Natural World Archives - Page 16 of 56 - The Source

It’s Sage-Grouse Hunting Season

State officials still allow hunters to grab Greater sage-grouse, despite their imperiled numbers

by Jim Anderson September 16, 2020January 23, 2025

Some people just never “retire;” they just jump from one job to another. (Editor’s note: Case in point: Jim Anderson, who penned this piece despite announcing his “retirement” from this column!) Take Stu Garret, of Bend, as an example. When I met him way back in the ’70s, he was a family doctor practicing in […]

Outside

The New Ambassador

A new Eurasian eagle-owl is turning heads at the Sunriver Nature Center

Jim AndersonAugust 19, 2020July 27, 2024

There is no larger owl on the European continent than the Eurasian Eagle-owl, Bubo bubo. You have to travel several thousand miles to see one in the wild. In appearance, it looks like our native Great Horned Owl on steroids. But now, you can drive to Sunriver Nature Center and ask to see its new […]

Outside

Trumpeting a Success Story

The happy swan family of Aspen Lake

Jim AndersonAugust 12, 2020June 9, 2025

Good news, swan lovers, and those who believe in private landholders helping species at risk. There are now more wild Trumpeter Swans to go into the breeding pool. Several residents of Aspen Lakes, under the leadership of Robin Gold, have been helping the two trumpeter swans, Eloise and Pete, raise a family. A small group […]

Outside

Start ‘Em Young

Bend Forest School now open for kids’ exploration

Jim AndersonAugust 5, 2020July 11, 2025

Start ’em out young and not only will your life be blessed, but that adorable child of yours will go on into life knowing what the joy of learning is about — and especially with Nature. That’s the goal of Rae Alberg and her team of instructors operating the Bend Forest School at — and […]

Outside

No Such Thing as a 'Free Lunch'

Observing the cycle of life among butterflies and wasps and birds

Jim AndersonJuly 29, 2020May 30, 2025

Just about everyone who reads, watches or listens to nature stories is familiar with the plight of monarch butterflies in the western U.S. Their numbers have dropped from millions to thousands in the last 20 years for a variety of reasons—mostly wrapped around habitat and their food plant, milkweed. There I was over at Clarno, […]

Outside

Beavers, Our Eager Aquifer Engineers

Like it or not, everyone who uses water is unknowingly depending on the dam-building talents of our North American Beaver

Jim AndersonJuly 15, 2020June 19, 2024

No matter how you look at the history of the Pacific Northwest, one native animal stands out in making Oregon what it is today: the North American Beaver. Yes, the same one we see on our state flag. As far as you can go back into the history of the Northwest you will find the […]

Outside

Invasion of the Giant Bee Snatchers

Invading "murder wasp" spells trouble

Jim AndersonJuly 8, 2020July 10, 2025

The Xerces Society, one of the leading worldwide insect conservation organizations, put on a four-hour Bumble Bee Atlas webinar a couple of weeks back. Right in the middle of it, the presenter, Professor Rich Hatfield, paused in his recitation on bumblebees and placed the illustration at right of the Asian giant wasp on the screen, […]

Outside

They’re Baaaack!

The Pandora moth makes its annual appearance

Jim AndersonJune 10, 2020July 30, 2025

When I rolled into Bend on my Harley in 1951, I didn’t know a Pandora moth from a monarch butterfly. It wasn’t until 1986 that they both entered my life, but the first to arrive was the moth; the monarchs came later when my wife, Sue, started monitoring the butterflies at Lava Beds National Monument […]

Outside

Boxing Up Owls

Give owls a place to live. Then band them for study

Jim AndersonMay 27, 2020June 16, 2024

One of the things I enjoy about growing older is that I still have the get-up-and-go to join old friends who not only share what I love to do, but never miss the opportunity to do so. Like when Dick Tipton sent me an email about a saw-whet owl using one of his kestrel nesting […]

Outside

Building a Nesting Box with Jim Anderson ▶ (with video)

Make one for pygmy owls. Make one for another bird. But in any case, spend some time with our resident naturalist Jim Anderson.

Jim Anderson and The Source StaffMay 25, 2020May 28, 2025

Around these parts, he’s known to spin a yarn that wraps around the block. Now, Naturalist Jim Anderson and longtime Source Weekly contributor sits down with us to talk about one of his favorite subjects: Birds—and how to help care for them. Source videographer Darris Hurst met with Anderson at his home—social-distancing-approved style—to walk through […]

Sign up for newsletters