A flock of cackling geese flies in the familiar V formation as the sun is about to rise above the hill that overlooks the refuge, while fog settles in down near the river.
Tag: auto tour
Young Blue
A young great blue heron pauses while hunting for voles near Horse Lake. I’ve seen juvenile herons in this area over multiple years, it is right near the start of the auto tour and I suppose the older herons don’t consider it prime territory. I didn’t think I’d have much chance for pictures on this occasion as the heron was a bit far off and facing in the other direction, but it eventually turned and came right towards my car. Those blue feathers on its head that are sticking up will turn white as it ages.
Black Phoebe
I had stopped at the culvert at Long Lake to see if any mergansers or other ducks were fishing in the shallows but saw a small dark bird flitting above the flotsam instead. A song sparrow often works this area but it is looking for food in the water, not above it, so I grabbed the telephoto lens for a better look. I was surprised to find the bird was a black phoebe, only the third time I’ve seen one (the second was also at Long Lake but in a different spot and time of year). I saw my fourth later in the day at Bower Slough but it didn’t give me the repeated close looks this one did.
Raindrops
I spent about 20 minutes watching this American bittern in the pouring rain on Christmas afternoon of 2012. I’ve photographed bitterns many times on the auto tour and knew to approach slowly and shut off the car once I got close. It was my first time out in my new car but I treated it the same as the old, I rolled down the window and placed some old towels around the opening to absorb the rain. The bittern wasn’t actively hunting so the water accumulated in giant drops on its head.
The peace and quiet ended when a diesel pickup drove up and idled beside me. The bittern slowly turned around and disappeared into the marsh but I was very thankful for our time together, bitterns are one of my favorite subjects and it was a lovely way to end the day.
Talons
A young red-tailed hawk shows off its deadly talons, a bit muddy after hunting for Townsend’s voles in the meadow on a rainy Christmas morning.
Golden Crown
An adult golden-crowned sparrow eats seeds while perched just above the ground early on a rainy spring morning.
Green in Green
You can find tame mallards in every duck pond in the country so I’m always amused to see how shy they are in the wild. There aren’t many mallards at Ridgefield and they’ve proven to be one of the most challenging ducks for me to photograph. I couldn’t resist a chance to take a portrait of the glorious green head of this drake against the green grasses of the meadow.
Hidden Snipe
A Wilson’s snipe is nearly obscured by the green grasses at the edge of South Quigley Lake on a rainy April morning.
Redtail Rain #2
A different take on the young redtail in the rain, since it’s looking just past the car you can see one half of the Crosstrek in one eye and the other half in the other.
Redtail Rain
I like to spend each Christmas morning at Ridgefield and in 2012 kept the tradition by making my first visit to the refuge in many months. It poured as I drove out in the dark so I was thankful to be in my new Subaru XV Crosstrek as it handles the rain much better than my previous car. The young redtails at the refuge sometimes hang out on the signs at the edge of the meadow and if you’re quiet, will often let you drive close and watch to your heart’s content. This redtail was soaked through and through and gave me good looks at both its front and back as it kept its eye out for voles in the meadow, and when it turned its head just right let me take a self-portrait of the new car (you can see it reflected in the hawk’s eye).
Boolie 