On Friday I briefly visited the south portion of Ridgefield and ran into
some of the same birds that Ruth reports from there, and also 2 or 3 BARN
SWALLOWS. And if anybody wants to watch RIVER OTTERS, I guess this is the
place. From the observation blind at Rest Lake I watched 3 of them in the
scope for half an hour or more as they swam, dove, and fished together. They
(2 of them especially) were sticking together so tightly that I inferred
that they were cooperatively fishing, by herding fish against the stands of
submerged weeds whose tops were showing above the water. And they were
having lots of success; I was starting to feeling full just watching all the
fish they were eating. - J

Jay Withgott
Portland, OR
jwithgott at msn.com

On 3/13/04 6:12 PM, "Ruth Sullivan" <godwit at worldnet.att.net> wrote:

> Hello Tweets,
>
> Today my mother and I birded the Ridgefield NWR area in Clark Co. along with a
> stop made along Dike Access Rd. and vicinity near Woodland in Cowlitz Co. We
> began our day by driving the River S Unit at Ridgefield NWR between
> 11am-12:15pm,then extensive walking made at the Carty Unit north of Carty Lake
> from 12:30pm-1:30pm. Our main highlight occurred at the Carty Unit of
> Ridgefield NWR,which consisted of a actively calling immature Red-shouldered
> Hawk observed within the dense stands of trees north of Carty Lake. The bird
> remained in dense trees before flying to denser vegetation,as the bird called.
> Away from the Red-shouldered Hawk we observed very few raptors during the
> entire day with Am.Kestrels being the most numerous raptor species.The drive
> along the River S Unit produced very good numbers of Tree Swallows and
> Yellow-rumped Warblers,which were the 2 most abundant species away from
> Northern Shovelers. Additional noteworthy species noted from both units at
> Ridgefield NWR included the following:
>
> 1 Great Egret
> 88 Tundra Swans(noted from Rest and Carty Lakes)
> 15 Wood Ducks
> 1 pair of Cinnamon Teal
> 9 Canvasbacks
> 7 Greater Scaup(Rest Lake)
> 32 Ruddy Ducks
> 1 Northern Harrier
> 3 Am.Kestrels
> 1 Red-breasted Sapsucker
> 2 Downy Woodpeckers
> 1 Hairy Woodpecker
> 4 White-breasted Nuthatches(River S Unit)
> 3 Brown Creepers
> 1 Lincoln's Sparrow
>
> On our way home we birded the Dike Access Rd. complex west of Woodland,which
> produced a few additional highlights for the day beginning with an immature
> Harris' Sparrow observed in a bramble patch along the southern portion of
> Roberson Rd.(accessed off of Whalen Rd.)and is presumably the same individual
> previously reported by Marcus Roening on the 24th of January and later
> observed by us on the 27th of January. The bird was observed with a small
> flock of Golden and White-crowned Sparrows,as in our last visit. Another
> notable species we observed was a single female Anna's Hummingbird foraging
> amongst some blooming plants at a residence along the Columbia River south of
> Whalen Rd.,before flying off to the east. Other noted species encountered
> within the Dike Access Rd. area included the following:
>
> 1 Great Egret
> 8 Wood Ducks
> 1 Northern Harrier
> 8 Am.Kestrels
> 1 Merlin
> 12 California Quail
> 1,200+ Sandhill Cranes(observed foraging in a large plowed dirt field along
> Dike Rd. north of Whalen Rd. and most likely gathering up for migration)
> 1 adult White-throated Sparrow(white-striped form observed amongst a small
> flock of Golden and White-crowned Sparrows along a brushy area along the
> Columbia River north of Whalen Rd.)
>
>
> Mammal highlights of the day begin with a very close look at a Mink on land
> along the southern portion of the River S Unit of Ridgefield NWR bordering
> Rest Lake,before it swan off in a canal. Other mammals noted from Ridgefield
> NWR included a Coyote observed along the dike immediately west of Carty Lake
> and numerous Nutria and a single River Otter at the River S Unit. 2 Garter
> Snakes were also noted at the Carty Unit of Ridgefield NWR of undetermined
> species.
>
>
> Good birding,
>
> Ruth and Patrick Sullivan
> Tacoma,WA
> godwit at worldnet.att.net
>
>
>
>