Today at the River S Unit of Ridgefield NWR in Clark County, I came across a
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK in the woods south of the Kiwa Trail parking lot. It
was actively hunting, and seemed oblivious to the presence of me and my car,
resulting in excellent views at very close range.

A bit north of the observation blind parking area were three PURPLE FINCHES
-- 2 females and 1 male. A bit later, I encountered a pair of BARN SWALLOWS
near the southeast corner of the auto-tour route, which surprised me for
this time of year; they disappeared a few minutes after appearing out of
nowhere. The WHITE-TAILED KITE was once again in the southeast portion of
the auto-tour route.

At around 4:20 p.m., at least 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS and one AMERICAN BITTERN
appeared and immediately began hunting in the southwest portion of the
auto-tour route. One of the SHORT-EARED OWLS was kind enough to land a
couple of times on a sign next to the road within relatively close distance
of some cars.

Scott Carpenter
Portland, OR