Ridgefield NWR

On rare occasions, I cross the Columbia River to visit Washington. When the weather is less than stellar, the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge offers a nice way to get close to wildlife without getting too wet.

A lot of Tundra Swans are wintering at Ridgefield this year. There are Trumpeter Swans, too, but I did not get any close looks at them.
   Tundra Swan bathing

Northern Harriers are common throughout the refuge. This one was having a good stretch.
A family of Nutria put on a nice show. Invasive, but adorable.

Columbian White-tailed Deer, a threatened subspecies, have been introduced to the refuge in recent years. This fawn was born last spring, so at least some of the deer are making themselves at home. Unfortunately, I believe many of the Coyotes that used to be so visible on the refuge have been “removed” to make conditions safer for the rare deer.

This lone Snow Goose was hanging out with the numerous Canada and Cackling Geese.

Northern Pintail

Sandhill Cranes were feeding in the grassy fields.

The last time I visited Ridgefield was during my mom’s final visit to Portland. Her mobility was not great, so the auto tour provided a great way for us to get out to do some birding together. During that visit, the highlight was a cooperative American Bittern. I didn’t find any Bitterns on this trip, but this Great Egret did his best to fill the void.

Sauvie Island

I took my Little Brown Birds class to Sauvie Island. A walk along the length of Rentenaar Road is always good for sparrows.

white-throated sparrow front 3We found at least four White-throated Sparrows. This species was considered quite rare in Oregon ten years ago, but seem to be increasingly common in winter.
white-throated sparrow white stripe formThis individual is an example of the “white striped” form of White-throated Sparrow.

fox sparrowFox Sparrow

song sparrowSong Sparrow

golden-crowned sparrow leftGolden-crowned Sparrow

white-crowned sparrow rightWhite-crowned Sparrow

leucisitic golden-crowned sparrowOne of the more interesting birds of the day was this leucistic Golden-crowned Sparrow. He was a uniform buffy gray with a splash of yellow on the crown.
leucistic golden-crowned sparrow front
red-winged blackbird 1Red-winged Blackbird

snow geeseThere are still large flocks of Snow Geese on the island.

sandhill crane 1Sandhill Cranes are always a treat.
sandhill crane 2

Frozen Fernhill

An arctic air mass brought cold temperatures and ice to Fernhill Wetlands (Birding Oregon p. 61), but there was no shortage of birds. Here are some grainy gray photos from a lap around the ponds.


Horned Grebe


Tundra Swans and California Gull


Taverner’s Cackling Goose and Northern Shovelers


Cackling Geese and Northern Pintails


Snow Goose and Cackling Geese


American Kestrel


immature Bald Eagles


This American White Pelican, a very late straggler, was circling high overhead, trying to find a thermal on this cold cloudy morning.


Cackling Cackling Geese


Great Blue Heron standing on a Beaver dam. Note the frost on the bird’s back.