Back On the Road

It’s been a long while since we’ve gone anywhere, but we are finally on the road to visit Bill and Alice in Arizona and Jeff and Debbie in Fresno. Of course, we had to break the trip up by stopping at favorite birding spots, starting at Bear River Migratory Refuge. We haven’t been there for two years, and we were surprised to find that there was an entirely different car route, one that was quite different from the old route. Luckily, we still saw most of the birds that we came here to see, like the White-Faced Ibis and the American Avocet.

Two wading birds standing in shallow water, one with dark plumage and the other with white and brown feathers, both peering at their reflections.

We got there later than usual, but that turned out to be relatively lucky because the reflections seemed unusually vivid, as in this shot of another White-faced Ibis.

A glossy ibis wading in shallow water, reflected in the surface, surrounded by tall reeds.

Although there were more Avocets, my personal favorite, than any other species, there was still a remarkable variety of other birds, like this male Ruddy Duck in breeding colors.

A swimming duck with a reddish-brown body and a blue bill glides across the calm water.

We also saw several Cinamon Teal.

A brown bird swimming in calm water among tall reeds.

However, we only saw one White Pelican, whereas we used to see up to a hundred on the old auto tour.

A white pelican gracefully floats on calm waters, with its distinctive long orange bill and a sleek body reflecting in the water.

We also saw far fewer Grebes than we usually saw on the other route, though that might also have something to do with the time of year we visited.

Leslie took all of these pictures and seemed more than happy with the new/temporary auto tour. The other people I talked to, regulars, seemed equally happy with it. Personally, I was a little disappointed, particularly by the lack of Grebes.

Expect the Unexpected

I planned my dentist trip to Dentus in Vancouver, WA, so I could spend two or three hours at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge. Life apparently had other plans for me; the gate was locked when I got there and discovered it had unexpectedly closed for the day. Later, we found that I wasn’t the only one disappointed but apparently no one knew exactly why it was closed.

So, what do you do when your plans fall apart, and you have three extra hours on your hands? If you’re me, you gripe a little and think of nearby places you can bird instead. It certainly helps when you’re familiar with the area, having lived there for thirty-plus years.

We ended up walking Salmon Creek, where we saw lots of skittish birds singing their hearts out but hiding from the many visitors on Spring Break. Only some brave Black-Capped Chickadees were willing to pose for shots

A small bird with a black head and white underbelly perched on a moss-covered branch.

We had to walk a little further to find the Wood Ducks that we’ve seen there on previous visits. The male Wood Duck certainly rivals my personal favorite, the male Harlequin Duck.

A colorful male wood duck swimming in a pond with reflections in the water.

This Salmon Creek pond is a bit of a miracle. I feel lucky every time I see a male Wood Duck because I rarely see them, and never see them in most places I frequent. Yet, I usually see several on this pond, and they seem so accustomed to people that they don’t fly off as soon as you point a camera at them.

I wonder if this pond serves as the local bar for Wood Ducks, the perfect place to find a mate.

A male and female wood duck swimming together in a pond, surrounded by green grass and reeds.

Salmon Creek doesn’t have nearly as many of birds or as great of variety of birds as Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, but you can find birds at Salmon Creek that you wouldn’t see at Ridgefield.

A Spring Symphony

Going out birding suggests you’re going out to SEE birds, but this time of year, sometimes you go out to HEAR birds, even when you can’t see them. That has certainly been the case lately. On a Thursday walk, Cornell University’s Merlin app identified nine different birds in one place in less than two minutes, a virtual symphony, and I couldn’t see a single one of them. That really didn’t matter, though, because their songs lifted my spirits.

Luckily, a few birds seem to go out of their way to make themselves visible when they are calling, like this Red-winged Blackbird

A red-winged blackbird perched on a wooden surface, with its head turned slightly as it calls out.

and this Marsh Wren.

A close-up of a small bird perched among dry reeds, with its beak open as if singing.

At least knowing that a bird is nearby gives you a chance to look for them in likely places, and sometimes in unlikely places like where I found that Eurasian Collared-Dove after hearing it much earlier.

A Eurasian-Collared Dove standing on wet, muddy ground among sparse grass and plants.

I’ll have to admit I’m occasionally frustrated when I can’t see a bird I can clearly hear and identify, but just knowing we are here together is still reassuring.

Time to Get Outside and Enjoy Nature at Its Finest

I’m not sure if it’s still Winter here in the Pacific Northwest, or whether Spring has finally sprung. It’s still raining enough that it is definitely hard to plan a day out birding ahead of time. I’ve only managed to get out once since our trip to Port Townsend, and it wasn’t a great birding day.

Spotting this beautiful male Green-Winged Teal was definitely the birding highlight of the day.

A male teal duck swimming gracefully on a calm water surface, showcasing its distinctive green and brown head along with gray body feathers.

Luckily, it has warmed up enough that the currants were nearly in full bloom,

Close-up of vibrant pink flowers with green leaves on a branch, set against a soft blurred background.

Oregon grapes were flowering,

Close-up of a cluster of yellow flowers surrounded by dark green and reddish leaves.

and Skunk Cabbage was found throughout the wetlands.

A cluster of yellow skunk cabbage flowers emerging from lush green ground cover, surrounded by fallen branches.

It’s hard to be disappointed even by a lack of birds when there is so much natural beauty finally reappearing.