OLYMPIA--A crown jewel for people who appreciate the natural world or want to learn more about it has just opened at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge off Interstate 5 between Olympia and Tacoma. That jewel is the $3.4 million Visitor's Center and the nifty mile-long boardwalk trail through a wetland and to the bank of the Nisqually River. The inside of the Visitor's Center features a variety of educational displays that describe the Nisqually River from its origin in a glacier on Mt. Rainier to the refuge where the river meets Puget Sound. Those displays offer everything from interesting facts about nature (an airplane once hit a mallard duck flying at 21,000 feet) to an estuary model with its likenesses of salmon, greater yellowlegs, 2-foot-long clam worms and other mudflat denizens. The plaster likenesses give way to real animals almost immediately after a visitor leaves the center for a walk along the new boardwalk. On a recent visit, a large redtail hawk, its wings and tail spread to shed water from a recent downpour, sat obligingly in a tall tree at the beginning of the walk. It remained there until the visitor returned, when it darted from the tree to pounce on some hapless creature in the nearby grass. The boardwalk is very user-friendly, with benches, spotting scopes and other amenities. It also accommodates baby carriages and wheelchairs. The outer dike trail is closed due to waterfowl hunting. Call the Visitor's Center at (360) 753-9467 for more information.

Big game hunting: The late archery and muzzleloader seasons for elk and deer open Nov. 24 in some game management units. Hunters are advised to check the Big Game Hunting Seasons and Rules pamphlet to determine which areas are open and when they close to hunting. Antler restrictions also vary. The cougar hunting season remains open until mid-March.

Slugs: For those weary of the life and times of reluctant Seahawk Joey Galloway, November is a good time to go outside and appreciate Washington's banana slugs. They like the rain and the temperatures haven't gotten too cold for them yet. Be careful not to lick them because author James Luther Davis reports they will numb the tongue.

Central Washington:

• Bighorn sheep rutting: November is a spectacular time to see male bighorn sheep butting heads to show dominance in their mating rituals. Check the cliffs west of Washington 821 in the Yakima River Canyon between Yakima and Ellensburg. Good viewing spots are above the areas where Umtanum and Roza creeks join the Yakima. The brown sheep are well camouflaged so bring binoculars and look for movement.
• Birdwatching: Bohemian waxwings are beginning to appear in eastern Washington orchards.
• Waterfowl hunting: The northern Columbia Basin (Potholes Reservoir and the Desert Wildlife Area) offer large numbers of ducks and geese to waterfowl hunters. As the northern areas freeze, head for the Toppenish, McNary, and Umatilla National Wildlife Refuges and WDFW's Sunnyside Wildlife Area south of Yakima for good hunting.

Puget Sound:

• Blackmouth fishing: Northern Puget Sound continues to offer the hottest hatchery blackmouth (immature chinook) salmon fishing. The west side of Possession Bar has produced well for trollers and moochers. Port Townsend, the eastern San Juans near Anacortes and the Camano Island areas also have been producing, according to WDFW's Tony Floor, a salmon angler who manages the agency's winter blackmouth fishing program. Floor warns anglers to stay on the beach if the weather is bad, however. Dropping a crab pot while fishing in the northern Sound also is a good idea while fishing for blackmouth. November also is a good time to try squid jigging from one of Puget Sound's many lighted public piers. The best fishing times can be just after dark on a cloudy or rainy night at high tide. Squid like to lurk in the dark around light and then race in after a herring or other small fish. Remember, squidding can be good at any time during the night. An old fishing rod with light line and a squid lure that is either luminous or reflects light is about all the gear needed. Check with the local sporting goods store for advice and equipment.
• Birdwatching: Birders from all over the country are flocking to the Samish Flats near Bow, Skagit County, to spot the first Eurasian kestrel ever seen on the Pacific coast south of British Columbia. One of the kestrels was seen in British Columbia and a handful have been seen in Alaska, according to Bill Tweit, a WDFW biologist and avid birdwatcher. The Samish Flats kestrel, a juvenile, first was seen on Oct. 31. Tweit says the Eurasian kestrel differs from the American kestrel in that it is about 10 to 20 percent larger. It has extensive dark chevron markings on a rusty back, a plainer face pattern and a wedge-shaped, rather than rounded, tail. The juvenile Eurasian kestrel generally can be viewed from Chuckanut Drive between mile posts 8 and 9. Raptor experts predict the bird will remain in the area for the winter. Lots of native raptors, including rough-legged hawks, short-eared owls, peregrine falcons, merlin, American kestrels and northern shrikes, also are visible on the Samish Flats. Tweit also reports the first reports of sightings of gyrfalcons and prairie falcons are arriving. The WDFW biologist says the Samish Flats are the only place in North America where six falcon species can be sighted. Birders looking for the Eurasian kestrel and the other raptors need to use caution as they park along Chuckanut Drive, which is a narrow and winding road. Harlequin ducks now can be seen along shorelines from Port Townsend to Port Angeles. Look for the colorful birds along rocky shorelines.
• Waterfowl hunting: Late November is a prime time for duck and goose hunting in Washington. Don Kraege, WDFW's waterfowl manager, reports large numbers of waterfowl are arriving in Washington and fall storms are making them more available to hunters. Kraege reported some 350,000 ducks have been counted in the Skagit Flats (Skagit, Padilla and other bays in the Mount Vernon area). Snow geese also are beginning to arrive and hunting for them should pick up in late November through December.

Olympic Peninsula:

• Razor clam digging: Copalis Beach will be open for sport razor clam digging from 12:01 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 20, 21 and 22. Mocrocks will be open during the same hours on Nov. 26 and 27. Long Beach also will be open for during same hours on Nov. 26 and 27. The Washington Department of Health may close the beaches if it determines the shellfish are safe for human consumption. Long Beach opens again Dec. 20 and 21.
• Birdwatching: The rare Eurasian dotterel visiting Ocean Shores has not been seen for two weeks, but it still may be in the area. But there are plenty of other birds to be seen in places like the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge and Bowerman Basin.
• Waterfowl hunting: Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor are prime for duck and goose hunting, although waterfowl numbers usually decrease in these areas by late November.

Southwest Washington:

• Salmon fishing: Southwest Washington is a good place to go for coho salmon. Large numbers of coho continue to return to the Columbia and the catch of adult hatchery coho has been increased from two to four fish in a six-salmon daily bag limit in the Elochoman River downstream of the river's west fork. More than 10,000 surplus hatchery coho have been released into the upper Cowlitz River watershed. The Cowlitz River also is a good place for winter steelhead. The Elochoman and Lewis rivers also are producing steelhead.
• Waterfowl hunting: This is a prime time for duck and goose hunting in the Vancouver Lowlands.
• Birdwatching: Large numbers of geese, swans and sandhill cranes can be seen in Columbia River bottoms now.