Subject: [Tweeters] Ridgefield Cranes & W-B Nuthatch
Date: Jan 23 16:25:07 2009
From: wheelermombi at comcast.net - wheelermombi at comcast.net




Hi Tweeters,



I birded in the Ridgefield NWR area today.? First, I drove along the Woodland Dike Access Rd, hoping to see some cranes in the fields.? No cranes, but a lot of raptors; the majority were RED-TAILED HAWKS & N. HARRIERS, but there were also a couple of BALD EAGLES, 1 RUFFED-LEGGED HAWK,? & 2 A. KESTRELS.? Two COYOTES were hunting rodents in one of the fields off of the deadend portion of the road.



The Ridgefield River 'S' Unit was very birdy, although I did not see anything unexpected,?with the exception of?a flyover of 2 SANDHILL CRANES toward the end of the first straightaway of the auto-tour, just before it bends to the left at the 'no public access' gate (this was at 11:20).? RED-TAILED HAWKS were everywhere.? Most of the swans whose heads were visible were Tundras.? River otters and nutria were out and about as well.



My final stop was the Carty Unit.? There were a couple of WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES in the large Gary Oaks a few hundred feet to the left of the plank house, as one walks in initially.? One had found what looked like a peanut somewhere, and was trying to find a good place to stash it.? It finally wedged it into a mossy section of bark and then flew off.? Within seconds, a W. SCRUB-JAY landed at the same spot, reached in, and pulled out the peanut.? The nuthatch flew around, angrily peeping, but the jay swallowed the peanut anyway and then flew off.? Walking the loop trail counter-clockwise, I encountered a larger number of?very vocal White-breasted Nuthatches?just passed the side trail to Boot Lake (I think that it is called), also in the Gary Oaks.? A little passed this, as the return portion of the trail opens up on one side, I saw a GREAT EGRET in the distance.? A little farther along, I could hear?cranes calling from the direction of the river, but I couldn't catch sight of them.? There were a lot of the usual suspects at all of these stops.



It almost felt strange to be birding without getting rained on.



Lonnie Somer

wheelermombi at comcast.net

Olympia, WA