Aspen Lakes, on the Cyrus family property near Sisters, is involved in an exciting wildlife project. The project is in cooperation with the Trumpeter Swan Society, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the benevolent people at Aspen Lakes. There are only three trumpeter swans in the breeding program in […]
Natural World
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Bugging Out!
After a host of bugs come in, our Natural World columnist has something to say
Enough is enough, all you good people! I’m all bugged out! Thank you for the response to my request for the bugs mentioned in my kissing bug piece, published in the Source Feb. 14. Those of you who sent me notes about bugs in their lives—and especially those who sent me the actual bugs and […]
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Natural World
The eagles are baaaaack!
In the entire U.S. of A. there’s only one Golden Eagle nest being monitored by webcam at this time, and it’s right here in Sisters Country. And thanks to the East Cascades Audubon Society, which is paying to have the images streamed around the world, landowner Leslie Lawrence, who watches over the camera equipment, and […]
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If Allowed, Raccoons Will Stay
Like deer, raccoons shouldn’t be fed by humans. Take this hilarious tale as proof
Our common variety raccoon, usually found near water, always mooching, is truly a wonder. Raccoons can get by on just about anything edible left out on the back porch, and once they’ve found a food source, they’re reluctant to change their habits. Feeding mule deer is a very bad habit, but feeding raccoons is a […]
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True bugs can be kissers
There I was, just getting into my old 4-Runner after dropping off some French chocolate to my dear old pal, Fetty, at her place near Cascade Estates, when I felt something touch my left finger. In spite of me pushin’ 90, I still have pretty good tactile senses, so I knew it wasn’t my imagination. […]
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Natural World
Bats need homes, too
When people at Sisters Elementary School called me in the fall of 2005 about a bat in one of the classrooms, it reminded me of how easily bats can find summer homes in human buildings, and the excitement they often cause doing so. Thanks to horror films, bats have been given a bum rap. Truth […]
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Natural World: Once they’re gone…
As a (sometimes extreme) conservationist, I find the idea of human-caused, species extinction, incomprehensible and unforgivable. In short, we know better. When a species is extinct, it’s gone. Done. Kaput. Dead forever. Our power to send a species into oblivion was first documented in 1598 when Portuguese sailors landing on the shores of the Southeast […]
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Natural World: I got him, Dad, and he bites too!
Around 40 years ago my first son, Dean, was born to parents deeply involved in the nature of the world. His sweet mom was a high school biology teacher who kept a pet opossum, “Dartmouth,” to whom she fed canned dog food from a fork, and a father who slept in eagle nests and played […]
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Humming into Winter
Keep those feeders full! Hummingbirds may still be kicking around
The topic of a lot of my phone calls, emails and text messages this fall has been about hummingbirds and feeders in winter, and to be perfectly frank about it, it’s a worrisome conundrum. Right off the bat, sugar water is not “food” for hummingbirds. It’s like humans and soda pop. The birds get an […]
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The Dark Side of Your Morning Cup of Coffee
Coffee and Birds, it’s not always a happy marriage
Not being a coffee drinker anymore, and not being in the bird-researcher loop as many of my friends are, the business of songbird conservation and coffee-growing methods went right over my head. That is, until Doug Baell grabbed my attention. “Are you going to do the story on coffee and songbirds?” he asked me one […]
