Ridgefield NWR 10-23-11

I had an awesome morning up at Ridgefield.  One might even call it fantastic.  I think it helped that I had extremely low expectations.  First off, I thought it was going to rain and it turned out to be a beautiful!


Soon after arriving I came across a trio of coyotes.  One seemed more wary of me and took off quickly, while the other two seemed less concerned.  I think they were curious about Jake and Ralph, and seemed to catch a whiff of them at one point.




Good stuff.  It was a good day for hawks at the refuge, starting with this guy:


I think it's a Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk but not positive.. Any thoughts?  Next up I stopped to check out a couple funny little Marsh Wrens:


While I was stopped there I saw a hawk fly overhead and land in a tree...


It appears to be a Sharp-shinned Hawk, which I've never seen at the refuge.  Pretty cool.  He took off soon after landing...


I was scanning Rest Lake when I realized a harrier was perched right in front of me...


Meanwhile a Peregrine Falcon was hunting over the lake while a coyote watched...


Things were so good I decided to take a second trip around the refuge.  I ended up finding a White-throated Sparrow hanging out with a bunch of Golden-crowneds...  Wish I had gotten better photos but he disappeared too quickly...


Looks like a tan morph too- I think that's a first for me!  Part of the reason he disappeared so quickly was this vehicle passing by:


Not sure what the deal is, but I'm guessing it was a hunter on his way out?  Lastly, I noticed this hawk towards the end of the route:


Looks like a Rough-legged Hawk, yes?  Also present was a Bald Eagle to really round out the raptor variety.  What a great morning!!!

Comments

  1. I'll say it was a great morning-- looks like a fabulous place. Love the fog, coyotes and all those hawks!

    The Harlan's morph can be dark... but so can a western "calurus" red-tail. It's all very confusing. Undertail looks right for Harlan's, though...

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  2. Your refuge has much to offer. How lucky you are to have it. I love the coyotes.

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  3. Cool coyotes and it looks like a great raptor day for you, Jen! Wonderful birds and photos.

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  4. Looks like a great morning! Nice shot of the coyote taking a pee!

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  5. raptors galore! ANd some great shots of them too..
    Really awesome coyotes too.

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