We walked the trail at Wild Iris Ridge south-west of Eugene yesterday. The trail was dominated by Oregon white oak and Pacific Madrone, which is pictured above.
The trees were covered with lichens, which is typical of trees in Oregon. This is an Usnea called Methuselah’s beard.
Another interesting lichen is Lobaria pulmonaria, Lungwort.
Spotted Towhees and Stellar’s Jays were here, as well as a lot of common birds such as robins, juncoes, goldfinches and sparrows.
A fun discovery for us was a group of at lest four Acorn Woodpeckers. These comical birds look a bit like a Red-headed woodpecker in flight and sound a bit like a Red-bellied Woodpecker. They were a treat for us to watch, especially at an “acorn tree.”
Here’s the tree (an Oregon white oak) covered with holes made by the woodpeckers. The close-up on the right makes it easier to see some of the acorns stuffed into the holes.
Our final interesting bird of the day was an Anna’s Hummingbird that was perched in a lichen-covered apple tree, It was nice to see this hummingbird in the sun since we have had so many overcast days, which is typical of Oregon in the winter – overcast and rainy.
More on the plants here tomorrow….
Michael's Place 