned onto the boardwalk, we walked a few yards further along the dike to a boundary gate.
I usually take this short side trip because I think the nearby freshwater marsh is the home territory of an American Bittern. Amazingly, as we stood looking at some nearby geese, there was a crash in the reeds and suddenly the bittern emerged, wrestling with a huge bullfrog. And then, all became quiet as the stealthy bird slipped back into the reeds and, presumably, devoured its lunch.
As we started along the 1-mile McAllister Creek boardwalk, it was obvious that the swiftly receding tide encouraged an abundance of birds to move along with it. One of the first we saw was a Greater Yellowlegs. Ultimately, we counted some 20 of these tall, graceful shorebirds, mostly wading in shallow water at the mud flat’s edge. Every time one flew to a new location, it called a loud and distinctive “tew tew tew.”
Out in the estuary channel there were new species of ducks, including buffleheads, gadwall, and many American Wigeons. In among the scores of wigeons there were two male Eurasian Wigeons, and possibly a female as well. These two species have similar life patterns. They breed in the arctic and subarctic habitats, then migrate south along the Pacific Coast for the winter. Occasionally a Eurasian bird will get confused and migrate down the “wrong” coast. The American species also will do the same. Both Asian and North American birders are always on the lookout for these rare wanderers.
As we walked further along, we noticed that the duck species were those who are more accustomed to saltwater. These included Red-breasted Merganser, Greater Scaup and Common Goldeneye. The male goldeneyes seemed more interested in courting than eating. They circled the females, arching their necks and scooting around, trying to get the attention of apparently indifferent females.
One final duck merits attention, too. All winter on the refuge you can find numerous Green-winged Teal patrolling the mudflats, nibbling on algae and seaweed. They were distributed in pairs, but we observed no courtship activities; they were too busy eating whatever edible plants they could find.
The boardwalk follows McAllister Creek out toward the Sound, and the tidal stage seems to greatly influence the bird activity. At high tide, there likely will be grebes and cormorants diving in the deep water. However, on our afternoon, with an ebb tide, they were absent.
This was the first time in quite a while that I walked to the end of this boardwalk. It’s only a mile in length, but that second mile walking back seemed much longer than the outbound mile. And, after leaving the boardwalk, it’s another mile back to the parking lot. Plan accordingly.
As a final treat for the day, we found a small flock of Greater White-fronted Geese, and a large flock of human visitors, had gathered along the dike. These birds breed in the Arctic and seem unafraid of people. What a joy it is to see them up close, grazing on the grass and resting with their full gizzards.
The total species for the day? A surprising 36, with most encountered in the outer wetlands and tidal areas. I think my visiting friend was suitably impressed.
George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com
Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 17-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.
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