Howard and Thais Armstrong and I birded Thursday from Ridgefield NWR to Woodland Dike Rd. to Red Rock Pass in the heat of the day to Longview and on to Wahkiakum County where we visited Julia Butler Hansen NWR and west to Altoona. Highlights are as follows:

Ridgefield NWR
1 American Bittern
2 Great Egrets
1 female Canvasback
many Wilson's Snipe winnowing
6 Black Terns
Vaux's Swift
1 Pacific-slope Flycatcher in wooded canyon going into the River "S" Unit
1 Bushtit nest in wooded canyon hanging over entrance road in ivy
Yellow-headed Blackbirds
singing Purple Finch in wood canyon

Woodland
1 Cooper's Hawk
several Purple Martins
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher

Red Rock Pass---it was very hot and sort of dead up here in mid-day
Common Nighthawks
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatcher

Julia Butler Hansen NWR was sort of dead, but one could feel the marine air coming up the Columbia River
1 Peregrine Falcon
1 White-tailed Kite
1 Virginia's Rail
a flock of Bushtits

Altoona--again very dead at high tide. Should be much better in Aug-Sept
several Pelagic Cormorants were the main birds of note

Ken Knittle, Vancouver, WA
washingtonbirder at hotmail.com
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