A pied-billed grebe leaves ripples in its wake as it swims on Rest Lake.
Tag: auto tour
Down Upon the Bittern’s Beak
Downy feathers cling to an American bittern’s beak after a preening session on a rainy winter afternoon. This one was at South Quigley Lake at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, my second favorite place to watch for bitterns on the refuge (and the first if there aren’t tall grasses along the final channel beside Rest Lake, like during the winter this was taken).
Good Evening
A simple portrait of an old friend as he pauses for a moment while feeding in the lovely evening light at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
In the Drink
As I sat in the quiet on a cloudy Christmas morning at Horse Lake, a northern shoveler swam past, drinking as he went.
The Singing Snipe
A Wilson’s snipe sings as the rain pours down at South Quigley Lake.
Why so eager to sing little one? Ah, you’re in love.
I Blame You, Boolie
This bald eagle seems to be looking accusingly at me as the rain pours down at Rest Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cool and wet spring morning after a cool and wet (and occasionally snowy) winter. Fair enough, I do love the rain and get a little cranky when it’s been sunny too many days in a row (such as today, as we enter another heat wave in May. May! It’s still spring!).
This is another picture where I took 4K video at the same time and the video gives a different feel to the photo and the moment it freezes in time. You can really see the rain hitting the water (and hear it hitting the car) in the video, as well as the current pushing the water past the eagle’s feet. And perhaps most importantly you can see that the eagle almost never looks in my direction, it was much more concerned about what was happening in the marsh, which is as it should be.
But in the photo, it’s gaze is fixed on me forever.
Sit Down Breakfast
A Columbian white-tailed fawn enjoys its breakfast while sitting in a meadow on a rainy spring morning at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. I got some 4K video of it too, it’s hard to see the rain in the video with the slower shutter speed but you can certainly hear it pounding down, and you can see the deer’s eating motion as it occasionally stops eating to listen. I’ll post the video once I learn how to edit it.
Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Bed
A Wilson’s snipe takes a rest on a bed of reeds on a rainy spring afternoon.
Through These Flooded Fields
The water levels at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge are managed to mimic the seasonal flooding from the Columbia River in the days before the dams. But this flooded field comes courtesy of an unusually wet winter, even for the Pacific Northwest. The fawn is a Columbian whitetail, born to one of the does that was transplanted in the third wave of relocations.
Earrings
The green tags in this rain-soaked doe’s ears suggest she was part of the third wave of Columbian white-tailed deer that were captured at Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge and brought to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. She was hanging out with a group of other does from that transfer, and more importantly, their fawns, part of the reason their status has improved from endangered to threatened.
Boolie 