Friday, October 8, 2010

BirdFest in Ridgefield

This weekend (October 10 & 11) Friends of Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge presents BirdFest and Bluegrass in Ridgefield, WA. I have not yet gone to one of these, and I will be unable to attend once again due to moving, but it sounds like a lot of fun! Someone needs to go and tell me all about it.

In honor of the festiveness, I decided to post even more photos from Ridgefield, taken on my latest visit a couple weeks ago. I really love visiting this place and this time I got some nice surprises.

An egret stands in the water, looking for lunch.



A hunt in progress. Seeing these egrets so close is a real treat!


A bittern?! !!! These elusive heron-like birds are a rare delight since they are so skittish.


Late summer seems to bring these pipers to the waters at Ridgefield. I never see them any other time of the year.


A Frog! This time of year is also great so spying frogs hiding in the ponds along with turtles sunbathing.


Nutria seems to take over in the summer. The water ways are filled with algae and these critters munching on it all day long. Along a walking path open to the public during the summer, tons of nutria were seen eating along the grass edge. This one was the last to leave, distracted by a flower.


Bees and crickets and other tiny critters were fun to spot. I also saw tree frogs which were fun.


These flowers grow all over in different stages of growth, and always make beautiful subjects to photograph.


Even blooms with less color can create a beautiful display.



Wild flowers take over a part of a grassy field.