Tag: Banana Slug

Powell Butte Nature Park

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

I led a field trip to Powell Butte Nature Park on the east side of Portland. This is a wonderful park with a nice variety of habitats. I don’t make the trek across town to visit very often, but I am always glad when I do. Columbian Black-tailed Deer are often found in the grassland habitat.

Common Yellowthroats are, wait for it, common in the thickets.

Lazuli Buntings are always a crowd favorite.

This American Kestrel had caught a vole. It amazes me how these birds can spot little rodents in the tall grass.

Powell Butte is a great spot to find Savannah Sparrows. This particular bird was perched on a banana peel that some moron had left on a trail marker. Pack out your trash, people.

Speaking of bananas, this Banana Slug was munching away on a cheese puff that had been dropped on the trail. Salt is deadly to slugs, causing rapid dehydration. I’m hoping the salt content of this snack item is not too high.

As parasitic nesters, Brown-headed Cowbirds get a bad rap, but I have always appreciated the subtle beauty of this species.

Happy summer!

Oregon Redwoods

by John Rakestraw, posted in OR Birding Sites

The range of Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) extends into the extreme southwest corner of Oregon. While the groves found in Oregon are not as impressive as those in the state parks in northern California, it is still worth a visit to see these massive trees.

redwood
This is one of the trees along the Oregon Redwood Trail. From Brookings, drive south along Hwy 101 to Winchuck River Road. Turn east for two miles, then cross the river on Forest Service Road 1101. Follow this narrow gravel road for four miles to the trailhead. A more easily accessible grove is found at the Redwood Nature Trail, located on North Bank Chetco River Road about eight miles east of Brookings, but this grove has been closed to public access in an effort to reduce the spread of Sudden Oak Death.  The Redwood Nature Trail is scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2010.

steller's jay
It is often the case that the most scenic areas are not necessarily the birdiest. Birds seen in the redwoods are often limited to Steller’s Jays, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and Winter Wrens. With a little luck, you can find Varied Thrush, Hermit Warbler, and Pileated Woodpecker. Vaux’s Swifts fly above the forest. At dawn during the nesting season, listen for the harsh call of Marbled Murrelets as they leave their nests in the forest to forage on the ocean.

banana slugs
Banana Slugs are among the more easily approached species of wildlife in the forest. I’m not sure what these two were doing on the wall of the restroom at the trailhead. I’m guessing we are witnessing either  mating behavior or an act of canibalism.