Nisqually NWR's Boardwalk

[BobH]

If you're a bird photographer in the Pacific Northwest, then you're probably familiar with the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. If you're not, it's somethingh you should definitely check out.

The refuge is on the Nisqually River Delta, where the river meets Puget Sound (saltwater). The mudflats and marshes make for great bird habitat, with a wide variety to be seen. I'm not big into birds, so I won't try and name off species, but I'll just say it's a great place to explore and photograph birds.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, on the Nisqually River Delta in southern Puget Sound, was established in 1974 for the protection of migratory birds. Three thousand acres of salt and freshwater marshes, grasslands, riparian, and mixed forest habitats provide resting and nesting areas for migratory waterfowl, songbirds, raptors, and wading birds. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is one of over 544 National Wildlife Refuges in the United States. Managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in the Department of the Interior, the National Wildlife Refuges encompass over 154 million acres of land and water for wildlife. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The mission of the Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.[/FONT]​

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http://www.fws.gov/Nisqually/

They do charge an admission fee, but it's pretty cheap. $3 per car, and you can buy an annual pass for about $12 (I can't recall the exact amount, and can't find it on the website at the moment, but it's under $20)

 

[BobH]

The refuge has been under-going some dramatic changes in the last few years. They've closed off portion of the park, and removed some of the dikes that were built when the place was a farm. This was done to try and restore the tidal wetlands that shore birds enjoy so much.

The process hasn't been easy. In fact, last season we were less than impressed with the park. They'd close off access to most of the dikes, and the trail was only about a mile long. They had a nice river overlook, and you could get a nice view of the Sound, but it didn't really feel like anything special. Most of the accessible areas were freshwater marshy areas, which do attract a lot of birds, but that's not hard to find in the Northwest. In fact, I can find the same thing within a mile of my house, and many of the most common birds can literally be found in my backyard.

That's all changed this year. They've now completed a new boardwalk out into the Delta. Suddenly you can walk along the tidal mudflats and get, well, a birds eye view of the birds. The boardwalk is a mile long (literally!) making for quite a lot of area to cover and plenty of photo opportunities.

The birds seem to understand the folks here won't bother them. Sure, they're still skittish, but it's easy to get a nice close view of geese, ducks, blue herons, and lots more. They even have a bald eagle's nest, though the eagle do tend to perch high up in the trees, so bring some "long glass" if you have it.

Speaking of "long glass", if you want to see some serious lenses on display, this is the place! You have a 200 mm lens? You'll probably feel like it's a 50 mm after you see the stuff the regulars pack around. 400 and 500 mm lenses are easy to spot.

That said, you can get some great shots with even a 200, and if you have a 70-300 then you can get some nice close-ups of many of the fine feathered friends who frequent the area.

The walk from the visitor's center to the end of the boardwalk is 2 miles, making for 4 mile round trip. Plan to spend a couple of hours and dress warmly, as the wind is often brisk!

 

[BobH]

Here's some photos of the new boardwalk. They say it's one mile long, and by the time you've walked to the end you'll certainly believe it!

The boardwalk is laid out in a winding twisting path to follow the topography of the mudflats. It also makes it more interesting, and allows for some different angles on various photo opportunities.


The view from the first overlook, where the boardwalk connects to shore. The boardwalk extends out for a mile from this point. The end lookout is about where the treeline ends, just under the white spot (actually a building) on the other side of the waterway.
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Part way out, you can now clearly see the observation deck at the end in this shot. Probably about 1/3 of the way there, still a long ways to go!
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Getting closer now...
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This is the lookout at the end of the boardwalk.
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The view back towards shore.
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The wide angle lens used in these shots does exaggerate the distance a bit, but make no mistake, it's LONG walk out there...

 

[BobH]

A few more shots of the boardwalk. For you bridge and engineering fans, the boardwalk is a simple trestle with a few through girder bridges over the small waterways. Built mostly of timber, it has a nice look to it, reminding me of an a narrow gauge trestle (though not as heavy duty) or an old dock.

Construction work was done mostly be hand. Concrete blocks were placed in the mud and held in place with steel anchor pins driven into the soil. I looked closely and could see very few signs of disturbing the mudflats. They built their way out from shore and used the boardwalk as the acess. The docent at the visitor's center told me they helicoptered in a few heavy pieces, I suspect those would have been the truss sections.

All in all, a very nicely done structure that allows you unique access to the wetlands without disturbing the wildlife or or needing boat.

These shots will give you an idea of how much the walkway bends and turns. All of the photos are shot from on the walkway, even though it may appear to be heading in a dfferent direction.

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One of the twists and turns. This also shows one of several small truss bridges that make up a portion of the structure. The allow a clear span to allow the various drainage channels to pass under the structure without obstruction.

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A distant shot of the same location, again showing the small bridge connecting trestle sections.

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Construction details of the boardwalk. They have one enclosed blind, which is handy for ducks and other easily spooked waterfowl, while the remaining lookout areas have open sides, with a roof for shelter.

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An overview of the current trail system. Red and Yellow sections are the trails. The orange dike is closed to foot traffic. However, with the new boardwalk, there's once again plenty to see and explore.

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[climbbike]

I go out there a lot but haven't been out since the board walk opened. I definitely want to get out there to check it out.

Also wanted to mention, the Annual National Parks pass covers your admission cost as well, if you have one (something every photographer should have )

 

[DeddoArts]

Are the mudflats an area that will flood with the tide, or is it a seasonal kind of thing? (I'm looking forward to visiting there when we warm up a bit!)

 

[BobH]

Are the mudflats an area that will flood with the tide, or is it a seasonal kind of thing? (I'm looking forward to visiting there when we warm up a bit!)

They flood with the tides, though I guess how much water they get would vary by season and tide levels.

Speaking of warming up, that could be interesting. Mudflats in the middle of summer may not be the most pleasent place. They can develp an odor, and who know how many flying insects will show up to join in the fun... That's great for birds, bugs make nice snacks, but the people may not enjoy it as much.

 

[DeddoArts]

Bob- I'm thinking early spring, hopefully the mosquitoes won't be quite so bad at that point. In theory.

 

[BobH]

With the whole area being Tideflats and saltwater, I really don't know what the bug situation will be... Having the area underwater seems like it should discourage them, but then again, when the tide is out, I have to expect they may come out to play.

 

[Photokats]

Thanks for all the info Bob! Now I know what to look forward to when we go visit there! I am excited!

 

[Dave Cowell]

Hi all,

I go out to Nisqually quite often and Bob is right, it's big glass country. More often than not I'm shooting my 500 + 1.4. Though there are quite a few blue heron that will frequently be close enough where a 300mm would suffice.

Personally, I thing winter is the best season out there. The only real problem is finding decent weather during the colder months. There's a host of raptors that winter in the refuge. Quite a few harriers, several peregrines, american kestral, red tails, and many eagles, especially when the salmon are running. But, with so much area for them to roam it can take some luck to get them within shooting range though. Well worth at least one visit though!

Enjoy!
Dave

 

[BobH]

Hi all,

I go out to Nisqually quite often and Bob is right, it's big glass country. More often than not I'm shooting my 500 + 1.4. Though there are quite a few blue heron that will frequently be close enough where a 300mm would suffice.

Personally, I thing winter is the best season out there. The only real problem is finding decent weather during the colder months. There's a host of raptors that winter in the refuge. Quite a few harriers, several peregrines, american kestral, red tails, and many eagles, especially when the salmon are running. But, with so much area for them to roam it can take some luck to get them within shooting range though. Well worth at least one visit though!

Enjoy!
Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the reply and welcome to the forum! Great to have somebody who can tell those little guys apart give us some accurate info. We saw a Harrier (I think) last Sunday. It was very cool, he just hovered in one spot, flapping his wings and riding the wind, then, suddenly, dive bomb.

You're right about the area though, often the birds are too distant for anything I've got. However, there's enough close by to always get something, especially if you don't mind shooting geese and ducks. They're fun subjects, though I suppose serious birders tire of them pretty quickly.

I'm shooting my 500 + 1.4.

When I first saw that, I read it as "500mm f1.4", LOL! Now THAT would be some serious glass. It would also probably be the size of a large telescope... Since nobody even makes such a beast as far as I know, I presume you mean with a 1.4 teleconverter.

 

[Judy N]

Great shot. Bird's version of a bad hair day. Lol

 

[BobH]

Great shot, love those herons! They're pretty and they're big enough that I can get them with my 200 mm lens.