One Thing Leads to Another

Though neither of us is an Oregonian, at least not yet, Ann and I [I’m Tim—the bearded one] are West Eugene Wetlands Partnership volunteers this summer. How did we, me originally from California and Ann from Maryland, get here? Well, you know how life goes—one thing leads to another.

We just happened to be taking this summer off, me from Park Rangering and Ann from retirement, and we were traveling in the Pacific Northwest. Ann’s van, our home on the road, though big for a van was small for a home. You see we are kind of old and like a modicum of comfort. The cramped conditions led us to shop online for a used small travel trailer.

In June while in Washington we found a little trailer we liked online and it just happened to be in Oregon—Eugene of course. Who else happened to be in Eugene? Our friends Holly and Matt and Avery.

Holly, a green-minded person, works for WREN teaching people about wetlands while Matt, equally green, coordinates Eugene's Stream Team of wetlands volunteers. Avery is a little person, closely related to Holly and Matt, who moved in with them a couple of years ago. Holly and Matt and Avery put us up while Ann and I bought the trailer. [We have named our trailer Patience, which let’s you know what the buying process was like, but I stray.]

Even before we officially bought the trailer, Holly showed Ann and me the Red House, the headquarters for the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership where Holly works. Ann and I noticed the Red House’s pleasant surroundings, what with regular breezes, mature big-leaf maples for shade, and the bike path and restored wetlands nearby.

“What a great spot this would be to park Patience for a while as Ann and I make her more livable,” I mused aloud. “Well,” Holly replied, “our site host left three days ago, so we just happen to have an opening!”

As you can see, one thing has led to another and another and now Ann and I feel a part of the Partnership family, for a couple of months anyway.
Look for us out on the bike path watching birds, picking up litter, and yakking with folks about the wetlands.
Or, drop by the Red House to see us in Patience, our little trailer house. We’d love to have you say hello.

Sandpiper/Grimes ponds on June 19

I was out at Sandpiper and Grimes Ponds today and finally the dragonflies were flying. I saw the following Odonates flying.

Common Green Darner
California Darner
Common Whitetail
Eight-spotted Skimmer
Twelve-spotted Skimmer
Tule Bluet
Pacific Forktail

A few photos from today.

Common Whitetail

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

While watching for Dragonflies, a pair of Beaver came over to have a look at me.

Then, they decided to scare me away with some tail-slapping.

2nd Annual Walkin' and Rollin' Through the Wetlands

Despite the rather cool, cloudy weather, turnout for the event was great again this year. Nearly 200 folks rode their bikes or walked the bike path between Beltline and Greenhill Rd. on Saturday, May 31. It was a great finale to another successful year of American Wetlands Month events in the West Eugene Wetlands! Thanks to our community partners and all who participated throughout the month!

Students from the U of O's Environmental Leadership Program taught visitors about wetland wildlife.

Paul Gordon, with the Lane County Beekeepers Association, brought his pug Shinju with him, who dressed for the occasion.

People of all ages enjoyed the ride.

Lane County Audubon Society's booth was in the perfect location for some great birding.

Meadowlark Prairie Overlook was the site for several organizations, including Weed Watchers, the Long Tom Watershed Council and the Cascades Raptor Center.

Tsanchiifin Botany Walk

A botany walk starting at 7 pm? Who knew that could be a rich learning experience? Under overcast skies the 15 of us, guided by botanist Chesire Mayersohn, set out to explore the Tsanchiifin Walk area. Recent rains had left sparkling beads on grass blades and cups of shimmering light in the hollows of leaves as we began our trip.

Here are a few things I learned about plants of the wetlands. I encourage all who were on the trip to add more information through "comments".

• If poison oak is a problem for you, cook up some Willamette Valley Gumweed (Grindelia intergrifolia) into a pasty mixture and apply.

• Chesire said she has eaten cooked camas and to her it tasted like sweet library paste.

• She pointed out some species that are native and their non-native counterparts nearby. If you see a thistle with red or purple flowers it is not a native.

• Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophylum) has the largest leaves of any maple, worldwide.

• Hawthorne is used to help treat heart disease and helps with blood pressure (don't try this at home).

• One yellow daisy-type flower has the common name of Oregon Sunshine, a welcome sight on a cloudy Oregon day.

• Dock (Rumex) has long been a medicinal plant believed to balance intestinal flora.

Some other plants seen were owl clover, at least two varieties of lupine, poison oak with delicate white blossoms, pointed rush (Juncus oxymeris) and spreading rush (Juncus patens) the soft velvet grass (Holcus lanatus), California Oatgrass (Danthonia californica) and many others. And did you know that Queen Anne's Lace is in the carrot family?

Also seen on our loop walk were meadowlarks (could hear them as well), a red-winged blackbird, great blue heron and a small rabbit.

See-sil

Fifteen explorers met at the end of Royal Avenue May 14th to explore the BLM's See-sil area. Before we even left the parking lot we were treated to the appearance of an American Bittern, a shy bird more often heard than seen. The tall, yellow-legged bird went into its "oh, I'm just some grass" appearance, stretching its head high and pointing its beak upward, but soon walked cautiously along the edge of the road next to a swampy area, then disappeared over the bank. The arrival of a car startled it and the bird flew. Also at the parking lot was a flock of bright yellow goldfinches, one minute posing on the fence, the next busily gathering seeds in the tall grasses.

We walked down the road a short distance and then out into the fields where the City of Eugene's Restoration Ecologist, Emily Steel, pointed out a variety of plants native to the area including popcorn flowers, buttercups, disappointing buttercups (very tiny flowers on a big plant), and camas, which was nearly past. This was a great opportunity to view and compare the Oregon White Oak and some nearby black oaks. We were awestruck by one particularly large white oak with massive lower branches.

We also viewed an area where the oaks were actually growing too densely so some have been removed in a habitat restoration effort in order to allow the others to grow.

Birds seen on the trip included the bittern, goldfinches, red-tailed hawk, Savannah sparrow, tree swallows (there are bird houses for them in one area), and a meadowlark. There were the classic signs of acorn woodpeckers (a large dead branch with holes in it and an occasional acorn still plugged into the holes) but we didn't see any of the birds. Near a row of blackberries and other shrubs at least three rabbits (who knows with rabbits!) ran quickly from grass to shrubs. When we arrived back at the parking area, we could see two white pelicans soaring in tight circles high above us.