.................Hiked the auto tour route in River-S unit of Ridgefield
NWR(just north of Vanc. Wash.) Sunday. Temp. was sunny 78-80 degrees
with a nice NW breeze blowing. of the Columbia River.....Beautiful!!!!!
................Some say that this is "the slow time of the year"....but
I observed *plenty* of winged creatures (and some "not winged"!!!)
.................Long-legged waders: Plenty fo Gr. Blue Herons, and 1
Great Egret.
.................Shorebirds: Greater Yellowlegs; 30-40 Long-billed
Dowitchers; mixed flocks of Western and Least Sandpipers; and....lots of
Killdeer.
..................Ducks: Several species of 'dipping'
ducks(Mallards--males molting, and Cinnamon Teals mostly); lots of
Coots(many immatures), and some Pied-billed Grebes; and a few Canada
Geese.
..................A few Ring-billed Gulls around
..................Hawk-like birds: 2 Turkey Vultures; 1 mature Bald
Eagle(a beautiful bird!!!); No. Harriers(including 2 juveniles cavorting
with each other--both on the ground, and in the air); Red-tailed Hawks;
and 2 Kestrels.
..................Cliff and Barn Swallows around(though not seen in great
numbers for some reason).
..................Perching birds: Am. Goldfinches; Cedar Waxwings,
Savannah Sparrows; 1 MacGillvray's Warbler; Marsh Wren; a female
Red-winged Blackbird; a Song Sparrow; a Scrub Jay, and.....any number of
the usual 'more mundane' species found everywhere.
.................An large owl was observed by others, but they didn't
identify(probable Gr. Horned Owl).

.................And then there was the large West. Painted Turtle
sunning himself on a piece of wood, along with the sounds of unseen
frogs. Then there was the Mallard with 9 'little ones" closely
following her. She saw a nutria emerge from the bank...scrutinized the
situation and changing direction discretely" fled the scene" (though the
nutria didn't seem interested in the ducks).
.................Then there were the "humans" driving the wrong way on a
one-way road!!!!!!!!!! Cheers!!!! (-:

Gerald Hamilton
Brush Prairie, Wash.
gerald at e-z.net