September 2010 e-NEWS
Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge
Web Site: www.RidgefieldFriends.org. Email: [email protected]
WE’VE GOT A GREAT MONTH AHEAD!
FUNraiser September 25 with the Dusky Raffle!
BirdFest and Bluegrass October 9 and 10
MEMBERship drive through November 15
PLEASE join us for the Feathered Friends FUNraiser September 25th at the Belltower Cathedral 113 South Main Street, Ridgefield, WA. at 6:30!. A wonderful Buffet Dinner will be served and a lively auction and other fun and games will follow. Please email us ([email protected]) if you would like to come to this event that benefits cultural and nature education and habitat programs at the Refuge. You will be amazed at the awesome art, tasty treats, gift baskets, and other really special items available.
A Special Raffle Prize is a beautiful life-size Dusky Canada Goose carved by Bill Bishop (www.bishopfineart.com) especially for the Friends! Tickets are now on sale for $10 each and can be purchased at the Funraiser, or from Bill Bishop at 360-727-3083 (see attached).
BirdFest and Bluegrass Festival October 9 and 10!! This year we feature the dusky Canada goose, and you’ll have a chance to see and learn about geese and many other wonderful creatures the Refuge calls home. Reserve a spot on the special Sandhill Crane Tour before they’re all gone. Check the Friends’ website to see all of the wonderful activities.
MEMBERship Drive with special offerings! Deadline is November 15!!
· Become a member or renew your membership NOW and your name will be entered into a drawing for either a unique Sandhill Crane tour or a tour of the actual Cathlapotle Village site (your choice). The drawing will be held during BirdFest and Bluegrass.
· Contribute $100 to the Friends and receive your choice of either a bird feeder from Shorty’s Nursery or a coupon for a three-hour kayak trip through the Refuge from Ridgefield Kayak (while supplies last).
· Enjoy our Members- and Volunteers- only social events: BBQ in a special area of the Refuge, and Member Appreciation Dinner in December.
· NEW members will receive special Refuge Tour and orientation by Randy Hill!
· Members who join or renew at the $50 level or greater will receive an annual Refuge Pass, which covers the $3 Refuge entrance fee.
Roger’s Refuge Ramblings…Soon, very soon, two of the most popular days for the Refuge, Saturday & Sunday, October 9 & 10, will be here. Those two days collectively are called BirdFest-2010. Many people look forward to this festival almost from the day that the last festival ended. If you have never been to a BirdFest/Bluegrass Festival, or if it’s been a long time since you have attended, why not plan on coming to this next one?
The activities are plentiful and varied. As I looked through the menu of activities, I was quite impressed and excited by just how many there actually were from which to choose. Anyone who loves the refuge, the outdoors and wildlife, will be hard pressed to decide just which of the many activities one should attend. Will it be the Bluegrass music? This year for the first time the music is scheduled for BOTH Saturday and Sunday! Perhaps it will be the live bird shows sponsored by “Wild on Birds of Prey” and the Portland Audubon Society, and then there is the Animal Display put on by the Oregon Zoo. Maybe it will be some of the many varied activities at the Carty Unit and the Cathlapotle Plankhouse like “Flint Knapping and Tool Making” or “Chinookan Art and Culture” or maybe the “Salmon Bake” on Sunday. Perhaps it could be one of the many Bird and Nature Walks taking place on both Saturday and Sunday at both units. But then, the BIG SIT also beckons at the River “S” on Sunday. If the BIG SIT or any of the other activities, including the many I never mentioned, intrigue you, take a good look at the schedule of activities on the Friends’ website at http://www.ridgefieldfriends.org/birdfest.php.
Come, bring the kids, and enjoy the refuge like you never enjoyed the refuge before, for one day or for both days of BirdFest & Bluegrass 2010. You’ll be very glad you did.
Some of the unusual birds that were seen at the refuge over the last month were the Peregrine Falcon, Green Heron, Pacific Wren, Lesser Yellowlegs, the Solitary, Spotted, Semipalmated, Baird’s, and Pectoral Sandpipers, Wilson’s and Red-necked Phalaropes, Rufous & Anna’s Hummingbirds, Western Kingbird, Black-crowned Night Heron, Semipalmated Plover, Yellow-breasted Chat, Western Meadowlark, Bank Swallow, American Golden Plover, Red-shouldered Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Merlin, Band-tailed Pigeon, Lincoln & White-crowned Sparrows.
Introducing Dusky Canada Geese, our featured “BirdFest Bird”
The dusky Canada goose is a medium-sized dark breasted subspecies of the Canada goose that nests in the Copper River Delta and surrounding area in Alaska. They primarily winter in the Willamette River and Lower Columbia River Valleys. Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge was created for dusky Canada geese that depend on the short grass for foraging. Duskys are joined by other subspecies of Canada geese that depend on the Refuge in the winter, including Taverner, lesser, Western, and cackling Canada geese, each of which has a different nesting ground. Dusky Canada goose populations have declined in recent years, but some of the birds can still be seen at Ridgefield NWR, sometimes sporting red neck collars (for learning more about their biology).
PLEASE SAY THANK YOU To Our Major BirdFest and Bluegrass Sponsors!
We couldn’t do our education and habitat work without them. Make a special point to thank:
NW Natural,
Smith-Root, Inc.,
United Natural Foods,
First Independent Bank,
The Backyard Bird Shop,
Columbia Credit Union,
Ridgefield Lions,
Parametrix,
Shorty’s Nursery,
Maul Foster and Alongi,
Port of Ridgefield, and
Agave Jeans.
The Ridgefield Refuge Photo Contest … Pro Photo Supply will announce winners at the Awards Ceremony October 9 at Davis Park in Ridgefield.
Volunteers! We need you HELP at BirdFest and Bluegrass!! Send an email to [email protected].
Don’t forget to glance at the Refuge calendar, your one-stop shop for fun activities and volunteer opportunities, at http://www.ridgefieldfriends.org
“The Friend’s mission is to support, protect, and enhance the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge and its wildlife habitat, and to broaden public awareness and participation in its environmental, cultural, and educational opportunities.”