Tag: Ridgefield

I Slept But Very Little

A Canada goose rests in the grass with four goslings nestled in its wings at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on May 10, 2009. Original: _MG_4000.CR2

The brochure for Ridgefield NWR had a quote from the Lewis & Clark Journal on their visit to the area that always made me smile:

I slept but very little last night for the noise kept up during the whole of the night by the swans, geese…brant (and) ducks on a small sand island…they were immensley numerous and their noise horrid.
Capt. William Clark
Lower Columbia River
November 5, 1805

As someone who both has trouble sleeping and made a similar cross-country journey when my wife and I drove to Oregon years ago, I feel qualified to comment and say the expedition should have brought a white noise machine, or at least downloaded one to their phone. Classic rookie mistake!

If they had stayed to enjoy summer in the Pacific Northwest they would have slept soundly as the big flocks of waterfowl migrate out, leaving a smaller group of residents like this Canada goose with four goslings nestled in its wings.

📷: Canon 20D | Canon 500mm f/4 | Canon 1.4X
🗓️: May 10, 2009

Savannah Stretches

A savannah sparrow stretches while perching on a cattail at South Quigley Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on October 1, 2017. Original: _DSC0640.CR2

These pictures remind me of spring as I so loved sitting beside a lush meadow and listening to the savannah sparrows sing. They were taken in the fall though, the green backdrop courtesy of the wonderland that is the Pacific Northwest.

📷: Sony A6500 | Canon 500mm | Canon 1.4X
🗓️: October 1, 2017

A savannah sparrow perches on a cattail at South Quigley Lake in Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on October 1, 2017. Original: _DSC0610.CR2

Brown in Green

A coyote is surrounded by tall green grasses in a meadow along the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on May 29, 2005. Original: IMG_9021.CR2

Bear and I saw a coyote on a neighborhood walk recently, they’re not uncommon but I hear them more than I see them, especially at night when I like to go out back and look at the stars and listen to the quiet. I’ve never seen one when I had an appropriate camera with me however, all part of their cunning plans. That wasn’t the case at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge though where I saw them many times hunting in the meadows and marshes along the auto tour.

📷: Canon 20D | Canon 100-400mm
🗓️: May 29, 2005

I’ll Take the Rain

Raindrops fall on the head of a red-winged blackbird on the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on October 1, 2017. Original: _DSC0185.ARW

Raindrops accumulate on the head of a red-winged blackbird on a damp day in the Pacific Northwest. Brings back a lot of memories of finding a favorite spot on the auto tour at Ridgefield, rolling down the windows, and reveling in the rain. I didn’t know it at the time but this was my penultimate visit before we left Oregon.

📷: Sony A6500 | Canon 500mm | Canon 1.4X
🗓️: October 1, 2017

Who Can It Be Knocking At My Door?

An American bittern stand on ice and looks into tall grasses at Rest Lake on the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge auto tour in Ridgefield, Washington. Original: _MG_2137.CR2

As arctic conditions grip the desert with overnight lows in the 40’s and 50’s, a throwback to a cold New Year’s Day in 2011 when I was watching a bittern work a frozen channel on the auto tour at Ridgefield. Unfortunately for the vole living its best life in the tall grasses, a bittern neither knocks nor cares if you answer. In some ways they remind me of roadrunners here in the desert, both relentless hunters with diverse palettes relying on surprise, the bitterns via stealth, roadrunners via speed.

📷: Canon 7D | Canon 100-400mm
🗓️: January 1, 2011

Testing the Ice

A common raccoon walks across the ice in Bower Slough in the River S Unit of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on January 2, 2011. Original: _MG_3416.CR2

The water at Ridgefield didn’t freeze very often but I loved being there when it did, this raccoon was using its newfound capability of walking on water to move about Bower Slough. When it reached the edge where the water hadn’t frozen, after testing the ice it backed up and scrambled up the embankment and continued its hunt on dry land.

A common raccoon tests the ice in Bower Slough in the River S Unit of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on January 2, 2011. Original: _MG_3425.CR2

📷: Canon 7D | Canon 500mm f/4
Date: January 2, 2011

Ol’ Three Eyes

The back of the head of a male American kestrel shows three black spots, taken on the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington on January 2, 2011. Original: _MG_3116.CR2

Another one for the “I Take It You Trust Me” collection, three eyes in the back of the head of a male kestrel. Taken on the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, I loved how close you could watch the animals without disturbing them, this little falcon was cleaning his feathers. I see kestrels more often in the desert surprisingly enough but I’ll never see them this close again. Leastwise not until I’m 50 feet tall, I’m doing my stretches but no progress to report.

📷: Canon 7D | Canon 500mm | Canon 1.4X
Date: January 2, 2011

A Different Life

A male bufflehead swims in Rest Lake at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge on January 5, 2013. Original: _7D_3467.CR2

While editing old photos like this male bufflehead at Rest Lake in 2013, I was struck by how different my photography life is now compared to then. I took this with my monstrous Canon 500mm super-telephoto, on Ridgefield’s auto tour the size and weight weren’t an issue and I loved how it magnified even the dinky divers and other small creatures. Back then it was my most used lens but I’ve rarely used it since moving to Arizona, I hike with it on occasion where I have a specific target in mind but for most hikes I stick with my beloved and much lighter Sony 100-400mm.

I’ll be upgrading my telephoto system soon since it’s the only part of my gear that can’t do focus bracketing, the big Canon will get traded in once I decide if I should stick with Sony or go all-in with Nikon. I bought it in 2006 for $5500, a heart-stopping price at the time but I got my money’s worth out of this one.