Nature

Douglas’s Ground Squirrel Otospermophilus douglasii Mar – Sep A big, speckled gray-brown ground squirrel with a bushy tail that lives in burrow colonies in open ground and loves to perch… Douglas’s Squirrel Tamiasciurus douglasii Apr – Nov A small, loud tree squirrel of conifer forests that scolds hikers from the branches and leaves big piles of stripped cone scales. Dunn’s Salamander Plethodon dunni Mar – Jun, Oct – Jan A large, dark woodland salamander with a tan to greenish back stripe, found under rocks along shaded forest streams. It has no… Eastern Fox Squirrel Sciurus niger Jan – Apr, Jul, Sep – Nov A large, orange-tinged tree squirrel from the eastern US, brought west and now common in Oregon towns and orchards. Here it is… Echo Azure Celastrina echo Apr – Jul A small, pale blue butterfly of streams and shrubby trail edges, flying from late winter into fall. Its underside is chalky gray… Elk Cervus canadensis Feb, May – Jun, Aug – Sep, Nov Oregon's biggest member of the deer family. Roosevelt elk live west of the Cascade crest and Rocky Mountain elk east of it. Fairy Slipper Calypso bulbosa Apr – Jun A small pink orchid of shady conifer forests, with one leaf and one slipper-shaped flower that blooms in spring. Fireweed Chamaenerion angustifolium Jun – Sep A tall wildflower with spikes of rose-purple blooms, and one of the first plants to return after a forest fire. Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria Sep – Nov The classic red mushroom with white to yellowish warts, a partner of forest trees. It is poisonous. Fringe Cups Tellima grandiflora Apr – Jun A shade-loving wildflower with tall, slender spikes of small cup-shaped flowers whose petals are cut into fine fringes. Golden Chinquapin Chrysolepis chrysophylla Apr – Nov An evergreen relative of oaks and chestnuts whose leaves are dusted gold underneath and whose spiny burs take two years to ripen. Golden-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla Sep – Apr A big brown sparrow with a gold crown patch and a wistful three-note song, abundant in western Oregon during migration and winter. Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel Callospermophilus lateralis Jun – Oct A stocky ground squirrel with a coppery head and shoulders and a white side stripe edged in black. Unlike a chipmunk, it… Goldenrod Crab Spider Misumena vatia May – Aug A small white or yellow spider that waits on flowers to ambush bees and flies, changing color to match its blossom. Grasswidow Olsynium douglasii Feb – Apr A low iris relative with satiny reddish-purple flowers, one of the very first wildflowers to bloom on dry, open, rocky ground in… Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Year-round North America's largest heron, a tall gray wader that stalks fish and frogs in shallow water and flies with its neck pulled… Hairy Woodpecker Leuconotopicus villosus Feb – Mar, May – Nov A crisp black-and-white woodpecker of Oregon forests that digs into dead and burned trees for beetle larvae. Males wear a small red… Harsh Paintbrush Castilleja hispida Apr – Jul A hairy paintbrush of grassy slopes and forest openings, with scarlet to orange or yellow bracts and lobed upper leaves. Herb Robert Geranium robertianum Jan, Mar – Nov A small pink-flowered geranium from Europe, listed as a noxious weed in Oregon, that spreads through shady forests and smells sharp when… Isabella Tiger Moth Pyrrharctia isabella Sep – Oct The adult of the banded woolly bear, the fuzzy black-and-rust caterpillar seen crossing trails in fall. The moth is orange-brown with small… King Bolete Boletus edulis Jul – Oct A big, meaty bolete with a brown cap, a spongy pore surface instead of gills, and a thick stem with fine white… Large-flowered Triteleia Triteleia grandiflora Apr – May A spring wildflower of dry, open ground with a loose cluster of pale blue to white, bell-shaped flowers on a bare, wiry… Lettuce Lichen Lobaria oregana Mar – Jan A big, leafy, yellow-green lichen of old conifer forests that pulls nitrogen from the air and feeds it to the forest. Lewis’ Monkeyflower Erythranthe lewisii Jul – Sep A tall, sticky-leaved wildflower with large rose-pink flowers marked with yellow, growing in bright patches along mountain streams in summer.