This afternoon Debby de Carlo and I birded at
Vancouver Lake Park and also at Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W
of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ )

It was quite windy for most of the time and also rainy
after 1:30p or so.

The Great Blue Heron Colony W of the entrance to
Vancouver Lake Park is in full swing now and with the
wind, every visible Heron on a nest was hunkered down
and facing into the wind. There were a few Herons
seen coming and going, but mostly it was quiet birds
laying low on nests.

At Ridgefield NWR we saw few small birds due to the
wind. There were lots of species seen/heard but for
the most part numbers of individuals were
significantly lower than in February, except for the
newer spring arrivals.

There were at least 4 male YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS
setting up territory, arguing with Red-winged
Blackbirds, and calling on South Quiqley Lake

Late in the afternoon before we left, w decided to
take a second look at the Yellow-headed Blackbirds and
as we turned around at the "hunters' gate", we saw a
single ROSS'S GOOSE in a flock of Cackling Geese. It
was on the dike about 70-80 yards beyond the gate, but
in clear view in the open.

Earlier we saw two separate ANOMALOUS CACKLING GEESE:
A) One was seen on the dike on the S side of the road
near the SE corner of Rest Lake. I have seen this
anomaly a few times before. The top 2/3 of its neck
was spotted with small white blotches of varying
sizes.
B) Just N of the entrance kiosk and Volunteer booth
about 1pm or so was a Very Strikingly Beautiful
anomalous Cackler. It had a good-sized white
"triangle" like patch beginning at the collar area and
rising to a point a little below the head. This was a
symmetrical white triangular patch showing on both
sides of the neck but not at all on the back of the
neck and much less on the front of the neck such that
in appearance it was as if it had a white triangle
painted on the right and left sides of its neck. I
told Roger Windemuth, a RNWR volunteer and he was able
to get a couple of very good photos of this striking
Goose.






Complete list of 53 species:

Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant (1)
American Bittern (2)
Great Blue Heron
ROSS'S GOOSE
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal (at least a dozen)
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Dark Phase Red-tailed Hawk (1 at the Blind)
Virginia Rail (several heard)
American Coot
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Dunlin (maybe 20)
Long-billed Dowitcher (aprox 30)
Wilson's Snipe
Gull (Species)
Great Horned Owl (Nest w/2 Owlets)
Belted Kingfisher
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren (heard on entrance road)
Marsh Wren (Plenty heard)
American Robin
European Starling
Audubon's Warbler
Myrtle Warbler
Common Yellowthroat (Plenty seen and heard)
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow (3 seen in one spot)
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
House Finch

(1) The Double-crested Cormorant was seemingly
"soaring" on the wind way up high, well above the tree
tops. I assume it was moving S on the wind and
"playing" as it traveled. Very nice to watch.

(2) The American Bittern was seen just as we Exited
the Oregon Ash Woodland that begins S of the Kiwa
Trail Parking Lot. It was in very shallow water about
25-30 feet outside the drivers side of the car. It
stood in the open, frozen in the classic "you can't
see me" pose. We had to move for a car to pass, and
when we backed up it was still "posed." It eventually
moved to cover thinking it would not be seen if it
walked in a position essentially horizontal, and
barely above the water. Super close and super cool!

Bill Clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
Willclemons AT Yahoo dot com



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