Debby de Carlo, my Mother (Olive) and 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:

BULLOCK'S ORIOLE: We were watching a male ORIOLE in the Cottonwood near the bridge, when Debby de Carlo saw it fly down near the same 2007 nest that was used and is still hanging over the road before the bridge. While looking at the nest Debby noticed a female IN The Nest!! We both saw the female before she flew off to the N. This nest needs to be watched, as they may be remodeling it for this season's nesting. Immediately after driving across the bridge, we stopped and watched 2 males and a female on the blackberry bushes on the S side of the road.

SWAINSON'S THRUSH: In the entrance canyon, we caught a glimpse of one, but heard several singing, and making "whit" calls. Maybe at least 4 birds, based on sounds.

YELLOW WARBLER: A couple of good looks and lots heard on the Kiwa Trail near the beginning and in the first woods going clockwise.

WESTERN TANAGER: We probably saw a minimum of 6 males and 2 females, spread here and there.

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD: There were a minimum of 11 males on S Quigley, and 2 males on the cattails S of The Blind. At S Quigley, we had Excellent views of several males.

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

Birding:
The best excuse for getting outdoors
And avoiding chores

Complete list of 67 species seen / heard:

Pied-billed Grebe
AMERICAN BITTERN (9 seen; 4+1+1+2+1)
Great Blue Heron
GREAT EGRET (2 seen flying together)
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal (8 seen; 1+1+6)
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
HOODED MERGANSER (one seen on Lake River)
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
NORTHERN HARRIER
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
PEREGRINE FALCON (fly over Kiwa ~ 100ft)
VIRGINIA RAIL (heard a few, 1 seen at The Blind)
Sora (heard several)
American Coot
Killdeer
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl (adult and downy juv seen in Ash woodland)
Vaux's Swift
Red-breasted Sapsucker (seen and heard)
Downy Woodpecker (heard calling and drumming)
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
COMMON RAVEN (80% probable; fly over ~ 100ft)
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch (a few heard in entrance canyon)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1 seen in Ash woodland)
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
House Wren (several seen and heard)
Marsh Wren
SWAINSON'S THRUSH (a few heard in entrance canyon- whit + song)
American Robin
European Starling
CEDAR WAXWING (seen in several places)
YELLOW WARBLER Heard and seen at start of Kiwa Trail
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Audubon's Warbler
Myrtle Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
WESTERN TANAGER (about 6 seen, here and there)
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK (lots seen and heard)
Red-winged Blackbird
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD (at least 11 males at S Quigley)
Brown-headed Cowbird
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE (a pair seen at/fem = in the 2007 nest over road by bridge)
House Finch