In Flight

Previous Columns

• Solving the old 'sock in the tree' mystery - 12/17/2009

  Who tossed the sock into the tree?

  
• Rockin' with witcheties and oompalumps - 11/19/2009

  Have you ever seen the masked witchety? How about the oompalump? Living deep within the marsh, oompalumps can be a challenge to see.

• Fall bird chorus is in full swing - 10/15/2009

  Late August and early September are wonderful for many reasons, but bird song is not one of them. It's the quietest time of the year.

• Elusive owl calls Southern Oregon home - 9/17/2009

  Ashland is recognized throughout the West for its Shakespeare plays. The Rogue River is noted for its rafting and fishing. But Southern Oregon is even more widely known among birders.

  
• Birds handle heat better than mammals - 8/13/2009

  Oh, to be a bird now that August is here. I confess I am miserable in the heat of summer. When the thermometer tops 100 degrees everything outside is a chore.

• Collared dove is latest valley invader - 7/23/2009

  It's not often that a new bird becomes established in the Rogue Valley. There have been few in the last 30 years. The barred owl has made its way slowly down from Canada.

  
• There's a reason robins' eggs are blue - 6/18/2009

  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.

• Morning birdsong starts well before the sun - 5/21/2009

  Those who arise early or tend toward insomnia are fully aware that many spring birds begin the day painfully early.

• Crafty killdeer have a bag of tricks - 4/30/2009

  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 - 3/26/2009

  Few enjoy the morning commute.

  
• Acorn woodpecker has it all wrong - 2/26/2009

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