Nature & Wildlife Thread

[j.w]

Neat you guys have wild ones. I have seen them down in Oregon but not up here.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Just a short walk today. It's been nice being able to get out in nature so much lately. Didn't get out at all in Spring since I was so busy with my pond.

 

[j.w]

I think you really don't have a home JB and you are just out there wandering in the wilderness. Would be kinda neat if the weather stayed nice tho as so many pretty places to plop

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I think you really don't have a home JB and you are just out there wandering in the wilderness.

Nature is my home. My house is just where I sleep.

 

[Big Lou]

Great beauty JB

 

[Troutredds]

Just a short walk today. It's been nice being able to get out in nature so much lately. Didn't get out at all in Spring since I was so busy with my pond.

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Great pics as always, JB! The shots of the bridge over the river remind me of the bridges (train trestles) I fish by in the fall and early winter here locally. The fish I target are native winter-run Steelhead; anadromous, or oceangoing Rainbow trout. They migrate to the Pacific for 2-4 years at a time, returning to our local rivers to spawn. Unlike salmon, they are able to do this multiple times over their lifetime. Below are shots of two of my flyfishing spots, the type of flies I prefer to use there, and a beautiful winter-run female steelhead a friend caught and released back to the river.

I think the following quote from famous flyfishing author Robert Traver sums up my love of fishing and our shared passion for nature:

" I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where fish are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties and assorted social posturing I thus escape. Because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not lie or cheat, and cannot be bought or bribed, or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility... and endless patience. ...Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun."

- John D. Voelker, 1903-1991
(under the pen name, Robert Traver)

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Great pics as always, JB! The shots of the bridge over the river remind me of the bridges (train trestles) I fish by in the fall
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Thanks. That's really cool! I've always wanted to get a fall scene with one of those old railroad bridges. Haven't discovered a good place around here just yet.

Great beauty JB

Thank you!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Had to share this. Today was so cold and windy... I don't know why, but it seems like Autumn days that are extra cold and windy usually end with a great sunset. Being so, earlier in the day I planned a walk to a good sunset viewing spot, and sure enough... I was there about a half hour ago and it was great. (Used to be even better before they built the town hall there)

 

[Mike in Vermont]

Great pics as always, JB! The shots of the bridge over the river remind me of the bridges (train trestles) I fish by in the fall and early winter here locally. The fish I target are native winter-run Steelhead; anadromous, or oceangoing Rainbow trout. They migrate to the Pacific for 2-4 years at a time, returning to our local rivers to spawn. Unlike salmon, they are able to do this multiple times over their lifetime. Below are shots of two of my flyfishing spots, the type of flies I prefer to use there, and a beautiful winter-run female steelhead a friend caught and released back to the river.

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I think the following quote from famous flyfishing author Robert Traver sums up my love of fishing and our shared passion for nature:

" I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where fish are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties and assorted social posturing I thus escape. Because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not lie or cheat, and cannot be bought or bribed, or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility... and endless patience. ...Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun."

- John D. Voelker, 1903-1991
(under the pen name, Robert Traver)

Your pics remind me of a place in Oregon I was at in the 80's. It's the Siletz River. I remember seeing fishermen in drift boats, fishing for Steelhead. While I don't have any pictures of the river, I do have a story.
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I gave notice to my job and decided I was going to go out west and see some of the country. I was in my early 20's and figured I should do this before I get older and settle down. I rented an apartment in central Oregon, about 6 miles from the coast. Waited until the last moment to find a job. I ended up taking one planting trees. I thought it was going to be in a field. To my surprise, it was very steep land in the coastal mountains, that had been logged and burned.
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The land was located north of route 20, east of the coast, south of the Siletz River, and west of the road that goes to the town of Siletz from 20. Probably about 50,000 acres had been cut and burned. You carried the trees on your back, and dug the hole with a hoe dad. Very brutal work. Many people quit within a few weeks. Anyhow, when planting came to an end in the spring, I had planted 66,000 Douglas Fur trees.
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A few years ago, my wife and I took a road trip. I went back to check on the trees. To my surprise they had grown to over 80 feet tall.

 

[Troutredds]

Your pics remind me of a place in Oregon I was at in the 80's. It's the Siletz River. I remember seeing fishermen in drift boats, fishing for Steelhead. While I don't have any pictures of the river, I do have a story.
.
I gave notice to my job and decided I was going to go out west and see some of the country. I was in my early 20's and figured I should do this before I get older and settle down. I rented an apartment in central Oregon, about 6 miles from the coast. Waited until the last moment to find a job. I ended up taking one planting trees. I thought it was going to be in a field. To my surprise, it was very steep land in the coastal mountains, that had been logged and burned.
.
The land was located north of route 20, east of the coast, south of the Siletz River, and west of the road that goes to the town of Siletz from 20. Probably about 50,000 acres had been cut and burned. You carried the trees on your back, and dug the hole with a hoe dad. Very brutal work. Many people quit within a few weeks. Anyhow, when planting came to an end in the spring, I had planted 66,000 Douglas Fur trees.
.
A few years ago, my wife and I took a road trip. I went back to check on the trees. To my surprise they had grown to over 80 feet tall.

Great story Mike! I have been there, believe it or not! My family used to vacation every summer in Lincoln City, OR. We would salmon fish out of Depot Bay and river fish at the mouth of the Siletz, where it meets the Pacific. The high tides would swell the river at the mouth and Pacific surf perch would run up river a few hundred yards to feed and rest. They were big flat-sided fish, like a big crappie or bluegill in appearance. Sometimes we would drive up those logging roads east of the coast to explore. This was from the mid 1970s to mid 80s. We might have been there at the same time (as you)!

The trees you toiled over years ago look great. It must have filled you with pride to see their progress after 3+ decades.

 

[Mike in Vermont]

Lol. That is too funny. Those logging roads were the first thing I checked out, when I arrived. Little did I know, I would spend the winter working there.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

You all know I love nature, and as some of you know I've been doing things over the past couple of years to attract more wildlife to my yard. Besides adding my pond, I just planted some native wildflower seeds that hopefully will make an 8' x 8' section of my yard into a mini-prairie habitat. I've also added quite a few birdhouses to my yard to attract birds such as Tree Swallows and Blue Birds, though mostly Sparrows and Wrens move in.

I continued the theme today by building three more bird houses and another one just a few days ago. One will be going to my mom, one will be going to my grandma, and the other two I'll be putting somewhere in my own yard. Figured I'd build them now so I can put them up and have them ready for the Spring migration.

The most interesting of them is the first one. The hole was made out of a knot in the wood, and the knot itself was then used for a little perch.

The second birdhouse was actually rebuilt from an old birdhouse that was starting to fall apart. I was surprised when I opened it up to see that the nest was made mostly with moss and some grass. Usually when I open up bird houses they have the typical twig and stick nests. It was also a lot cleaner than I usually see them.

As you might or might not know, birds that build nests in holes of trees are losing their nesting spots. With more and more woodlands disappearing, so are the older trees that had those holes and crevices that many species of birds use to nest in. That's why adding birdhouses is so important.

 

[j.w]

Great job on the bird houses JB and neat idea using the knot hole and piece from the hole as a perch. What do you usually mount your birdhouses too? Do certain birds prefer different mountings?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

What do you usually mount your birdhouses too? Do certain birds prefer different mountings?

Thanks!

I almost always mount them on a pole 4' to 6' off the ground. I also have one hanging by a chain from a branch and also have one mounted to my fence post near my pond.

Different birds do seem to prefer different mountings. I've never seen a Tree Swallow use a bird house in a tree, despite their name, they usually use the ones on poles in open areas. Wrens seem to go for birdhouses in trees, or at least to birdhouses in areas near trees. Sparrows seem to go for anything, and chickadees seem to go to ones mounted on fences. Maybe just a coincidence, but that's what I've noticed.

 

[j.w]

Someday when I don't have cats I'd like to invite the birds to my property. Not fair now to do that w/ the cats laying in wait for them. We have an invisible fence system to keep them in so they can't get out and hunt away from our place. Enjoy yours and others posts and how you all take care of the critters. Thanks for sharing about how to place the bird houses.