My "America the Beautiful" pass needed to be renewed, so I used that as an
excuse to drive to Ridgefield NWR on Wednesday afternoon. After I bought the
new pass, I went through the Auto Tour route. What a treat it was, after all
the nasty weather we've had in Kalama lately.



The first thing that greeted me, literally as soon as I crossed the one-lane
bridge at the entrance, was this gorgeous male ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD perched in
a tree. http://flic.kr/p/eas28A After I shot his photo, I saw a BALD EAGLE
on the nest! Wow, two great birds before I even hit the parking lot! The
highlight for me was unexpectedly seeing 7 SANDHILL CRANES hanging out with
some geese on the dike just before marker 8. http://flic.kr/p/earYdu



I could use some help identifying these shorebirds http://flic.kr/p/eamhPt



I'm still going through my photos with guide book in hand, so all birds I
photographed are not yet identified. Here is a list of what I saw (or heard)
and have identified:



Cackling Goose (three with neck bands) http://flic.kr/p/earzVj

Canada Goose

American Wigeon

Mallard pair http://flic.kr/p/eam1Bg

Cinnamon Teal pair http://flic.kr/p/earZLS

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Hooded Merganser, female

Pied-billed Grebe

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Bald Eagle; adult on nest and a juvenile http://flic.kr/p/earFpL

Northern Harrier

Red-tailed Hawk

American Coot

Sandhill Crane - 7

Greater Yellowlegs (I think) http://flic.kr/p/earWDQ at marker 8 sharing the
mud with a Teal

Wilson's Snipe

Anna's Hummingbird, male

Northern Flicker

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Marsh Wren. Tried to take a photo, but it was too close to my car. Argh!

American Robin

European Starling

Common Yellowthroat; at least 3 were singing throughout the tour

Song Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

Yellow-headed Blackbird http://flic.kr/p/eamk8a , two

Purple Finch



Great way to spend the afternoon!



Amy Hill

Kalama, WA

Cowlitz County

628 feet up

60stops2home at kalama dot com