Species Spotlight:
Mountain Mahogany

Jim Davis   Website

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

listen

Great Horned Owls and Western Screech Owls

Great Horned Owls and Western Screech Owls

fact

Young Desert Horned Lizard

Young Desert Horned Lizard

In the summer these lizards begin foraging for food as soon as their body temperature rises as the heat of the day increases. They feed on slow-moving, ground-dwelling insects. In the fall they hibernate by burying themselves in the sand.

Latin name: Phrysonoma platyrhinos

Species Spotlight: Black Cottonwood

Where There’s Cottonwood, There’s Water. We recommend listening to this Cottonwood Canyon Riparian Soundscape while you read this Species Spotlight. At the new Riley Ranch Nature Reserve in Bend, a […]

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Migratory Birds of the High Desert

Author: Scott Donahue  |  Published: May 23, 2018  |  Category: Species Spotlight Every year, dozens of beloved bird species migrate from their part-time homes around the world back to the […]

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Species Spotlight:
Mountain Mahogany

By on February 9, 2018 | Posted in: Species Spotlight

By LeeAnn Kriegh Trees live their lives on a different timescale than ours, so it helps to slow ourselves down to fully appreciate them. Certainly, a shrubby little tree like […]

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Ten Winter Adventures
in the High Desert

By on January 29, 2018 | Posted in: Uncategorized, Where-to

Five for No Snow, Five for Snow. Winter in Oregon’s high desert can look and be quite different from one year to the next. A few years ago, copious snowfall […]

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Craig Terry, ONDA member and stewardship volunteer

By on November 9, 2017 | Posted in:

“The people I have had the privilege to share time with each season keep me volunteering again and again. Who else but those ONDA staff leaders would make fresh coffee […]

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Jeremy Fox on Steens Landscape

Jeremy Fox on Steens Landscape

By on November 2, 2017 | Posted in:

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Wind and Birds in Quaking Aspen

Wind and Birds in Quaking Aspen

By on November 2, 2017 | Posted in:

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WildhorseLakeSteensMountain

Wildhorse Lake

By on October 27, 2017 | Posted in:

Wildhorse Lake fills the bottom of a deep cirque with high surrounding walls on three sides that give way on one side to an open view of the horizon beyond. […]

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Wildhorse Lake along the Oregon Desert Trail

Steens Mountain Summit

By on October 27, 2017 | Posted in:

On your way to the top of Steens Mountain Summit trailhead, you’ll pass by two amazing viewpoints that involve short walks—Kiger Gorge and the East Rim—and we recommend stopping at […]

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LittleBlitzenGorge

Oregon’s first desert wilderness

By on October 27, 2017 | Posted in:

Steens Mountain: Oregon’s first desert wilderness On October 30, 2000, Congress passed the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act, finishing the work that had taken ONDA and the other […]

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Big Indian Gorge

By on October 27, 2017 | Posted in:

The Big Indian Gorge Trail is 8 miles to the headwall of the gorge and passes through meadows as well as cottonwood and aspen groves. It’s easy to follow for […]

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Pike Creek

By on October 27, 2017 | Posted in:

An old mining track leads 1.4 miles up the canyon through a rugged rock narrows with wildflowers and views of the desert playa below. Two creek crossings can be difficult […]

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