Gorgeous Egret

We had a great day at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge today. First of all, an Egret was right by the auto route. This is a place where we drive a car in a 4 mile loop and one must stay in the car this time of year and do what you can, photo wise, from the car window. This one was in the grasses by the water, BY THE ROAD! It was snuggled into the grasses but he/she finally peaked out more and I was able to get some decent shots. Usually these lovely white birds are far out into the marsh and it's not often they are close to the road. At least that seems to be the case when we are there. Then we saw another one, but not as close. We saw lots of Herons and the eagles were flying lazy circles in the sky in their courting ritual, but that kind of photo is nearly impossible for me to get. Tundra swans were fairly close and there were a pair wandering in the shallow water, then walking onto the higher ground. It's not the best photo, but at least it shows this one standing up and not all tucked in sleeping, like we usually see. Then a movement caught my eye, and the American Bittern was right by our car and he/she had found a prize, which was soon to be an afternoon snack. I'm not entirely sure what it is...rat? Check it out on my Flickr page and let me know what it is. I just know it was a big bite and the Bittern got it down in one gulp. Yummmm! Also, for some reason, my Flickr page doesn't load the photos like they are supposed to appear. I deleted then and tried for a second time, but they are out of order. So...just so you know...I didn't plan for it to look like it does.

We've had a few flakes of snow today and our weather has turned colder. Tomorrow we will be going into the teeth of the cold wind, to Gresham, where we will meet up with the lady I did the genealogy for and her hubs. Pizza and a salad while the Trailblazer game is on, and then I will show this lady how to navigate around in her new family tree.

So, that's all the excitement around here. I was very pleased with our Refuge trip today. The animals were very cooperative.

See ya later,