Bird Watching - The Outdoor Directory for Birding

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington state and adjacent to the Columbia River shares the same eco-system as Sauvie Island and Scappoose Bottoms in the state of Oregon. This is an excellent birding area especially in the winter season when thousands upon thousands of waterfowl and raptors arrive to spend the winter here. On a beatuful, misty day grey with rain showers we went birding at Ridgefield NWR. We entered the refuge and set up our spotting scopes by the entry kiosk. Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Kestrels, Red tailed Hawks, Northern Harriers and various waterfowl like Shovelers, Widgeons, Pintail Ducks, Mallards, Buffleheads could be seen. After fourty five minutes the refuge volunteer at the kiosk said to us, "Did you know there is more to the refuge than this entrance."
"Yes, yes but this is so great right here, why move?", I said. But move we did and after several hours more birding which included two golden eagles, several flocks of sandhill cranes and tundra swans the dimming light reminded us how short the days are this time of year. As a finale to this day in the field a Short Eared Owl glided over the edge of the field and landed on the refuge sign not more than ten feet from where we were. The owl turned its head from right to left several times and flew silently off. Three more Short Eared Owls made their appearance in the twilight for the evenings hunt. "A perfect day became even more perfect with the these owls showing up", my birding companion said as we headed home.

Posted by bill@birdingguide.com at 09:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A friend spoke to me with excitement about the Coopers Hawk that swooped into his backyard after the house sparrows. My friend lives on a 50 foot by 100 foot lot in an older, densely populated area of the city. "I did not know there were hawks here", he said as he described the attack on the sparrows. His comment and the comments of others made me reflect on how many people, think that wildlife and nature are "out there" somewhere beyond the urban boundaries of our cities in the national and state forests and parks. An unfortunate corollary to this is the perception that it does not matter how much we build within our cities as long as we protect natural habitat outside the urban bondaries. I have seen Coopers Hawks and Red Tailed Hawks daily in Portland, nesting Bald Eagles, kettles of Turkey Vultures circling overhead; also coyotes, possoms, racoons and once a brown bear swimming across the Willamette River. A lost pig, as well, swimming upstream in the Columbia River, but that is another story.

The moral of this story is to work with youur local government, yours parks departments and your neighbors to preserve open spaces and even better to create new strips of urban wildlife habitat by planting continuous strips of shrubs and trees through your neighborhood to allow the birds and animals natural food, shelter and corredors for movement through your city. If you don't have a good jacket and waterproof boots for this fall and winter go get them. Don't let your kids languish indoors this winter in front of the "tube". Hiking and birding are not just spring and summer activities. There is a lot of wildlife to observe around you even in your local neighborhood.

Posted by bill@birdingguide.com at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)