After our day at Nisqually, we left Centralia the next morning and raced the rain back to Portland, with two stops along the way: Seaquest (WA) State Park at Silver Lake, and Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. The Wetland Haven trail at the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center (across the highway from the state park camping area) provides up close views of the mountain, and a boardwalk through the wetlands. At Ridgefield, for the second time this winter we drove the Auto Tour in the rain. Always worthwhile, despite the weather challenges. I have many photos of in-focus raindrops with blurry birds in the background, a tribute to the camera’s autofocus capabilities, but otherwise not very interesting. The Pacific Northwest is going to force me to build up my manual focus chops.
(More about this trip on Nancy’s blog. Also, see my previous post about Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.)
(Click any image for a lightbox style slideshow of all the photos in this gallery.)
Mt. St. Helens, seen from the Wetland Haven trail at Seaquest State Park, WA. 
A handsome Mallard… 
…and his lovely mate, at Seaquest State Park, WA. 
Northern Pintail pair, at Seaquest State Park, WA. 
Tundra Swans, at Ridgefield NWR. 
Wilson’s Snipe, at Ridgefield NWR. 
Green-winged Teal, , at Ridgefield NWR. 
A Great Blue Heron, hunting along the road, , at Ridgefield NWR. 
A hawk in the trees, probably a Cooper’s, at Ridgefield NWR. 
Wigeon group, at Ridgefield NWR. 
Red-wing Blackbird in the Rain, at Ridgefield NWR. 
This Bald Eagle snagged some lunch on one side of the road, carried it across to re-grip, and flew into the nearby trees to consume. At Ridgefield NWR. 
Heron hunting in the field near the end of the Auto Loop, at Ridgefield NWR.
Discoveries 
my fave was the mallard’s mate with her rad orange shoes xo
LikeLike