Mailtribune.com - Oregon Outdoor Features

There's a reason robins' eggs are blue

It seems everybody loves an omelet. Crows, jays, raccoons, weasels — even squirrels and mice — love to eat eggs. They are a complete meal and don't have a lot of defenses, other than mom. They can't run and they can't fight back.

Morning birdsong starts well before the sun

Those who arise early or tend toward insomnia are fully aware that many spring birds begin the day painfully early. The impending day may be showing only the barest hint of pale sky on the eastern horizon, but tree and violet-green swallows have already taken flight to serenade the countryside from pitch black skies. Soon American robins join in with a flute-like song delivered at a deliberate pace.

Crafty killdeer have a bag of tricks

Killdeer look as intelligent as any other bird. Indeed they can be downright crafty. Yet when it comes time to raising young, it is hard to imagine any bird being more addled.

Epic commute of the black-footed albatross

Few enjoy the morning commute. There are drivers on cell phones drifting along 10 miles per hour below the speed limit, traffic lights that conspire against you, and the school bus that stops every 100 yards to pick up one more eager student. Before you complain too much, consider the commute of the black-footed albatross.

Acorn woodpecker has it all wrong

It looks like a woodpecker. Well, sort of. And it acts like a woodpecker "� sometimes. Simply put, acorn woodpeckers are oddballs.

Bird watchers outnumber mammal watchers for a reason

There are legions of bird watchers but not so many mammal watchers. Whale watchers are an exception. Many people put up bird houses, but only a few put up bat houses. You can purchase any number of field guides for birds, but your choices for mammals pretty much max out at two at bookstores.

Red-tailed hawks come from far and wide

They decorate the utility poles of the valley, waiting patiently for some mouse or ground squirrel to venture a bit too far from cover. These ornaments with the bright-orange tails are found on seemingly every 10th utility pole or treetop and never appear to move.

Perpetual flowers made Anna's hummingbirds year-round residents

Now that the fall colors have fallen under the rake and been relegated to the compost bin, the brightest spot in my yard is the male Anna's hummingbird. The iridescent greens and burgundy-colored throat and cap flare in the late autumn sun.

Wild Bird Photo Contest voting starts Saturday

The deadline for entering the 2008 Wild Bird Photo Contest is at 5 p.m. Friday.

Waters full of fowl in November

It is November and the winter storms are beginning to roll in, covering the Cascades and Siskiyous with snow. November is the time when farm ponds, lakes and marshes fill with ducks. They first appeared in late September; October saw many more arrive, but waterfowl migration is still in full swing.

October 16, 2008