I headed out to Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in search of herons in honor of my Dad (who passed away when I was 20) this Father's Day.  The trail and boardwalk are in good shape, as usual, and there are a bunch of flowers blooming on the blackberry (raspberry?) bushes, we well as along the paths. There were also a ton of snakes on the path between the grasslands and the boardwalk! I counted 6 snakes on the way in and 8 on the way out.  

I was thrilled to see a little flock of bright yellow American Goldfinches!  Unfortunately I missed high tide and the it was out far enough that there weren't many birds on the delta aside from gulls and cormorants. I finally spotted six herons hunting on the other side of the river and while I couldn't get close enough to get any pics, but it was a nice sign :)  

As as side note, I walked the William Ives trail (not listed in WTA, but it's only 1.5 miles and is owned by Lacey Parks and Rec) yesterday from Meridian Campus Park. If you are in the Hawks Prairie area and need a little leg stretcher, this is a great option! It runs in between the Hawks Prairie Golf Course and a neighborhood - it's a beautiful little path. 

We’ve tried a few times over the last month to come here but it’s been so packed that there has been no parking. Stopped today and the lot was about 3/4 full. We’ve been in the fall but with all fresh green leaves, it’s even more beautiful now. Flowers blooming in places but the highlight was all the birds and frogs. If you love birds, this is such a wonderful trail. It has lots of shade on the boardwalks. The quiet with just the sound of the birds is so soothing. This trail is a great trail for everyone. There are bees on the boardwalks in places but they left us alone. 

We got there around 130 and there were plenty of parking spots on this hot day.

There was someone early on in our walk being inconsiderate with music playing, but fortunately we were able to evade them quickly. 

We saw a ton of wildlife. Tons of different birds, blue herons, a bald eagle, harbor seals, a bunny, raccoon, dear..

Always a great time at Nisqually!

We got to the lot at 130, and lucked out finding a spot in the packed lot. There looked like there were people coming and going constantly, so I'm sure you wouldn't have to wait long for a spot.

We walked to the farthest part of the boardwalk (my phone said 4.5 miles, my friend's 4). Took us about an hour and a half. It rained on us a bit, but cleared up.

We saw harbor seals and a blue heron, besides the other birds like seagulls and such.

Lovely, if wet, Easter visit to the refuge. Got a close up view of a red tailed hawk and a hooded merganser couple. The daffodils of the old homestead are in bloom, always a favorite to spot them in the woods.