MT HOOD NATIVE WILDLIFE

It Takes a Practiced Eye

Finding Hidden Homes in the Forest of Mt Hood

My day’s main mission is to look for bird nests. It is still early spring and the leaves are off most of the hard wood trees and general brush. You have to concentrate as if looking for Easter eggs but bird nests are everywhere and most people never see them until their eyes become trained, so practice and concentration are a must.

Taking a picture of your find should be well thought out as your task will be to share one special nest with your face book, or maybe e-mail to your friend. Post it to pictures in your local newspaper and be sure to share them with MtHoodMagazine.com . You get the idea. You can do this! Yes!

If you are going to walk into the woods of Mt Hood, a trail seems fundamental to a successful mission. What can change is how you add the frills, so to speak. Today I will go with my dog, a snack pack and my pepper spray canister. These walks are a common thing for me and being prepared comes with the circumstances and weather possibilities.

Do a little homework prior to setting out for nest exploration. You will need a digital camera that will download to your computer. Possibly a visit to the library for a book of reference on bird habitat and the birds that frequent the area. Wikipedia has the subject of bird nests at your disposal.

Now, for the walk here in Mt Hood, I will be checking dead tree snags for nesting holes large or small, upper story deciduous tree limbs for crow or raven nests, constructed of small sticks. Surveying eye-level in brushy areas for last years nests of the smaller birds cleverly secured with marvelous planning. Rarely will the round mossy ball nest in the young fir tree be spotted. Perhaps a water ouzel nest along a creek side will be located under a rock ledge. Bald eagle or osprey nests are a great find in the tops of large snags.

I do not remove or disturb nests for several reasons but giving someone else a chance to see a nest camouflaged along the trail is a good practice.

So do have fun out there and share your snapshots. I’ve even made short narrated movie clips and uploaded them to my U-Tube site for the world to see. You can pick a nice day and just have fun getting away on your trail excursion. Oh, and do spoil yourself with a snack from the pack! I’m taking a custom half-sandwich from the The Soup Spoon in Welches. Sure… the dog gets some too from the pack — roast beef I cooked up last night.

Over and out,
Bruce and Ruby dog

 

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