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.
Tag: River S Unit
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).
Wood Brothers
A pair of male wood ducks take a break on a fallen tree in Bower Slough.
📷: Canon 7D | Canon 500mm f/4L IS USM + 1.4x III
🗓️: June 12, 2011
Duckweed Disguise
A western painted turtle floats in the shallows of Long Lake, surrounded (and covered) by duckweed.
📷: Canon 7D | Canon 500mm + 1.4X
🗓️: June 12, 2011
Resting Ring
A male ring-necked duck rests on the still waters of Horse Lake.
Blue on Pink
For a month in early 2011, I often saw this adult great blue heron hunting for small fish in the same location at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. I looked for it every time I drove the auto tour, as the duckweed in the slough was turning red instead of green, providing a pink backdrop in the soft overcast light rather than the more common greens and browns and blues.
Boolie 