Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge is a beautiful location, with many inhabitants, but it can be very challenging photographically. Visitors are not allowed to leave their cars except in a handful of designated areas, so very long lenses can be required to get close to animals. In addition, while cloudy weather creates soft shadows, it also gives us less light to work with, necessitating wider apertures, higher ISO levels, and/or higher shutter speeds. Despite these challenges we were able to spot quite a few animals, including:
Canada goose
Dusky Canada goose
Tundra swan
Nutria
Great blue heron
Great egret
Hawks: red-tailed & marsh
Eagles (including mature and juvenile bald eagles)
Coots
Lots of other ducks
River otters at play
