...............Hiked the roughly 5 mile auto route at the River-S Unit of
the Ridgefield NWR just north of Vancouver, Wash. today. Weather warm
and quite muggy with no breeze, but marine air came in around 5:00 pm
and cooled things down.
...............The new wetlands make for considerably better summer
birding here. I concentrate not on 'how much' I saw, but *what* I saw,
as some very unusual species were seen for this area and time of year.
Blackbirds: Red-winged; Yellow-headed; and Brewer's.
Swallows: Barn and Tree(zillions!!)
Sparrows: Lincoln's; Savanna; and Song.
1 small reddish- brown wren sized bird(view too brief to ID).
Eastern Kingbird
Mourning Dove
Brownheaded Cowbird
Robins, and of course...plenty of Starlings and Crows!!!
Scrub Jays
Am. Goldfinch
Cedar Waxwings
Killdeer(lots!!)
Heard a Virginia Rail, but didn't see.
Longlegged waders: Blue Herons; and...1 Great Egret
Ducks: Cinnamon Teal(numerous!!); Pied-billed Grebe; Lesser Scaup( not
usually a 'summer resident'); Mallards; Coots; No. Schovelers(quite a
few---strange!!!);1 Pintail; Widgeons,(only a few) ;Ruddy
Ducks;and.......Blue-winged Teal *everywhere*!!!!
Raptors: 2 Ospreys and 1 Harrier Hawk.
2 Canada Geese (Westerns)

...............Now for the rarities( most observed at the pond east side
of refuge by road):
1 White-fronted Goose (...a bit late???)
2 Caspian Terns (*very rare* visitors!!)
6 White-faced Ibis( ...seen in Central Calif. and in Klamath basin and
Tule Lake, but...never here!!!!)
5 Redheads(...*ducks*, not humans!!!)---4 males and 1 female. ----
again...very rarely seen in this area. The Ibis and the Redheads stayed
about 10 minutes, then...Ibis flew off south, and the Redheads went
north.
-------More amazing....Have only seen 1 or 2 Blue-winged Teals in this
area in the last 4 or 5 years. And...now...they are everywhere!!!!!
Same with Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Haven't seen any here since about 4
years ago, and.....now I saw them everywhere today!!!!
...........A final thought. Where are the Green-winged Teals this year??
Usually see a fair amount here. And...what's with all the usual *winter*
migrants 'hanging around'??? Oh, so-o-o-o-o many questions!!!!! ...Such
fun---this 'bird-watching'!!!
...........Cheers!!!!

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