Ridgefield NWR, SW Washington

Ridgefield NWR (National Wildlife Refuge) is by far one of my favorite birding spots. The refuge is located in Southwest Washington state and, 

while it's not exactly teaming with birds this time of year, it's still a great place to bring in the new year. The weather was a little chilly with lows around 25 deg. F. which made great fun watching geese and ducks skid across the frozen lakes and puddles.  

Saw a fair number of trumpeter swan, canada geese, cackling geese and miscellaneous ducks including mallard, pintail, bufflehead and northern shoveler.

 Also saw lots of nutria which look alot like Beaver with rat tails.  Nutria were originally introduced to the U.S. for their fur but have become an invasive pest due to their burrowing behavior. 

Normally, there wouldn't be too many people this time of year but there were a  surprising number  considering it was a cold, winter weekday.