Lonnie Somers joined Sherry and I on a trip down to Gaston, OR and then back to Woodland, WA. Our main purpose for the trip was the male Hooded Oriole in Gaston. On the way down to Gaston, we made a stop at Rogers Park in Forest Grove, OR where our target bird was the Acorn Woodpecker. Here at the park we found;
Acorn Woodpecker - 5
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Brown Creeper - 1
Pine Siskin - small flock

Our next stop was at Cottonwood and 1st St. in Gaston, OR. We drove up Cottonwood and found the HOODED ORIOLE upon our arrival sitting on top of the brambles on the left side of the road. The oriole remained sitting for almost 10 minutes in the open before it dropped back down. The house at the corner of 1st and Cottonwood produced the following birds.
Eurasian Collared Dove - 2
Anna's Hummingbird - 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow - several
Purple Finch - 2
Lesser Goldfinch - 15+

After a successful trip in Oregon, we then headed back to Ridgefield NWR. We birded the River S unit and the Carty unit.
At the River S unit we had;
American Wigeon - 3
Eurasian Wigeon - 1
Cinnamon Teal - 2
Lesser Scaup - several
Greater Scaup - 3
Ruddy Duck - lots
Greater White-fronted Goose - 8
Tundra Swan - lots
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk - 1
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel - 2
Great Horned Owl - 2
American Bittern - 1
White-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Marsh Wren
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 1

At the Carty unit we had;
American Wigeon
Tundra Swan
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
Great Horned Owl - 1 (Heard)
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Varied Thrush - 4
White-breasted Nuthatch - 6
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Bushtit
Lincoln's sparrow - 2
Fox Sparrow - 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow

And then finally, we drove the Dike Access Rd. in Woodland. We were hoping to see the large flocks of Cranes, but we got there a little late. We did see;
Tundra Swan
Red-tailed Hawk
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
American Kestrel
Sandhill Crane - 4
Great Egret - 29


Dave Hayden
dtvhm AT nwrain.com
Centralia, WA