For the second week in a row, we turned to a National Wildlife Refuge System as a hiking destination. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently manages 568 wildlife refuges throughout the United States with the primary statutory purpose being the conservation of native species. Where and when appropriate the refuges offer access to the public for activities such as photography, wildlife viewing, hunting, fishing, paddling, and of course hiking. We have really come to enjoy our visits the various refuges, so we were looking forward to exploring a new one to us, the Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Situated just East of Washougal Washington along the Columbia River, Steigerwald Lake is part of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Complex. In addition to Steigerwald Lake the complex also includes the Franz Lake, Pierce, and Ridgefield refuges. Of those Ridgefield (post) is the only one we’d previously visited. We had hoped to visit this refuge a couple of years ago, but the refuge was undergoing an extensive restoration that kept it closed until May of last year. The refuge hosts roughly 5-miles of crushed gravel trails. Two of the trails, the Mountain View and the Refuge River, are open all year. A third trail, the Wildlife Art Trail, is partially closed October 1st through April 30th. The Refuge River Trail is open to pedestrians, bicycles, jogging, horseback riding, and leashed dogs which is rare for a refuge while the other trails are hiker (pedestrian) only. To use the Refuge River Trail joggers, cyclists, equestrians and leashed dogs enter the refuge from the West via the Captain William Clark Park Trail by either starting at Steamboat Landing or Captain William Clark Park.
Our plan was to start at the refuge trailhead and hike the trails then then take the Captain William Clark Park Trail to Steamboat Landing and back. We opted for this approach because online information showed 7am and 8am as the opening times for Captain William Clark Park and Steamboat Landing respectively while the refuge website reported that it’s gate opened at 5:30am and we’d be arriving shortly after six.
The Mountain View Trail is named so because of the view of Mt. Hood, which on this morning was hiding behind the clouds on the left side of the photo.
Map and information at the trailhead.
We followed the wide gravel trail as it climbed atop a levee separating the wetlands to the east from industrial lands to the West.
View to the East.
Looking West toward Washougal.
We followed the trail atop the levee watching on both sides for wildlife.
Mallards
A duck and a goose sharing a log.
A mallard and an egret in a channel to the West.
Ducks flying over the wetlands casting clear reflections.
Water dripping from a mallards bill.
One of several rabbits we spotted to the West.
Deer across the wetlands. (The young buck may have been sticking his tongue out at us.)
Families of geese.
Wood duck mallard
When the trail split just prior to reaching the Refuge River Trail we stayed left.
Trail sign at the junction with the Refuge River Trail.
We turned left onto the Refuge River Trail following it for 0.3-miles to the Wildlife Art Trail where we again turned left.
Sparrow
Coming in for a landing.
Red Tail Lake to the right of the Wildlife Art Trail.
Pretty sure these are the same three we saw from the Mountain View Trail.
This deer laying along the shore of Red Tail Lake was new though.
Common yellow throat
One of many great blue herons that we watched fly overhead throughout the day.
The Wildlife Art Trail passing around Redtail Lake.
Gibbons Creek is in that grass somewhere with at least one deer.
Killdeer along Redtail Lake.
Turns out the deer laying on the lake shore wasn’t alone.
Roses
Purple martins
Just beyond the Cottonwood Bridge the trail forks. To the right is the seasonal section of the loop open May 1st through September 30th. The left-hand fork dead-ends in a tenth of a mile overlooking the wetlands.
We headed left to the overlook before continuing on the loop.
Egret at Scaup Pond.
Egret with a frog meal.
Mushrooms
We got a kick out of the “Birds Only Beyond This Sign”.
Kingfisher
I had been watching a kingfisher as we arrived at the overlook and after it flew off I turned to my right and thought that there was a bittern standing just a few yards away. Then my eyes adjusted and I realized it was one of the art pieces and I’d been fooled.
We’ve only seen two bitterns on our hikes and both times we only spotted them as they flew off from the grassy cover that they’d been hiding in so I was pretty disappointed when I realized I’d been duped, but kudos to the artist because it looked real at first glance to me.
We returned to the loop and passed through the seasonal gate.
The wetlands were pretty full of water to our left but between the trail and the water was a fair number of bushes and grass which was apparently popular with the deer.
You have something in your teeth.
Spotted towhee
At least two deer in the grass.
Another American goldfinch.
We left the seasonal section of trail near the junction with Refuge River Trail where we again turned left, promptly crossing a creek on Dragonfly Bridge.
Spotted sandpiper
We followed this trail to its end at the refuge boundary.
Oregon sunshine and yarrow
The Columbia River ahead.
Viewpoint along the Columbia River.
Approaching the Lampray Brdige.
Looking back from across the bridge there was a bald eagle in the dead snag along the river.
There were lots of geese along this section of trail.
Red clover in some Oregon sunshine
Another spotted sandpiper
Steigerwald Lake in the distance with a family of geese and crow on a log in the near channel.
End of the trail.
It was about 8:15am when we turned around and it was already feeling fairly warm, but there was relief on the way in the form of some clouds coming in from the Pacific.
Savannah sparrow
Here come the clouds.
Double the eagles.
For the second week in a row we got to watch an American Kestral on the hunt.
Arriving back at the Dragon Fly Bridge and the junction with the Wildlife Art Trail.
We had planned on following the Refuge River Trail all the way to the western end of the refuge but just 500′ beyond the trail junction we rounded a corner to find the trail flooded.
Since neither of us was interested in finding out how deep the water was we turned around and simply took the Wildlife Art Trail back.
Red tailed hawk
Geese nesting atop a snag.
More deer in the grass along Gibbons Creek.
Egret at Redtail Lake.
Great blue heron at Redtail Lake.
We followed the Refuge River Trail back past the junction with the Mountain View Trail and continued West.
Purple martins
When the light catches the feathers right it’s obvious where the purple martin’s name comes from.
Common yellowthroat
House finch
A mile from the Mountain View Trail we arrived at the refuge boundary with Captain William Clark Park.
The trail follows a dike to Steamboat Landing.
The main attraction at Captain William Clark Park is Cottonwood Beach where in 1806 Lewis & Clark established a camp while they secured provisions for the return trip through the Columbia River Gorge. The Provision Camp Trail leads down to the beach and picnic area.
The Provision Camp Trail
While there had been quite a few people on the Captain William Clark Park Trail there were just a few people in this area.
While the beach is extremely popular in the Summer and especially on weekends it became evident why we weren’t seeing folks today when we reached the “beach access”.
Northern flicker
Having the beach be underwater was fine with us, it meant fewer people, but the water level became an issue when the Provision Camp Trail turned back inland toward the dike to complete its loop.
Flooded trail ahead.
With the loop cut off we went back the way we’d come and returned to the dike where we turned left to continue on to Steamboat Landing.
Black headed grosbeak
Osprey
Back on the dike.
At the other end of the Provision Camp Trail was an interpretive display with replica canoes.
The flooded section of trail from above.
It was another mile from the interpretive display to Steamboat Landing. The trail was pretty busy, and we were now in the city, but we were still managing to see a good deal of wildlife.
Turtles!
Another turtle
Common merganser
Great blue heron
Steamboat Landing
At Steamboat Landing we turned down to a viewpoint along a fishing dock.
After a brief break we headed back.
A family of geese out for a float.
While it had clouded up overhead the morning clouds that had blocked any view of Mt. Hood had given way. Unfortunately, there was enough haze in the air to essentially wash the mountain out.
The large “hump” ahead is Larch Mountain (post). Mt. Hood is a little further to Larch’s right.
Grainy proof of Mt. Hood’s existence.
Silver Star Mountain (post) to the North.
We turned left onto the Mountain View Trail and headed back to the trailhead feeling really good about the amount of wildlife we’d seen although I was still a bit bummed about being fooled by the bittern art. As we neared the end of the wetlands that changed as a pair of bitterns got into a dispute over territory. The victor landed along the water below the levee.
The American bittern in the grass.
I had the chance to take way too many pictures as the bittern posed for the people on the levee.
It was an exciting ending to a great wildlife hike. We made our way down to the now nearly full trailhead. Happy Trails!
We’d been the first car in the lot that morning.
Having to retrace our steps a couple of times due to flooded trails put our hike at 12.4 miles for the day with minimal elevation gain.
Full album (Flickr): Steigerwald Lake Wildlife Refuge
Hummingbird at Memaloose Hills in May.
Hummingbird at Upper Table Rock in May.
Black capped chickadee at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon’s) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Wren (marsh?) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
White-crowned sparrow at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Sparrow? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Common yellow throat at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Yellow-rumped warbler (Myrtle) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Tree swallows at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
White-crowned sparrow and a wren at Miller Woods in May.
American goldfinch pair at Miller Woods in May.
Another sparrow at Miller Woods in May.
Hermit warbler? near Kings Mountain in May.
House finch? at Upper Table Rock in May.
Rock wren? at Upper Table Rock in May.
Ash-throated flycatcher at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Unknown at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Swallow at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Some sort of warbler? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Purple martins at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Another wren at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Unknown at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Sparrow? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Warbler? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Black phoebe? at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Mountain bluebird near Union Peak in September.
Red-breasted nuthatch (best I could get) at Crater Lake in September.
Red crossbilss at Crater Lake in September.
Wren on the Eagle Creek Trail in November.
Dark eyed junco at Waverly Lake in December.
Canada jay (grey jay) along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.
California scrub jay along the Balfour-Klickitat Trail in April.
Stellar’s jay along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.
Female red-winged blackbird at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Red-winged blackbird at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Spotted towhee at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Starlings along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.
Brownheaded cowbird at Upper Table Rock in May.
American robin at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Tropical kingbird? at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Black-headed grosbeak (also all I could get) at Applegate Lake in May.
Lazuli bunting at Roxy Ann Peak in May.
Cedar waxwing at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Western tanagers, Siskiyou Wilderness in July.
American dipper (Ouzel) near South Umpqua Falls in September.
Townsends solitaire at Crater Lake National Park in September.
Clark’s nutcracker at Crater Lake National Park in September.
Varied thrush along the Eagle Creek Trail in November.
Unknown at Cascade Head in October.
Forest Park in January.
Northern flicker at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April. We seem to see flickers on nearly every hike, but they don’t often sit still long enough for us to get a decent picture.
Pileated woodpecker at Chehalem Ridge Nature Park in May. We rarely see these but like the flickers, when we do they are very difficult to get a photo of.
Acorn woodpecker at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Hairy? woodpecker near Twin Lakes in the Umpqua National Forst in June.
Red breasted sapsucker at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area in July.
Either a hairy or downy woodpecker along the Eagle Creek Trail in November.
Unknown, Sky Lakes Wilderness in late September.
Crow along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.
Raven at Upper Table Rock in May.
Turkey Vulture at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
American kestral along the Crown Zellerbach Trail in March.
Osprey along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.
Another osprey at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Bald eagle at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Eagle in the Sky Lakes Wilderness in September. Not sure if it is a bald or golden.
A bald eagle and hawk at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Pair of hawks at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Hawk at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Hawk at Julia Hansen Butler Wildlife Refuge in June.
Hawk along the Pacific Crest Trail near Carter Meadows Summit in August.
Hawk at Crater Lake National Park in September.
Barred owl at Noble Woods in May.
Great horned owl at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Young great horned owl at Roxy Ann Peak in May.
Ring-necked pheasant
Silver pheasant
Near the breeding facility at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area.
Mourning dove at Roxy Ann Peak a in May.
Grouse? in the Siskiyou Wilderness in July.
Grouse in the Mt. Adams Wilderness in August.
Grouse in the Sky Lakes Wilderness in September.
Long billed dowitchers? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Killdeer at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Sandpiper? at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Great blue heron at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Kingfisher at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.
American bittern at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.
White pelicans at Julia Butler Hansen Wildlife Refuge in June.
Hooded mergansers at Yakona Nature Preserve in February.
Common mergansers along the Klickitat Trail in April.
American coot at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Cinnamon teal at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Ring-necked ducks (and an American coot) at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Northern shoveler at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
White-fronted geese at Ankeny Wildlife Refuge in April.
Mallard along the Hood River Pipeline Trail in May.
Wood duck at Denman Wildlife Area in May.
Not sure if this is a ruddy duck at Waverly Lake in December.
Mostly American widgeons with a green winged teal and a female bufflehead or two mixed in at Talking Water Gardens in December.
Bufflehead at Talking Water Gardens in December.
Canada geese at Applegate Lake in May.
Domestic geese near the Klickitat Trail in April.
Domestic or hybrid? ducks at Waverly Lake in December.
A damp and cloudy morning.
Swallow
Indian Jack Slough and the garage from Refuge HQ.
Elochoman Slough
The first of many bald eagles we spotted (atop the dead tree across the slough).
Working on drying out.
Lots of non-native yellow flag iris in the area.
Little birds such as this sparrow were everywhere but rarely sat still.
A different eagle waiting to dry.
There are at least 5 birds in the tree including four goldfinches.
A male goldfinch takes off.
The morning clouds were starting to break up as forecasted.
One of many great blue herons.
A male wood duck.
Another great blue heron with the female wood duck on the log below.
The first of several osprey.
Cattle in a field along the road.
Geese
Snail crossing the road.
Maybe a yellow warbler. I had to use the digital zoom to get between the branches so it’s not the clearest photo.
There was a pole with a bunch of bird nests hung from it near the start of the trail. We’d never seen one like it before.
Bald eagle in the same area.
Slug on lupine
A different type of lupine.
Lupine, daisies and yellow gland-weed.
Bumble bee needing to dry out.
A look at the white tail. He gave us a better look but in that one he was also doing his business so we stuck with this uncentered, slightly blurry version.
Guessing marsh wren.
Ducks
Goose with goslings.
Common yellow throat.
Male gadwall?
There was pretty much non-stop bird song throughout the day.
Traffic on the Columbia River.
The Santa Maria on the Columbia.
Female brown-headed cowbird?
Flowers along the levee.
American robin
Red-winged blackbird chasing a heron.
Note the sign does not indicate that you cannot reach the HQ from the road, it simply says it is 5 miles round trip. Online it adds that hikers must exit the trail the way they entered.
Roses along the road.
Muskrat
Warbler
Osprey
Brooks Slough Road junction.
Another eagle sitting near the top of the first tall tree on the far side of the slough.
Interesting shrub along the road.
The partly sunny skies had indeed materialized.
Kingfisher
California scrub jay
White pelicans
Some sort of ornamental shrub/tree but it had cool flowers.
Turkey vulture
Couldn’t tell what type of ducks they were.
Alger Creek somewhere in the grass flowing into Brooks Slough.
Pond on the other side of the road.
Black pheobe?
Red-tailed hawk
American goldfinch
Swallowtail
Cedar waxwing with a salmonberry.
Goat lounging in a driveway across the highway. There had actually been a black goat in nearly the same spot on our first pass.
Caterpillar
The elk is in the center of the photo near the tree line.
Here is a not so decent picture of the egrets.
One of the bitterns in flight.
Heather spotted this garter snake along Center Road. Another animal to add to the days list.
Back at the White-tail Trail.
It had cooled down again which provided some relief as we trudged back.
A second turtle
Mallards
Way more water in the afternoon.
Another kingfisher. It was in the same tree as the heron had been earlier that morning when we were watching the bucks.
Family swim
By Steamboat Slough Road we had all kinds of blisters/hotspots on our feet.
Arriving back at the refuge HQ.
Camas
Black phoebe in the fog. It’s the only one seen all day so despite the poor quality I kept the photo.
Wet spider webs are the best.
There was a brief respite in the fog before it rolled in again.
The fog bank waiting to move back in.
Teal Marsh
Northern flicker
A very grumpy looking spotted towhee
I have a hard time identifying some of these little birds. This one may be an orange-crowned warbler.
A bald eagle that was across Willow Marsh.
Female red-winged blackbird
Buffleheads
A less grumpy looking spotted towhee
Here comes the fog again.
Black capped chickadee
Yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon’s)
Red-winged blackbird
Wrens can be tricky too, I think this is a marsh wren.
White-crowned sparrow
Song sparrow
Eagle Marsh, still can’t see much.
Bashaw Creek
Egret Marsh from the blind.
Lots of fringecup along the trail.
Purple deadnettle and field mustard
Common yellow-throat
Looking back along the eastern side of the marsh. There was a lot less water this year.
Water level on 4/13/21.
Seeing them was a lot easier than getting photos.
Canada flamingo?
American robin
Dunlin Pond from the boardwalk.
Egret Marsh
Ring-necked ducks.
Anyone know if this is a female cinnamon or blue-winged teal?
Another yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon’s) showing off its yellow rump.
Egret Marsh
The trail around Egret Marsh.
I think these might be long-billed dowichters. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Heading to the right turn. Egret Marsh is on the left and Mallard Marsh on the right. A huge flock of geese had just taken to the sky.
Killdeer
Today I realized that there are two yellow-rumped warblers, this one is a Myrtle, note the white throat compared to the yellow throat of the Audubon’s above.
Northern shoveler
Mohoff Pond and Mallard Marsh
Canada goose with various ducks in the background. At least one of the ducks is a ruddy duck which is one I hadn’t seen yet (that I know of). They were too far to get clear photos of though.
Canada geese and northern shovelers giving a good size comparison.
The black dots in the sky here aren’t geese, they are little insects that followed me along the dike.
Not Canada geese flying over.
Immature bald eagle.
Sandpiper
Greater white-fronted geese, another first.
Bushtit. Several flew in here but I couldn’t make them out once inside so I took a few pictures hoping to get lucky.
Can anyone ID the hawk? Another thing that I find difficult.
Swimming lessons, Canada goose style.
Buttercups
Meadow checker-mallow
Columbine
Yarrow
Possibly Nelson’s checker-mallow
Lupine that will be blooming soon.
Iris
Swallows
Mary’s Peak (
Permit info at the gate.
Looking back to the gate from Road 200.
It’s hard to get an idea of size here but the two trees growing over the large nursery stump were good sized.
Hooded Mergansers
Road 200 to the left.
Upper end of the 3rd World Trail.
Approaching the ridge top.
Heading off the main road.
Common goldeneye
Great blue heron and buffleheads
Rough skinned newt
Coral fungus
Northern pintail, heron, seagulls and some green winged teals.
American wigeons
One of a number of unique benches located along the trails.
Stone steps
A pair of footbridges.
Another rough skinned newt, there were many.
Mushroom
Another bench at a viewpoint.
Several benches were inlaid with rocks such as this which was a really neat feature.
Small footbridge ahead.
Yakona Bridge.
Informational sign for the wind phone.
This trunk had split into four.
Dropping down to another estuary.
Back up we go!
Found the road.
Bench on the far hillside above the clear cut.
Short path to the bench.
One of the trails.
A rather damp woolly bear caterpillar.
Back to Road 200 near Kings Slough.
Sunlight on Haystack Butte in Washington.
Part of Moody Rapids.
Gum weed
The last petals on a blanket flower.
We saw several of these large beetles, all prepared to defend themselves.
Snow buckwheat
Chicory
Seagull
Mergansers
Sparrow
One blurry otter head and another partial otter on the right.
A bunch of tree branches, oh and an otter in the water.
At times there were multiple trails to choose from.
Rattlesnake Bend is up ahead but we stopped here for a bit to watch a heron getting breakfast.
A sparrow, possibly a Savannah sparrow.
The trail climbed higher on the hillside for a bit to avoid some thick vegetation below.
Rattlesnake Bend
Railroad tracks above the trail.
Looking back from Rattlesnake Bend near where we turned around.
Rattlesnake Rapids
Killdeer
An older channel?
Had to go back up to avoid the vegetation here.
Ground squirrel
Heron flying up river.
Old rock wall along the way.
Typical use trail.
Merganser
Aster
Osprey showing up the fishermen.
Finch
More birds near the spring.
Little yellow birds, maybe warblers?
One of the yellow birds on a blackberry plant.
Moody Rapids
Haystack Butte
A line of mergansers.
Trailhead sign at the south end of the rest stop. Brochures were located in the small box under the sign.
Map on the trailhead sign.
Red Sun through the smoke.
The Harney Valley to the east.
This stop was for a juniper that was blown apart by a lightning strike.
The rest area from the loop.
The last stop was to discuss the relationship between the junipers and the Idaho fescue that grows underneath.
Deer in the nearly dry Marshall Pond
Yellow headed blackbird
California quail
Owl
Chipmunk
More quail
The early bird
Hummingbird
Little bird on a feeder
Shrike
Hawk and a magpie
Osprey
Turkey vultures
Coyote
Mourning doves
Egrets and ducks at Benson Pond
Old cabin at Benson Pond
Another owl
Another turkey vulture
Grasshopper
White faced ibis
Great blue heron amid the ducks.
A couple types of egrets it appears.
Deer that were in the Blitzen River
Bounding fawn
Ducks and coots at Knox Pond
Bee and a butterfly
A brushy section.
A bee and a skipper
Praying mantis
The “other” trail on the hillside at the 0.7 mile mark.
A wren?
Fence crossing
Rejoining the Donner und Blitzen Trail at the 0.4 mile mark.
Ocean coming right up to the rocks.
Trail at lower right with a little standing water.
Three Arch Rocks – one of two wilderness areas in Oregon off limits to visitors.
Looking back north from the dune crest.
Looking north at what was to come.
Thick forest between the bay and the dune.
One of several semi-circles created by grass going back and forth.
Cape Lookout from the trail to the picnic shelter.
Seagull atop the shelter.
Egret
Great blue heron
Common mergansers
Bufflehead
Lily Lake
The Pacific Ocean from the dune.
Coots
Scrub jay
White pelican, coots, and a cormorant
White pelican
Coots
Mallards and other birds
Canada geese
Pelicans in flight
Great blue heron among others
Northern shoveler
Horned grebes
Northern flicker
More pelicans
Another jay
Great blue heron on the rocks
Common merganser
Hooded mergansers (in the foreground)
Egret
Western grebe
wanderingyuncks 
![https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51393871889_968777c132_c.jpg"](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51393871889_968777c132_c.jpg"){kind=link}