What a weasel

A wild mink hunts in the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Sunday, July 25, 2021. Minks, which are weasels, are related to otters, and ferrets. They are among the animals that can be infected with coronaviruses. Transmission of the COVID-19 virus from captive minks to humans was first documented in the Netherlands.

 

Snake eye

A bull snake warms itself in the last rays of the evening sun on the edge of a blacktop road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, July 19, 2021. The bull snake is one of the largest and longest snakes of North America and the United States, reaching lengths up to 8 ft.

 

Vulture moon

A large turkey vulture soars over the Umpqua River under the waxing crescent moon near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Friday, July, 15, 2021. A waxing crescent is the first phase after the new moon and is a great time to see the features of the moon's surface.

 

Blackberry season in Oregon

Showing stages of development, wild Himalayan blackberries are displayed after being picked from a thicket along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, Jul. 14, 2021. 

Although the fruit is delicious to eat, Himalayan blackberry is highly invasive and difficult to control. It forms impenetrable thickets, spreads aggressively and has significant negative impacts to native plants, wildlife, recreation and livestock.

 

The great brown lawn shark

 

On a hot summer afternoon, a Labrador retriever cools down in the spray of a garden hose outside a home near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, July 8, 2021. The National Weather Service is predicting high temperatures near 90 degrees over the next several days in the area.

Backlit water droplets

The late afternoon sun highlights water droplets as a duck takes flight from the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, July 8, 2021.

 

Catch of the Day

A turkey vulture feeds on a dead fish along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon. Unlike most birds, turkey vultures have a highly developed sense of smell and can detect dead animals from over 1 mile away.