On Sunday morning I visited DNR's newly reopened and refurbished Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area, which is located a few miles northeast of downtown Olympia. I found approximately 40 Red Crossbills crammed together for some bathing in a puddle of rainwater along the side of the road. They were a short distance into the preserve, just beyond the bicycle parking, splashing and shaking almost elbow to elbow. Other bird highlights included about 15 female Barrow?s Goldeneyes (I think they were Barrows; they seemed to have a lot of yellow on their bills), a breeding plumaged Horned Grebe, and several Purple Martins around the nest boxes. DNR has done a lot of great restoration work in the preserve and added some beautiful interpretive material.