Sauvie Island/Ridgefield NWR

On Thursday I was psyched to have a couple extra hours before work and took the dogs out to Sauvie Island for some birding.  I wandered around Oak Island Road for a bit and found a bunch of Sandhill Cranes...


It was just four years ago that an old man at Ridgefield handed me a pair of binoculars so I could see my very first cranes.  It was pretty much all over for me after that. 



It was a hunting day so Rentenaar Road was kind of a bust, as were other spots.  I took the dogs to the beach and got to see a man letting it all hang out in the clothing optional section.  Lucky me.

Yesterday afternoon I went up to Ridgefield for the first time in months.  I forget how close you can get to the herons and the egrets there, like this burping fella:


There were over a dozen egrets hunting in one of the fields, allowing me to watch almost nonstop vole-slaying action.


Yum yum.  And a few other birds from the refuge...

Bewick's Wren

 Northern Harrier

 First swans of the season

Good times!

Comments

  1. Nice wader crushes. You know you're a true birder once you've seen a free hanging dong whilst looking for birds.

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    1. FHDO is an annual migrant in these parts. Better view desired in this case.

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  2. Great variety of birds, Jen! Love the cranes and the egret with it's meal. The Harrier is cool too. BTW, your header is awesome.

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  3. Good day out...nakey man? not what you expected I'm sure... SANDHILL cranes omg IM so jealous...I had hopes of seeing some in CO but never made it this yr!!

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  4. Sweet stuff. It looks so cool up there...it's still grossly in the mid 80s down here, with no Cranes or Swans yet arrived.

    NIce shots

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  5. Naked in Portland in November? It's 50 degrees outside! Was he carrying a binocular as well? While you were looking for sparrows and such, I have no doubt he was combing for Boobies and Woodcocks.

    Stay away from the nude beaches when you're birding alone, girl! The birds don't want to be around that!

    ;-)

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    1. For the record, he was not completely naked. He had an unbuttoned button down shirt blowing softly in the breeze...

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  6. Hah! Did he have a friend walking next to him with a portable fan to make it blow like that?

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