A visit to Ridgefield NWR

Our vacations are often an excuse to go take pictures of birds. During mid-winter break this year we headed off to Ridgefield, WA not far from the Washington-Oregon border. It is a place we’ve gone to a few times now to spend time at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, which is one of our favorite places to go especially the River “S” unit. While we have done day trips to Ridgefield in the past, these days we tend to spend one or two nights there, allowing us more time to look at birds and make it a little less tiring.

This time round it was very rainy, but that didn’t dampen our spirits because there the refuge was chock full of birds. While we didn’t see any sandhill cranes like last time, we got to see a whole host of waterfowl, herons, and birds of prey. The River “S” Unit is not walkable (in winter it isn’t allowed), but rather a circuit that you have to drive. Around the half way point there is a place to get off and walk to a blind. That area can be worth the trip in itself and we make it a point to stop off and spend some time there.

As has become the trend I spent more time taking video than pictures, even though I still suck at shooting for the edit. Here’s a montage from the trip.