Nisqually NWR

[squirl033]

went down to the Nisqually NWR this afternoon... looks like an interesting place, though there wasn't much going on today... mostly just ducks, geese, herons and swallows. lots and lots of swallows. tide was out, spotted a couple of juvie eagles out on a sandbar about halfway out the boardwalk, but not a lot else. frankly, i was a little disappointed... nothing much there that i couldn't see - from a lot closer - at Juanita. maybe i just hit an off day... anyway, here are a couple of shots from the visit...

a brown creeper...

a shoveler drake...

not the best weather - but at least the rain held off!

 

[BrianH]

Rocky love that shovel nose, well captured!

 

[Leia]

Nice set. I like the third shot. It appears Nisqually has much shallower spots/reed growth than much of Ridgefield's banks which would be great for all those wading birds.

 

[JDueckPhoto]

I like the third shot too, very NW

 

[Judy N]

Not bad for a "bad day".

 

[Christena]

Nice shots...love the duck shot.

 

[BobH]

Rocky, sorry to hear you had a bad day. I've had good and bad days there myself. You're right that the birds are mostly common, though we have seen a few relatively rare birds like the Bittern.

If you have a place nearby that offers the same birds, then you probably don't have any reason to go there. I like Nisqually, since while I have the same birds around here, including many literally in my back yard, they're easier to find at Nisqually, and the background tends to be photogenic, rather than suburbia.

 

[squirl033]

Rocky, sorry to hear you had a bad day. I've had good and bad days there myself. You're right that the birds are mostly common, though we have seen a few relatively rare birds like the Bittern.

i wouldn't say it was a "bad day"... no day spent outdoors with my camera is a bad day! it just wasn't one of my most productive outings. but i still enjoyed myself, and my daughter had a good time as well, so it was worth the drive.

If you have a place nearby that offers the same birds, then you probably don't have any reason to go there. I like Nisqually, since while I have the same birds around here, including many literally in my back yard, they're easier to find at Nisqually, and the background tends to be photogenic, rather than suburbia.

that's what i like about Juanita Bay Park... it's big enough that the neighbor's house isn't in the background (though you can sometimes get houses on the far shore in the picture), but there seem to be at least as many species, and you can get a lot closer to the birds. i've shot GBH's, green herons, bitterns, swallows, blackbirds, wood ducks, snipes, rails, hooded mergansers, muskrats, hummingbirds, and otters all from less than 25 feet away. and of course, there are eagles, hawks, and a number of other species of waterfowl as well. sure, you won't see all those every trip - sometimes you won't see any, or maybe only one, but you'll get a good shot when you do.

while i was down there, i overheard a group of birders chattering and pointing, so i wandered over to see what the fuss was. they were all excited about seeing a Bewick's Wren in a thicket 50 feet away. i didn't have the heart to tell them that i've gotten shots of those little guys from 10 feet away, posing for me in the open, at Juanita...

in fact, here's one now...

 

[Dave Cowell]

The sheer size and relatively limited accessibility of Nisqually doesn’t help much. One definitely needs to put some miles under their feet there to get to know the place well, but that can be half the fun of it. I was pretty sad to see the portion of the old trail that led out to McAllister Creek close. That was one of the nicest areas of the refugee and it got some beautiful evening light....

Nice to see you got a creeper photo. Did you get a chance to see the great horned owl and chicks?

Dave

 

[squirl033]

thanks, Dave... no, we missed the owl. the highlight of my day was the creeper... hadn't gotten a shot of one of those yet...

 

[Leia]

Rocky, if someone were to drive 3 hours north to see the park, what would their chances of finding a wood duck be? I have never seen one and would like to....we are discussing a trip north if it is a decent enough probability (let's say one in four visits verses one in fifty).

 

[Digital Latte]

love the third shot in the first set and the second shot in the second set, looks like you just missed some BAD weather!!! thanks for sharing

 

[squirl033]

Rocky, if someone were to drive 3 hours north to see the park, what would their chances of finding a wood duck be? I have never seen one and would like to....we are discussing a trip north if it is a decent enough probability (let's say one in four visits verses one in fifty).

Leia, i've seen wood ducks there probably 3 times out of my last 4 visits. they get a little less common in late spring and summer, and sometimes you have to wait a while, but they frequently put in an appearance somewhere, and often, if you're patient, they'll come in quite close... well within the range of a 400... this time of year, there are usually red-wings going nuts as well. most of the winter ducks - teals, buffleheads, and mergansers - will have left by now, though there are often buffleheads there well into spring. but this time of year, lots of the other birds are nesting, and it's usually quite active from now through about the end of May.

if you're planning a trip, let me know when... if it's on a weekend, i might be able to meet you there and give you a guided tour... it's only about half an hour away for me, and i'm always up for spending an afternoon there. it's not really that big a park... the area accessible to visitors is limited to a couple of boardwalks and a causeway that used to be the street, but within those areas, you can often get amazing shots. it's not the sort of place you can just walk through and see stuff... you usually have to spend some time there and sorta wait for the critters to come around. but if you've got a day, or even just an afternoon, to kill, it's a great place to spend some time.

 

[BobH]

Rocky, if someone were to drive 3 hours north to see the park, what would their chances of finding a wood duck be?

Apparently it's not too tough to find them this time of year. Of course I could have simply been lucky...

He's a bit backlit, but not too bad. I kind of like how you can see through the water.

View attachment 6065

View attachment 6066

 

[Leia]

Last minute changes. We have to have work on our computer done. It went to the shop today. No trips north planned as that is eating up the money I had planned on using for gas.

Next time.

 

[BobH]

Last minute changes. We have to have work on our computer done. It went to the shop today. No trips north planned as that is eating up the money I had planned on using for gas.

Next time.

Sorry to hear that. If it's any consolation, we only saw these guys for about 10 minutes or so, and they were backlit for almost all the time, with no way to get on the sunny side of them. (Even if we'd had a boat, which we didn't, they're not allowed in the reserve...)

We saw a few other birds, but nothing too spectacular. If I'd driven 3+ hours one way, I probably wouldn't have been overly excited by the results. (Those two shots are by far the best ones, and pretty much the only decenht ones...)

 

[squirl033]

"Apparently it's not too tough to find them this time of year. Of course I could have simply been lucky...'

they're pretty easy to find now, but come June, they get a lot tougher. then they come back again in October or November

"He's a bit backlit, but not too bad. I kind of like how you can see through the water."

yeah, they don't always cooperate, and they don't always give you the best light... looks like this was shot from the causeway?

"If I'd driven 3+ hours one way, I probably wouldn't have been overly excited by the results."

i wouldn't drive all the way to Ridgefield just for some bird shots, either... but if i'm in the area anyway, and have some time to poke around, that's a different matter.. then again, i've been known to drive 4 hours to Ruby Beach to shoot the sunset, then back home the same evening, so what do i know??