Rose and Edith accompanied me again today in birding Clark County and a couple of hours in Cowlitz County. We began before breakfast and headed up to Silver Star Mountain by way of Sunset Falls and returning by Moulton Falls. It was raining very heavy at times, but birding from the car we had good looks at a Hermit Thrush running around the campground at Sunset Falls which is a beautiful camping spot and no campers. We then headed south on FR 4109 and noticed small amounts of snow. By the time we got up to the parking lot it was snowing very heavy and we were driving in about 3 inches on the road. The temperature was 32 F. Needless to say what birds were up there are waiting for my return on a more normal day.

On the way back we went by Squaw Butte and enroute found a small band of migrating warblers which included MacGillivray's, Hermit, Wilson's, Yellow-rumped, and Orange-crowned Warblers which were feeding with Chestnut-backed Chickadees. At Moulton Falls County Park we stopped to look for a Dipper. Finally found a Dipper down stream along with our second Spotted Sandpiper, the first being seen flying up-stream into Skamania County at Sunset Falls.

A hurried breakfast back at the house the three of us headed off for Ridgefield NWR. Here we found 69 species with a few notables which included: 2 Great Egrets, 2 Canvasbacks, 1 female Bufflehead, 1 Semipalmated Plover which disappeared while setting up the scope (this was in the ponds near the lone Oak Tree right before the photo blind), 21 Long-billed Dowitchers with at least one of them being Short-billed (these were right after the photo blind), Wilson's Snipe winnowing, 1 Wilson's Phalarope which disappeared with the Semipalmated Plover, 1 Hutton's Vireo and 1 Warbling Vireo both found in the canyon driving into the refuge, also a pair of Bushtits are building a nest hanging out over the edge of the road in some ivy near the top of the canyon--beautiful nest!, 2 Cedar Waxwings at the photo blind and again today were heard Western Tanagers and Black-headed Grosbeaks in many areas in their race northward to set up nesting territories.

>From about 2:30 - 4:30 we checked out Dike Access Rd. in Cowlitz County and found White-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, and lots of Orange-crowned Warblers feeding together in Scotch Broom. We might have been tempted to bird Red Rock Pass north of Cougar, but we had our fill of snow for the day. And we called it a great birding day!

Ken Knittle, Vancouver, WA
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