I’ve not been following WA rare birds carefully for a few days, so yesterday I did not hear about the Rusty blackbird being seen at Nisqually NWR until Kay and I went to the volunteers recognition event for Tahoma Audubon, where other birders told us that they were just getting back from there and easily saw the RUBL.
This AM after a few chores I headed there, and just as I arrived the rain and wind picked up to raining sideways with stronger gusts. I walked out to the cattail area on the dike trail where the bird has been seen. On the way out two birders lamented that they had missed the RUBL, but it had been seen earlier today. I did not find it when I first got there and waited a bit. I walked to the base of the boardwalk, watching both sides of the dike, and about half way back I saw a lone blackbird feeding in the wet area just before the cattails, just as predicted. It was the RUBL, and I got great looks at close range in binos and the scope. Digiscope photos were difficult because the bird kept moving, and the rain kept optics wet, but still a FOY bird for me, and a first Thurston County bird.