Monthly Archives: February 2010

The Cactus Tree

Posted on by

A northern harrier sits on a stump on a foggy morning at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

I’ve wanted to photograph the Cactus Tree since I first visited Ridgefield years ago, so I was particularly pleased to see this harrier perched on it in the heavy fog one winter’s morning (the picture from the previous post was taken later that morning when the sun first started to break through).

It’s not a cactus of course, and these days not even a tree, just an old stump that reminds me of a cactus. It sits a ways off the road on the auto tour at Ridgefield, parts of the refuge are converted farmland so perhaps this stump is a remnant from when humans last lived here.

It’s a good thing I finally got a picture I liked, as on a visit not much later I noticed the stump was no longer standing, apparently having at long last fallen over into the marsh.

Turnabout is Fair Play

Posted on by

A close-up view of an American bittern catching a bullfrog at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

One of the stories at Ridgefield this winter has been the American bitterns which have been putting on a show at several spots around the auto tour during many of my visits. I’m always on the lookout for bitterns so I’m not sure why I’ve had so much success watching them hunt lately, although it may have something to do with the fact that I spent far more time at the refuge over the Christmas break than I usually do.

This bittern was mostly snagging small fish as it worked the channel beside Rest Lake, but at one point it stopped and started wiggling its neck side to side and then struck into the middle of the channel, bringing up this bullfrog. Bullfrogs themselves are voracious predators and, since they aren’t native to the Northwest, have combined with habitat loss to cause some problems for some of our natives. This little bittern was doing its part to turn the tables and win one for the home team.

The Foggiest Idea

Posted on by

An adult great blue heron hunts in heavy fog at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

One of the things I’ve been trying to do this winter is take pictures at Ridgefield that tell the story of the refuge and the animals that live there. And one of those stories is the fog that often envelops the refuge on an early winter morning.

My original idea was to photograph the heron upright against the fog so its silhouette would be instantly recognizable — and I did take some pictures like that — but when the heron dropped into a horizontal hunting pose I loved the subtlety of the picture. Peaceful and tranquil yet a reminder that, visible or not, the life-and-death struggle never ends.

A subtle picture like this loses much of its charm when I look at it on my laptop display, I much prefer it on my desktop monitor.

Simple

Posted on by

A song sparrow with seeds on its beak sits in a tree at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

A simple portrait of one of our most common sparrows, the song sparrow. I had seen them feeding on seeds on the ground near this tree, so one day I hung out and waited for one to rest for a moment in the safety of the tree. It took a while, as even when they flew up they were usually obscured by the many branches, but I eventually got a view I liked. You can see the remains of the seeds on the sparrow’s beak.