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. 

 

Big stretch for a little turkey

A white-morph young wild turkey stretches its wings while feeding with its flock along the Umpqua River near Elkton in rural western Oregon. According to the National Audubon Society wild turkeys come in four colors, or morphs: smoke, red, black, and white. 

 

Swallowtail time

A swallowtail butterfly feeds on teasel flowers in a swampy area along a country road near Elkton in rural western Oregon on Monday, July 5, 2021. Swallowtail butterflies are large colorful butterflies and include over 550 species. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica.

 

@rloznak

Swallowtail ##butterfly showing off in ##Oregon ##nature ##insects

♬ I'll Fly Away - Megan Fowler

Deer in velvet

A black-tailed deer buck with his antlers in velvet, browses on the low hanging fruit and leaves in a plum orchard on a farm near Elkton in rural western Oregon. A velvet antler is covered in a hairy, velvet-like "skin" when the antler is still developing.

 

Bugs, bugs, bugs

A cinnabar moth caterpillar feeds on the flowers of a tansy ragwort weed growing on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon. The colorful moth incorporated toxins from the ragwort into its body which renders it non-palatable. Its bright color is a danger signal to potential predators. The hairs on the caterpillar are poisonous to humans and can cause a rash if touched.

 

A pair of grasshoppers mate while clinging to a plant on a hillside near Elkton in rural western Oregon. Thousands of grasshoppers were busy mating and feeding on the grass and weeds growing in the remote pasture.

An adult mosquito floats on  the surface of a cattle water trough after emerging from its pupa stage on a farm near Elkton in rural western Oregon. Diseases that are spread to people by mosquitoes include Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, dengue, and malaria.