Hi Tweets,



Ann and Don Schaechtel joined Barbara and me for a trip to the Ridgefield NWR on Friday, December 9. We arrived at the Carty Unit at 9:15 am and spent 2? hours in bright sunshine with temps rising from 32 early into the mid 40s. At noon we moved to the River "S" Unit and birded the auto loop.



We found many of the usual suspects, plus a few others to make the morning interesting. Along with numerous Tundra Swans we saw and heard about 8 Trumpeters and watched a single White-fronted Goose overhead trying to catch up with a group of Canadas. The high point of the morning for us was a flock of 39 Sandhill Cranes bugling to each other as they left the refuge heading north - presumably for the bottomlands in Cowlitz County along the Columbia. Most of the ponds were at least partially ice-covered, and many ducks were content to stand or sit in the sun on the ice. Across from the plankhouse we watched 5 River Otters chasing each other about and sliding across the ice into the water, observed by a Great Blue Heron with wings widespread to catch the sun. Raptors included Bald Eagles, Harriers, a single first-winter Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-tailed Hawks, and Kestrels. We also had good views of a Cooper's Hawk near the photo blind and a short look at a Merlin at the base of the hill by the entrance to the River S Unit.



Before heading back to Seattle we drove around the dike road west of Woodland in Cowlitz County, surprising a lone Snow Goose in one of the fields and raising a large group of Song Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos at the side of Kuhnis Rd. More than 100 Sandhill Cranes foraged in groups about the agricultural fields, and there were good numbers of waterfowl in the Lewis River and the sloughs along the Columbia. This was our first birding visit to Cowlitz County, and the numbers of birds here will probably bring us back for another winter visit. Altogether we saw 58 species on a fine day for birding in Clark and Cowlitz Counties.



Pied-billed Grebe - 3 at Ridgefield, 4 along Dike Road

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret - 8 at Ridgefied

Trumpeter Swan - 8+ at Ridgefield

Tundra Swan - 200+ at Ridgefield

Greater White-fronted Goose

Snow Goose - 1 in Woodland Bottoms

Canada Goose - 200+ in ponds, rivers, and overhead

Cackling Goose - c 20 at Carty Unit

American Wigeon

Gadwall

Green-winged Teal

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler

Canvasback

Ring-necked Duck

Greater Scaup - 4 overhead at Carty Unit

Lesser Scaup

Common Goldeneye - 1 male in Lewis River

Bufflehead

Hooded Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Bald Eagle - 4 seen

Northern Harrier

Cooper's Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk - 1 first winter bird at Carty Unit

Red-tailed Hawk -- 50+

American Kestrel

Merlin - 1 at River S Unit

Sandhill Crane - about 150 total for both counties

American Coot

Killdeer

Wilson's Snipe - two birds at River S Unit

Mew Gull

Rock Pigeon

Red-breasted Sapsucker - 1 at Carty Unit

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Bewick's Wren

Marsh Wren

American Robin

Black-capped Chickadee

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Steller's Jay

Western Scrub Jay

American Crow

European Starling

Spotted Towhee - at least 12 seen & heard at Ridgefield

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow -- more than 50 at the Carty Unit

Dark-eyed Junco

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow



Paul Webster

Seattle

paul.websterATcomcast.net