Vanport, Smith & Bybee, Ridgefield
One freezing day in January, I went on a bird-binge. It was mostly unintentional because I arrived at Vanport Wetlands to find the water frozen. Then I went to Smith and Bybee Lakes and the water was frozen there too! I saw a fair amount of birds between the two locations despite the chilly temps, including a Downy…
Bird of the Year
Each year the American Birding Association declares a “Bird of the Year.” The 2015 ABA Bird of the Year was the Green Heron. I had some fun Green Heron encounters, but my favorite bird of 2015 was the Rufous Hummingbird. (Amusingly, RUHU was 2014 ABA Bird of the Year). The Yellow-breasted Chat and Northern Pygmy-Owl were close…
Happy New Year!
I managed to squeeze in a few more birds at the end of 2015. On Christmas Day I went to Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve. I hadn’t visited since June and what a difference record winter rains make. The trails were completely flooded with water, but looking around the upland part of the park I still saw many…