This is a great spot here is some of the recent trips Bill Clemons should be able to help with answers about that time of year. Hope this helps. Marie
http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/digests/
Subject: Ridgefield NWR: Something new, even when it is the same
From: Bill Clemons <willclemons AT yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:28:24 -0700 (PDT)
I birded the River "S" Unit at Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W
of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges). I was there
from about 6:30a to about 4p. The morning was cool,
but it warmed quickly as it was mostly sunny.
Highlights for the day:
* EARED GREBE: Two are still being seen in open water
and without a "floating" nest. For me, this pair
remained at a distance, no mater what my viewing site
was around Rest Lake.
* BLUE-WINGED TEAL: Only one drake was seen, but it
was only about 100 feet from the road, swimming calmly
near a Cinnamon Teal drake in the E corner of
Canvasback Lake near where the SW corner of Rest Lake
is.
* AMERICAN KESTREL: This Fledgling KESTREL was
something new for me. It was perched in the open on a
small white boundary sign on the E side of Rest Lake
near the gate to the Roth Unit. Its back was to me
and at first it looked like any female Kestrel, until
I got about 50 feet from it and took another look.
WOW! It had cream colored down sticking well out on
both sides (similar to the effect you would see
looking at a pair of "riding pants"). It was kind
enough to oblige me and remain perched there for at
least 30 seconds before it flew to the nearest large
tree just over the fence and into the Roth Unit. What
a Sweet Look!
* VIRGINIA RAIL: I heard several today, but only saw
one near the SE corner of Canvasback Lake.
* HOPLONG-BILLED DOWITCHER, the one legged fellow, was
on Schwartz Lake today. It was actively feeding,
albeit a tad awkwardly due to its constant need to
readjust its balance.
* RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER NEST: This morning the
adults were actively feeding the young at the
previously described nest near the top of the entrance
canyon road. On the way out, I watched the nest hole
from 3:30 to 4p without seeing activity. As the
nestling seemed full size whenever it poked its head
and neck out, I suppose today could have been the
"leap of faith" for the kid.
* DOWNY WOODPECKER NEST: This nest is still active,
and I have yet to see young poke outside of the hole.
As previously described the nest is at the top of a
broken top Oregon Ash in the woodland after you pass
the Kiwa Trail parking lot.
* YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS have for the most part
fledged and dispersed from the cattails in S Quigley
Lake. There are a few babies still there to be heard
and an occasional look at a male or female. With a
bit of patience, they are still somewhat easy to see
foraging on Long Lake.
* BULLOCK'S ORIOLE: The hard working Lady is still at
it building her nest (~75% done) directly over the
road immediately before you drive onto the entrance
bridge that crosses Lake River. Several Males were
also seen moving around in the Cottonwoods there on
both sides of the R/R.
There is usually something new to observe, even when
seeing the same birds in the same place.
Bill Clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
Willclemons AT Yahoo dot com
Complete list of 70 species seen / heard:
Pied-billed Grebe (+ babies)
EARED GREBE
American Bittern (4 seen flying)
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose (+ juveniles)
Wood Duck (+ babies)
Gadwall (+ babies)
American Wigeon
Mallard (+ babies)
BLUE-WINGED TEAL
Cinnamon Teal (+ babies)
Ring-necked Duck
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
BALD EAGLE
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
VIRGINIA RAIL (heard & seen)
Sora (heard only)
American Coot (+ babies/juveniles)
Killdeer
GREATER YELLOWLEGS
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER (at nest)
DOWNY WOODPECKER (at nest)
Northern Flicker
OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER (heard call once, entrance
canyon road)
Western Wood-Pewee (heard & seen +
2 nests)
Willow Flycatcher (heard &
seen)
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (2 landed in road ~
40' in front of me)
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch (heard only,
entrance canyon road)
White-breasted Nuthatch (heard & seen +
juvenile)
Brown Creeper (heard & 3
seen, entrance canyon road)
Bewick's Wren (heard only,
entrance canyon road)
House Wren (still
feeding young at many nests)
Winter Wren (heard & 4
seen, entrance canyon road)
Marsh Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Yellow Warbler (heard & seen)
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler (heard only,
entrance canyon road)
Spotted Towhee (+ juvenile)
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow (+ juvenile)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
Brown-headed Cowbird
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Subject: Ridgefield NWR: Just another nice day at the wetland
From: Bill Clemons <willclemons AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2007 22:15:11 -0700 (PDT)
Today my mother (Olive) and I birded the River "S"
Unit at Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW
Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ ).
We only birded part of the Kiwa Trail, from the
entrance to the first bridge going clockwise.
Highlights for our day:
* EARED GREBE: This pair is still on Rest Lake and
still without the "floating" nest they had previously
built.
* GREATER YELLOWLEGS: One was on Canvasback Lake,
which is across from the Kiwa Trail parking lot.
Earlier in the day, Scott Murray had also seen three
LESSER YELLOWLEGS there.
* HOPALONG-BILLED DOWITCHER: Also on Canvasback Lake
were two LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS with two legs each,
and a third with only one leg. Since it seemed to
function reasonably well hopping around on only one
leg, I decided to name it HOPALONG (age related pun).
* RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER: The previously described
nest near the top of the entrance canyon road is still
active. This morning I saw a nestling with its head
and neck outside of the hole, looking and calling for
food. It looked to be full sized, so any day now and
it will be gone. Scott Murray, Clay Davis and I also
saw another RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in a large
Cottonwood just E of the railroad tracks.
* BULLOCK'S ORIOLE: The female is still busy building
her nest right above the road near the E end of the
entrance bridge over Lake River. It appears to be
about a third complete. While we were watching her
work, the male came by but did not help. It was as if
he was merely checking it out or supervising.
* ACTIVE NESTS SEEN: Pied-billed grebe, Cedar
Waxwing, Western Wood Pewee, House Wren, Marsh Wren,
Downy Woodpecker, Red-breasted Sapsucker, Bald Eagle,
Tree Swallow. The male Downy Woodpecker was seen
entering the nest and flying away with nestling
cleanings.
* BABIES SEEN (Out and About): Coot, Pied-billed
grebe, Virginia Rail, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Brewers
Blackbird, Mallard, Gadwall, Cinnamon Teal, Wood Duck,
Canada Goose, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Black-headed
Grosbeak, Robin. Clay Davis also saw a female Hooded
Merganser with three babies. They were in the water
control canal near the end of the Oregon Ash Woodland
beyond the Kiwa Trail parking lot.
Bill Clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
Willclemons AT Yahoo dot com
Complete list of 73 species seen / heard:
Pied-billed Grebe
EARED GREBE
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail (heard & seen)
Sora (heard only)
American Coot
Killdeer
GREATER YELLOWLEGS
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Belted Kingfisher
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher (E of R/R called 4
times)
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow (at R/R
tracks)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch (3 seen from
entrance canyon road)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Swainson's Thrush (heard only)
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler (heard & seen from
entrance canyon road)
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
BULLOCK'S ORIOLE
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Subject: Re: Ridgefield NWR: cooperative, cheerful, perky, desperate birds
From: Bill Clemons <willclemons AT yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:12:27 -0700 (PDT)
Today, Joe Koutney and I birded the River "S" Unit at
Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW
Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ ).
We did not walk the entire Kiwa Trail, opting to bird
only some of the Oregon Ash woodlands on the Trail.
It was sunny the entire time we were there (around
8:30a to about 3p).
Highlights for our day:
* RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER: We found an ACTIVE NEST
beside the entrance canyon road. The nest is in a
small diameter (say 1 foot at nest hole) Douglas Fir
tree. Near the top of this broken top fir, on the
left side is a semicircular "fungus" that appears to
act almost as a natural awning above the nest hole.
>From the top of the road, after the steel entrance
gate, about 75 feet beyond where you enter the
woodland, there is a large Western Red Cedar tree on
the driver's side (as you drive down hill). This
appears to be the first Cedar you come to that is
within 15 feet or so from the road. The nest tree is
close to the Cedar and further away from the road. It
is broken off at about 40-50 feet above the road
level. There is a much shorter broken tree near it.
* EARED GREBE: This Happy pair is still on Rest Lake.
BUT the "floating nest" was Not anywhere to be found
today. They were together and actively feeding.
* BUFFLEHEAD: After at least 2 weeks of missing this
species we saw two 1st year birds on Rest Lake.
* The entrance canyon road was particularly birdy
this am on the way in to the Refuge proper.
Cooperative birds that were seen singing Cheerfully:
WINTER WREN, WILSON'S WARBLER, SWAINSON'S THRUSH,
WESTERN WOOD PEWEE. We also had a drumming PILEATED
WOODPECKER there.
* BULLOCK'S ORIOLE: We heard a few and saw a couple
of females. One was constructing a nest (seems a bit
late). Her construction project appeared today as
merely a large outline that was a "water drop" shape
and it is right after the railroad tracks and Directly
over the road in a Cottonwood, immediately before you
drive onto the bridge to the refuge proper.
* BABIES SEEN: Coot, Pied-billed Grebe, Gadwall,
Mallard, Cinnamon Teal, Wood Duck, Canada Goose,
Yellow-headed Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewers
Blackbird, BC Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tree
Swallow.
It was a great day to be outside Anthropomorphizing
non-human animals!
Bill Clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
Willclemons AT Yahoo dot com
Complete list of 71 species seen / heard:
Pied-billed Grebe
EARED GREBE
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Cinnamon Teal
CANVASBACK (drake on Rest Lake)
Ring-necked Duck
BUFFLEHEAD
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel (2 harassing a R/t Hawk
Desperate to escape)
Virginia Rail (heard only)
Sora (heard and seen at the
Blind)
American Coot
Killdeer
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Belted Kingfisher
RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
Downy Woodpecker (bringing food to nest
hole)
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Western Wood-Pewee (seen & heard)
Willow Flycatcher (seen & heard)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (heard only)
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch (heard only- entrance
canyon)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Swainson's Thrush (seen & heard)
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (on nest near the Blind)
Yellow Warbler (seen & heard)
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler (seen & heard ? entrance
canyon)
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Subject: blue-gray gnatcacther Ridgefield NWR this morning
From: "Bob Flores" <rflores_2 AT msn.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 11:55:06 -0700
I went to look at the Pacific golden-plover this morning, it is still there,
but found a blue-gray gnatcatcher at the end of the large Oregon Ash grove just
before you get to Rest Lake. The bird is hanging close to the top of the trees
and I tried for photos but I do not feel I have one worth anything with poor
light.
Also of interest 3 lesser yellowlegs in with the plover they were farther
south. the Eurasian wigeon are still on Rest Lake as are two eared grebes 9
Bonaparte's gulls and a canvasback. I had a greater yellowlegs along the road
as one drives south and well before the blind. Sorry no better way of
describing the location.
I will check the pics AFTER I get back from the FREE fathers day lunch at the
NW Fish Company on 10th Ave. Mouth is a watering!
Bob Flores
Ridgefield NWR____
Subject: Ridgefield NWR: PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER, BONAPARTE'S GULLS still there ++
From: Bill Clemons <willclemons AT yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 20:21:19 -0700 (PDT)
Today was a very nice Fathers Day indeed. My son Doug
took me birding on the River "S" Unit at Ridgefield
NWR (~4mi W of I-5 at Exit 14 in SW Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ ). It was
clouded and cool with a couple of short sun breaks and
one significant lunchtime shower. We birded from
about 8:30am until around 4:30pm.
Highlights of our day:
* The previously reported PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER was
still on Schwartz Lake today. We had excellent
binocular and scope views. We saw it at the NE side of
the Lake as well as at the center of the E side. A
wonderful bird in beautiful plumage!
* On Rest Lake we saw: 9 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, one of
which was in breeding plumage; one CANVASBACK drake; 2
REDHEAD drakes; and one EURASIAN WIGEON drake along
with the other usuals. We did Not see the pair of
EARED GREBE but others did, so they are still there.
* We saw a pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL on the Kiwa
Trail. Sad to say, but we also had an extremely close
(1 foot) look at a Ruddy Duck drake that was lying
dead near the center bridge. It could not have been
dead for long. It looked in near perfect shape and you
could see the miniature "teeth" on the edge of its
upper bill.
* On the Kiwa Trail we were treated, from about 30
feet, to a MARSH WREN taking a 30 second dirt bath in
the middle of the trail.
* About a third through the Oregon Ash woodland S of
the Kiwa Trail parking lot, near the turnout by the
brown steel gate, we watched a female DOWNY WOODPECKER
make five trips to her nest and poke her head in to
feed her young. We never saw the young, but on one
return, after she fed the young, she went in and then
flew out carrying off nest cleanings. While we saw a
male call and fly near the nest once, we only saw the
female feed the young.
* On the E side of Rest Lake near the "3 trees" we
saw a VIRGINIA RAIL walking and eating along the water
control canal. This is a good time to pay attention
to water control canal edges.
* There was a male AMERICAN KESTREL atop the post
with the nest box just S of the Volunteer Booth at the
entrance. We also saw him enter the nest box.
* We bumped into Scott Murray who had minutes before
seen a Pileated Woodpecker on the Kiwa Trail, but Doug
and I could not relocate it.
* We also bumped into Debby de Carlo who minutes
before had seen a male LAZULI BUNTING on the ground,
in the middle of the road just a ways past the
"hunters gate". Doug and I did not see it, but
perhaps it is the same male Jim Danzenbaker and I saw
singing on May 20, 2007 between Long Lake and S
Quigley Lake.
Bill Clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
Willclemons AT Yahoo dot com
Complete list of 69 Species seen / heard:
Pied-billed Grebe (+ babies)
American Bittern (5 seen flying)
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Wood Duck (+ babies)
Gadwall
American Wigeon
EURASIAN WIGEON
Mallard (+ babies)
BLUE-WINGED TEAL
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Pintail
CANVASBACK
REDHEAD
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail (seen & heard)
Sora (heard only)
American Coot (+ babies)
PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs (one seen)
Lesser Yellowlegs (three seen)
BONAPARTE'S GULL (nine seen)
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker (at nest feeding young)
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee (seen & heard)
Willow Flycatcher (seen & heard)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher (heard only)
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow (at nest feeding young)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch (entrance canyon road)
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper (heard only)
Bewick's Wren (heard only)
House Wren (sang, then entered nest)
Marsh Wren
Swainson's Thrush (seen & heard)
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing (finishing nest building)
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak (seen & heard)
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole (entering/leaving nest)
American Goldfinch
Subject: Ridgefield NWR: PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER, BONAPARTE'S GULL +
From: Bill Clemons <willclemons AT yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:31:46 -0700 (PDT)
Today (6/14/07), Debby de Carlo and I birded the River
"S" Unit at Ridgefield NWR (~4mi W of I-5 at Exit 14
in SW Washington;
http://www.fws.gov/ridgefieldrefuges/ ). It was nice
and cool with a gentle breeze and a general cloud
cover until afternoon. All in all, it was a very
pleasant day.
Highlights of the day:
1) Still present is the earlier reported PACIFIC
GOLDEN-PLOVER. This afternoon it was on the NE muddy
edge of Schwartz Lake. This bird was barely over 100
feet from the road on the E side if Schwartz Lake.
Schwartz Lake is immediately E of Rest lake.
2) From the Blind on the E side of Rest Lake, we saw
a lone CANVASBACK drake, a drake EURASIAN WIGEON, and
5 BONAPARTE'S GULLS. We did not see the Redheads or
the Eared Grebes that I had been seeing on previous
visits.
3) We saw at least 10 American Bittern flying around.
Some were flying quite close. Sweet!
4) NESTS: We saw a pair of Cedar Waxwings actively
building a nest on the trail to the Blind. We also
saw a Western Wood Pewee on a nest in the Oregon Ash
woodland on the eastern part of the walk.
5) There was an unusual (to our eyes anyway)
Red-winged Blackbird on Long Lake. It clearly looked
like an adult, yet when it flew you could see its full
size shoulder patches, but they were totally Orange!
Bill Clemons
SW of Portland in Mtn Park
Willclemons AT Yahoo dot com
Complete list of 66 species seen / heard:
Pied-billed Grebe
American Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Gadwall
American Wigeon
EURASIAN WIGEON
Mallard
BLUE-WINGED TEAL
Cinnamon Teal
CANVASBACK
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Virginia Rail
Sora
American Coot
PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER
Killdeer
Wilson's Snipe
BONAPARTE'S GULL
Mourning Dove
Vaux's Swift
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Willow Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Steller's Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Bewick's Wren
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
American Goldfinch
