N ~ Nisqually Delta

Nisqually Delta


The Nisqually Delta is home to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. It is here that I honed much of my bird watching skills. For over 100 years ago this delta was patch worked by dikes, drained and used for farming. The land was then bought and preserved as the Nisqually NWR. In 2001 a 6.9 magnitude earthquake damaged several of the dikes allowing the fresh water of the Nisqually River and the salt water of Puget Sound to enter into its former natural home. In 2009 the remaining dikes were removed and the precious estuary was on its way to being restored.

We now have a wonderful opportunity to study the recovery of vital saltwater estuary habitat. This mixing of fresh and salt water supports plants and animal life vital to the ecology of the region. It is here young salmon transition to the saltwater habitat. Visitors can observe the daily tidal changes from a new one mile long boardwalk that takes you well out into the intertidal area.

The Delta is ever changing and this new habitat supports scientific discovery as well as wonderful recreation opportunity.

http://nisquallydeltarestoration.org

Long Walk on a Long Pier

I grabbed the advantage of a rain free day to visit the new pier at Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, near Olympia. The walkway has been open only a few weeks and based on the number of cars in the parking lot, many had the same idea.

This NWR is at the mouth of the Nisqually River, which my blog followers will know from my many volunteer work parties with the Land Trust. The NWR is actually bound by two flowing waters, the Nisqually on the east and McAllister Creek on the west. On its north face, the foot of Puget Sound.

Ten years ago, February 28, 2001, a 32 mile deep, 6.8 earthquake had its epicenter right across from the mouth of these rivers. Damage to the ring dike, created long ago to drain the intertidal marsh for farm land, allowed salt water to return to the former intertidal marsh. The rest of the dikes were breached on all sides, up to the Twin Barns. This was the beginning of returning the artificial fresh water ponds to the true intertidal estuary so vital to the ecology of the rivers. It is here that young salmon make their transition to salt water life and adults transition to the upriver spawning habitat. Unique life forms will inhabit these areas creating better food ecology for the plants and animals.

Now a boardwalk pier takes you out over the intertidal area allowing you to get close to the different habitats like never before. It is 2.8 miles from parking lot to the end of the pier. Today the tide was well out when I arrived. The wind was pretty brisk, something I was not fully prepared for. Everyone seemed in a happy mood, finding rain free skies and plenty of new things to see.

This is a bird watching Mecca and almost everyone had binoculars or cameras, or both. It is always easy to find something interesting, just watch for this sign.

The object of their interest was a young great Blue Heron. The bird was "hunting and striking" and appeared to be only getting grass reeds.

Birds are pairing up and there are many courtship and territory displays to watch.

This Robin has partial albinism. Many patches of white make him easily identifiable. His condition might be the result of illness or genetics. It will be interesting so see, if he nests, if there with be more splotched birds here.

The pier is beautiful with many places to stop undercover and scope. Soon there will be benches to encourage folks to sit and observe and to give rest to the weary. The whole complex is wheelchair or scooter friendly. There is a photography and viewing blind ideally situated to allow views up McAllister Creek. Bald Eagles nest along this creek and today it was possible to see both adults flying along the ridge and to their nest.

There are several outflows to McAllister Creek where the water that gets impounded from high tide is cutting drainage tracks. I noted today that many ducks and and gulls were attracted to this area where the water was rushing. The Bufflehead ducks were diving and feeding very vigorously.

Looking back, Twin Barns really let you know how far out you were.

Over time this intertidal area should develop a new plant system. Today you could see holes in the mud that represent clam or worm burrows. Mud is everywhere and the smell is that particular scent of saltwater beach at low tide. I love it!

The clouds rolled in as I walked and I was so pleased that I was able to get a few shots of the Olympics before they lost their sparkle.

This Great Blue Heron is in beautiful breeding plumage. The long wispy filoplumes shows you which way the wind was blowing.

Gold Crown Sparrows and Song Sparrows were actively feeding in the edges. These edges were filled with vegetation and reeds. They must have been filled with bugs and seeds.

Returning to the parking lot the trail takes you through a river forest. It is in these trees and shrubs I developed many of my early bird watching skills. It is here I saw my first Yellow Warbler and learned the spring song of Gold-crowned Kinglet. Today a Song Sparrow gave me a great photo-op. It was finding many tasty things in the moss and lichen.

I was thrilled to see Tree Swallows have returned. This complex will host all of our regional swallows by the end of Spring.

Finally, here is my new traveling companion, Pearly Mae. She is nimble and raring to go.

Blue Day

Saturday morning I awoke very late to the roar of a wind storm. I knew that winds were due but they usually stay further east in the foothills. It sounded like a small jet passing back and forth outside.

I had decided to pay a visit to Olympia this day. My journey would be a two-fer. Visit Nisqually NWR if the weather was remotely humane and then stop at the excellent Olympia Farmers Market.

Knowing full well that weather here is never the same across the state, let alone across the street, I set off for Olympia, about 60 miles south. I was happy to see all sorts of cloud formations overhead, none of which said "rain " to me.

I arrived at Nisqually to a mixed sky. This refuge at the foot of Puget Sound is the delta of the Nisqually River. I have told you a lot about the lands upriver of this place, but I do not pay enough visits to the NWR. I wrote about my last visit in February 2010. Over the last several years this refuge has undergone a change. It has been long desired to return the delta to its natural state. The land had been diked off and made into farm land in the late 1800's. The Nisqually earthquake of 2001 collapsed one of the dikes and in 2008 the rest of the job was done. This precious land is rapidly returning to the salt water tidal marsh that nature intended.

When I lived further south than I do now, this refuge was one of the places I honed my birdwatching skills. Back then the loop trail was well over 6 miles. Now the hike out and back is only about 3 miles.

In winter it is a bleak and quiet place. The woodlands are leaf free and the migrant bird population long gone. The boardwalk in the riparian woods was slippery with greenstuf and there were little pebbles and sand everywhere. Clearly the recent rains and runoff had flooded the area. I had a sneaky quiet encounter of my first Great Blue Heron of the day. It made a pretty picture for me.

The original Brown Dike Ring Trail ends abruptly where it has been breached right at the edge of the Nisqually river. From here you can look down river. Today there was a Sea Lion noisily searching for salmon. It would come up for air and POOOFTH its breath out and quickly dive. If you missed seeing its head, you could have convinced yourself you were in the presence of a tiny whale. I never saw the Sea Lion eating a fish, so pickings might have been slim. A little Harbor Seal also politely worked the area seeking any swimming thing it could find.

Along with plenty of Great Blue Herons there are Bald Eagles galore. Full adults are easy to spot with their bold white heads and tails. Here there were many young birds at varied stages of plumage maturation. It was exciting to spot a bird that was just coming into its Four year, adult feathers. It was still a little blotchy. Most likely this year it will not nest but next year it will start Winter by courting and fighting for a nesting territory. Here at Nisqually there are several nesting eagles along the river valley

I spotted a heron frozen in the grass along the path ahead of me. I waited and was rewarded with seeing the bird capture a small rodent in the grass. The hapless critter was struggling as the heron walked to the waters edge and gave it a quick swish in the water and down the hatch it went

still wriggling.

Seems pretty risky to me and I have heard of birds being killed by a well placed bite or scratch in the crop. Here the bird is, post swallow with a rather bunchy neck.

It was wonderful simply being out. Even though there were a few sprinkles they were quickly followed by a wonderful sky of broken clouds. Sunlight came and went making photography and binocular work a challenge.

The Cross Dike trail is a great vantage point to seeing the duck ponds. Eagles like to fly over the ponds hoping to pinpoint a sick or injured bird. Sometimes you might spot a mink or river otter. Eagles and gulls fought over a dead fish. I noticed in the distance a structure I had not seen the last time I was here. A viewing platform and leading from it a long meandering boardwalk all the way out to the mouth of the river.

I read last night that this is a new feature. We will now have the ability to walk out into the tidal marsh and see it during high and low tide. What an exciting prospect. It holds great potential for wonderful views of the Sound and possibly Mt Rainier.

You can see a video about the project here.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/flatpages/video/mediacenterbc3.html?bctid=715284330001

This was the sky as I was leaving the NWR. There had been every flavor of sky this morning, none of it particularly rainy and even better out here on the flats, it was not windy. Around here, in Winter, such an event deserves a photographic record.

In time for lunch I paid a visit to the Olympia Farmers Market. This is the second largest Farmers Market in the state and they have a wonderful covered building for their main market.

A lot of local food producers including several vendors providing organic beef, pork and poultry. Cheeses, spices and herbs, vegetables and wonderful , wonderful apples. Many of the apples are types you are not going to see at your local store. I bought Mutsu apples to make a cake for work.

I really wanted to buy the oysters, bu know I have zero skill in getting them open. The Olympia Oyster has become so rare. They are no bigger than a 50 cent piece.

Several secondary buildings house vendors who provide yummy food for lunch. I could not resist a Polish sausage with onions and sauerkraut. It was just the thing since the weather had taken a sharp turn and you could feel the temperature falling just waiting in line. I used it as a hand warmer while I scurried back to the car before the long drive home.

A Walk in the Rain

I had no choice but walk in the rain today.

It didn't start out bad. I considered my options and decided that I might as well visit Nisqually NWR. I had not visited the refuge in many years. It is much changed since I last visited and I was interested in taking a look.

The Nisqually NWR is on the delta of the Nisqually River. In the early 1900's this land was purchased and diked to make farmland. In this day and age such an alteration of a sensitive habitat would not likely take place. Information panels near the old historic barns reveal a series of trails and tribulations that the owners of this land faced.

For most of the last century the dikes have remained in place and the conversion of the property to a NWR created a large pond and marsh complex which was a haven for ducks. A 5 1/2 mile ring dike was a great way to tour the complex.

As a beginning birder I spent many hours here. This is the area I saw my first Great Horned Owl . I had many encounters with new birds I had not seen before. The complex of trees and water and open grassy areas supported many different habitats. I can remember one warm Spring visit where mosquitoes bit so viciously that I was swollen like I had mumps.

The refuge is still a wonderful place, but there has been a major change. The dikes have been intentionally breached, allowing salt water to once again return into the delta. This is a rare habitat in Puget Sound and vital for the health of the land and water life. Unique plants and animals live in these areas. Inter-tidal riparian areas are an important habitat for salmon, both early and late in life.

Now, instead of walking on the gravel tops of the dikes, elevated boardwalks are available where waters might come and go.

There are nice sitting spots which allow you to pause and wait for the wildlife around you to become active. I have seen otters, mink, beaver and long tailed weasels here.

There are always birds about and in the Spring it is best to arrive right at dawn. The swallows are fantastic since the marsh supports a lot of mosquito habitat as well. I even saw bugs of unknown species moving about today. No bites so not sure what they were. The migration return has not yet started. Today I got this nice picture of a Song Sparrow.

I had nice observation of a Great Blue Heron fishing.

I watched a Peregrine high in a tree preening and keeping careful watch on where its next meal was coming from.

Two juvenile Bald Eagles looked very wet and miserable in the rain. There were full adults further down the river. Now is the time for the start of nesting and I have to wonder if these two youngsters were soundly told to "leave home" so the parents could get on with a new years work.

I met with a volunteer far out on the dike where we enjoyed this view.

I asked him about the nest in the tree to the right of the barns.

He said that in 1997 the eagles built this nest but much of it blew down in a hard wind storm. Since then the eagles have nested to the west on the ridge bordering the margin of the refuge. That area gets less severe wind.

Since the eagles abandoned this nests, Canada Geese have used it. I was amazed at that idea but he said it was true. Two visitors observed a pair of geese honking and carrying on at the bottom of the tree. They looked up and sure enough, the young goslings jumped out of the nest and plummeted to the ground. Wood Duck nest in trees and the ducklings, once they are dry from hatching, launch themselves from the nest hole. They bounce a bit, get up and waddle away, no worse for wear. So it was for the geese. I cannot imagine the impact from that great height.

He mentioned that the Canadas use trees by the Education center. I did then remember that fact, I always thought it was odd. They are lower trees, not like the ones near the barn. He said that the geese of the delta are a closed, non-migrating population. I speculated that they had likely learned this nesting habit over time. The Bald Eagles have learned that the geese nest like this and there have been some easy pickings of setting birds

We talked further about the changes to the complex. He said the best time to come was during an extreme high tide. He said that the salt water fills this area pictured and comes to within two feet of the base of the dike.

I will keep my eye on the tide tables and repay a visit.

Giving Back : Nisqually Land Trust

I spent this morning volunteering at a site clean up with the Nisqually Land Trust.

http://www.nisquallylandtrust.org/

The parcel of land, east of Yelm, contained an old barn that had previously been taken down. There was a ton of old "no climb" fencing, barbed wire posts and assorted junk that needs to be cleared up.

It was a small but hard working crew. The day was very over cast with gray dreary sky and that light "hardly can be called rain". As the day progressed, however the sun won out and there were beautiful clouds set against blue skies.

The Field Bindweed was still closed when we walked through the pasture and by the time we had finished three hours later, it had almost all opened.

The river bowed away from this shoreline The backwater has collected many drifting logs and these serve as excellent protection for young salmon. All of the state salmon species have been found along this stretch of water and this protected environment is vital for the young developing fish. They require cool shaded water. When the river runs high during the rainy season, this area floods and floats these logs in. Eventually they feel the river will finish cutting the path and the trees you see behind the logs will actually wind up as an island

This Turkey Vulture was one of many that had obviously spent the night on the river. They were coming out of the trees as we crossed the field. They kept watch along with a large number of Raven, who held lively conversation about our antics.

I wish the lighting had been more favorable to allow capturing the detail of this grand bird.

I chose to tackle untangling and cutting down what I called a huge cinnamon roll made of no climb fencing, barbed wire and the occasional board panel. It looked pretty daunting as it twisted back on itself and there was nothing to do put pull and dissect pieces. We needed to conserve space in the dumpster that was on site so each small section was folded on itself and stomped on them to create mattresses of wire bundles. It took about two hours for my partner and I to accomplish the task. There is something very satisfying about work like this and the before and after picture tells the tale.

BEFORE

this pile is about 4 1/2 feet high

AFTER!!!!

So it was a good days work. I optimistically thought I might stop by the Nisqually NWR on the way back but I will have to save that for another day. I have a nice collection of scratches and I am sure that I will REALLY feel it tomorrow from using the wire cutters in cutting apart all that fencing. They were the "Jaws of Life" type cutters, not the polite one hand utility type cutters.

The Nisqually NWR is where I started birding in an environment other than the woodlands near work. This is open field environment and river backwater with woods. Located at the mouth of the Nisqually River at the foot of Puget Sound just north/east of Olympia. Travelers driving north on I-5 pass through the south border of the NWR as they cross the Nisqually Flats.

It is here I saw my first Yellow Warbler. I remember that day clearly and the resulting mosquito bites on my face made me look like I had mumps. It was so very worth the discomfort. I realized that I was going to have to find out about bug sprays and other items to keep my nature nut adventures as safe and healthy as possible.

Yellow Warbler , Dendroica petechia