Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, Washington

Recently, I have discovered a haven for wildlife photography. From birds of prey, to coyotes and deer, this place has it all. I have had many firsts at this wonderful place. I photographed my first owl here, along with my first white-tailed buck, northern harrier, American kestrel, and all sorts of aquatic birds. It is safe to say, this place has been my favorite spot over the past several months. This place is the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington.

If you have seen some of my recent wildlife photographs on Instagram, they have all been from this area, with some exceptions. This refuge features a handful of walking trails as well as an auto tour. The auto is literally like being in the safari as you are basically garunteed an encounter per loop. It is so good that it practically feels like cheating in terms of wildlife photography.. I’m not saying it is, but that’s how it feels. Regardless, it is great practice!

This will be like a “Part 1” for Ridgefield. To prevent this entry from becoming a photo dump, this post will only be highlighting one of my favorite species found here, the northern harrier. Why is the northern harrier one of my favorites? I love the white ring around their heads and their unique facial structure, almost resembling an owl and a hawk simultaneously. They are referred to as “marsh-hawks” or “ring-tailed hawks” as they have a big white section between their body and tail on their backside and frequent marshy locations.

All photos taken with a Nikon Z8 w/ a Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3

I would like to start showcasing more of these photographs in a place other than social media, so I am planning to create more blog posts to share more of my work. I will probably share less and less on social media over time, and share more on my website instead. This will allow me to share more photos at once and give more story behind them, while not feeding the AI beast that social media is becoming..

Anyways, enjoy this collection of photos of the northern harriers I have encountered at the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge.

If you have made it this far, thank you for reading. If you have any questions about the wildlife refuge or the species you can find here, please reach out!

I am going to try and create a blog post a week moving forward, depending on my photography activity. So keep an eye out for more in the future!