May 29, 2012 – Tue. – Tualatin River NWR – (19 Photos)

This morning, May 29, I decided to do something different and drive over to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge (TRNWR), in Sherwood, Oregon, instead of Ridgefield (my ‘home base’).  Both refuges are about the same driving distance (35 minutes) from my house.  The TRNRW has only walking trails — no roads for private vehicles.  So I attach my camera to a monopod and carry it over my shoulder as I walk.  The refuge has a good variety of habitats from wooded areas to marshes and open fields.  Let’s get to the photos!

[Photos usually look best in large view.  Please click on these thumbnails once for large view].

First off is an American Goldfinch in the greenery.  (6:43 a.m.)

Entering the wooded area I spot a rabbit on the trail.   (6:47)

A Western Scrub Jay makes an appearance and gives me a nice green background.   (7:20)

Half a dozen juvenile blackbirds assemble on a snag.  (7:32)

A Great Blue Heron gets harrassed by a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds–or is it the other way around?  (7:33)

A Mallard drake comes in for a landing.   (7:34)

An Osprey flies over but the photo requires a large crop.   (7:41)

A family of Mallards comes by.   (7:44)

 

This Killdeer was quite vocal calling to its mate, apparently.   (7:55)

A Spring and Summer staple at the refuge, this Common Yellowthroat posed for me.   (8:42)

Another Spring and Summer staple is the White-crowned Sparrow.  What’s interesting is that I can usually count on getting closer to these birds just by staying around the parking area.  This has been true for me since I have been coming here.  I shot these pictures in the parking lot.   (8:58)

 

 

 

Also very near the parking lot, I spotted this Western Tanager.  He wouldn’t come down to the lower branches so I had to settle for these shots from underneath.   (9:37)

 

 

While it’s tough to get close shots while just walking around with a camera (as opposed to driving and shooting from a vehicle), I really enjoyed getting back out to this beautiful refuge.  I’ll be working on shots from June 6 at Ridgefield, for my next post.  I hope you can join me back here on The Blog!