Anne White, Author at The Source

Winged Creatures of the Night

When the sun sets on the dramatic cliffs of the Owyhee Canyonlands, more than a dozen bat species take flight

by Anne White October 16, 2024April 17, 2025

By day, southern Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands stuns visitors with its colorful rock formations, vibrant wildflowers and bountiful wildlife species. But at night, when darkness falls over the rock spires and canyon walls illuminated only by the glow of starlight, the shadows of bats silently flittering through the air is a truly delightful sight. Although fabled […]

Outside

The Many and Unique Plants of the Owyhee Canyonlands

More than two dozen species make their home in the harsh volcanic soils of this wild landscape

by Anne White September 4, 2024March 5, 2025

Millions of years ago, the Owyhee Canyonlands was a region of intense volcanic and erosional activity. Lava flows oozed across the landscape, and ash exploded from domes and calderas, blanketing the surrounding area. When the ash settled and turned to rock, water and wind later carved the deep, rugged canyons of present day. Though the […]

Outside

An Avian Oasis

Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands is a seasonal home to rare and spectacular migratory birds

by Anne White May 8, 2024July 2, 2024

When one sets out in search of birds in eastern Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands, they’re likely on the lookout for the usual suspects: species such as the greater sage-grouse, sagebrush sparrow and golden eagle. The landscape’s vast sagebrush sea provides vitally important expanses of intact habitat for these and other sagebrush dependent species year-round. But the […]

Outside

What is the Future for the American Avocet?

Even this common species faces an uncertain prospect in Oregon’s high desert

by Anne White August 9, 2023June 4, 2024

Its large size and conspicuous colors could hardly be overlooked, even if it were shy and retiring,” wrote renowned ornithologist Arthur C. Bent in “Life Histories of North American Shorebirds.” The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is one of the most distinctive shorebirds in the Great Basin. Known as waders in the avocet and stilt family, […]

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