Summertime Strategies

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South Fork Crooked River and Birds

South Fork Crooked River and Birds

fact

Swallowtail

Swallowtail

The Oregon Swallowtail butterfly is the official state insect of Oregon and a true native of the Pacific Northwest. The Swallowtail can be seen in the lower sagebrush canyons of the Columbia River and its tributaries, including the Snake River drainage area.  Source: State Symbols USA

Latin name: Papilio oregonius

voices

Sarah Graham, Sage Society Member

Sarah Graham, Sage Society Member

“I contribute to ONDA monthly because it adds up to a larger annual gift than what I’d be able to comfortably afford if I were to do a simple one-time donation annually. I’m able to give more to ONDA this way and have greater impact which is important to me, and my dog Polly.”

Mammals

Most baby mammals have grown up enough to begin to forage or hunt for themselves. For many predators, these inexperienced youngsters can provide more abundant, and easier to catch, meals. To offset losses, many rodents or lagomorphs (rabbits and hares) will birth multiple broods, with babies maturing rapidly to take advantage of abundant spring foods, especially in good years. For slower to mature animals, such as deer, pronghorn and coyotes, the young will spend more time with parents and perhaps older siblings and associates learning the ways of their world. Those that can might migrate up to higher elevations to escape the intense hot and dry conditions lower down, and thereby find better browse or grazing—or maybe a nice fawn to eat.

Reptiles and Amphibians

Amphibians tend to search out cool rocks to shelter under, with some digging a burrow in which to pass the worst of the heat. Reptiles also hide from the hottest parts of the day, sleeping under shady rocks and ledges, or in other densely shaded spots, perhaps crawling or slithering out to warm up at dawn, and many will begin hunting at dusk.

Sage Sparrow in sagebrush

Birds

Birds may search for new hunting or foraging areas, depending upon their food source availability, often heading to higher altitudes following insects, or foraging for maturing seeds. Interestingly, there’s less birdsong in summer, as mating and nesting has already taken place.

Insects, and the bats that follow

Insects are looking for sources of nectar, leaves to chew, or other insects to eat. Spiders hunt the insects, so look into and around those blooms for them. Bats follow bugs, so wherever there’s the one you’ll probably find the other.

Plants

For plants, many will droop, and some even drop, leaves to reduce water loss, or may turn their leaves perpendicular to the sun’s rays to reduce exposure. Waxy coatings, surface hairs and increased levels of certain sun-screening pigments can also come into play in reducing sunlight exposure and protecting from desiccation. Perennials and shrubs drop tap roots more deeply into the moist layers below the easier-to-find water from winter and spring soils. Seeds mature and plants begin to jettison them to let their progeny live on in the future, awaiting next spring when there’s enough moisture again. Many desert seeds will sport spikes, hooks, barbs and “Velcro” to snag the fur or feathers of passing critters and transport their seeds to new areas. Most desert grasses are a bunch-grass form, and have densely packed foliage shaped like an open vase, which helps to collect any dew and precipitation that might fall in thunderstorms and direct it to their dense root ball just below the soil. Over time many desert plants develop a sort of a distributive sharing strategy, living just far enough apart to not hog each other’s water—thus, the clumpy desert landscape pattern. No lawn-like grasses here! The invasive weed cheat grass takes a different tack. Rather than cooperating, it “cheats” by sprouting early and maturing seeds rapidly, ahead of the native perennials, in order to spread widely over large areas.

As you watch the changes in the desert landscape, try to work out what strategies are at play where. You might observe avoidance, adaptation, behavior change, highly efficient use of available resources, competition, migration (both over distance or up in elevation) and estivation, which is prolonged torpor or dormancy during a hot or dry period. With time, you’ll learn to predict where you’ll be more likely to see particular species or activities. And, you will likely employ your own strategies like movement, exploration, converging upon water sources, and perhaps avoiding activity during the hottest parts of the day and instead relaxing in the shade with a book and a cold beverage!

Signs of Summer

Across Oregon’s high desert, plants and animals spend the summer months “searching” — for shade, for water, for food, for safety from predators. Below, you’ll find a snapshot of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena you might see taking place across Oregon’s high desert in June, July and August. We invite you to share your own […]

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Drawn to Nests

One day in spring of 2014, I started drawing bird nests. I didn’t stop for almost a year. These drawings began as a way for me to explore my curiosity about birds’ nests without causing any harm to the birds themselves. My work on this series made me more aware of the impacts we have […]

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Summertime Strategies

By on July 6, 2020 | Posted in: Uncategorized

Wow, it’s hot out there in the high desert! At least much of the time … not so much at night … and not every day either. (I can clearly recall July 4, 2010, when, camped out on the West Little Owyhee River, we got 4” of snow overnight and all our water was...

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Steens Mountain lupines

Signs of Summer

By on July 2, 2020 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

Across Oregon’s high desert, plants and animals spend the summer months “searching” — for shade, for water, for food, for safety from predators. Below, you’ll find a snapshot of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena you might see taking place across Oregon’s high desert in June, July and August. We invite you to share your...

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Species Spotlight – Pronghorn

By on May 21, 2020 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

A long list of charismatic animals inhabits Oregon’s high desert. Species such as the Greater Sage-grouse, bighorn sheep, cougars, burrowing owls and even the occasional black bear or wandering moose (okay, just one moose), can all be found exploring the characteristic rimrock, sagebrush, and open spaces of the state’s eastern half. In fact, many...

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Key Concepts in Riparian Restoration

By on May 14, 2020 | Posted in:

Whether you’re learning about restoring streams and rivers for the first time, or you’re a life-long beaver believer, this list of resources will provide additional information on both how and why ONDA focuses on restoring beaver habitat in our riparian restoration programs.   Background and introductory resources: Historical background on the extirpation of beaver...

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West Little Owyhee

How Much Wilderness Do We Need?

By on April 30, 2020 | Posted in: In the News

In a recent editorial, The Bulletin asked a good question: “how much land does Oregon have that is appropriate for wilderness?” The answer is a lot. A heckuva lot. In Oregon’s high desert alone, federal surveys and volunteer-driven inventories have identified eight million acres of public lands and hundreds of miles of rivers and...

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Basalt Beardstongue

How to Identify Native Plants

By on April 29, 2020 | Posted in: How-To

By Scott Bowler Hey, what’s that cool flower? After leading wildflower discovery and identification trips for 40-plus years, I can tell you that people’s most common reaction upon encountering a new flower is: “Oh, cool! What’s that?” They want a name. In this blog post, I’ll guide you through the key steps to figuring...

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How to Protect Desert Rivers

By on April 15, 2020 | Posted in:

This is part of our High Desert Academy digital event series. Right now, we have a remarkable opportunity to secure Wild and Scenic River status for our beloved desert rivers – if we all speak up! You’ll learn how to write an effective letter to the editor, use your social media to rally your river-loving friends,...

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volunteers building a beaver dam in Hay Creek

How To Build a Beaver Dam

By on April 13, 2020 | Posted in:

This is part of our High Desert Academy digital event series. Beaver are among nature’s most impressive ecosystem engineers. Learn how you can lend them a hand – and then let them take over – to create healthier and more resilient desert habitat. Join ONDA’s Riparian Restoration Coordinator Jefferson Jacobs for this live-streaming event...

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Ten Superlative Volunteers

By on March 12, 2020 | Posted in: Profile

Oregon’s high desert is a unique place, full of magic and wonder. The same could be said of those people who give their time and attention so generously to its care. Today, we’d like to introduce you to ten conservation heroes you could meet at an ONDA event or on a stewardship trip and...

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John Day River

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Fence Retrofit

By on February 24, 2020 | Posted in:

Help retrofit miles of fence to make the landscape safer for wildlife at the Clarno unit of this National Monument

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