January
- Wetlands are fully
flooded with seasonal rain.
- Waterfowl are abundant.
- Peak of chum salmon
in Nisqually River.
- Bald eagles forage
on chum salmon along river and on the delta.
- Dike Trail re-opens
at end of waterfowl hunting season.
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February
- Best time to observe
sea ducks and black brant on Nisqually Reach.
- Waterfowl fatten
up before migrating north.
- Pacific treefrogs
start chorusing.
- Nisqually NWR
was established in February 1974 - Happy Birthday!
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March
- Bald eagles begin
nesting.
- Best time to see and
hear spring migrant birds.
- Early flowering salmonberry
and Indian-plum provide nectar for returning rufus hummingbirds.
- President Theodore
Roosevelt established the National Wildlife Refuge System in March
1903 with Pelican Island NWR in Florida.
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April
- Bald eagle pair
incubates eggs this month and chicks usually hatch late in
April.
- Late April and
early May bring flocks of approx. 5,000 western sandpipers
and dunlin to forage on delta mudflats during northward migration.
- Air is sweet with
flowering shrubs and trees.
- Insects attracted
to new leaves are plentiful food for songbirds.
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May
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June
- Dry, sunny seasonal
weather.
- Chinook salmon move
up the Nisqually River to spawn in tributaries until September.
- Songbirds are feeding
their young.
- Weekend Nature Programs continue.
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July
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August
- Mowing of grasslands
and irrigation of seasonal wetlands provides important habitat
for wintering waterfowl.
- Shorebirds migrate
southward, stopping briefly to feed out on Refuge mudflats.
- Summer
Lecture Series continues.
- Weekend
Nature Programs continue.
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September
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October
- Waterfowl numbers
increasing.
- Wintering songbirds
start arriving (Northern shrike, winter wren, ruby-crowned kinglet,
golden-crowned kinglet, varied thrush, yellow-rumped warbler,
and sparrows).
- Peregrine falcons,
merlins, and American kestrels arrive to forage on wintering birds.
- Bald eagles hunt waterfowl
flocks.
- National Wildlife
Refuge System Week is the 2nd week in October.
- Waterfowl
hunting season begins and the Dike Trail is partially closed
until late January.
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November
- Abundant waterfowl.
- Chum salmon return
to spawning grounds in Nisqually River tributaries.
- Raptors increasingly
abundant throughout the winter.
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December
- Approx. 4,000-6,000
wintering geese and waterfowl can be seen in seasonal wetlands,
pastures, and estuary habitats.
- Earthy, sweet smell
of the Pacific Northwest permeates the air.
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