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Dean Wilson · 2026-10-17T01:57:01+0100

I have been visiting local National Wildlife Refuges around here: Steigerwald Lake NWR, Ridgefield NWR, and Willapa NWR and yet the wildlife is ALWAYS well beyond a 1,000 feet away. So either I need to but my waders on and get closer, or they need to start stocking the Refuges with larger birds.

Canon R5 with Canon FD 800mm f/5.6 ssc
f/11 - 1/500 - ISO 160 - 800mm

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ShipleyNW · 2026-10-17T03:05:03+0100

I go looking for wildlife at NWR sites quite a bit. 3 out of 4 times I come back with nothing. But that 4th time can make up for it. If you ever get up near Olympia, the BIlly Frank NWR can be very good. It's on the Nisqually River delta at the very bottom of Puget Sound. A lot of ecosystems come together right there.

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Is Ridgefield NWR the one near Vancouver where you can drive through it? I got on that road one time not knowing anything about it. It's a loop, one way, 4 MPH, can't go back. I was there in January when it gets dark at 4. That drive around that NWR cost me my whole afternoon. I did get one shot out the window. It started a whole big thing on the internet about what kind of animal it was. Until I got the shot in post, I hadn't ruled out the possibility it was some kind of snake.

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Dean Wilson · 2026-10-17T16:52:19+0100

ShipleyNW said:
Is Ridgefield NWR the one near Vancouver where you can drive through it?

Yes, North of Vancouver and South of Kalama. At the north end of the Ridgefield Refuge is a walk only trail.

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