Hi all! Today I spent from about 7:45 a.m. until after 9 p.m. at Ridgefield. I was at the actual refuge shooting photos from sun up until about 6:30 p.m., by far the longest day I’ve ever spent there. From 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. I attended my first Ridgefield Camera Club meeting at a pizza spot in Ridgefield. The meeting was fun and I met a lot of folks I had known online but not yet met in person.
This is Part 1 of my Oct. 17 shoot. Actually, the morning started off slowly and it wasn’t until about 10 a.m. that I found this Golden-crowned Sparrow between posts #8 & 9.
[The shots look better in larger view. Please click on the thumbnails once for a large, more detailed view. Thanks]
About 15 minutes later, I was at post #10, just exiting the Ash woods when on my right a Belted Kingfisher is perched on a branch that was protruding out over the water, but close to the near shore. I estimate the bird’s distance from me at about 30 feet, which is farther than I like for such a small bird. But I could not pass up taking a lot of shots of this beauty even though I thought they would end up too pixelated. The bird sat there staring into the water below for several minutes. In fact, I think I left the scene before he did! Surprisingly, when I got home to process these images, I was elated to find better images than I had anticipated, especially at ISO800 and not the greatest light. So, if in doubt, take the shot because you’ll never know for sure how it will turn out once you process it!
Raptors are really starting to come back to the refuge now. Here’s a Red-tailed Hawk up in the trees in the Ash forest with a lot of white sky behind.
Along South Rest Lake I spot a Blue Heron hunting in the water.
At about noon, I was fortunate to find the resident Peregrine Falcon on one of the bare perches at the three-tree area. These two poses were my favorites of the day.
Back at the main parking lot I spotted our resident Western Scrub Jay with his long lower lip. This bird seems to have adapted to his bill deformity and appears very healthy. Here’s a snap shot.
At about 1 p.m. I’m back around South Rest Lake and photograph another Blue Heron.
And, another Blue Heron on the grass between posts #1 & 2.
By about 4 p.m. I had made it around the auto tour loop at least 7 or 8 times. But it made it worth it when I again spot the Falcon in the Three-trees. Here’s a close up of a sweet pose!
That’s going to about do it for Part 1 of this shoot. Thanks for dropping in to check out my refuge adventures for October 17. Hope to see you next time!
Another great series, Papa! I’m glad you finally got to go to one of those meetings! Kind of fun getting to talk about photography with others that are just as nuts about it as we are, huh? LOL. <3 ya!
Yes, the meetings are fun and I was able to “show and tell” my little RainJacket camera cover, which got some good response. Thanks for your comments!