Subject: [Tweeters] Chritmas Vacation Birdwatching
Date: Dec 28 08:06:49 2009
From: Bill Anderson - billandersonbic at yahoo.com


My son and I spent Christmas in the Portland area with relatives.? My attempt to?get in a visit?to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge on Christmas Eve day met? with limited success as my pickup refused to start after I paid the admission fee.? I eventually got it started and left immediately as I did not want to face having it towed up that steep, windy, dirt road in the event it died again.

During my brief time at the entrance to the refuge, I did get?shots of a Downy Woodpecker, a first for me,? and shots of an unusual?Canada goose among a flock foraging near the entrance.?? The goose was white where a Canada goose is normally?light gray; and dark brown where a Canada goose is dark gray.?? Refuge volunteers said it was not an albino but a?genetic variation.?? They had a term for it, but I have forgotten the word.

We returned to my folks house in Vancouver and saw?several red tailed hawks along?I-5 and I-205.?? The pickup was running fine, so we drove out to Lake Vancouver where?I got "first time" shots of a brown creeper, several common mergansers, and an American??kestrel.

We returned home on the 26th and stopped at?the?Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, where I?photographed?several eagles which were flying around the river.?
Bill Andeson; Edmonds, WA.