It’s the beginning of February and the wildlife is active at the Ridgefield NWR in Washington state. Today’s weather is partly sunny and around 40 degrees F.
Before we get started with the photos I wanted to share with you that one of my Ovenbird photos (taken 1/22/2013) was chosen to be used in the Portland Audubon Society’s March/April edition of their Warbler Newsletter. If you’re interested, please check out my photo posting here, and the photo (and short article) as it appears in the newsletter here (scroll down to page 11). The newsletter is a pdf file.
Okay, back to February 1. This is a shot of a Hooded Merganser out of water with light coming from the left. It’s not often I see these beauties out of water so I thought I’d take her picture. (11:24 a.m.) ISO 800
[By the way, most of these shots look better viewed large. Please click once on the thumbnail to see the large version].
A Red-tailed Hawk was circling near marker #11. (11:40)
An American Kestrel in flight, just after it quit hovering. (11:43) ISO 800
A Lesser Scaup pair was hanging out in the canal across from marker #3. Here is the male. (11:51) ISO 800
I was driving slowly between markers #7 & 8, when a pair of Bald Eagles appeared high above me. I barely had time to get the camera out the window and shoot straight up to get this shot. I was successful in capturing only one of the birds. (12:00 p.m.) ISO 800
Here’s a shot of a group of shorebirds across from the Kiwa trail entrance. (12:01) ISO 800
A Red-tailed Hawk poses for me just off the road past the Kiwa trail. (1:09) ISO 640
This Red-tail is a full frame shot–very close. Not far past the Kiwa trail. (1:11) ISO 640
This Red-tailed Hawk was on one of the refuge signs past marker #14. (1:48) ISO 640
An American Wigeon basking in the sun between markers #7 & 8. (3:35) ISO 1000
Very near the Wigeon was a pretty Hooded Merganser either contemplating life or looking for her next meal. (3:37) ISO 2500
This is most likely the previous merganser’s beau. Here he was just shaking some water off. (3:40) ISO 1250
Just after the shake.
In the woods, on a nice mossy perch sits a Song Sparrow. (3:47) ISO 1250
Near marker #11, I was watching these two Bald Eagles as they were perched on separate trees on either side of me. The mature bird, perched to the right of me, took off, crossed the road, and headed right for the immature bird where it was perched. It too, took flight and they ended up doing a little dance about 800 feet away. These are lousy pictures but I wanted to show you a part of the show I observed. (3:59) ISO 1000
And last but not least, a Lesser Scaup lit up by the setting afternoon sun. She was in the canal between markers #12 & 13. (4:22) ISO 1000
Thanks for taking time out of your day to check out my blog. Hope to see you again next time! Be well.
A lot of nice shots Scott. My favorite is the first shot of the inflight Red-tail….one of the best I’ve seen….great photography!
Thanks, Gary!
I’m jealous of all the wildlife opportunities you have nearby. Great shots.
Thank you, Liz, for the nice comment. Yes, I am very lucky to have a refuge with an auto tour, which allows me to use my vehicle as a blind. My usable shots per hour go up compared to walking a trail. There are many disadvantages to shooting from a vehicle but I’m willing to live with those for now.