With rain predicted the rest of the week, I headed to Nisqually Monday after I took Skye for his morning walk, thinking that a recent Seattle Times article on the new boardwalk would mean that part of it was now open. Unfortunately, that turned out to be untrue. Apparently the boardwalk won’t be open until hunting season has ended.
It was too great of a day not to take advantage of the sunshine, though, so I stuck around. Birding wasn’t much better than Sunday’s trip, but the ice was just as beautiful here as it was at Belfair. I was particularly fond of the Hoar Frost:
I also sighted a lot of raptors, including several Bald Eagles and a pair of Peregrine falcons, but the only one a managed to get a good shot of was this female Marsh Hawk that flew right past me.
The best bird of the day was obviously this Western Meadowlark, a bird I haven’t seen since I was in Colorado, and never managed to get this good shot of even there.
I also sighted this Downy Woodpecker on my way out, a bird I haven’t seen since they closed the 5-mile trail down
It felt great getting out for a longer walk. Perhaps with the rain returning I’ll get a chance to finish the poetry book I started this weekend.