Subject: [Tweeters] Ridgefield, Eugene and Vancouver
Date: Mar 8 14:11:49 2007
From: Louise Rutter - louise.rutter at eelpi.gotdns.org


I bounced out of bed at 4.45 on Tuesday to beat the traffic down to
Ridgefield NWR, arriving at 7.40. At this time of year, you can only
walk in one section of the reserve, the Carty Unit, so I started off
there to stretch my legs after the long drive. I'd been planning to walk
the Oaks to Wetlands trial, but the man in the visitor centre kindly
told me it would be fine for me to follow an unoffical trail down
through the wetlands to the other end of the unit and avoid the people.
That part definitely worked - three and a half hours of birding and
never saw another human.

It was a clear, warm and very birdy morning, lots of activity and song
as I walked through wetland, agricultural field/hedgerow and oak
habitat. It was a three wren morning, with Bewick's, marsh and winter
all on show for me instead of just the usual noises in the undergrowth.
Between the Steller's and the western scrubs, it was certainly the most
jay-filled walk I've experienced! The wetlands in this part of the
reserve were surprisingly empty of waterbirds - even the mallards were
just the odd two or three here and there. But there were several
American kestrel and red-breasted sapsuckers around, alongside the more
common species. I could hear the sandhill cranes off beyond Lake River
in a section of reserve that's closed to public access, but trees along
the riverside prevented viewing in that direction.

The driving tour in the River 'S' unit was full of all the waterfowl
that had been missing from further north - every lake was a mass of
ducks of a large number of species, including cinnamon teal. The trees
alongside the route and by the photo blind turned up several
white-breasted nuthatches to go with the red-breasted I'd found on my
walk. Red-tailed hawks were everywhere, including a Harlan's, many
sitting in trees very close to the road for easy photography - I watched
one being chased by a pair of American kestrels when it wandered too
close to their chosen tree. The only waders I saw on the lakes were a
group of long-billed dowitchers, identified with the help of the reserve
checklist which indicates there are no short-billed there in spring. But
it also says there are no killdeer in spring, and nobody told the four
in the car park, so maybe I shouldn't take that as religion....

I scoped a lot of distant great blue herons, but never did find a
sandhill crane. Barring that one disappointment, it was a great morning,
tallying 48 species between the two sections.

On to Eugene, where I arrived at the falcated duck pond at 4pm in
beautiful warm late afternoon sunlight, perfect for photography - and I
walked the rounds of the 'canal' and found no falcated duck. This was a
little disconcerting as everyone else's reports seemed to indicate
they'd practically fallen over it. I went off to check the route to the
Alvadore summer tanager site that was on my list of possibles for the
next day - the recommended viewing spot to see past the bushes to the
feeder is a long way off, 75 yards or so, definitely needs a scope and
patience.

I drove by the Kirk Ponds north of Fern Ridge Reservoir, saw the usual
bunch of ducks but nobody special, then returned to try again for the
falcated duck just before the gates to the estate closed at 5pm (the
gate out opens automatically, so as long as you're inside by 5pm,
there's no problem). This time the bird was there - maybe he was just
sitting in reeds or under a bush the first time. Sadly the sun had
dropped behind a low bank of clouds by then, so I didn't get quite the
photos I'd hoped for, but still a beautiful bird.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v475/eelpi/IMG_0946small.jpg

Wednesday dawned wet and distinctly un-birdy. The rain was medium-heavy
and persistent, more the weather for waterfowl than passerines, so I
scrubbed the Alvadore summer tanager from the list and drove out to the
Fern Ridge Reservoir viewing spots along route 126 and Royal Ave. Sadly,
the reserve is only open to the public on Saturdays until 14th March, so
I was restricted to birding the boundaries - I picked up a fair number
of species that way, especially along Royal Avenue, but nothing
stand-out. I found a great egret in a pond (or maybe just a particularly
wet field) to the right of Beltline Road as I drove north between
between 126 and Roosevelt - there was a pull-out just north of the pond
making it easy to stop and view.

By 10am, the rain had eased back to a constant drizzle, so I decided to
try to my luck at Mount Pisgah Arboretum, a birding site suggested by a
Eugene native. The birds turned out to have more sense than me, voting
to stay undercover for the day - there was quite a bit of chirping deep
in the bushes, but only the jays, robins, skulking wrens and a few brave
chickadees actually showed their faces. It was still a beautiful walk -
all those twisted, moss-draped trees in the light mist, with views
across the Oregon farmland to other mist-wreathed hills. Definitely a
landscape to love in all weathers.

I left Eugene at 12pm, hoping for improved weather further north, and
after driving all through Oregon in the rain and the traffic queues
caused by accidents, I arrived at the wetlands west of Vancouver Lake
just as the skies cleared dramatically inside about ten minutes. There
were several more great egrets among the more common species as I scoped
the wetlands, but again surprisingly few waders. I only found one group
of about ten right on the far side of the marshes (I tentatively
identified them as yellowlegs based on general shape and leg length, but
they were backlit and too distant even with the scope). Where were all
the dunlin hiding? I swear the dunlin are laughing at me this year -
they refuse to be found ever since January 1st. They know where I'm
going in advance and clear out the day before. What a species to be
missing from the year list in March....

Heading back alongside Vancouver Lake, I decided to take the Old Lower
River Road loop instead of just following the main road. There were four
western meadowlark on the wires overhead, that I stopped to photograph.
Fortunately, the old road is so little used that you can grab five
minutes with the car just abandoned in the road and not inconvenience
anybody. Driving on, I saw a row of presumed herons out of the corner of
my eye through the hedge, and stopped because I thought with the light
and the way they were standing, they'd make a nice shot. And with a
better look, they turned out to be five of those cranes I'd spent half
the previous day unsuccessfully searching Ridgefield for. Somehow
birding never goes quite the way you think it should :-)

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v475/eelpi/IMG_1164small.jpg

I returned to Ridgefield before I set off home, choosing to do another
loop of the driving tour rather than fight my way through 5pm traffic on
I-5. I didn't see any new species from the day before, but I did get
some beautiful pictures of birds and golden wetlands in the
almost-setting sunlight.

Nine new species for the year list over the two days, four of them life
birds. It would have been nice to have picked up an acorn woodpecker
while I was in that neck of the woods, and I missed out on the turkey
vultures other people have seen coursing north from I-5, but then
sometimes we can all get greedy!

Many thanks to the people who gave me directions and suggested birding
sites in Oregon and along the way. Good birding everybody!

Louise Rutter
Kirkland

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