The weather got th e best of me today.? Elaine wanted to get out of the house and suggested Julia Butler Hansen NWR (JBH), so I was happy to get out of yard work and go.? But first a quick trip up to a tiny park near our house in the Salmon Creek-Whipple Creek area of Ridgefield.? Plenty of warblers using the maple trees, including 4 Nashbille Warblers and my FOY 2 Black-throated Gray Warblers, plus a WB Nuthatch calling.? Heading toward Longview there were 8 Great Egrets in marshes along I-5 . ? We?circled Little Island (the north portion of Puget Island)?where my FOY Wilson's Warbler was found.? At JBH headquarters Elaine heard an American Bittern call at mid-day, and on the auto route found a Purple Martin and my FOY Blue-winged Teal .? We did not find any kites.??After the turnoff ?to Altoona we found 3 Evening Grosbeaks crossing over the road toward a home that likely had a feeder.? After stopping for a bear crossing the road near MP5, a quick scan of the Columbia River turned up a pair of White-winged Scoters .? Big s hadows on this sunny day were fro m and single, then 4 more, American White Pelicans with full breeding bill ornaments heading toward the north end of Grays Bay.? A?loop up Deep River and over to Salmon Creek did not find Gray Jays, but we did hear Sooty Grouse hooting in both Wahkiakum and Pacific Counties fairly close to the road.? And on the way back along Highway 4 west of JBH were two small groups of Band-tailed Pigeons .



Randy Hill

Ridgefield