I birded the S Unit, Ridgefield NWR today and had a couple of sightings not
reported recently. I saw four Western Meadowlark on the dike between the
ditch and Rest Lake about 100 yd. south of the "three trees." They flew from
there to the northeast. I also saw a Hermit Thrush across the railroad tracks
from the bridge - I think first sighting at Ridgefield this year. The Tree
Swallow reported by Scott Carpenter on 1/21 is still flying around near the
road to the hunters gate. The Ross Goose reported by Bob Flores on 1/19 was
not to be seen. And I did not see the Cassin's Finch that someone reported on
the whiteboard. There were three male Common Mergansers just north of the
bridge. And I heard but could not locate a Killdeer.

Most bodies of water were all or partly frozen. In most cases the waterfowl
were a long way from the blind or the road making ID without a scope
difficult, at least for me.

Following is a list of what I did ID:
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Tundra Swan
Gadwall
American Widgeon
Mallard
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
American Kestral
American Coot
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Dove
Downey Woodpecker
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Marsh Wren
American Robin
Hermit Thrush
European Starling
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
House Finch.

Jeff Jendro
Longview, WA
_jeffjendro at aol.com_ (mailto:jeffjendro at aol.com)




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