When we arrived a little before noon, the parking lots were almost full. The day was beautiful and sunny with a cool breeze. We hiked to the end of the boardwalk and back and then walked to the river overlook returning on the East side of the pond behind the visitor's center. The tide was out and just beginning to come in when we walked the boardwalk. We saw very few birds from the boardwalk--a few Blue Heron, shovelers, mallards, wigeons, coots, geese, green- winged teal and eagles were seen. Our most interesting sightings were seen along the water behind the visitor's center. We saw 2 painted turtles sunning themselves. One of them was in the same place 6 hours later on our return. A Pacific Chorus Frog was making sounds 3 times as loud as its size! A bittern was mostly hidden in the grasses. As we returned on the East side of the loop near the visitor's center, we saw 3 Great-horned owls, an adult with its two owlets. A very fun day!

This was our first time to hike the beautiful new boardwalk over the estuary. The day was cloudy with no mountain views, but there was no rain which was a plus! We saw many Great Blue Herons, a Great Egret, an immature red-tailed hawk with an injury to one of its talons, a pair of hooded mergansers, eagles, and many mallards and geese. We were there over 7 hours enjoying the birds and beauty of the area. We ate lunch in one of the viewing areas that had benches.

This is always a great place to go on a sunny winter day. No problems with trails

The current edition (Jan-Feb 2012) of "Washington Trails" includes a nice article about the history of the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and the efforts to restore the salmon runs and protect migratory birds in this area. If you have never visited the area, pick up a copy of the magazine or visit www.fws.gov/nisqually. This afternoon the weather was dry, the temperature was mild and the sky was quite grey. Nonetheless, the main parking lot was full and there were lots of vistors in this family-friendly area. This is a great place to take out-of-town visitors too. Today it was great to see two Great Blue Herons close to the main path, one hunting in the marshy grass and the other resting on a marshy island who later took off to a new location. During this time of the year, it was easy to spot many adult and juvenile eagles high in the deciduous trees off in the distance and up close near the Twin Barns. There were several different varieties of ducks everywhere busy feeding. Most spectacular today was the sounds and number of geese, which must have been in the houndreds or more, who would get aroused and put on a show for all the spectators in the area - filling up the vast sky like a huge rippling wave without purpose or direction. Note, the boardwalk is closed 700 ft from the end for waterfowl hunting season. A chain link fence is on the boardwalk with a sign posting the closure through January 29, 2012. Although you are unable to get to the end of the boardwalk, you won't be disappointed with the beautiful facility that allows you to observe a variety of birds and ducks and more. On the drive out of the refuge a young doe, wet and muddy was hanging out under an apple tree next to the road - an exclamation to the day.

This trail is totally flat and very family friendly. There are many different trails to choose from and today we went with the Estuary Boardwalk Trail as mentioned in the WTA guide. As previous reports have mentioned,this is a great place to view wildlife so bring your camera and binoculars. We saw a hawk, herons, and several other little birds while out today. The boardwalk out over the water is beautiful and there are lots of viewing platforms and benches to stop for breaks along the way. The last 700 yards of the boardwalk are closed at this time due to duck hunting season but will reopen around the end of January 2012. Other than that, there are no other issues to report about this trail. If you are in the area and have a few hours, this is a great place to take kids of all ages for a hike and maybe you'll see some exciting wildlife!