Marsh Wren

Just like last year, March is when the Marsh Wrens start singing.  Of course, a lot of birds start singing in March, it's just that it's hard to find Marsh Wren's when they aren't singing as they spend much of their time down low among the reeds of marshy areas.

 

It was a pretty dreary day a couple of Sunday's ago, but that didn't deter a few wrens at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge from composing their song of chirps, buzzes and warbles.

Though these shots were taken just outside my car at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge's auto tour, this is a small bird.  So I was lucky to have rented a 200 - 400mm zoom along with a 1.7x teleconverter.  That's boosts the zoom at 400mm to 680mm.  Multiply the 1.5x crop caused by the smaller sensor in my D90 and you have an equivalent 1020mm.

I really like the 200 - 400mm lens, but I prefer the 600mm Nikon offers.  Both have a wide open f-stop of 4.0, but in order to get the reach of the 600mm, I have to use the 1.7x teleconverter.  That increases the f-stop to over 6.0, slower than my current 70 - 300mm zoom.  With all the cloudy days we have here in western Oregon, I really want something faster.

   

Anyway, for such a tough bird to photograph, I've had pretty good luck at RNWR.  The car blind really does work out quite well.

Great Horned Owl

Taken way back on April 7th, this Great Horned Owl at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge decided to make its nest in the hollow of a broken tree trunk right next to the road along the auto tour. There was concern over the owls being disturbed by curious humans, so the refuge fenced off the turn out making it difficult for anyone to spend much time there. Some visitors even posted pictures of others who broke the rules and left their cars to get a closer look.

I got this shot while momentarily stopped not far from the nest. The sun was bright that day and the owl in shadow, making  it difficult to get a even exposure.  I had to do a fair amount of post processing to get this one looking good, but it is my favorite pose. While the owl didn't seem too concerned with people, it did tend to keep an eye on you. 

Blue-winged Teal

I'm going to try to get back in the swing of posting.  Even though I haven't posted much lately, I have been out taking pictures of birds like normal and am pretty backed up with post processing.

Back on June 9th, I found this male Blue-winged Teal at South Quigley Lake on the auto tour of RNWR.  A few days later I saw a male and female in a pond along the Kiwa trail.

Cinnamon Teal

 

I've been saving for a large prime lens for a few months now. I'm torn between the Nikkor 400mm f2.8, the 500mm f4 or the 600mm f4.  All are fabulous lenses, each with its own pluses (and a few minuses).

To help me make up my mind, I occasionally rent either the 400mm f2.8 or the 600mm F4 from Pro Photo Supplies in Portland. They have a nice weekend deal.

The weekend of April 20 (how time flies) I rented the 600mm and spent some time at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. In addition to the lens, I rented a 1.7x teleconverter which upped it to 1000mm. Multiply that by the 1.5 increase gained by my D90's smaller APS-C image sensor and I was packing a 1500mm telescope.

It's really amazing to look through the view finder and see, with such clarity, birds that are quite far off in the distant. But it requires a lot of care to keep the camera steady.  The least movement and your picture is ruined.

The image of the male Cinnamon Teal above was taken in the canal between North and South Quigley Lakes.  This is a full frame shot (no cropping). While the ability to get in this close is amazing, it can be hard to fit birds (especially larger ones) into a frame if they are too close.

Brown Creeper

 

I haven't seen a Brown Creeper in quite a while and it has been noticeable absent from my 2012 list. Well, add a check, as a walk through the woodlands along the Kiwa Trail at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge filled that empty square.

I saw several as I neared the end of the trail in the east woods. The whole trail was quite birdie yesterday morning, with Virginia Rails scampering across the trail ahead of me and sneaking among the grasses along the edge of the ponds. 

While the images at the top of this post are the closest I've taken to date, the image directly above is more typical of sightings, as the bird steadily works itself up the trunk of a tree, blending in very well with tree's bark.

Yellow-headed Blackbird

 

  

Yellow-headed Blackbirds are gorgeous.  Though not real common in the Portland area, a few spend time at RNWR in the spring and early summer.  There is one in particular along South Big Lake between markers 11 and 12 that spends a lot of time in the cattails next to the road.

I've been trying to get a good shot of it for over a year now.  Something always seems to go wrong, including being the second in line to get the shot.  I lucked out, or maybe it was finally just my time, on April 21.  

I had rented a 600mm lens along with a 1.7x teleconverter that weekend.  The top two shots and the one below were taken with that lens combination, while the one above was taken with my 70 - 300mm zoom at 300mm. I was having trouble keeping the 600mm still and many images turned out soft, including these.  The image taken with the 300mm is sharper, but the images taken with the 600mm filled the frame better even though they were taken from further away.  This allowed me to use more sharpening than usual to compensate.     

The call of the Yellow-headed Blackbird is a crazy combination of buzzing and clanking as it throws its head back and rotates it around. Listen here courtesy of Birdfellow.

American Bittern - Gone Fishing

It's always fascinating to actually observe a bird catch its prey.  This American Bittern pulled a small fish from the canal near marker 2 at RNWR on April 21 while I was taking shots of it. The bittern let it flop around for awhile in its beak, then swallowed it down.

Common Yellowthroat

This male Common Yellowthroat spent a lot of last weekend singing away in this tree at RNWR.

Marsh Wren

This seems to be a good year for Marsh Wrens. Especially at RNWR. The area between markers 10 and 11 is thick with them. And since they are in fine Spring voice, they are much easier to find.

Wilson's Snipe

One of my favorite places to photograph birds is along South Quigley Lake at RNWR. You can drive right along the shore and see birds just outside your car. And not just your every day birds, but Soras and Virginia Rails, not to mention great close-up views of Red-winged Blackbirds and an occasional American Bittern.
The only downside of this area is the amount of grass, weeds and cattails you have to shoot around or through. But if you are patient, and take advantage of the spring before the vegetation gets out of control, you can usually get some pretty cool pics.
Today, as I drove along the waters edge, I saw a Wilson's Snipe for the first time. Snipe are common at Ridgefield, but I've never seen one at this location. It was great to finally get some real close views of one as they are usually seen off the road a bit.

Marsh Wren

The Marsh Wrens were out in full force on Friday at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. There were several amongst the reeds along the road around marker 10. I also saw one Pacific Wren in the same area.
These wrens can be a challenge to shoot as they rarely sit still and tend to stick down low in the reeds. But in the spring they sing almost as much as they move, making it easier to find them, and, with a little patience, capture one in a moment of non-obstruction.

Tundra Swan - Bewick's

Only a couple of days after seeing the Bewick's Tundra Swan at Coffee Lake, I saw another one today on Rest Lake at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.

Bald Eagle

I went looking for the Vermilion Flycatcher at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge today. As I approached marker 11, were it had been reportedly seen, there were several vehicles with huge lenses sticking out their windows clustered around the area. And sure enough, it was there, fly catching from the top of a dead tree off in the distance. Unfortunately, it was out of range of my camera to get usable photos, but I did see it!
Earlier, as I made my way around the auto tour, I found a Bald Eagle sitting up in a tree at the corner where road turns into a one way. It was busy eating its catch and paid me little attention allowing me to get some decent shots. Not sure what it was eating as there wasn't much left of it.

Great Horned Owl

I drove around the RNWR auto tour yesterday and walked Kiwa Trail for the last time this year as it closes on Monday for the winter. Not a big deal as I don't walk the trail that often, but I thought it would be nice to do since the auto tour has been closed for a couple of weeks for road work.
As I neared the end of the trail, I met up with a fellow birder who asked if I had seen the Great Horned Owl near the beginning of the trail (beginning of the trail if you walk it counter clockwise). I had not, so, following his directions, I began a second trip. Sure enough, it was right where he said it would be. I'm surprised I had not seen it the first time around. Makes me wonder what else I'm missing. :-)
It wasn't very far off the trail, especially considering its size, but it was difficult to photograph against the brightly lit canopy of leaves behind it.

Blue-winged Teal (Cinnamon)

Update:
I've been informed that these are Cinnamon Teal, not Blue-winged Teal. I had forgotten that Cinnamon Teal and Blue-winged Teal have very similar wing coloration and immediately associated the pale blue and green coloring with the Blue-winged.
I've done some research on determining the difference between the females and eclipse males. It appears that Blue-winged Teal are cooler in overall coloring and have a hint of white feathers at the end of the bill. Since these ducks are very warm and show no white at the bill, I would have to agree that they are Cinnamon Teal. Cinnamon's would also be more likely given their large numbers at RNWR this Spring. Comments welcomed!

A trip around the auto loop at RNWR last Thursday didn't produce anything too special, but I did see about 15 Blue-winged Teal in the canal around marker 2. Though these birds are typically shown to have a Summer range throughout our area, they are somewhat rare.
I saw them at TRNWR last Spring for a bit, but then disappeared and I had only got one glimpse so far this year.
What's interesting about this sighting is that about half of them were juveniles, so they probably breed nearby, though there haven't been any recent reports of sitings of Blue-winged Teal at RNWR.
I only got a couple of shots of any of them flying and both were out of focus, but I decided to include one because it shows off the beautifully colored wing feathers that you only get a hint of when they are at rest, if you can see them at all.

House Wren - Juvenile

Even during the dog days of summer, there always seems to be something interesting at RNWR.
Just after the first stretch of road on the auto tour after the left turn is a small grove of trees. There's been more activity there this summer than I am used to, so I have been taking my time driving past. In the past I've found Western Tanagers and Black-headed Grosbeaks.
This time I found a juvenile House Wren. I heard it first, then noticed the tall grass moving at the source of it's staccato chirp. Then, after following what I think was an adult House Wren work its way up a tree and out of sight, I looked up at a branch not far from my car window and there sat the juvenile.
It was quite content, occasionally chirping, usually single notes, but occasionally stringing a few together.
Then it grew quite and its eyes began to droop...

...until they closed tight.

But it wasn't long before they opened again and before I knew it, it flew off into the tree that I had seen the adult, eventually moving on out of sight.

Always something interesting at Ridgefield. Too bad it's such a long drive.

American White Pelican

The American White Pelicans are back for the summer. I've seen them now the last few times out both at Fernhill Wetlands and for the first time at RNWR. Just past marker 11, out in a mostly dry South Big Lake I saw a flock of about 100 of them huddled together. They looked somewhat restless so I took a quick shot of them, then stopped my car and jumped out to get a clearer shot over the tall grasses. But, by the time I got them in view, they were in flight.

They flew right over me a few times, circling as they do, slowly gaining altitude.

During the breeding season the upper mandible develops a fibrous plate called a nuptial tubercle as can be seen in the image above. It is between 1 to 3 inches in diameter. This nuptial tubercle falls off when mating season is over and is unique to the American White Pelican.

They are really magnificent birds and a wonder to watch!

Pied-billed Grebe - Juvenile

Last Friday along the auto tour at RNWR, as I passed marker 12 at the beginning of the last canal, I was hopeful that I would find something interesting. It's not uncommon to see American Bitterns along this stretch, though the occurrences have tapered off with the coming of summer. No luck with Bitterns, but I did get some good looks at my first juvenile Pied-billed Grebe.
This Grebe was dining on minnows. It didn't completely dive under the water like an adult. Instead, it would point its head straight down as if looking deep into the water and then plunge its head in, many times successfully retrieving one of the small fish. I have never seen an adult stare down into the water like this juvenile did.

Ruddy Duck - Ducklings

I made another trip to the auto tour at RNWR on Friday. The drive is fairly slow this time of year, but it still serves up something special with each trip.
The first treat I got on this trip was finding this family of Ruddy Ducks. They were swimming in one of the canals on the Kiwa Trail. Most female ducks gather their ducklings and swim off when confronted with someone and though she showed concern at my presence, they broke up several times. Sometimes the mother would be by herself while the ducklings broke into two or three groups and while the mother stayed afloat the whole time the ducklings spent a lot of time diving.