I birded the River "S" Unit at Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W
of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ ).

Highlights:

MERLIN: I saw a MERLIN that had a fresh caught bird
(no ID). It was atop a snag just S of the Kiwa Trail
parking lot. I watched wile it plucked, shredded, and
ate the whole bird then cleaned its beak on the tree.
It was still hungry as it soon left the snag and
attacked a flock of small birds, but missed and landed
on a far off snag.

Migrating GEESE: While I saw no Geese on the ground,
I saw and heard several flocks of CACLING GEESE and
CANADA GEEESE. There was no set direction, as I saw
them flying in all directions. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED
GEESE were also seen and heard, but not by me.

SANDHILL CRANES: There are hundreds there, and I saw
and heard various sized flocks moving around all day.
One location SE of Rest Lake had at least 300 on the
ground.

TURKEY VUKTURE Kettle: I saw on large kettle of at
least 40 circling over Rest lake. Nice!

FOX SPARROW: One was seen near the R/R tracks. The
first I've seen this fall.

HERMIT THRUSH: Seen on the road in the woodland S of
the Kiwa parking lot. It came from about 80 feet off,
and continued to within 30 feet of my car. Good view;
first of the Fall season for me.

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


Complete list of 48 species seen / heard:

Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Hooded Merganser (one raft of 12)
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk (2-heard only today)
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Merlin
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs (a few)
Long-billed Dowitcher (a hundred)
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bewick's Wren
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch


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