Serendipitous moment

On a cold damp morning, a pine siskin shakes off a bit of rain while feeding on the seeds of a teasel flower in a swampy area along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Sunday, Jan 31, 2021.

I had no idea I captured this brief moment in time until I was editing images on my laptop.

 

Catkins: signs of the season

A western bluebird perches on a hazelnut tree in an orchard near Elkton in rural western Oregon. The pollen bearing catkins form in late winter and are beginning to develop on the tree.

 

Slurp: 14 feet of worms

As dusk falls on a rainy cool day, an American robin feeds on earthworms in a pasture along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Tuesday, Jan 26, 2021. According to WildBirdsUnlimited.com, an American robin may eat up to 14 feet of earthworms in a single day.

Rodent patrol

A great blue heron catches and gulps down a rodent in a pasture along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, Jn 25, 2021. The local herons normally feed on fish and aquatic animals, but when the rivers become muddy and fast moving in the winter months, the birds take to dry land for hunting.

 

Disease vector interrupted

A very small tick is displayed while impaled on sewing needle after being discovered on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. Ticks are vectors for numerous known and unknown diseases worldwide including lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, tickborne relapsing fever and many others.

 

Gold in them thar hills

An abandoned bus sits on an old gold mining claim on a moss and tree covered hillside along a tributary of the South Umpqua River near Azalea in southwestern Oregon on Wednesday, Jan 20, 2021. The area has a long history of gold mining going back into the mid 1800’s when gold prospectors and clans of Chinese miners worked the gold-bearing streams in the area.

A modern day gold miner displays the largest chunk of gold he has discovered on his claim along a tributary of the South Umpqua River near Azalea in southwestern Oregon. For the past few years he has been finding small scattered amounts of gold, but dreams of striking it rich. 

Arcane laws still apply to those seeking gold on public property.

An abandoned gold mine dives deep into a moss and tree covered hillside along a tributary of the South Umpqua River near Azalea in southwestern Oregon. The area is scattered with remnants of past mining activities.

Harrier hawk lift off

A northern harrier hawk lifts off from the ground while hunting for rodents in a pasture along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. According to Audubon.com, the face of the northern harrier looks rather like that of an owl; like an owl (and unlike most other hawks) it may rely on its keen hearing to help it locate prey as it courses low over fields. The British harrier jump jet was named after the European harrier hawk. They both have the ability to hover and take off vertically.

 

Celebrate King

Celebrate King - My photo of from Martin Luther King Jr Day leads coverage from over 30 years ago in

The Michigan Daily. The student newspaper

the University of Michigan. Over 130 years of editorial freedom. Digital archive https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily

 

The history of flight

Did you know flight appears to have evolved separately at least four times in history: in insects, bats, birds and pterosaurs. These four groups of flying animals didn't evolve from a single, flying ancestor. Instead, they all evolved the ability to fly from separate ancestors that couldn't fly. Recent studies indicate that flight may have even developed independently in unconnected groups of bats and multiple types of dinosaurs.  

A wild turkey takes flight while wading through a flooded pasture on a farm near Elkton in rural wester Oregon on Friday, Jan 15, 2021. Recent heavy rain has saturated the area. The turkeys appeared to be feeding on insects displaced by the water.

On a sunny warm January afternoon dozens of honey bees fly outside their hive on a farm near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021. In most cases, honey bees remain inside their hives when the outside temperature is below 50°F or above 110°F. 

 

Locking antlers

A pair of young black-tailed deer bucks spar on a hillside near Elkton in rural wester Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2021. The black-tailed deer found in the far western areas of North America and considered a subspecies of mule deer. 

 

I little buggy

A minuscule insect clings to a mushroom growing from a mossy log on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, Jan 15, 2021.

 

Northern spotted owl habitat cut

A few years ago I was lucky to tag along with a team of biologists from the Bureau of Land Management as they tagged northern spotted owl owlets near Roseburg, Ore. Today the Trump administration announced they are cutting 3.4 million acres of designated critical habitat for the endangered owl in Oregon, Washington, and California. The decision will allow the cutting of timber on the land, but according to Noah Greenwald of the Center for Biological Diversity, "This is perhaps the nail in the coffin for the northern spotted owl...".

In order to find the owlets in the dense forest the biologist provided a live mouse to the adult northern spotted owl and it flew to its young.

After banding, the BLM biologist releases one of the owlets.

 

Rainy day creatures

On a rainy day near Elkton in rural western Oregon, a hunting red-shouldered hawk perches on a mossy tree. The National Weather Service is predicting heavy rain for the area over the next few day with the possibility of minor flooding. 

A sheep forages in a pasture as a flock of starlings fly past.

And a black tailed deer fawn makes its way across a rain slick road. I'm so happy to have a dry roof over my head. 

 

Storm watching on the Oregon coast

Storm watchers get a closeup view as massive waves crash over rocks at Shore Acres State Park near Charleston on the south Oregon Pacific coast Sunday, Jan 10, 2021. The National Weather Service has issued a High Surf Warning predicting dangerously large breaking waves of 25 to 27 feet.

 

Mallard ducks on the wing

A pair of mallard ducks take flight from a flooded pasture along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. The National Weather Service is predicting more rain at lower elevations and snow in the mountains for much of the Pacific Northwest over the next several days.

 

Water dogs frolic in Oregon

A group of large dogs frolic in a partially flooded pasture on a farm near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Wednesday, Jan 6, 2021. A series of wet weather systems have brought rain, mountain snow, gusty winds, and high surf to the Pacific Northwest. 

 

Rainy season in Oregon

The rainwater swollen Little Canyon Creek rushes over mossy rocks near Oakland in rural Douglas County, Oregon on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. Due to recent heavy rain in the area, the National Weather Service is predicting significant rises on main stem rivers and potential flooding of small streams and creeks through Wednesday.

 

A better mousetrap?

A backyard rooster walks with a mouse trap attached to its wattle at a farm near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. The rooster was apparently attracted to the mouse bait when it was caught. The trap was removed without any physical damage to the bird.