I spent about 3 hours around Ridgefield this afternoon. There were several carloads of birders around the area. Apparently no one was on
radios 11-22 as I heard no bird chatter. I did not see the bird around the auto-tour loop nor around Hillhurst or 229th. There were many
large groups of geese in the air and on the ground. Note the disclaimer on the Ridgefield NWR website about their open hours. It was closed
all am. until persistent birders were finally able to get them to open the gate for the tour route at some point in the afternoon. Website
says:

"Periodically, the refuge may be closed for scheduled maintenance or construction projects, or because weather conditions have created
hazardous conditions. Look for updates on this website or Contact Us." Today was a "periodically" day I guess, no reason mentioned on the
website.

Good luck,
Judy Meredith
jmeredit at bendnet.com