April 1, 2012 Nisqually River Delta

Today our class visited the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge which is a wetland area that contains many species of birds. The weather was slightly cloudy with occasional sun. The area was very flat and we walked along a wooden bridge for the majority of the time. On either side of the bridge there were many Big Leaf Maple trees that were large and covered with moss and lichen. The trees did not have their leaves yet, and they seemed very scraggly. Many Red-flowering currant and indian plum shrubs were growing amongst the trees and both of those were flowering. There were also snoberry plants and salmon berry bushes. In the more marshy area were it was mostly grass, I saw many great blue herons walking around in a slow graceful pattern. I also saw quite a few robins searching for worms, and some brown creepers swirling down a tree trunk together then hopping back up it. Perhaps the most amazing part was getting to look at two great horned owls sitting in a tree together. I also came across a juvenile red-tail hawk sitting in a low branch above the path. It had a white belly with brown specks, and a green beak and yellow eyes.

Indian Plum, Oemleria cerasiformis
Snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus
Red-flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum
Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
Great-Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus
Skunk Cabbage, Lysichiton americanus
Salmonberry, Rubus spectabilis
Big Leaf Maples, Acer macrophyllum
Canada goose, Branta canadensis
Himilayan Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
Robin, Turdus migratorius
Cottonwood,Populus trichocarpa
Brown Creepers, Certhia americana
Red-tail Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
Marsh Hawk, Circus cyaneus

Posted on June 1, 2012 01:34 AM by andymj