It had been a year since my last visit to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge . I was up and out the door in time to see the sunrise on the road, and arrived at the Auto Tour gate by 7:30am. As always, there was a lot to see. Reports on the whiteboard and on eBird said the Great Horned Owls were nesting in their usual location past the bird blind. I didn’t find them; but there were plenty of highlights this trip, with close encounters with Red-tail Hawks and Northern Harriers, a clear view of a coyote at the hunt, and the usual many species of swimming, wading, and song birds.

On the way home, I stopped at Vancouver Lake and nearby Frenchman’s Bar, where I saw large flocks of Snow Geese from a distance, some Sandhill Crane, various songbirds, and a couple of beautiful mountains.

Some of you might have read about the Stafford Challenge on Nancy’s blog. We’re both writing daily poems this year. The poem I wrote about this trip and the photographic process is below, after the photos.

Another Eye

Awake before dawn,

on the road by sunrise,

watching for moments of light.

A shy bird’s shining eyes stare from shadows,

bold birds in full sun

surveying with a predator’s gaze.

Scenes of stillness, 

snow capped mountains,

fog.

Drama unfolding,

one playing the part of bloody maw

to the other.

Impressions collected and brought home

for further consideration.

Some scenes discarded:

a blur of motion,

or dim,

or washed out by the angle of the sun.

A few selected,

subtle differences compared,

distractions removed,

contrasts emphasized,

adjustments made to unwrap hidden potentials

while remaining true,

helping the light tell its story to another eye.

In the end, not to print and frame,

but to see through that other eye

on the next journey into the light.