Month: March 2014

Sand Hill Cranes at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge

I had my semiannual dentist appointment in Vancouver last Tuesday, and, as usual, I left early so I could spend the morning at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge before going to lunch with my fellow retired schoolteachers. I was beginning to question whether it had really been worth getting up at 5:30 just to visit the wildlife refuge when I noticed that the flocks of birds taking off from the southern end of the refuge didn’t quite look like the large number of Canada Geese I’d seen repeatedly taking flight.

As I got closer I realized that the large birds I’d observed taking off were Sand Hill Cranes, more Sand Hill Cranes than I had ever seen at one place before. Although many had already left, others were still feeding or preening themselves, apparently waiting their turn to take off.

Sand Hill Cranes browsing

And take off they did, in flight after flight, most of them flying directly south,

Sand Hill Cranes in flight

banking to the right,

Sand Hill Cranes in flight

and heading directly over my head as they turned northward.

Sand Hill Cranes in flight

I’ll have to admit that though I’ve seen several Sand Hill Cranes in the past few years I’ve been birding I’ve never been too impressed with them. They’ve never struck me as particularly elegant birds. So, I was more than a little surprised when I was suddenly awestruck when a large flock of them, far too large of a flock to capture in a single shot flew directly over me. I must have sat there for fifteen minutes letting flight after flight pass over. I was so impressed that I returned after my dental appointment, hoping to capture them in better light, but, of course, they, like most special moments in life, were no longer to be found. Such moments seem only to occur unexpectedly.

Mary Hill Museum

There was a lot to like about this weekend’s test run on the camper, but the highlight of the trip might have been this view of Mt. Hood from Hill’s Stonehenge Memorial.

Mt Hood from Stonehenge

Nothing like a brisk, sunny morning to lift your spirits.

We followed our early-morning visit to Stonehenge to the Mary Hill Museum, arriving nearly 45 minutes before it opened, which turned out nicely because we got see a lot of birds, like these California quail,

California quail

which disappeared as soon as visitors began to show up.

It’s easy to see why Sam Hill chose to build his mansion here where it had gorgeous views of not only Mt. Hood but unparalleled views of the Columbia Gorge itself.

view

Of course people generally come here because of the artwork, not the views. There’s a nice combination of outdoor exhibits like this lovely Great Blue Heron,

Great Blue Heron Sculpture

this wind-blown sculpture,

Wind-Blown Tree Sculpture

and indoor exhibits like this classic nude sculpture

Classic Nude

and this modern salmon print.

Salmon Print

We ended up spending way more time at the museum than I had originally planned, but both of us thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

A Spring Test Run in Our New Camper

It’s been a hectic few days, pleasantly so, for a change. Leslie and I decided to take a test run in our new Toyota Tacoma and Camper to Eastern Washington and catch a little sunshine in the process. We drove South and over White Pass, the southernmost pass across the Cascades. Unfortunately, it was overcast, if not downright cloudy on the west side of the pass so shots were difficult at best.

I’m not sure any photograph could ever capture the magnitude of these Palisade columnar igneous structures (dacite lava)

Palisade

but they’re definitely a magnificent sight in real life.

They’re wasn’t much snow in the pass itself, but you couldn’t miss it in the Goat Rock Wilderness to the south,

Goat Rock Wilderness in the Clouds

and it looked like they might get even more snow.

Unfortunately, the snow pack in the pass itself was quickly melting.

melting Snow

It looked more like early summer than early Spring, but it’s hard to complain when you consider the drought this year in California and southern Oregon.

We stopped at the Yakima Sportsman State Park ostensibly to let Leslie decide if she wanted to camp there overnight, but I knew I wanted to stop to get pictures of the Wood Ducks that stay there all winter.

male Wood Duck

Their willingness to pose makes the long drive more than worth it.

I’d intended to spend the night at the quiet campground at Brooks Memorial State Park, but it was closed, despite what it said on my State Parks app I checked the day before we left. I was not happy when I got there only to discover it was closed. After that I didn’t trust the app and wasn’t sure where we were going to spend the night. We ended up spending the night at the Mary Hill State Park, which was pleasant enough except for the long trains that ran most of the night. I won’t be staying there again since the only reason I stop is to sleep.

Snow Geese

There are probably as many reasons people visit Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge as there are visitors. Perhaps even more, since I go there for several different reasons. But the main reason I keep going back is the tremendous number of birds you see there, particularly Snow Geese and Ross Geese.

In fact, I was quite disappointed that there was no Snow Geese to be seen when we visited in January and on our first stop on our recent trip. In fact, I’d resigned myself that we’d missed them this year, that with recent changes in weather that they’d already started their northern migration.

So I was delighted when we saw a large flock of them in the distance as we approached the refuge on our way home.

Snow Geese in Flight

By the time we’d actually reached the refuge they covered the pond like new fallen snow.

Snow Geese at Rest

When I talk to fellow visitors at wildlife refuges I often tell them that I consider myself a wildlife photographer more than a serious birder. But the joy I take in seeing the Snow Geese suggests something quite different. In fact, I find it nearly impossible to take a good photograph of these birds. I suspect only movies would offer any hope of capturing their beauty.

There are so many that it’s nearly impossible to compose a picture. I used to tell my Yearbook photographers to try to avoid shots where you have to cut people up to get a decent shot, but that’s almost invariably the kind of shot I get when I shoot these flocks.

Snow Goose

No, I don’t come here to photograph the Snow Geese, even if I keep trying to capture what I feel in still shots. No, I come here because it makes me feel alive. This is one of those sacred places where you can feel the earth’s pulse.